JPH09120745A - Touch panel and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture a touch panel precluded from displacement of its base boards and slackening of the central part by using insulated base boards equipped with electrodes on the surfaces, pressurizing part of the peripheries of the base boards to adhere the peripheries upon overlapping the boards one over the other, heating the other parts of the peripheries, and thereby accomplishing adhesion. SOLUTION: An electrode 3, a current collecting electrode 4, drawout electrode 5, connecting electrode 6, and drawout electrode 7 are formed on the first insulated base board 1 (polyester film) in a rectangular shape. Another electrode 9, current collecting electrode 10, and connecting electrode 11 are formed on the second insulated base board 8 (glass plate) in rectangular shape, and a two-side adhesive tape 12 is affixed to each shorter edge of the base board, while a hot fusion attaching material 13 is applied to each longer edge followed by heating to generate a half-hardened condition. The base board 1 is overlapped on the other 8, and their peripheral parts in contact with the adhesive tapes 12 are pressurized by a roller or the like and adhered together, while the other peripheral parts in contact with the hot fusion attaching material 13 are light heated to be adhered. Thereby the boards 1 and 8 are precluded from displacement and also slackening in the central part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a touch panel having an improved bonding method for peripheral portions and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A touch panel is used for inputting information on a surface of a display such as a display such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, and an electroluminescence display, or for indicating coordinates on a drawing or the like. .

In a conventional touch panel, an insulating substrate having an electrode made of a transparent conductive film on the surface of a polymer film or the like and an insulating substrate having an electrode made of a transparent conductive film on the surface of a glass plate or the like are superposed on each other. The structure is adhered at the periphery. To bond the peripheral part of the insulating substrate, for example,
A double-sided tape, an adhesive, and a heat-sealing member are used, and these are preliminarily provided in the peripheral portion of the insulating substrate. When the double-sided tape or the adhesive is used, the pressure is applied, and when the heat-sealing member is used, the pressure is applied to heat the adhesive.

[0004]

However, in the case where the peripheral portion of the insulating substrate is pressure-bonded by using a double-sided tape or an adhesive, if the touch panel is used in a high temperature atmosphere, the adhesive strength is weakened and the touch is reduced. If pressure is applied to the surface, the insulating substrates are easily displaced from each other.

In addition, when the peripheral portion is heated and adhered by using the heat-sealing member, when the polymer film is used as the insulating substrate, the peripheral portion shrinks and the central portion easily sags.

An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel which can improve the above-mentioned drawbacks, prevent the displacement of the position of the insulating substrate, and prevent the slack of the central portion of the insulating substrate, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is a touch panel in which insulating substrates having electrodes on their surfaces are superposed on each other and the peripheral portions are adhered to each other. The present invention provides a touch panel characterized in that a part is pressed and bonded and at the same time, another part of the peripheral part is heated and bonded.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a method of manufacturing a touch panel in which insulating substrates having electrodes provided on their surfaces are superposed on each other and the peripheral portions thereof are adhered, a step of adhering a part of the peripheral portions by applying pressure, And a step of heating and adhering the other part of the peripheral portion after this step, to provide a method for manufacturing a touch panel.

A double-sided tape or a pressure-sensitive adhesive is used as a means for applying pressure and adhesion. When the double-sided tape is used, it is preferable to stick the double-sided tape to one side or two opposite sides of the insulating substrate in the case of a rectangular touch panel. That is, in order to stick the double-sided tape on three or more sides of the insulating substrate, the central part of the double-sided tape having almost the same width as the insulating substrate was punched out with a full die, the central part was discarded, and the peripheral part was left. Since double-sided tape must be used, it takes time for mass production and it is difficult to reduce the cost. If the insulating substrate has one side or two opposite sides, it is possible to use a double-sided tape with a width necessary to bond the peripheral portion of the insulating substrate from the beginning, mass production in a short time, and no part to be thrown away, and cost is reduced. It can be easily reduced. Further, in the case of the pressure-sensitive adhesive, it is necessary to attach a protective film to the surface in order to prevent dust from adhering to the pressure-sensitive adhesive before stacking the insulating substrates. Therefore, the double-sided tape has better workability than the adhesive.

A heat fusion member is used as a means for heating and adhering. As the heat-sealing member, SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene) or SEBS (styrene-styrene
Styrene block copolymers such as ethylene butylene and styrene), polyvinyl butyral, thermoplastic adhesives such as polyester, epoxy resin and polyurethane,
A thermosetting adhesive such as an acrylic resin is used. It should be noted that the portion to be heated and adhered is preferably one side of the insulating substrate or two sides facing each other in the case of a rectangular touch panel. When the number of this portion is large, when a polymer film is used for the insulating substrate, the effect of preventing the slack in the central portion becomes low.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a part of the peripheral portion is pressed and bonded, and the other peripheral portion is heated and bonded. The adhesive strength of the heated and bonded portion does not decrease so much even at high temperature. Therefore, when the touch panel is used in a high-temperature atmosphere, even if the adhesive force of the part bonded by pressure is reduced, the other peripheral parts are bonded by heating, so that the displacement of the insulating substrate can be prevented.

Further, since the portion to be adhered by heating and the portion to be adhered by pressurization are used together, shrinkage of the insulating substrate made of a polymer film due to heating can be reduced, and therefore the insulating substrate is slack in the central portion. Can be reduced.

Further, in the invention of claim 2, in particular,
A part of the peripheral portion is pressed and bonded, and then the other peripheral portion is heated and bonded. The portion where the peripheral portion is pressed and adhered can be peeled off relatively easily immediately after the adhesion. Therefore, if it is found that the insulating substrates are displaced from each other after being pressed and bonded, the insulating substrates are peeled off immediately after this step, the positions are accurately aligned and the layers are again stacked and pressed to bond. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the insulating substrates from being displaced and bonded to each other during manufacturing.

[0014]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples.
In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 1 is a substantially rectangular first insulating substrate made of a 125 μm-thick polyester film, and a protrusion 2 is provided on one long side thereof. Reference numeral 3 is a first electrode made of a transparent conductive film of ITO (indium oxide-tin oxide) provided in a rectangular shape on the surface of the first insulating substrate 1 so as to have a resistance value of 500Ω / □. 4
Is a first current collecting electrode made of Ag ink or the like, which is connected to the short side of the first electrode 3 and printed on the surface of the first insulating substrate 1. Reference numeral 5 is a first lead-out electrode made of Ag ink or the like, which is connected to the first current-collecting electrode 4 and is led out and extended to the protrusion 2. 6 is the first electrode 3
Is a first connection electrode that is provided by printing Ag ink or the like on the surface of the first insulating substrate 1 so as to be insulated. Reference numeral 7 is a second lead-out electrode made of Ag ink or the like, which is connected to the first connection electrode 6 and extends to the protrusion 2.

Further, in FIG. 1B, 8 is a rectangular second insulating substrate made of a glass plate having a thickness of 1.8 mm. Reference numeral 9 denotes a rectangular second electrode made of a transparent conductive film of ITO provided on the surface of the second insulating substrate 8 so as to have a resistance value of 500Ω / □. 10 is this second
Connected to the long side of the electrode 9 of the second insulating substrate 8
This is a second current collecting electrode provided by printing g ink or the like.
Reference numeral 11 denotes a second connection electrode formed on the surface of the second current collecting electrode 10 and made of a conductive adhesive or the like containing Ag ink or the like as a component. Reference numeral 12 is a double-sided tape having a width of 3 mm provided on the surface of the peripheral portion of the second insulating substrate 8 along both short sides of the second electrode 9. Reference numeral 13 is a heat-sealing member provided on the surface of the peripheral portion of the second insulating substrate 8 along both long sides of the second electrode 9. A thermoplastic adhesive or a thermosetting adhesive is used for the heat fusion member 13. 14 is the second insulating substrate 8 and the second
Is a dot-shaped insulating spacer having a bottom diameter of 50 μm provided on the surface of the electrode 9.

FIG. 1C shows a touch panel 1 in which a first insulating substrate 1 and a second insulating substrate 8 are superposed and peripheral portions thereof are adhered.
5 is shown.

Next, a method of manufacturing the touch panel 15 will be described. First, in order to manufacture the first insulating substrate 1, ITO is sputtered on a polyester film to form a transparent conductive film on the surface of the polyester film, and an etching treatment is performed to form the first electrode 3
To form Next, Ag ink or the like is printed to form the first current collecting electrode 4, the first extraction electrode 5, the first connection electrode 6, and the second extraction electrode 7. After that, the polyester film is cut to form the first insulating substrate 1.

The second insulating substrate 8 is manufactured as follows. That is, first, ITO is sputtered on a glass plate formed in advance into a rectangular shape to form a transparent conductive film, and an etching process is performed to form the second electrode 9. After forming the second electrode 9, Ag ink or the like is printed to form the second collecting electrode 10 and the second connecting electrode 11.
After that, a double-sided tape 12 having a width of 3 mm is attached to the peripheral portion along both short sides of the second electrode 9. Further, the thermal fusion bonding member 13 is applied to the peripheral portion along both long sides of the second electrode 9. Then, heat treatment is performed. By this heat treatment, the heat fusion member 1
When 3 is a thermoplastic adhesive, the solvent can be evaporated, and when it is a thermosetting adhesive, it is in a semi-cured state.

Next, the first insulating substrate 1 is superposed on the surface of the second insulating substrate 8. After overlapping, the peripheral portion of the first insulating substrate 1 in contact with the double-sided tape 12 is pressed by a roller or the like to be bonded. After this bonding step, it is inspected whether the first insulating substrate 1 and the second insulating substrate 8 are aligned with each other. Then, if the positions are deviated, the first insulating substrate 1 is peeled off, the positions are accurately aligned and the second insulating substrate 8 is overlapped again, and the peripheral portion is pressed and bonded. After this bonding, heating is performed, and the peripheral portion of the first insulating substrate 1 in contact with the heat-sealing member 13 is lightly pressed and bonded. By this heat treatment, the thermosetting adhesive is completely cured and the peripheral portion of the first insulating substrate 1 is bonded to the peripheral portion of the second insulating substrate 8.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
That is, in FIG. 2A, 20 is a thickness of 188 μ.
It is a rectangular first insulating substrate made of m polyester film. Reference numeral 21 is a first electrode made of a transparent conductive film of ITO provided on the surface of the first insulating substrate 20 so as to have a resistance value of 700Ω / □. 22 is this first
Is a first current collecting electrode provided by printing Ag or the like on the surface of the first insulating substrate 20 connected to the short side of the electrode 21. 2
3 is the first insulating substrate 20 along the long side of the first electrode 21.
It is a double-sided tape provided on the surface of.

In FIG. 2B, 24 is a rectangular second insulating substrate made of a glass plate having a thickness of 1.5 mm. Reference numeral 25 is a rectangular second electrode made of a transparent conductive film of ITO provided on the surface of the second insulating substrate 24 so as to have a resistance value of 700Ω / □. 26 is connected to the long side of the second electrode 25 and is connected to the second insulating substrate 24.
Is a second current collecting electrode provided by printing Ag ink or the like on the surface of. Reference numerals 27 and 28 denote first and second electrodes provided on the surface of the second insulating substrate by printing Ag ink or the like along one of its short sides.
And the second connection electrode. Reference numeral 29 is a first lead-out electrode that is connected to the second current collecting electrode 26, is led out, and is connected to the first connecting electrode 27. 30
Is a third connecting electrode that is insulated from the second electrode 25 and is provided by printing Ag ink or the like along the short side of the second electrode 25. Reference numeral 31 denotes a second connection electrode connected to the third connection electrode 30 and drawn to be connected to the second connection electrode 28.
And is provided by printing Ag ink or the like. Reference numeral 32 is a heat-sealing member that covers one of the third connecting electrodes 30 and is provided along one short side of the second insulating substrate 24. An anisotropic conductor 33 is provided along the other short side of the second insulating substrate 24 so as to cover the first connection electrode 27, the second connection electrode 28 and the other third connection electrode 30. It is an adhesive consisting of. As the adhesive 33 made of this anisotropic conductor, one of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a heat-sensitive adhesive, and a moisture-curable adhesive is used.

In FIG. 2C, 34 is a thickness 2
It is a third insulating substrate made of a 5 μm polyester film. Reference numeral 35 is a fourth connection electrode provided by printing Ag ink or the like on the surface of the third insulating substrate 34. 36
Is a third extraction electrode connected to the fourth connection electrode 35 and provided by printing Ag ink or the like on the third insulating substrate 34.

Further, FIG. 2D shows the first insulating substrate 2
0, the second insulating substrate 24, and the third insulating substrate 34 are overlapped,
The touch panel 37 with which the peripheral part was bonded is shown.

The touch panel 37 is manufactured as follows. That is, first, the first electrode 21 and the first current collecting electrode 22 are formed on the surface of the polyester film, and the double-sided tape 23 having a width of 3 mm is attached along the long side of the first electrode 21. Next, the polyester film is cut to form the first insulating substrate 20.

Further, the second electrode 25, the second current collecting electrode 26, the first connecting electrode 27, the second connecting electrode 28, and the third connecting electrode 28 are formed on the glass plate formed in advance in a rectangular shape. The connection electrode 30, the first extraction electrode 29, and the second extraction electrode 31 are formed. Next, a thermal fusion bonding member 32 is printed and applied to the peripheral portion of one short side of the glass plate while covering the third connection electrode 30. After coating, heat treatment is performed. Also, an adhesive 33 made of an anisotropic conductor is applied to the peripheral portion of the other short side of the glass plate so as to cover the first connection electrode 27, the second connection electrode 28, and the third connection electrode 30. Then, the second insulating substrate 24
To form

Furthermore, A is formed on the surface of the polyester film.
g ink or the like is applied to form the fourth connection electrode 35 and the third extraction electrode 36, which are cut into a predetermined size to form the third insulating substrate 34.

An adhesive is applied to the third insulating substrate 34 so that the fourth connecting electrode 35 faces the first connecting electrode 27 and the second connecting electrode 28 of the second insulating substrate 24. Three
Adhere to 3. After this bonding, the first insulating substrate 20 is superposed on the surface of the second insulating substrate 24. After overlapping, the peripheral portion of the first insulating substrate 20 provided with the double-sided tape 23 is pressed and bonded. Further, if the adhesive 33 adheres under pressure or is cured by moisture and adheres, similarly, the peripheral portion of the first insulating substrate 20 adhered to the adhesive 33 is adhered under pressure. . Then, after this bonding, heating is performed to lightly press the peripheral portion of the first insulating substrate 20 in contact with the heat-sealing portion 32 to bond the same. If the adhesive 33 is heated and bonded, it is heated and pressed in the same manner to bond.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Since a part of the peripheral portions of the superposed insulating substrates are pressed and bonded to each other and the other peripheral portions are heated and bonded, the displacement of the position of the insulating substrate can be prevented and the central portion of the insulating substrate sags. It is possible to obtain a touch panel that can reduce

According to the manufacturing method of the second aspect of the present invention, in particular, after the peripheral portion of the insulating substrate is pressure-bonded and bonded, the other peripheral portion is heated and bonded. It is possible to prevent displacement of the insulating substrate inside, and to obtain a touch panel with higher dimensional accuracy.

Further, according to the present invention, since the peripheral portion of the insulating substrate is adhered by different means, after adhering by one means, the internal dust is taken out or an electric probe is inserted to generate electricity. It is possible to perform a physical inspection and obtain a touch panel with higher reliability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an insulating substrate used in an embodiment of the present invention and a sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of an insulating substrate used in another embodiment of the present invention and a sectional view of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 20 ... First insulating substrate, 3, 21 ... First electrode,
8, 24 ... Second insulating substrate, 9, 25 ... Second electrode,
12, 23 ... Double-sided tape, 13, 32 ... Thermal fusion bonding member,
15, 37 ... Touch panel, 33 ... Adhesive, 34 ...
Third insulating substrate.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In a touch panel in which insulating substrates having electrodes provided on their surfaces are superposed on each other and peripheral portions thereof are adhered, a part of the peripheral portions is pressed and adhered, and other portions of the peripheral portions are heated and adhered. A touch panel that is characterized by 2. A method of manufacturing a touch panel, wherein insulating substrates having electrodes on their surfaces are superposed on each other and the peripheral portions are adhered to each other. A method of manufacturing a touch panel, which comprises performing a step of heating and adhering the other portion.