CN1740860A - Touch screen with protective film and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a touch panel with a protection sheet which can be easily peeled off and a method for manufacturing the touch panel with the protection sheet. The protection sheet obtained by sticking a lower sheet with width to the center part of an upper sheet with width which has an adhesive layer on the whole lower surface so that the adhesive layer are exposed from both ends of the upper sheet is stuck to both ends of the upper surface of the touch panel to constitute the touch panel with the protection sheet.

Description

Touch screen with protective film and manufacturing method thereof

technical field

The invention relates to a touch screen with a protective film mainly used for input operations of various electronic equipment and a manufacturing method thereof.

Background technique

In recent years, with the high functionality and diversification of various electronic devices such as mobile phones and portable terminals, the number of devices equipped with touch panels has increased day by day. In front of display elements such as liquid crystals, a light-transmitting touch screen is installed. Through this touch screen, you can see the display of the display elements on the back, and at the same time, press the touch screen with your finger or pen tip to switch various functions of the device.

A protective film is usually attached to the upper surface of such a touch panel (hereinafter referred to as the operation surface) in order to prevent dust or fingerprints during the manufacturing process or during distribution.

A conventional touch panel with a protective film will be described using FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional touch screen with a protective film. In this figure, the touch screen 1 includes an upper substrate 31 and a lower substrate 32 . The upper substrate 31 is glass or the like on which a light-transmitting first conductive layer 31 a is formed thereunder. The lower substrate 32 is made of glass or the like on which a second conductive layer 32 a which is also light-transmissive and provided opposite to the first conductive layer 31 a with a predetermined gap is formed thereon.

In addition, on the upper surface of the second conductive layer 32a, a plurality of dot spacers (not shown) are formed of insulating resin at predetermined intervals. A pair of upper electrodes (not shown) are respectively formed at both ends of the first conductive layer 31a, and a pair of lower electrodes (not shown) perpendicular to the electrodes are formed at both ends of the second conductive layer 32a.

Furthermore, the outer frame 33 is a square frame, and the outer periphery of the upper substrate 31 and the outer periphery of the lower substrate 32 are bonded by an adhesive layer (not shown) coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the outer frame 33 . The first conductive layer 31 a and the second conductive layer 32 a are arranged facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and an operation area W is formed inside the outer frame 33 . As described above, the touch panel 1 is constituted.

On the other hand, the protective film 61 is for preventing dust and fingerprints from adhering to the operation surface of the touch panel 1 during the manufacturing process or distribution. The protective film 61 includes a thin film 62 and an adhesive layer 63 . The film 62 is made of soft ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) or the like. The adhesive layer 63 is coated on the entire lower surface of the film 62 . In this way, the protective film 61 is pasted on the entire upper operation surface of the touch screen 1 to form a touch screen with a protective film.

In electronic devices such as mobile phones, when the touch screen 1 is integrated with liquid crystal display elements, etc., the protective film 61 needs to be peeled off for use. The touch panel 1 with the protective film 61 peeled off is mounted on an electronic device on which a liquid crystal display element is disposed on the front, and a pair of upper electrodes and lower electrodes are connected to a circuit (not shown) of the device.

In the above structure, while observing the display of the liquid crystal display element on the back of the touch screen 1, when the operation area of the upper substrate 31 is pressed with a finger or a pen tip, etc., the pressed part of the upper substrate 31 bends, so that the first The conductive layer 31a is in contact with the second conductive layer 32a. The circuit applies voltage to the upper electrode and the lower electrode in sequence, and the circuit detects the pressed position through the voltage ratio between the electrodes. This detects switching of various functions of the device.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-305064 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-296558 disclose a liquid crystal display panel with a protective film similar to the above-mentioned conventional touch screen with a protective film.

However, when peeling off the protective film 61 of the above-mentioned existing touch screen with a protective film, since the adhesive layer 63 is attached to the entire operation surface of the touch screen 1, it is difficult to peel off.

Contents of the invention

The invention provides a touch screen with a protective film which is easy to peel off and a manufacturing method thereof.

The touch screen with a protective film of the present invention includes a touch screen part and a protective film part. The touch screen enters data by touch. A protective film formed by bonding a lower film narrower in width than the upper film to the middle of the adhesive layer on the lower surface of the entire upper film constitutes a protective film portion. On both ends above the touch screen part, stick the protective film with the adhesive layer exposed to both ends of the upper film.

In such a structure, compared with a protective film having an adhesive layer on the entire surface of the film, since the adhesive portion is formed only at both ends, the adhesive portion can be reduced to facilitate peeling.

The touch screen with a protective film of the present invention includes an upper substrate on which a first conductive layer is formed on the lower surface of the touch screen, and a second conductive layer is formed on the upper surface to face the first conductive layer with a predetermined gap. the lower substrate. With such a structure, a touch panel with a protective film can be completed at low cost.

The method of manufacturing a touch panel with a protective film of the present invention is to bond a belt-shaped lower film to the lower surface of a belt-shaped upper film having an adhesive layer formed on the entire lower surface. Next, on the two ends of the upper surface of the touch screen, stick the adhesive layer exposed to the two ends of the upper film. Then cut off the protective film. This manufacturing method does not need to use human hands in a series of manufacturing processes, so dust and fingerprints can be prevented from being left on the operation surface of the touch panel or the like.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel with a protective film attached in an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a method of manufacturing a touch panel with a protective film in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional touch screen with a protective film.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel with a protective film attached in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1 , the same components as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 1 , the touch screen 1 includes an upper substrate 31 and a lower substrate 32 . The upper substrate 31 is glass or a thin film in which a light-transmitting first conductive layer 31 a of indium tin oxide or the like is formed on the lower surface. The lower substrate 32 is formed of glass or a thin film having the same translucent second conductive layer 32 a on its upper surface so as to be opposed to the first conductive layer 31 a with a predetermined gap therebetween.

On the upper surface of the second conductive layer 32a, a plurality of dot spacers (not shown) are formed of insulating resin at predetermined intervals. A pair of upper electrodes (not shown) are formed at both ends of the first conductive layer 31, and a pair of lower electrodes (not shown) perpendicular to the upper electrodes are formed at both ends of the second conductive layer 32a.

The outer frame portion 33 is in the shape of a square frame, and the outer periphery of the upper substrate 31 and the outer periphery of the lower substrate 32 are bonded together by an adhesive layer (not shown) coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the outer frame 33 . The first conductive layer 31 a and the second conductive layer 32 a are provided facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and an operation area W is formed inside the outer frame 33 . As described above, the touch panel 1 is formed.

On the other hand, the protective film 10 includes an upper film 11 , an adhesive layer 13 and a lower film 21 . The upper film 11 is a thin film made of a material such as flexible ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) with a width a, and an adhesive layer 13 is provided on the entire lower surface thereof. The lower film 21 consists of a thin film having a width b. The width of the lower film 21 is smaller than that of the upper film 11 , and is attached to the middle part of the adhesive layer 13 of the upper film 11 , and the bonding portion 13 a of the adhesive layer 13 is exposed at both ends of the upper film 11 .

The touch screen with a protective film is formed by pasting the protective film 10 on the outer frame part 33 outside the operation area W of the touch screen 1 with the adhesive parts 13a at both ends. The protective film 10 is used to prevent dust or fingerprints from adhering to the operation surface of the touch panel 1 during the manufacturing process or during distribution.

When assembling an electronic device such as a mobile phone with a liquid crystal display element, the protective film 10 should be peeled off from the touch screen 1 for reuse. When peeling the protective film 10 from the touch panel 1, there is no adhesive portion 13a on the operation area W of the touch panel 1, so this structure can be easily peeled off. Then, while mounting the touch panel 1 on an electronic device having a liquid crystal display element or the like disposed on the front, a pair of upper electrodes and lower electrodes are connected to a circuit (not shown) of the device.

In the above structure, while seeing the display of the liquid crystal display element on the back of the touch screen 1 , press the operation area of the upper substrate 31 with a finger or a pen tip. As a result, the pressed portion of the upper substrate 31 is bent, and the first conductive layer 31a and the second conductive layer 32a at this position are in contact with each other. The circuit applies a voltage to the upper electrode and the lower electrode in sequence, and the circuit can detect the pressed part through the voltage ratio between the electrodes, and the detection result switches various functions of the device.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a method of manufacturing a touch panel with a protective film in an embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, first, the touch panel 1 without the protective film is transported in the direction of the arrow S1 from the front position on a conveyor (not shown) or the like. When it reaches the predetermined position, it will be clamped by the holding device 51 which moves up and down.

Then, on the left side of the touch panel 1, a strip-shaped upper film 41 having a width a having an adhesive layer 43 on the entire lower surface, and a strip-shaped lower film 42 having a width b are arranged. The upper and lower films 41 and 42 are bonded together by the bonding device 52 to form a continuous strip-shaped protective film 40 . The width a of the upper film 41 is set approximately equal to the longitudinal dimension of the touch panel 1 , while the width b of the lower film 42 is set slightly smaller than the longitudinal dimension of the operating area W of the touch panel 1 .

Then, the hollow cylindrical conveying device 53 sucks the protective film 40 and conveys it in the right direction of the arrow S2, and moves the front end 40b to the position of the right end 1b of the touch panel 1 . The protective film 40 conveyed to a predetermined position by the conveying device 53 is stuck on the touch panel 1 by the bonding device 54 . The bonding device 54 also serves as the conveying device 53 . The attaching device 54, for example, suctions when the conveyance is stopped, presses and moves the adhesive portion 43a of the protective film 40 by its hollow cylindrical front end, and attaches it to the upper surface of the touch panel 1 .

The bonding position is that only the adhesive parts 43 a at both ends of the protective film 40 are bonded outside the operation area W of the touch screen 1 . The so-called outside the operation area W of the touch screen 1 is the outer frame part 33 . Then, the protective film 40 bonded to the touch panel 1 is cut from the left end 41c by a cutting device 55 such as a rotary gear or a knife (cutting step). Through the above operations, a touch screen with a protective film attached is produced.

Thereafter, the touch panel with the protective film is released from the clamped state by the holding device 51, and is conveyed in the direction of the forward arrow S3 on a conveyor belt not shown in the figure. Thus a series of actions can continuously manufacture the touch screen with the protective film attached.

As described above, according to this embodiment, a protective film is attached only to both ends of the touch panel. Compared with a touch panel whose entire upper surface is attached with a protective film, a touch panel with a protective film that can be easily peeled off and its manufacture can be obtained. method. According to the present invention, since there is no adhesive remaining on the sticking portion in the operation area W of the touch panel after the protective film is peeled off, there is no uncomfortable feeling when the touch panel is pressed with a finger.

When manufacturing a touch panel with a protective film, human hands are not used in a series of processes, so dust and fingerprints can be prevented from remaining on the operation surface of the touch panel.

As described above, the protective film-attached touch panel and its manufacturing method of the present invention can be easily peeled off the protective film, and can be applied to touch panels used for input operations of various electronic devices.

Claims (3)

1. the touch-screen of a coated with protective film; have by touching the touch screen portion of input data; diaphragm with the center section of the whole lower surface adhesive coating that will the following film narrower be fitted in film than last film width; it is characterized in that; be at described touch screen upper surface two ends, the described adhesive coating of fitting is exposed to the described diaphragm of going up the film two ends.

2. the touch-screen of the coated with protective film described in claim 1; it is characterized in that; described touch screen portion have on its lower surface the upper substrate that forms first conductive layer and thereon the surface go up to form the infrabasal plate of second conductive layer across the mode of predetermined gap subtend setting with described first conductive layer.

3. as the manufacture method of the touch-screen of the coated with protective film of claim 1 or 2; it is characterized in that; the lower surface of film on the band shape that forms adhesive coating on the whole lower surface; behind the following film of the band shape of fitting; fit at the touch screen upper surface two ends and to be exposed to the described adhesive coating at film two ends, the end of tripping protection film then.

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