JP2002342034A - Touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a matrix-type touch panel which achieves high functionality by multi-layering panels. SOLUTION: A transparent first panel 1 in which opposing electrodes are arranged in a matrix so as to be in contact with each other at a pressing position;
And a transparent second panel 2 in which opposing electrodes are arranged in a matrix so as to come into contact with each other at a position pressed through the first panel 1. Constitute.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a matrix type touch panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A transparent touch panel using a transparent conductive film such as ITO (tin-added indium oxide) is widely used as a control panel for various home appliances and information devices in combination with a liquid crystal display element and a fluorescent display element. . In the transparent touch panel, since a plurality of functions can be given to one switch by switching the display of the display element arranged on the back surface, a multi-function operation panel can be configured with a limited area. At the same time, by switching the display, the operation order is easy to understand, and even a beginner can easily handle.

In general, a transparent touch panel comprises a glass substrate on which a transparent electrode such as ITO is formed, and a flexible transparent resin film (for example, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film) also formed with a transparent electrode.
The electrodes are opposed to each other, and are integrally formed via an insulating spacer. By setting the transparent resin film side as the touch side, the upper and lower electrodes come into contact at the pressed position, and an output corresponding to the pressed position can be obtained.

[0004] This type of transparent touch panel includes a matrix type and an analog type (resistive film type) depending on the difference in the input position detection type. In the matrix system, upper and lower opposing electrodes are patterned in a matrix. Specifically, the upper and lower electrodes are formed as a plurality of stripe patterns each running in the x and y directions. Alternatively, the upper and lower electrodes are respectively arranged as a two-dimensional dot pattern, and wiring for leading each dot pattern electrode to the x and y direction terminals is formed. As a result, when the upper and lower opposing electrodes come into contact with each other at the pressing position, conduction is established between predetermined terminals in the x and y directions,
A signal including coordinate position information is obtained.

In the case of the analog system, upper and lower electrodes are used as
A transparent conductive film that covers the entire panel is used. Stripe-shaped position detection electrodes are provided at both ends in the x direction of one transparent conductive film, and stripe-shaped position detection electrodes are provided at both ends in the y direction of the other transparent conductive film. When a voltage is applied between the position detection electrodes at both ends in the x direction when the upper and lower transparent conductive films come into contact with each other at the pressed position, a resistance partial pressure output in the x direction of the transparent conductive film is obtained to the position detection electrodes in the y direction. Can be y
When a voltage is applied between the position detection electrodes at both ends in the direction, y
A resistance partial pressure output in the direction is obtained from the position detecting electrode in the x direction. Thereby, a signal including the coordinate position information of x and y is obtained.

In the case of the matrix type, the transparent conductive film only needs to have an allowable resistance value that can detect only ON / OFF, and uniformity of the resistance value is not so required. Therefore, a material having a surface resistance of about 200 Ω / □ is usually used.
On the other hand, in the case of the analog system, since the change in the resistance value affects the position detection accuracy, uniformity of the resistance value is important, and a surface resistance of 400 to 500 Ω / □ is generally used.

[0007]

Due to the difference between the input position detection methods described above, the analog method has a high resolution and enables handwriting input. On the other hand, the matrix method has the disadvantages that the input detection is easy, but the resolution is low and the number of keys is limited. In the case of the matrix system, a large non-operation area (frame area) is required around the panel. This is because the analog system only needs two terminals in the x and y directions, whereas the matrix system has a plurality of terminals in the x and y directions according to the resolution and connects the contact portions of the upper and lower electrodes to each terminal. This is because it requires wiring to be performed. That is, in the matrix method, as the number of keys increases,
The area of the frame region increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a matrix-type touch panel that can achieve high functionality by providing a multi-layer panel.

[0009]

A touch panel according to the present invention has a first panel in which opposing electrodes are arranged in a matrix so as to make contact at a pressing position, and a first panel disposed below the first panel. At least two layers of panels are laminated with a second panel in which opposing electrodes are arranged in a matrix so as to be in contact with each other at a position pressed through the panel. A plurality of coordinate detection circuits for performing detection are provided, and the output of each of the coordinate detection circuits is selected as a different function output according to the level of the pressing force.

According to the present invention, the touch panel is configured as a multi-layer panel in which first and second at least two-layer matrix type panels are stacked. When the pressing force is low, only the upper first panel outputs power, and when the pressing force becomes higher than a certain level, the second panel also outputs power.
If the outputs of these multi-layer panels are selected as different functional outputs, more functions can be achieved with the same panel area as before. In other words, it is possible to obtain a position detection function equivalent to having the same number of keys as twice or three times the same area as the conventional touch panel. In the present invention, preferably, each panel to be laminated is transparent, and the touch panel is configured as a transparent touch panel.

Specifically, in the present invention, the first panel and the second panel can be configured to share some members. That is, the first panel includes a first member having a first lower electrode formed on a lower surface, and a second member having a first upper electrode formed opposite to the first lower electrode on an upper surface. A second panel, the second member having a second lower electrode formed on the lower surface, and a third member having a second upper electrode formed on the upper surface facing the second lower electrode. And a member.

In this case, preferably, the distance between the second member and the third member is smaller than the distance between the electrodes between the first member and the second member.
The electrode spacing between the members is set to be large.
This makes it possible to set a sufficiently large difference between the pressing force level at which the output of the first panel is obtained and the pressing force level at which the output of the second panel is obtained.

Alternatively, between the first member and the second member,
First dot spacers made of a transparent insulating material are arranged in a matrix, and second dot spacers made of a transparent insulating material, which are higher than the first dot spacers, are arranged in a matrix between the second member and the third member. Similarly, the pressing force level at which the output of the first panel is obtained and the second
The difference between the pressing force levels at which the output of the panel can be obtained can be set large. Alternatively, the second member is
The same effect can be expected by using a material having a higher elastic modulus than the above member.

Further, in the present invention, if a pressure-sensitive resistive layer is formed at least at the contact portions of the upper and lower electrodes of the first and second panels, each panel produces an output that changes in accordance with the pressing force. The same effect can be obtained as with a multi-layer structure. Further, in the present invention, preferably, it is determined that the pressing force is equal to or higher than a predetermined level based on the output of the second panel, and the coordinate detection circuit of the first panel is deactivated based on the determination result. And a pressing force determination circuit for performing control for activating the coordinate detection circuit of the panel. This enables selection of different functions.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The touch panel according to the present invention is generally constituted by a plurality of layers of panels. In the following embodiments, the case of two layers will be described, but the invention is not limited to two layers.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a transparent touch panel according to an embodiment, which has a two-layer structure of a first panel 1 and a second panel 2. Both panels 1 and 2 are transparent. The first panel 1 has a laminated structure of a first member 10 and a second member 20, and the second panel 2 has a laminated structure of a second member 20 and a third member 30. I have. That is, the second member 20 is shared by the first and second panels 1 and 2. Panels 1 and 2 are both matrix type, and the terminals of each panel are FPC3x
1, 3y1, 3x2, 3y2 are connected and integrated.

In the touch panel of this embodiment, only the first member 10 is bent at a low pressing force level and only the first panel 1 operates, and when the pressing force exceeds a certain level, the first panel 10 is turned off. The second member 20 is bent through
Panel 2 is activated. Therefore, at least the first member 10 and the second member 20 need to be flexible. However, it is preferable that the difference between the level of the pressing force at which the first panel 1 operates and the level of the pressing force at which the second panel 2 operates is at least a certain level. For example, the first member 10 may be formed as a transparent flexible film. Using PET, the second member 20 has a larger elastic modulus than the first member 10 by 0.2 mm.
Use thick glass. The third member 30 does not need to be flexible, and uses, for example, glass having a thickness of 1 mm.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of each of the panels 1 and 2. On the lower surface of the first member 10 and the upper surface of the second member 20, a plurality of stripe-shaped transparent electrodes orthogonal to each other, that is, an upper electrode 11 and a lower electrode 21, which are formed by patterning a transparent conductive film such as ITO, respectively, are provided. Is formed. By facing the upper electrode 11 and the lower electrode 21 formed in a matrix, the corresponding upper and lower electrodes come into contact at a certain pressing position, and it is possible to obtain a signal including positional information.

Similarly, on the lower surface of the second member 20 and on the upper surface of the third member 30, a plurality of stripe-shaped transparent electrodes orthogonal to each other are obtained by patterning a transparent conductive film such as ITO. That is, the upper electrode 23 and the lower electrode 31
Are formed, and these face each other.

The upper and lower electrodes 11 and 21 of the first panel 1 are respectively connected to terminal portions 1 to which FPCs 3y1 and 3x1 are connected.
2 and 22, and similarly, the upper and lower electrodes 23 and 31 of the second panel 2 are respectively led to terminal portions 24 and 32 to which the FPCs 3y2 and 3x2 are connected.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the panel laminated structure. Around the second and third members 20, 30, insulating layers 34, 35 for defining a non-operating area (frame area) are formed, and an adhesive layer 36,
The three members 10, 20, 30 are adhered and integrated with 36 interposed therebetween. At this time, preferably, the inter-electrode gap b between the second member 20 and the third member 30 is larger than the inter-electrode gap a between the first member 10 and the second member 20. The thickness of the insulating layer 34 is made larger than that of the insulating layer 35. This can increase the level difference between the pressing force at which the first panel 1 operates and the pressing force at which the second panel 2 operates.

On the upper portions of the second and third members 20, 30, dot spacers 25, 33 made of acrylic transparent insulating material are provided in order to prevent two or more pairs of upper and lower electrodes from contacting at the same time. For example, they are arranged in a matrix at a pitch of 1 mm. The upper dot spacer 25 has a diameter of 45 to 50 μm and a height of 8 to 10 μm, and the lower dot spacer 33 has a diameter of 100 to 125 μm and a height of 20 to 10 μm.
25 μm. The reason why the heights of the two dot spacers are different is to prevent the second panel 2 from operating with a low pressing force at which the first panel 1 operates.

When the dot spacers 25 are patterned on the upper part of the second member 20, there is a possibility that a large number of scratches and dirt may appear on the electrodes 23 which are already patterned on the back surface of the second member 20. In the case, dot spacer 2
5 may be formed on the lower surface of the first member 10.

The manufacturing process of the transparent touch panel according to this embodiment will be specifically described as follows. PET having an ITO film formed on one side as a first member 10, glass having an ITO film formed on both sides as a second member 20, and glass having an ITO film formed on one surface as a third member 20 Are prepared, and the ITO film of each member is first patterned. Specifically, a resist pattern is printed, and the ITO film is etched with a solution of hydrochloric acid: nitric acid: water = 5: 1: 15.

Thereafter, the second member 20 and the third member 3
0, respectively, a dot spacer 2 made of a transparent insulating material.
5, 33 are printed in a pattern. Then, the second member 20
And an insulating layer 34 for forming a frame region on the third member 30;
35, and the adhesive layer 3 is formed on the insulating layers 34 and 35.
Print 6,37. Furthermore, a silver paste for reducing contact resistance is printed on the terminals of each transparent electrode. In these printing processes, baking is performed under each condition. Then, the first, second, and third members 10, 20, and 30 are overlapped with each other with the FPC connected to each terminal portion interposed therebetween, and bonded together.
It is integrated by thermocompression bonding.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the FPC connection portion using the third member 30 as an example. The terminal portion 32 is printed with an anisotropic conductive paste 38 overlaid on the silver paste, and the terminals of the FPC 3 × 2 are overlaid and integrated on this portion. The same applies to the connection portions of the other FPCs 3x1, 3y1, and 3y2.

FIG. 5 shows the operation principle of the touch panel according to this embodiment. Fig. 5
As shown in (a), the upper and lower electrodes 11 and 21 at the corresponding positions on the first panel 1 come into contact with each other due to the bending of the first member 10. When the pressing force exceeds a certain level, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the second member 20 is interposed through the first member 10.
And the upper and lower electrodes 2 at the corresponding positions of the second panel 2
3, 31 contact. The output of the first panel 1 and the output of the second panel 2 obtained according to the level of the pressing force are supplied to different operation systems as different functional outputs.

FIG. 6 shows two panels 1, 1 formed integrally.
2 shows a configuration including two peripheral circuits. First panel 1
Is provided with a scanning circuit (driving circuit) 4a and an x-scanning circuit (detection circuit) 9a driven by a scanning clock CLK in order to detect the contact positions of the electrodes arranged in a matrix. The vertical scanning and the horizontal scanning, in which one (eg, upper) stripe electrode is sequentially driven by the y-scanning circuit 4a and the x-scanning circuit 9a scans the other (lower) stripe electrode within each scanning cycle, The output circuit 5a can detect the electrode contact at the pressed position as timing information based on the clock CLK.
The same applies to the second panel 1 side. The scanning is driven by the y scanning circuit 4b and the x scanning circuit 9b, and the output including the position information is obtained by the output circuit 5b.

The outputs of the first and second panels 1 and 2 are supplied to pressed position coordinate detection circuits 6a and 6b, respectively, where coordinate position information is obtained from timing information. However, when the output is obtained from the second panel 2, the output is also obtained from the first panel 1 at the same time. Therefore, in order to selectively supply these outputs to another operation system, it is necessary to determine the pressing force. Is required. This is, for example, the second
This is made possible by providing the pressing force determination circuit 7 for determining that the pressing force has exceeded a certain level in response to the output being obtained on the panel 2 side.

That is, when an output is generated in the output circuit 5b of the second panel 2, the pressing force determination circuit 7 determines that the pressing force is "high" and outputs, for example, "H". 2 activates the coordinate detection circuit 6b on the panel 2 side. At this time, the same output is supplied to the coordinate detection circuit 6a on the first panel 1 side via the inverter 8, and this coordinate detection circuit 6b
Inactive. In the case of "low pressing force", only the first panel 1 side outputs an output, so the output of the pressing force determination circuit 7 is "L". At this time, the coordinate detection circuit 6a of the first panel 1 side Is active, the coordinate detection circuit 6b on the second panel 2 side
Becomes inactive.

As described above, the outputs of the two panels 1 and 2 can be selectively supplied to different operation systems as different functional outputs. However, control for selectively activating the coordinate detection circuits 6a and 6b of the two panels 1 and 2 is not always essential. For example, these coordinate detection circuits 6a and 6b are kept active at all times, and outputs obtained only from the first panel 1 and the first panel 1 and the second panel 2
Can be used as another functional output.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a structure of a transparent touch panel according to another embodiment, corresponding to FIG.
In this structure, the pressure-sensitive resistance layers 13 and 26 are formed on the upper and lower electrodes 11 and 21 of the first panel 1. Similarly,
Also on the second panel 1 side, pressure sensitive resistance layers 27 and 34 are formed on the surfaces of the upper and lower electrodes 23 and 31. However, only one of the pressure-sensitive resistance layers 13 and 26 may be used, and similarly, only one of the pressure-sensitive resistance layers 27 and 34 may be used. Further, these pressure-sensitive resistance layers need not be formed over the entire stripe-shaped transparent electrode, and may be arranged at least at the contact portions between the upper and lower electrodes.

When the pressure-sensitive resistive layer is interposed in the contact portion between the upper and lower electrodes as described above, the output of each panel changes in accordance with the pressing force level. More functions can be achieved.

In the embodiment, as means for increasing the detection level difference between the low pressing force and the high pressing force to a certain degree or more, (a) the gap between the electrodes of the second member and the third member is set to the first member. Greater than that between the member and the second member,
(B) The first member and the second member are made of different materials,
(C) The dot spacer on the second panel side is higher than that on the first panel side. However, these (a), (b),
It is not always necessary to satisfy all of (c). If at least one is satisfied, it is possible to have a certain detection level difference. Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the upper and lower opposing matrix electrodes were striped electrodes in the x and y directions without distinction between the contact electrode portion and the wiring portion. You may make it a pattern electrode and form the wiring pattern for extracting these electrodes. Further, in the above embodiment,
Although the transparent touch panel has been described, the present invention is effective even when it is not transparent.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a matrix type touch panel which has a high functionality by multi-layering the panel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a transparent touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the touch panel.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the touch panel.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of an FPC connection portion of the touch panel.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation principle of the touch panel.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a system configuration including peripheral circuits of the touch panel.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of a touch panel according to another embodiment, corresponding to FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 1st panel, 2 ... 2nd panel, 10 ... 1st member, 11 ... Transparent electrode, 12 ... Terminal part, 20 ... 2nd member, 21, 23 ... Transparent electrode, 22, 24 ... Terminal Division, 25
... Dot spacer, 30 third member, 31 transparent electrode, 32 terminal part, 33 dot spacer, 34, 35
... insulating layer, 36, 37 ... adhesive layer, 3x1, 3x2, 3y
1, 3y2 ... FPC, 4a, 4b ... y scanning circuit, 5a,
5b output circuit, 6a, 6b pressed position coordinate detection circuit
7: pressing force judgment circuit, 8: inverter, 9a, 9b ... x
Scanning circuit, 13, 26, 27, 34 ... pressure-sensitive resistance layer.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Masakatsu Nagata 1440, Mukurosaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Inside Fujikura Sakura Office (72) Inventor Satoshi Yamamoto 1440, Misaki, Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture Inside Fujikura Sakura Office Terms (reference) 5B068 AA01 BB01 BC07 BC13 BD20 BE08 CC06 5B087 AA00 CC12 CC26 DD10

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A first panel in which opposing electrodes are arranged in a matrix so as to make contact at a pressed position, and are contacted at a position that is arranged below the first panel and pressed via the first panel. The counter electrodes are arranged in a matrix
A plurality of coordinate detection circuits for processing the output of each panel and detecting the coordinates of the pressed position thereof, and detecting the respective coordinates according to the level of the pressing force. A touch panel, wherein an output of a circuit is selected as a different function output. 2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein each panel to be laminated is transparent, and the touch panel is configured as a transparent touch panel. 3. The first panel includes a first member made of a transparent flexible material having a first lower electrode formed on a lower surface, and a first upper member facing the first lower electrode on an upper surface. A second member made of a transparent flexible material having electrodes formed thereon, wherein the second panel has the second member having a second lower electrode formed on a lower surface, and the second member formed on the upper surface. 2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel includes a second lower electrode and a third member having a second upper electrode facing the third member. 3. 4. An electrode interval between the second member and the third member is set to be larger than an electrode interval between the first member and the second member. Claim 3
Touch panel as described. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first member and the second member are provided between the first member and the second member.
A first dot spacer made of a transparent insulating material is arranged in a matrix, and a second dot spacer made of a transparent insulating material higher than the first dot spacer is provided between the second member and the third member.
4. The touch panel according to claim 3, wherein the dot spacers are arranged in a matrix. 6. The touch panel according to claim 3, wherein the second member is made of a material having a higher elastic modulus than the first member. 7. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a pressure-sensitive resistive layer is formed at least at a contact portion between upper and lower electrodes of the first and second panels. 8. A method for determining that the pressing force is equal to or higher than a predetermined level based on an output of the second panel, deactivating a coordinate detection circuit of the first panel based on a result of the determination, 2. The touch panel according to claim 1, further comprising a pressing force determination circuit for performing control for activating a coordinate detection circuit of the second panel.