WO2001057638A1 - Touch panel and method for using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch panel having an excellent safety (low scratchability) ensured even without being subjected to chamfering even though the touch input surface is a glass base surface. A touch panel comprising a glass base (1a) having cut peripheral sides and a touch input surface (7). The edges (5) of the cut peripheral sides (4a) are smooth. The periphery of the glass base is cut by a water jet or a laser beam. The glass base can be made of laminated glass.

Description

 Evening panel and method of using the same

 The present invention relates to a sunset panel useful for inputting coordinate information of a sunset position and a method of using the same. Background art

 Evening panels are used as input devices in various fields in combination with display devices such as cathode ray tubes (CRT) and liquid crystal displays (LCD).

 For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-65757 discloses a glass substrate 1b for transmitting an acoustic wave (surface acoustic wave), and a glass substrate 1b mounted on the surface of the glass substrate 1b and having an X A set of transmitting transducers 2a, 2b for transmitting acoustic waves in the axial direction and the Y-axis direction, and a set of transmitting transducers 2a, 2b for receiving acoustic waves from these transmitting transducers 2a, 2b and detecting the position of the sunset. An acoustic wave-type touch panel composed of receiving transducers 3a and 3b is disclosed (see FIG. 2). Further, it is described that the glass substrate lb may be a safety glass (laminated glass) in which an inner glass sheet and an outer glass sheet are laminated via an adhesive.

 In such an acoustic wave-type touch panel, since it is used in combination with a display device, it is necessary to cut the glass substrate according to the shape of the display unit of the display device. For this reason, a groove is usually formed on the surface of the glass substrate using a diamond tool (such as a diamond cutter), and the glass substrate is bent and cut along the groove. However, on the glass cut surface 4b, a plurality of fine curved surfaces or flat surfaces are joined while irregularly undulating as a whole in the thickness and length directions of the substrate. The edge 5 between the cut surface and the surface of the glass substrate has an acute angle, and has a sharp blade shape.

1 For this reason, the finger was liable to be injured at the edge portion 5, which was dangerous, and furthermore, unnecessary surface acoustic waves were reflected, causing a problem. In this case, as shown in Fig. 3, it is conceivable that the edge portion 5 is polished to form a smooth chamfered surface 6 (chamfering treatment). The surface (upper surface) 7 of the substrate lc may be damaged, and the transparency of glass and the propagation of acoustic waves may be reduced. Furthermore, the safety glass (laminated glass) cannot be cut by the cutting method using the diamond tool.

 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-191341 discloses a hard coat layer (such as a thermosetting or photo-curing resin), a flexible transparent film (such as an engineering plastic film), and an upper electrode. A resistive touch panel is disclosed in which an upper electrode sheet, a lower electrode sheet composed of a glass substrate and a lower electrode are laminated via a spacer with their electrode forming surfaces facing each other. In this document, as an example of a method of manufacturing the above-mentioned touch panel, an upper electrode sheet in which an upper electrode is divided into a plurality of (for example, four) electrode portions, and a plurality of lower electrode (for example, four) electrode portions are provided. A method is described in which a lower electrode sheet partitioned into a plurality of layers is laminated via a spacer, and the laminated sheet is cut by a laser beam to be divided into each electrode portion.

 Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an evening touch panel which is excellent in safety (low scratch resistance) without chamfering even if the evening touch input surface is made of a glass substrate, and a method of using the same. It is in.

 It is another object of the present invention to provide a touch panel and a method of using the same, in which even if the glass substrate is cut in accordance with the shape of the display device, the surface of the glass substrate has few scratches. Disclosure of the invention

The present inventors have conducted intensive studies to achieve the above object, and as a result, have found that the acoustic wave type When the glass substrate of the touch panel is cut with a laser beam or a warhead jet, the cut surface can be smoothed. For this reason, despite the use of the glass substrate for the input surface of the touch panel, safety and unnecessary surfaces The inventors have found that the chamfering process for preventing the reflection of elastic waves can be omitted, and completed the present invention.

 That is, in the evening panel of the present invention, the evening input surface is constituted by a glass substrate whose outer peripheral portion is cut, and the edge of the cut portion of the glass substrate is smooth. The outer periphery of the glass substrate is usually cut by a water jet or laser beam. The glass substrate may be a laminated glass. This evening panel can detect the evening spot position using acoustic waves.

 The present invention also includes a method of using the touch panel as input means of a display device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

 FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the evening panel of the present invention.

 FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a conventional evening panel.

 FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the conventional evening panel. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the evening panel of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one example of the evening panel of the present invention. This evening panel is a surface acoustic wave (acoustic wave) type evening panel, which transmits a surface acoustic wave to the surface (evening input surface) 7 of a glass substrate 1a for propagating the surface acoustic wave. A set of transmitting transducers (transmitting means) (in this example, a transmitting transducer 2a transmitting a surface acoustic wave in the X-axis direction and a transmitting transducer 2b transmitting a surface acoustic wave in the Y-axis direction); A receiving transducer for receiving the surface acoustic waves from the transmitting transducers 2a and 2b and detecting the position Steps) 3a and 3b are provided. In addition, since the surface acoustic waves from the transmitting transducers 2a and 2 are reflected toward the receiving transducers 3a and 3b, the surface 7 of the glass substrate 1a is attached to both ends in the Y-axis direction in the X-axis direction. And reflection array groups 8c and 8d extending in the Y-axis direction at both ends in the X-axis direction. It is possible to detect the sunset position in the area surrounded by these reflection array groups 8a to 8d. That is, the surface acoustic wave transmitted in the X-axis direction from the transmission transducer 2a is reflected in one Y-axis direction by the reflection array group 8a. The surface acoustic waves reflected in one Y-axis direction are reflected in one X-axis direction by the reflection array group 8b, and received by the receiving transducer 3a. When any point on the glass substrate surface 7 (for example, point P) is set, the surface acoustic wave is disturbed. By measuring the time t at which the disturbed surface acoustic wave reaches the receiving transducer, the setting is performed. The position (X coordinate) can be measured. Similarly, the surface acoustic waves transmitted from the transmitting transducer 2b in the Y-axis direction are reflected by the reflection arrays 8c and 8d and detected by the receiving transducer 3b, so that the Y coordinate of the sunset position is obtained. Can be detected.

In the evening touch panel, an outer peripheral portion (side surface portion) 4a of the glass substrate la is cut by a water jet. That is, in the water jet jet cutting, ultra-high pressure water (1 × 10 ⁸ ) containing an abrasive (eg, garnet) is applied from a nozzle positioned in a substantially normal direction of the glass substrate 1 a toward the glass substrate 1 a. 1 0 X 1 0 ⁸ P a, preferably about jetted ^{3 X 1 0 8 ~7 X 1} 0 8 about P a) a substantially vertical, external mechanical force (frictional force of the high-pressure water (or abrasive)) As a result, the glass substrate is cut while being polished. For this reason, unlike the cutting of the glass substrate by the diamond tool, a smooth portion extending in the direction of jet of high-pressure water, that is, the thickness direction of the substrate is formed on the cut surface 4a by the water jet, and the cut surface is entirely smooth. It is. Also, in water jet cutting, unlike the cutting by bending using a diamond tool, the edge part can be polished along with the cutting, so a sharp part is formed at the edge part 5 between the cross section 4 a and the glass substrate surface 7 Without being smooth and safe You. In addition, in the water-jet cutting, since the shaved glass pieces (powder) are washed away with water and abrasives, there is no possibility of damaging the glass substrate surface 7. In addition, it is possible to prevent the propagation of the surface acoustic wave from being hindered (irregular reflection) due to a scratch on the substrate surface, and to prevent a decrease in the detection accuracy of the surface acoustic wave (that is, the detection accuracy of the Yuttsu position). The hole diameter of the high-pressure water jet (nozzle) at the time of the water jet cutting may be, for example, about l to 20 mm, and preferably about 1 to 10 mm.

 Various glasses can be used as the glass substrate according to the position detection method.When elastic waves are used, for example, soda glass, borosilicate glass, brown glass, norium-containing glass, strontium-containing glass, Boron-containing glass, glass disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-65765 (a glass having a attenuation coefficient of 0.5 dB / cm or less when using a Rayleigh wave of 5.5 MHz) Etc. can be used. Further, in the present invention, since it is not necessary to perform the chamfering process, the smoothness of the glass substrate surface is not impaired. Therefore, a glass substrate having an excellent surface smoothness, for example, a float glass can be advantageously used.

 The glass substrate may be made of tempered glass or laminated glass. The laminated glass can be formed, for example, by bonding a front glass and a back glass via an adhesive layer (a thermoplastic resin, for example, a polyvinyl acetate resin). Unlike cutting by bending using a diamond tool, in war-jet cutting (or laser light cutting, which will be described later), even laminated glass can be cut. Changes can be made easily.

 The thickness of the glass substrate is, for example, about 1 to 10 mm, preferably about 2 to 8 mm, and more preferably about 3 to 6 mm. In particular, when used in combination with a large display device, a thick glass plate having a thickness of about 3 to 10 mm is preferable from the viewpoint of the strength of the touch panel.

The shape of the glass substrate is not particularly limited, and may be flat (flat) or curved. Further, the glass substrate may be cut by a method other than the water-jet cutting method as long as it can cut the glass while smoothing the cut surface. For example, a method of cutting while melting the glass (laser light Cutting, etc.). In cutting with laser light (carbon dioxide laser, YAG laser, etc.), glass is cut by melting (or sublimating) the glass with laser light. For this reason, when a laser is irradiated in the thickness direction of the glass substrate, a smooth cut surface is formed in the thickness direction of the substrate, similar to the water-jet cutting. Also, with laser irradiation, the edge can be chamfered by melting.

 The evening panel of the present invention is not limited to the acoustic wave evening panel, but includes various types of evening panel in which the evening input surface is formed of a glass substrate. In the present invention, since the glass substrate is cut by water jet cutting or laser single-beam cutting, a highly safe sunset panel can be easily obtained without chamfering.

 The input panel is composed of a glass substrate. The input panel consists of a glass substrate that is set in place with a finger or a pen, and a light (such as an infrared beam) that scans the surface of the glass substrate to set the input. Optical type touch panel consisting of an optical transmitting and receiving device for detecting the position (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-230250, Monthly Display July 1996, 8 1-8 4 A glass substrate to be touched by a digital pen capable of outputting ultrasonic waves; and a touch panel disposed on the surface of the glass substrate and receiving an ultrasonic signal from the digital pen to detect a touch position. Ultrasonic Digitizer Type Touch Panel Consisting of an Ultrasonic Receiving Element (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-203403); a glass substrate set by an electronic pen; Laminated behind the glass substrate and Electromagnetic induction type touch panel composed of a sensor board for receiving electromagnetic waves from a pen (see Monthly Display, July 1996, pages 90-97 and 98-100) And so on.

The evening touch panel of the present invention is an input device for inputting coordinate information of the evening touch position. It can be used as (input means) and can be used in combination with a display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), or plasma display.

 In the evening touch panel of the present invention, although the evening input surface is formed of a glass substrate, the cut surface is smooth because the glass substrate is cut by means of water jet cutting or laser single beam cutting. It is excellent in safety. In addition, unnecessary surface acoustic wave reflection is reduced, and no problems occur. In addition, since it is not necessary to bevel the cut surface, scratches on the surface of the glass substrate can be reduced. Further, when used in combination with a display device, the dimensions can be easily changed according to the shape of the display section of the display device.

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited to these Examples.

 Example 1

The evening panel shown in FIG. 1 was formed as follows. That is, the float soda glass substrate (thickness 3 mm), War evening one jet cutting (pressure 5 x 1 0 ⁸ P a, abrasive), the diagonal of about 4 1 cm (1 6 inch) rectangles (Vertical / Side = 3/4 (length ratio)). On the surface of the glass substrate 1a, a sealing glass ("420-C", manufactured by I-S L Japan Co., Ltd.) is screen-printed and heated to 500 ° C. Thus, reflection array groups 8a to 8d were formed. The transmitting transducers 2a and 2b and the receiving transducers 3a and 3b are bonded to the glass substrate 1a with an ultraviolet ray curable adhesive (manufactured by Daimax, "Multi Cure 628-T"). Adhesive was attached to the surface, and transmission and reception cables were connected to these transmission and reception transducers.

This evening panel had a smooth cut surface and was excellent in safety without risk of injury to fingers even at the edge. The glass substrate surface was scarcely scratched. Comparative Example 1

 The evening panel shown in FIG. 2 was formed as follows. That is, by forming a groove in a float soda glass substrate (thickness: 3 mm) by diamond cut, bending and cutting along this groove, a rectangle (16 inch) with a diagonal of about 4 lcm (16 inches) was formed. / Width = 3/4 (length ratio)) glass substrate lb was obtained. Hereinafter, in the same manner as in Example 1, reflection arrays 8a to 8d and transmission / reception transducers 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b are formed on the surface of the glass substrate, and transmission / reception cables are connected to the transmission / reception transducer. Were connected to form a sunset panel.

 This evening panel had sharp edges formed at the edges, and could injure fingers.

 Comparative Example 2

 The edge of the evening panel of Comparative Example 1 was polished with a diamond grindstone and chamfered to form the evening panel shown in FIG.

 In this evening panel, glass powder generated by polishing was adhered to the substrate surface. When the glass powder was removed, the substrate surface was damaged.

 Example 2

Two pieces of float soda glass substrate (2mm thick, about 51 cm (20 inches) diagonal, vertical / horizontal 3/4 (length ratio)) were bonded together via an adhesive (polyvinyl butyrate) . This laminated glass is cut into a rectangle (vertical / horizontal = 3/4 (length ratio)) with a diagonal of approximately 41 cm (16 inches) by war-jet cutting (water pressure 5x10 ⁸ Pa, abrasive grains). As a result, a glass substrate 1a was formed. Hereinafter, in the same manner as in Example 1, reflection arrays 8 a to 8 d and transmission / reception transducers 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, and 2 d are formed on the surface of the glass substrate 1 a, and the transmission / reception By connecting the transmission / reception cable to this, the evening panel shown in Fig. 1 was formed. Even with the laminated glass, the glass substrate 1a could be easily cut, and the cut surface was smooth.

Claims

The scope of the claims 1. An evening touch panel having an evening input surface formed of a glass substrate whose outer peripheral portion has been cut, wherein the edge portion of the cut surface of the glass substrate is smooth. 2. The evening switch panel according to claim 1, wherein an outer peripheral portion of the glass substrate is cut by a water jet or a laser beam.  3. The evening touch panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the evening touch position is detected by an acoustic wave. 4. The evening panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the glass substrate is a laminated glass.  5. A method using a touch panel made of a glass or a glass substrate cut by a laser beam as an input means of a display device.