Touch panel capable of wide-area inputting

• US 20030058225A1
• Filed: 07/03/2002
• Published: 03/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissha Printing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nissha Printing Company Limited
• Inventors: Shimizu, Jun, Yakida, Naoto, Kusuda, Yasuji, Muroi, Hideyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,071,926 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 11/00 Methods or arrangements for graph-reading or for converting the pattern of mechanical parameters, e.g. force or presence, into electrical signal feelers for copying devices on machine tools B23Q35/00; arrangements for measuring areas G01B; measuring force G01L; adapted as input devices to computers G06F3/00; combined with pattern recognition G06F18/00; arrangements for image or video recognition or understanding G06V10/00; character recognition, recognising digital ink or document-oriented image-based pattern recognition G06V30/00; systems for transmitting the position of an object with respect to a predetermined reference system, e.g. tele-autographic system, G08C21/00

Abstract

There is provided a wide range-inputable touch panel and allowing a larger amount of input operations to be made with one display operation on a screen, in which at least one bus bar and a transparent electrode on a conductive panel fronting the bus bar though spaces formed in an adhesive layer cut out from an outer edge side thereof face each other so as to be capable of making electrical contact with each other by a press.

Claims

1. A wide range-inputable touch panel of analog resistance film type, the touch panel comprising:

a first transparent insulating base (11);

a pair of first bus bars (13a, 13b) arranged in parallel to each other on one surface of the first transparent insulating base (11);

a first transparent electrode (12) having at least a first input area (12A) between the first bus bars;

a second transparent insulating base (22);

a pair of second bus bars (23a, 23b) arranged in parallel to each other on one surface of the second transparent insulating base (22); and

a second transparent electrode (22) having a second input area (22A) between the second bus bars that corresponds to the first input area (12A), the first transparent insulating base (11), the first bus bars (13a, 13b), and the first transparent electrode (12) composing a first conductive panel (1, 2), the second transparent insulating base (22), the second bus bars (23a, 23b), and the second transparent electrode (22) composing a second conductive panel (2),

the first transparent electrode (12) further having a third input area (12B) that is adjacent to the first input area (12A) corresponding to the second input area (12B) and that corresponds to at least one bus bar of the pair of second bus bars,

the touch panel further comprising;

an insulating adhesive layer (3) that sticks together circumferential portions of the first and the second conductive panels (1, 2) facing each other so that the first and the second bus bars are arranged rectangularly and that has space sections (31, 31A, 32) provided between at least the one bus bar of the pair of second bus bars and the third input area (12B) of the first transparent electrode (12) and allowing the bus bar and the third input area to be brought into electrical contact with each other by a press; and

first and second routing circuits (14a, 14b, 24a, 24b, 25a, 25b) connected respectively to the first and the second bus bars on the conductive panels.

2. A wide range-inputable touch panel of analog resistance film type as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second routing circuits (14a, 14b, 24a, 24b) are provided on the first and the second conductive panels, respectively, and are connected to the first and the second bus bars, respectively.

3. A wide range-inputable touch panel of analog resistance film type as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second routing circuits (24a, 24b, 25a, 25b) are provided on the second conductive panel and are connected to the first and the second bus bars, respectively.

4. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein an insulating interconnection overcoating layer (27) is formed on a surface of the first conductive panel where the first routing circuit is formed or on a surface of the second conductive panel where the second routing circuit is formed, in an area that does not overlap portions of the bus bars on the surface which can be brought into electrical contact by a press with the facing transparent electrode and in an area including the routing circuit.

5. A wide range-inputable touch panel of analog resistance film type as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the space sections are spaces (31, 31A) formed in the adhesive layer cut out from an outer edge side thereof.

6. A wide range-inputable touch panel of analog resistance film type as claimed in claim 4, wherein the space sections are spaces (31, 31A) formed in the adhesive layer cut out from an outer edge side thereof.

7. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the space sections are spaces (31, 31A) in which two or more cut-out sections formed in the adhesive layer cut out from an outer edge side thereof exist side by side along one side.

8. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in claim 4, wherein the space sections are spaces (31, 31A) in which two or more cut-out sections formed in the adhesive layer cut out from an outer edge side thereof exist side by side along one side.

9. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in claim 7, wherein dot-like spacers (60) are provided in the spaces.

10. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein at least the one bus bar of the pair of bus bars is covered with carbon layers (28) in cut-out sections of the adhesive layer.

11. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the space sections are punched holes (32) extending through the adhesive layer.

12. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the adhesive layer (3) has a through hole (3b) formed corresponding to the first input area (12A) of the first transparent electrode (12) and to the second input area (22A) of the second transparent electrode (22) and has a partition section (3c) that partitions the through hole (3b) and the space sections (31, 31A, 32).

13. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein an ordinary input section (I) as a region through which a screen placed under the touch panel can be seen for input operations is composed of the first input area (12A) of the first transparent electrode (12) and of the second input area (22A) of the second transparent electrode (22) that faces the first input area (12A), and an additional input section (II) different from the ordinary input section (I) is composed of at least one bus bar of the pair of second bus bars and of the third input area (12B) of the first transparent electrode (12) that faces at least the one bus bar.

14. A wide range-inputable touch panel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the additional input section (II) is composed of additional electrode sections (23d) that are connected through extension line sections (23c) to at least one bus bar (23a) of the pair of second bus bars, and the third input area (12B) of the first transparent electrode (12) that faces the additional electrode sections (23d) through the space sections.