Transparent touch panel and a method of manufacturing the same

• US 20030214619A1
• Filed: 03/21/2003
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Masuda, Tomoki, Yagasaki, Takuya, Omoya, Kazunori, Harada, Mitsuru, Fukui, Toshiharu, Fujikawa, Kazuhiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,517,567 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/153
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 2323/05 Bonding or intermediate layer characterised by chemical composition, e.g. sealant or spacer
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 2323/053 Organic silicon compound, e.g. organosilicon
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 2323/055 Epoxy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

An optically transparent touch panel comprises an upper substrate provided with an upper conductive layer formed on a lower surface thereof, and a lower substrate provided with a lower conductive layer formed on an upper surface thereof in a manner to confront the upper conductive layer with a predetermined space, which are bonded together with a spacer having a modulus of elasticity between 10⁴ and 10⁶ Pa. The touch panel has a long usable life with capability of downsizing the whole body while maintaining a required effective operating area.

Claims

1. An optically transparent touch panel comprising:

an upper substrate provided with an upper conductive layer formed on a lower surface thereof;

a lower substrate provided with a lower conductive layer formed on an upper surface thereof in a manner to confront said upper conductive layer with a predetermined space; and

a spacer for bonding together said upper substrate and said lower substrate,

wherein said spacer has a modulus of elasticity of at least 10⁴ Pa and at most 10⁶ Pa.

2. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 1, wherein said spacer has a loss tangent of at most 0.5.

3. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 1, wherein said spacer comprises any of radical polymerized hardening resin and cationic polymerized hardening resin hardened by any of ultraviolet rays and electron beam.

4. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 3, wherein said radical polymerized hardening resin comprises any of acrylic type resin having a urethane structure, polythiol type resin, and polyene type resin.

5. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 3, wherein said cationic polymerized hardening resin comprises epoxy-ring-opening polymeric resin having an epoxy structure.

6. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 1, wherein said spacer includes any of epoxy composite, urethane composite and silicone composite.

7. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 6, wherein said epoxy composite includes at least epoxy resin denatured with any of rubber, silicone, fatty acid, fatty acid therein containing double bond, urethane, polyether, and polysulfide.

8. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 7, wherein said epoxy composite includes at least rubber-denatured epoxy resin using any of polybutadiene, polyisoprene and polyacrylonitrile butadiene.

9. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 6, wherein said urethane composite includes any of an aromatic di-polyisocyanate, an aliphatic di-polyisocyanate, an alicyclic di-polyisocyanate, an alicyclic tri-polyisocyanate, and an alicyclic tetra-polyisocyanate.

10. The optically transparent touch panel of claim 6, wherein said silicone composite has a structure of any of di-methyl silicone group, methyl vinyl silicone group, methyl phenyl vinyl silicone group, and fluoro-silicone group.

11. A method of manufacturing optically transparent touch panel comprising the steps of:

providing a polymerized hardening resin between an upper substrate having an upper conductive layer formed on a lower surface thereof and a lower substrate having a lower conductive layer formed on an upper surface thereof in a manner to confront said upper conductive layer with a predetermined space; and

hardening said polymerized hardening resin,

wherein said resin, when hardened, has a modulus of elasticity of at least 10⁴ Pa and at most 10⁶ Pa.

12. The method of manufacturing optically transparent touch panel according to claim 11, wherein

said polymerized hardening resin comprises any of radical polymerized hardening resin and cationic polymerized hardening resin, and

said step of hardening said polymerized hardening resin includes irradiation of any of ultraviolet rays and electron beam.

13. The method of manufacturing optically transparent touch panel according to claim 11, wherein

said polymerized hardening resin includes any of epoxy composite, urethane composite and silicone composite, and

said step of hardening said polymerized hardening resin includes heating thereof.