Touch panel

• US 6,078,274 A
• Filed: 12/23/1997
• Issued: 06/20/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Inou, Ippei
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland, Donnie L.
• Application Number:
  US08/996,550
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 341/31-34, 345/173-178, 700/17, 700/83, 178/18.05, 178/18.01, 178/18.03, 178/18.1, 178/18.11, 200/313, 200/311, 340/815.41, 340/815.47
• US Class Current: 341/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

A touch panel is made up of (a) an insulating substrate provided with a transparent conductive film, and (b) a flexible insulating substrate provided with a transparent conductive film. A double-sided adhesive tape combines together (a) and (b), between which is provided a spacer. Since the insulating substrate and the flexible insulating substrate are held apart by the spacer, there is a layer of air between the insulating substrate and the flexible insulating substrate. On the two transparent conductive layers are provided anti-reflective films, in the form, for example, of square islets 100 nm thick and with sides of 80 μm, with a pitch Pd of 100 μm and an interval Dw of 20 μm. Instead of providing the anti-reflective films, holes may be selectively provided in the transparent conductive films. In this way, a touch panel can be realized which enables a bright display screen without impairing input sensitivity.

Claims

1. A touch panel to be mounted on a display device and used as an input device thereof, wherein said touch panel is a touch panel of a resistance film method, comprising:

a pair of insulating substrates, each provided with a transparent conducting film; and

an anti-reflective film provided on at least one of said transparent conducting films, wherein;

said anti-reflective film is selectively provided on an input area of said touch panel.

2. The touch panel set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said anti-reflective film is an insulating film having a refractive index of 1.41.

3. The touch panel set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said anti-reflective film is provided so as to form a plurality of islets.

4. The touch panel set forth in claim 3, wherein:

said anti-reflective film is provided so as to form square islets.

5. The touch panel set forth in claim 3, wherein:

said anti-reflective film is provided so as to form circular islets arranged so that each is centered on a point of an equilateral triangle having sides of a predetermined length.

6. The touch panel set forth in claim 3, wherein:

said anti-reflective film is provided so as to form regular hexagonal islets inscribed within circles having a predetermined diameter.

7. The touch panel set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said anti-reflective film is provided so as to form a lattice.

8. The touch panel set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said anti-reflective film is provided on each pixel of said display device, with an area percentage of each said pixel occupied by said anti-reflective film being 10% or more, but less than 90%.

9. The touch panel set forth in claim 3, wherein:

said anti-reflective films are provided on each pixel of said display device, with an area percentage of each said pixel occupied by said anti-reflective films being 10% or more, but less than 90%.

10. The touch panel set forth in claim 8, wherein:

said anti-reflective film has a pitch of (1/n) with respect to a pitch of said pixels, where n is an integer 1 or greater.

11. The touch panel set forth in claim 9, wherein:

said anti-reflective films have a pitch of (1/n) with respect to a pitch of said pixels, where n is an integer 1 or greater.

12. A touch panel to be mounted on a display device and used as the input device thereof, said touch panel is a touch panel of a resistance film method, comprising:

a pair of insulating substrates, each provided with a transparent conducting film, wherein;

selected areas of at least one of said transparent conducting films are not provided with the transparent conducting film so as to be selectively provided on an input area of the touch panel.

13. The touch panel set forth in claim 12, wherein:

said areas not provided with the transparent conductive film are provided so as to form a plurality of individual holes.

14. The touch panel set forth in claim 13, wherein:

said areas not provided with the transparent conductive film are provided so as to form square holes.

15. The touch panel set forth in claim 13, wherein:

said areas not provided with the transparent conductive film are provided so as to form circular holes arranged so that each is centered on a point of an equilateral triangle having sides of a predetermined length.

16. The touch panel set forth in claim 13, wherein:

said areas not provided with the transparent conductive film are provided so as to form regular hexagonal holes inscribed within circles having a predetermined diameter.

17. The touch panel set forth in claim 12, wherein:

said areas not provided are present on each pixel of said display device, with an area percentage of each said pixel occupied by said areas being 10% or more, but less than 90%.

18. The touch panel set forth in claim 13, wherein:

said areas not provided are present on each pixel of said display device, with an area percentage of each said pixel occupied by said areas being 10% or more, but less than 90%.

19. The touch panel set forth in claim 17, wherein:

said areas not provided with the transparent conductive film have a pitch of (1/n) with respect to a pitch of said pixels, where n is an integer 1 or greater.

20. The touch panel set forth in claim 18, wherein:

said areas not provided with the transparent conductive film have a pitch of (1/n) with respect to a pitch of said pixels, where n is an integer 1 or greater.

21. The touch panel set forth in claim 12, wherein:

said transparent conductive film has a film thickness such that peak light transmittance of said transparent conductive film is at a wavelength of 550 nm.

22. The touch panel set forth in claim 13, wherein:

said transparent conductive film has a film thickness such that peak light transmittance of said transparent conductive film is at a wavelength of 550 nm.

23. The touch panel set forth in claim 17, wherein:

said transparent conductive film has a film thickness such that peak light transmittance of said transparent conductive film is at a wavelength of 550 nm.

24. The touch panel set forth in claim 18, wherein:

said transparent conductive film has a film thickness such that peak light transmittance of said transparent conductive film is at a wavelength of 550 nm.

25. The touch panel set forth in claim 19, wherein:

said transparent conductive film has a film thickness such that peak light transmittance of said transparent conductive film is at a wavelength of 550 nm.

26. The touch panel set forth in claim 20, wherein:

said transparent conductive film has a film thickness such that peak light transmittance of said transparent conductive film is at a wavelength of 550 nm.

27. The touch panel set forth in claim 12, wherein said transparent conducting film provided with said selected areas is made of ITO with a film thickness of about 150 nm.

28. The touch panel set forth in claim 12, wherein said transparent conducting film provided with said selected areas having a sufficient film thickness so that an irregular resistance value caused by an uneven film thickness does not affect a positional resolution, and said selected areas are formed so as to set a resistance value of said transparent conducting film at a predetermined value.