Touch panel switch

• US 6,831,241 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2003
• Issued: 12/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Osaki, Takuo, Fukui, Toshiharu, Moroi, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Scott, James R.
• Application Number:
  US10/363,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20040027761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 511 Days
• Field of Search: 200/5.R, 200/58.A, 200/85.R, 200/85.A, 200/86.R, 200/512-517, 200/308-317, 200/511, 200/61.43
• US Class Current: 200/512
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• 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: H01H 2227/006 Spacer

Abstract

A touch panel switch having a wide usable operating range and thus a large effective use area and having electrodes disposed opposedly to each other through a spacer installed around the periphery thereof, the spacer formed in an elastic body of 1×10⁵ to 1×10⁷ dyne/cm² in elastic modulus comprising an insulation layer and an adhesive layer, the insulation layer further comprising a clearance holding part with a uniform thickness and a gradient part with a thickness gradually decreasing from the clearance holding part into a substrate having the electrodes formed thereon.

Claims

1. A touch panel switch comprising:

a flexible insulating sheet having a first electrode; and

an insulating substrate having a second electrode,

wherein said first and second electrodes are disposed facing each other with a spacer provided therebetween on peripheral areas of said touch panel switch, and

said spacer is an elastic body with a coefficient of elasticity ranging from 1×

10⁵ dyne/cm² to 1×

10⁷ dyne/cm^2.

2. A touch panel switch according to claim 1, wherein said spacer is an elastic body with a ratio of a minimum coefficient of elasticity to a maximum coefficient of elasticity limited to 10 or less over a temperature range of −

10°

C. to 60°

C.

3. A touch panel switch according to claim 1, wherein said insulating substrate includes a further insulating sheet having said second electrode and fixed on a supporting substrate via an adhesive.

4. A touch panel switch according to claim 3, wherein said spacer has an insulating layer to provide a predetermined spacing and an adhesive layer to adhere said insulating layer to at least one selected from said insulating substrate and said flexible insulating sheet.

5. A touch panel switch according to claim 4, wherein said insulating layer has a space holding portion and a slanting portion, said space holding portion having a predetermined uniform thickness and said slanting portion having a gradually decreasing thickness starting from said space holding portion towards inside of said insulating substrate.

6. A touch panel switch according to claim 1, wherein all of said first electrode, second electrode, flexible insulating sheet and insulating substrate are light transmittable.

7. A touch panel switch according to claim 3, wherein all of said first electrode, second electrode, flexible insulating sheet, insulating substrate, adhesive and supporting substrate are light transmittable.

8. A touch panel switch according to claim 3, wherein a switch operation area occupies an area formed inside by 1 mm or more from edges of said spacer.

9. A touch panel switch according to claim 4, wherein said insulating layer and adhesive layer are both formed by printing.

10. A touch panel switch according to claim 1, wherein said spacer has an insulating layer to provide a predetermined spacing and an adhesive layer to adhere said insulating layer to at least one selected from said insulating substrate and said flexible insulating sheet.

11. A touch panel switch according to claim 1, wherein a switch operation area occupies an area formed inside by 1 mm or more from edges of said spacer.