JP2002149346A - Touch panel and picture input-type display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel for preventing the occurrence of Newton ring in an input area, improving visibility and preventing the damage of comfortable operation feeling. SOLUTION: A plurality of columnar spacers 100 which hold facing gaps to prescribed values at time except for a depression input operation, are deformed with the depression input operation of an upper substrate 4A-side and are deformed in such a way that an upper substrate 4A is brought into contact with a lower substrate 4B are arranged in the facing gaps of the input areas AR of the upper substrate 4A and the lower substrate 4B in a touch panel where the upper substrate 4A in which an upper resistance film 11 is formed in the input area on the inner face of a soft film member and the lower substrate 4B in which a lower resistance film 12 is formed in the input area on the inner face of a hard plate are stuck by a sealing area SL circulating the input area AR.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch panel for detecting input coordinates by a resistance change caused by a pressing input operation, and a screen input type display device using the touch panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Liquid crystal display devices are widely used as display devices for monitors of personal computers, portable terminals, and other information devices. A liquid crystal display device illuminates an image generated on a liquid crystal panel with illumination light, and emits transmitted light or reflected light to a display surface side to visualize the image.

In general, this type of liquid crystal display device uses a liquid crystal panel in which a liquid crystal layer is interposed between a pair of substrates having pixel selection electrodes and the like, and changes the alignment state of liquid crystal molecules in a selected pixel portion. To generate an image.
Since the generated image is not visible by itself,
The liquid crystal panel is irradiated with light from the outside, and the transmitted light or the reflected light is observed.

In recent years, a liquid crystal display device of this type has been used as a display means, and a touch panel has been provided which is stacked on its screen (the display surface side of a liquid crystal panel constituting the liquid crystal display device) to input various information from the screen by a pressing operation. Information terminals have become widely used.

There are various types of touch panels based on the principle of operation. Among them, the most popular type is a type of detecting input coordinates based on a resistance change amount, that is, a so-called analog resistive film type.

In this analog resistive touch panel, one substrate on the information input side is formed of a soft film such as a transparent plastic sheet, and the other substrate is formed of a transparent hard substrate preferably made of glass. A resistance film is provided on each of the opposing surfaces (inner surfaces) of the two transparent substrates, and a two-dimensional resistance value between the resistance film and the output terminal of each substrate contacted by the pressing input operation applied from the one substrate side is used. This is to detect coordinate values.

FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view for explaining a schematic configuration example of a screen input type liquid crystal display device which is an example of a display device with a touch panel. This screen input type liquid crystal display device
The touch panel 4 is stacked on the liquid crystal panel 1. The screen input type liquid crystal display device shown in FIG.
Although the light guide plate 2 constituting the auxiliary light source device 3 is interposed between the touch panel 4 and the touch panel 4, a product in which the auxiliary light source device 3 is installed on the display screen side of the liquid crystal panel or a device without the auxiliary light source device 3 is also available. Has been In the drawings, 3A is a lamp constituting the auxiliary light source device 3, and 3B is a lamp reflection sheet. As the lamp 3A, a light emitting diode or a cold cathode fluorescent tube (linear lamp) is used.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a main part of the touch panel in FIG. 12 and a state at the time of a pressing input operation. In the figure, reference numeral 4A is an upper substrate made of a transparent film sheet, and 4B is a lower substrate made of a glass plate. These two
The upper resistive film 1 is provided on the inner surfaces of the substrates 4A and 4B, respectively.
1. The lower resistance film 12 is deposited.

The lower resistance film 12 formed on the lower substrate 4B
In the non-input operation state, the upper and lower resistive films 1
A dot spacer 90 made of an insulating material for avoiding contact between the first and second spacers 12 is formed. The dot spacer 90 is usually 1 to 2 m depending on the size of the pen tip.
m, the height (size in the direction of the upper substrate,
The same applies hereinafter) is formed into a very small projection of about 5 μm by printing through a mask having predetermined openings or by photolithography of a photosensitive resin.

Each of the resistive films is electrically connected to an upper wiring 55 and a lower electrode 56 formed by printing or the like in a seal area SL located at the outermost periphery of the touch panel. Reference numeral 56 is connected to an externally provided coordinate recognizing circuit by a lead line (not shown).

The upper substrate 4A and the lower substrate 4B are bonded using a sealant (adhesive or adhesive sheet) 80 so as to cover the upper wiring 55 and the lower electrode 56.

The input area AR is located inside the seal area SL via the non-operation area NR. The non-operation region NR is a portion that becomes a dead zone during a pressing input operation, and corresponds to an input invalid space generated when the upper substrate 4A bends in the direction of the lower substrate 4B due to the pressing of the pen as the input means.

[0013]

In a conventional touch panel having such a structure, the upper substrate 4A formed of a plastic sheet such as a PET film may bend so as to approach the lower substrate 4B due to an environmental change. . In particular, PET
Since the film has a hygroscopic property, the film is easily stretched due to an increase in environmental humidity and easily bent to approach the lower substrate by its own weight. The bent inner surface of the upper substrate 4A comes into contact with the dot spacer 90 formed on the lower substrate 4B, and as a whole, becomes convex toward the lower substrate 4B.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the touch panel viewed from the input area direction. When the drooping of the upper substrate 4A described with reference to FIG. 13 occurs, a Newton ring (concentric interference fringe) NW appears in the input area 20 of the touch panel 4 as schematically shown in FIG. It is known that the Newton ring NW is remarkably developed when the gap between the upper and lower substrates is about 50 μm or less.

If such a Newton ring NW appears in the input area, for example, the visibility of the image displayed on the liquid crystal display device described with reference to FIG. 13 is deteriorated, and the quality evaluation as a product is reduced.

To avoid this, the dot spacer 90 is used.
It is conceivable to increase the height. However, if the height of the dot spacer 90 is increased, the intermittent reaction force when the pen tip gets over the dot spacer 90 at the time of input is increased, and the comfortable operation feeling (writing feeling) is impaired.
Therefore, merely by increasing the height of the dot spacer 90, although the above-described expression of the Newton ring NW is eliminated, the comfortable writing feeling as a touch panel is diminished.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel that prevents Newton rings from appearing in an input area without impairing a comfortable operation feeling.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a screen input type display device using a touch panel having a comfortable operation feeling without the appearance of Newton rings NW in the input area.

[0019]

Means for Solving the Problems As a typical configuration of the present invention for achieving the first object, there are provided an upper substrate having an upper resistive film formed in an input area on an inner surface of a soft film member, In the opposing gap between the upper substrate of the touch panel and the input region of the lower substrate, the lower substrate having a lower resistance film formed in the inner input region and a seal region surrounding the input region, While maintaining the gap at a predetermined value, a plurality of columnar spacers that are deformed by the pressing input operation on the upper substrate side and are deformed so as to contact the upper substrate with the lower substrate are arranged.

In another configuration, the columnar spacer is formed on one or both of the lower substrate and the upper substrate, and a dot spacer lower than the height of the columnar spacer is disposed.

Further, as another configuration, a plurality of columnar spacers are disposed only in the central portion between the upper and lower substrates, or the entire input region including the central portion or the central portion where the columnar spacers are disposed is excluded. A dot spacer lower than the height of the columnar spacer is arranged.

With this configuration, the upper substrate is maintained at a predetermined distance from the lower substrate by the columnar spacer, so that the aforementioned Newton ring is prevented from appearing.
A touch panel with a comfortable operation feeling can be obtained.

As a typical configuration of the present invention for achieving the second object, a touch panel stacked on a liquid crystal panel having a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between a pair of substrates is provided in an input area on an inner surface of a flexible film member. An upper substrate having an upper resistive film formed thereon, and a lower substrate having a lower resistive film formed on an input area on the inner surface of the hard plate are bonded to each other in a seal area surrounding the input area. A plurality of columnar spacers are provided in the opposing gap in the region, the opposing gap being maintained at a predetermined value except during the pressing input operation, and being deformed by the pressing input operation on the upper substrate side so as to deform the upper substrate into contact with the lower substrate.

In order to achieve the second object,
A dot spacer lower than the height of the columnar spacer was disposed on one or both of the lower substrate and the upper substrate of the touch panel.

Further, in order to achieve the second object, the plurality of columnar spacers are arranged only at the center of the input area of the touch panel.

As another configuration for achieving the second object, an auxiliary light source device including a light guide plate and a linear lamp or a light emitting diode is provided between the liquid crystal panel and the touch panel or on the back of the liquid crystal panel.

With this configuration, the upper substrate is maintained at a predetermined distance from the lower substrate by the columnar spacer, so that the above-described Newton ring is prevented from appearing.
A screen input type display device having a comfortable operation feeling can be obtained.

As the liquid crystal panel, a so-called simple matrix type, active matrix type, or other known type liquid crystal panel can be used.
The present invention can also be applied to a transmission type liquid crystal display device.

The display device used in the screen input type display device of the present invention is not limited to a liquid crystal display device, but may be a flat type such as a plasma panel or an electroluminescent panel, or a cathode ray tube.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described configurations and the configurations of the embodiments described later. A method of detecting coordinates by a change in capacitance between the upper substrate and the lower substrate and other changes in the amount of electricity,
Alternatively, the present invention can be similarly applied to a digital touch panel, and various modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea of the present invention.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an example using an analog system for detecting a resistance change.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a main part of a first embodiment of a touch panel according to the present invention.
(A) shows a state at the time of non-input operation, and (b) shows a state at the time of input operation.

On an inner surface of an upper substrate 4A of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film and an inner surface of a lower substrate 4B made of glass, an upper resistance film 11 and a lower resistance film 12 of indium tin oxide (ITO) are formed respectively.

Each of the resistance films 11 and 12 is electrically connected to an upper wiring 55 and a lower electrode 56 formed by printing or the like in a seal area SL located at the outermost periphery of the touch panel. The lower electrode 56 is connected to an externally provided coordinate recognizing circuit by a lead line (not shown).

The upper substrate 4A and the lower substrate 4B are bonded using a sealant (adhesive or adhesive sheet) 80 so as to cover the upper wiring 55 and the lower electrode 56.

As described with reference to FIG. 14, the input area AR is located inside the seal area SL via the non-operation area NR. The non-operation region NR is a portion that becomes a dead zone during a pressing input operation, and corresponds to an input invalid space generated when the upper substrate 4A bends in the direction of the lower substrate 4B due to the pressing of the pen as the input means.

In the input area AR of the lower resistance film 12 formed on the lower substrate 4B, the upper substrate 4A is spaced apart from the lower substrate 4B by a predetermined distance (here, 50) in a non-input operation state (steady state).
(μm or more).

In this embodiment, the columnar spacer 100 is made of silicon rubber or EPD rubber, and the lower substrate 4
B has a conical shape with a diameter of 10 to 50 μm, and is formed on the lower substrate 4B by a photolithography technique using a photosensitive resin.

The insertion interval between the columnar spacers 100 may be 1 to 2 mm or more, and the upper resistive film 11 formed on the inner surface of the upper substrate 4A by the pressing input operation with the pen tip 560 is formed on the inner surface of the lower substrate 4B. The interval is set so as to make contact with the lower resistance film 12. The columnar spacer 100
The arrangement is not limited to a regular arrangement, may be random, and may be arranged only in the central portion of the input area AR, or may be configured such that the arrangement density at the central portion is higher than that at the peripheral portion.

When a pressing input operation is performed with the pen tip 560, the tip of the columnar spacer 100 slides on the surface of the upper resistive film 11 and bends, as schematically shown in FIG. The upper resistive film 11 immediately below the lower resistive film 1
2, the input position is detected. The pen tip pressure at the time of pressing input operation, that is, the average of the pen pressure is 100 to 20
As shown in FIG. 1B, the columnar spacer 100 has a hardness that easily deforms due to the pen pressure, and removes the pressure by separating the pen tip from the upper substrate 4A. When it does, it has the flexibility to immediately return to the original state shown in FIG.

According to the structure of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of Newton rings caused by bending of the upper substrate 4A so as to approach the lower substrate 4B due to an environmental change, and to obtain a touch panel having a comfortable operation feeling. be able to.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a main part of a second embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention.
(B) shows a state at the time of an input operation.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the columnar spacer 100 is formed by the same material and the same manufacturing method as in the above embodiment, and its tip (upper substrate 4A side) has the upper resistance film 1
1 flexes over the surface.

In the present embodiment, the sliding resistance between the tip of the columnar spacer 100 and the upper substrate is large, and both are formed in a substantially fixed state. Bends.

According to the configuration of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of Newton rings caused by the upper substrate 4A flexing so as to approach the lower substrate 4B due to environmental changes, and to obtain a touch panel having a comfortable operation feeling. be able to.

Note that the columnar spacer 100 may be bent by the combination of the bending as shown in FIG. 1B and the bending as shown in FIG. 2 to make contact between the upper resistance film 11 and the lower resistance film 12. is there.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a main part of a touch panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
(A) shows a state at the time of non-input operation, and (b) shows a state at the time of input operation. 1 correspond to the same functional parts, and 90 is a dot spacer.

In this embodiment, a plurality of dot spacers 90 similar to those described with reference to FIG. 14 are arranged on the inner surface of the lower substrate 4B. A columnar spacer 100 similar to that described is arranged. Dot spacer 90
The arrangement interval between the columnar spacers 100 and the columnar spacers 100 may be 1 to 2 mm as in the above embodiment. The columnar spacer 100
May be larger than that, or the dot spacer 90 adjacent to the columnar spacer 100 may be arranged at a distance of 2 mm or more from the columnar spacer 100. In addition, the columnar spacers 100 are evenly distributed over the entire input area.
Alternatively, they are arranged randomly.

According to the structure of this embodiment, the generation of Newton rings due to the upper substrate 4A flexing so as to approach the lower substrate 4B due to an environmental change can be prevented, and a touch panel having a comfortable operation feeling can be obtained. be able to.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a fourth embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention. In FIG.
Reference numeral 4 represents a touch panel, reference numeral 29 represents an input area, and reference numerals identical to those in FIG. 3 correspond to identical functional portions.

In this embodiment, the columnar spacer 1 described with reference to FIG.
00 is arranged only in the center of the input area AR. Since the columnar spacer 100 has a function of preventing the upper substrate 4A from hanging down to the lower substrate 4B side, the columnar spacer 100 is arranged at the center of the input region AR where the amount of droop is large. In particular, in the case of a small touch panel having a small input area, the configuration of this embodiment can sufficiently achieve the object of the present invention.

According to the structure of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of Newton rings caused by the upper substrate 4A flexing so as to approach the lower substrate 4B due to an environmental change, and to obtain a touch panel having a comfortable operation feeling. be able to.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view for explaining another shape of the columnar spacer used for the touch panel of the present invention. Upper substrate 4
A columnar spacer 100 disposed in the gap between A and lower substrate 4B
May be any as long as it has a function of easily bending and bending when pressed by a pen input and immediately returning to the original shape when the pressing by the pen input is removed.

As those having such a function, columnar spacers having the shapes shown in FIGS. 5A to 5F can be employed. FIG. 5A shows a conical body similar to that described in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 (b) is a columnar body, FIG. 5 (c) is a substantially truncated conical body having a rounded end (tip) on the upper substrate side and a swollen side wall, and FIG. ) Is a spring coil-shaped body, FIG. 5 (e) is a substantially chasen-shaped body, and FIG. 5 (f) is a substantially cylindrical comb-shaped body.

The columnar spacers shown in FIGS. 5 (d) to 5 (f) are previously formed as components in the above shape and are bonded or implanted on the inner surface of the lower substrate 4B. FIG.
As a modified example of (f), a columnar spacer may be formed by embedding and implanting a fibrous body. In addition to this, a columnar spacer of another shape having bending and returning characteristics due to pen input can be employed.

Next, other components of the touch panel according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to a few specific examples.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view for explaining an example of the whole structure of the analog resistive touch panel according to the present invention. As described in each of the above embodiments, this touch panel is constituted by two transparent substrates. On the upper substrate 4A, a resistance film 11 preferably made of indium tin oxide (ITO) is entirely formed on the inner surface of a soft film preferably made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film.

Similarly, in the lower substrate 4B, a resistance film 22 preferably made of ITO is entirely formed on the inner surface of a hard substrate made of glass.

Further, a wiring 55 electrically connected to the resistive film 11 is formed on one pair of parallel sides of the upper resistive film 11 of the upper substrate 4A, and serves as a connection portion with an external circuit (coordinate detecting circuit). Terminals are formed on the upper wiring (interface section) 55 '. On the other parallel side pair, lower connection portions 53 and 54 that are electrically insulated from the upper resistance film 11 are formed,
Each is routed to the wiring portion 55 to form a terminal.

An electrode 56 is formed on the lower resistance film 12 of the lower substrate 4B at a position corresponding to the lower connection portions 53 and 54. When bonded to the upper substrate 4A, the connection points T ₁ , T ₃ of the lower connection portions 53, 54 of the upper substrate 4A and the electrode 5 of the lower substrate
6 are electrically connected between the connection points T ₂ and T ₄ with a conductive material preferably made of silver paste. In addition, the lower connection part 5
It is preferable that the electrodes 3 and 54 and the electrode 56 are made of the same material as the resistive film from the viewpoint of ease of the manufacturing process.

In this way, two-dimensional coordinates are formed by the resistive films 11 and 12 formed on the upper and lower substrates, and the coordinate value (x, y) of the pressed point (input point) → (x: X coordinate value, y : Y coordinate value) is detected by an external circuit.

Next, an embodiment of a screen input type display device according to the present invention using the above touch panel will be described. In the following, an example in which a liquid crystal panel is used as a display device and an auxiliary lighting device for visualizing an electronic latent image formed on the liquid crystal panel is installed, but this auxiliary lighting device can be omitted.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the structure of the first embodiment of the screen input type display device according to the present invention. 1 is a reflection type liquid crystal panel, 1A is an upper substrate, 1B is a lower substrate, 1
C is a polarizing plate, and 1D is a reflecting plate. In this embodiment, the lower substrate is a transparent plate and the reflection plate is provided on the back surface. However, the lower substrate may be subjected to a reflection treatment on the inner surface. In that case, the reflector 1D is unnecessary.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a light guide plate made of an acrylic plate or the like constituting an auxiliary light source device, 3 denotes an auxiliary light source device, and 3A denotes a linear lamp (a linear light source composed of a linear fluorescent lamp or a light emitting diode array; 3B is a lamp reflection sheet, 4 is a touch panel, 4A is a soft film sheet (upper substrate), and 4B is a hard substrate (lower substrate, glass plate in this embodiment) such as glass or acrylic.

Then, for example, 1.5
An auxiliary light source device 3 including an acrylic light guide plate 2 having a thickness of mm, a lamp 3A, and a reflection sheet 3B is laminated, and a touch panel 4 is further laminated thereon. The liquid crystal panel 1 is not limited to the reflective type as shown, but may be a transflective type.

On the upper surface of the light guide plate 2, that is, on the touch panel 4 side, micro-prism-like, slit-like or dot-like irregularities or printing (in this embodiment, dot-like printing) 5 for light diffusion are provided. Lamp 3A that constitutes
Used a cold-cathode fluorescent tube having a diameter of 2.0 mm, but it is desirable to use a cold-cathode fluorescent tube having a smaller diameter in order to improve compactness and low power consumption. .

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 7 for explaining the operation of the auxiliary light source device in the first embodiment of the screen input type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention. Auxiliary light source device 3
Has a dot-shaped print 5 on the surface of the light guide plate 2 constituting the light guide plate 2 on the touch panel 4 side.
The light from A is reflected toward the liquid crystal panel 1, and the light reflected from the liquid crystal panel 1 is transmitted through the touch panel 4 and emitted to the display surface side.

It is preferable that the liquid crystal panel, the auxiliary light source device, and the touch panel are integrated by bonding the ends thereof with a double-sided tape. However, other fixing means such as a mechanical holding frame or an adhesive may be used. May be used.

The auxiliary light source device may be turned on all the time. However, when the auxiliary light source device is mounted on a portable information device such as a so-called PDA or a notebook personal computer which needs to suppress power consumption, it is turned on as necessary. Can be configured.

According to the present embodiment, a screen input type display device with a touch panel having a comfortable operation feeling by preventing the occurrence of Newton's ring due to the upper substrate of the touch panel being bent so as to approach the lower substrate due to environmental changes. Can be obtained.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view for explaining a second embodiment of the screen input type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a transmission type liquid crystal panel 1 and an auxiliary light source device, a so-called backlight 3 are provided. A backlight 3 is stacked on the rear surface of the transmissive liquid crystal panel 1, and illumination light from the backlight 3 passing through the liquid crystal panel 1 is modulated by an image formed on the liquid crystal panel 1, and is modulated on the front side of the liquid crystal panel 1. To visualize the image.

The display surface side (screen side) of the liquid crystal panel 1
Then, the touch panel 4 according to the present invention is stacked, and information is input from the display surface of the liquid crystal panel 1.

That is, this screen input type display device is
A liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between the transparent substrates 1A and 1B, and a substantially rectangular transparent light guide plate 2 and a light guide plate 2 are provided on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 1 provided with a polarizing plate 1C on the front side and the back side. An auxiliary light source device 3 having a lamp 3A and a lamp reflection sheet 3B installed along one edge is provided, and while the light from the illumination light source 3 is propagated to the light guide plate 2, the light is deflected in the direction of the liquid crystal panel and the liquid crystal panel 1 is deflected. Is illuminated from the back. In addition, dot printing 5 and the like are formed on the back surface of the light guide plate 1 so as to obtain uniform brightness over the entire area of the liquid crystal panel.

Further, on the back side of the light guide plate 2, there is provided a reflection plate 110 that totally reflects light emitted from the light guide plate 2 to the back surface and returns the light to the liquid crystal panel 1.

Such an auxiliary light source device, that is, the backlight 3 is laminated on the liquid crystal panel 1 via a light diffusion film 12 or a light amount distribution correcting member such as a prism plate (not shown), and is a transmission type liquid crystal display device. Is configured.

FIG. 10 is a five-view drawing for explaining an example of the actual configuration of a screen input type display device in which a touch panel and a liquid crystal panel according to the present invention are stacked. That is, FIG. 1A shows a case where the light guide plate 2 forming the fund light is stacked on the liquid crystal panel 1 (contained in a housing composed of the upper case 18 and the lower case 19), and further thereon. The touch panel 4 is laminated to form a liquid crystal display device.

The display area of the screen input type liquid crystal display device is indicated by reference numeral 15, and the input area (AR) of the touch panel 4 is indicated by reference numeral 20.

The liquid crystal panel 1 forms a housing by housing a liquid crystal panel and a driving circuit therein and engaging a hook 21 and a hook 21 formed on the upper case 18 with the lower case 19.
The front light is a lamp 3A along one side of the light guide plate 2.
(Inside the lamp reflection sheet 3B), and the touch panel 4 is stacked on the light guide plate 2.
The signal cable of the touch panel 4 and the power cable of the lamp 3B are not shown.

Reference numeral 23 denotes an interface connector for connecting to the host computer.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration example of a portable information terminal as an example of an electronic apparatus on which the screen input type display device according to the present invention is mounted, and a combination of the touch panel and the liquid crystal panel described in FIG. It is a thing.

This portable information terminal (PDA) houses a host computer 500 and a battery 520, and has a main body 470 having a keyboard 490 on its surface, a screen input type display device 460 and an inverter 540 for a front light.
Is mounted on the display unit 480.

The mobile phone 600 can be connected to the main body 470 via a connection cable 610.
Communication is possible with remote locations.

Screen input type display device 460 of display section 480
And the host computer 470 are connected by an interface cable 530.

Further, a pen holder 570 is provided in a part of the display unit 480, and the input pen 560 is stored therein.

This screen input type liquid crystal display device inputs various information by inputting information using a keyboard 490 and pressing the surface of the touch panel with an input pen 560, tracing or writing, or inputting various information to a liquid crystal panel. The user can select displayed information, select a processing function, and perform various other operations.

Note that this type of portable information terminal (PDA)
Is not limited to those shown in the drawings, but may have various shapes, structures, and functions.

[0087]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to prevent the occurrence of Newton's ring due to the upper substrate constituting the touch panel being bent so as to approach the lower substrate due to an environmental change, and to provide a touch panel with a comfortable operation feeling.

Further, it is possible to provide a screen input type display device having high visibility using the touch panel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a main part of a first embodiment of a touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a main part of a second embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a main part of a third embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a fourth embodiment of the touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating another shape of a columnar spacer used for the touch panel of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an analog resistive touch panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the configuration of the first embodiment of the screen input type display device according to the present invention.

8A to 8C for explaining the operation of the auxiliary light source device in the first embodiment of the screen input type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention;
It is sectional drawing along the A line.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a screen input type liquid crystal display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a five-view diagram illustrating an actual configuration example of a screen input type display device in which a touch panel and a liquid crystal panel according to the present invention are stacked.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a portable information terminal as an example of an electronic apparatus on which the screen input type display device according to the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration example of a screen input type liquid crystal display device which is an example of a display device with a touch panel.

13 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a main part of the touch panel in FIG. 12 and a state at the time of a press input operation.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the touch panel viewed from an input area direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 liquid crystal panel 2 light guide plate 3 auxiliary light source device 4 touch panel 4A upper substrate 4B lower substrate 11 upper resistance film 12 lower resistance film 55 wiring 56 electrode 80 adhesive 90 dot spacer 100 columnar spacer.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazunari Takemoto 3300 Hayano Mobara-shi, Chiba Prefecture Within Hitachi Display Group (72) Inventor Teriko Saito 3681 Hayano Hayano Mobara-shi Chiba F-term in Hitachi Device Engineering Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2H089 HA18 QA16 TA17 TA18 TA20 5B068 AA05 AA22 AA32 BB06 BC07 BC10 5B087 AA09 AC09 CC02 CC12 CC18 CC37 5G006 AA01 AZ01 BB07 CB08 CB09

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A seal area surrounding an input area of an upper substrate having an upper resistive film formed on an input area on an inner surface of a soft film member and a lower substrate having a lower resistive film formed on an input area of an inner surface of a hard plate. A touch panel that obtains a detection output having a two-dimensional coordinate value of a contact position between the upper resistive film and the lower resistive film by performing a press input operation from the upper substrate side to the lower substrate side in the input area. In the opposing gap between the input area of the upper substrate and the lower substrate, the opposing gap is maintained at a predetermined value except during the pressing input operation, and the upper substrate is deformed by the pressing input operation on the upper substrate side to lower the upper substrate. A touch panel comprising a plurality of columnar spacers that are deformed so as to be in contact with a substrate. 2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein a dot spacer lower than the height of the columnar spacer is disposed on one or both of the lower substrate and the upper substrate. 3. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of columnar spacers are arranged only in a central portion of the input area. 4. A screen input type liquid crystal display device comprising: a liquid crystal panel having a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between a pair of substrates; and a touch panel layered on a screen of the liquid crystal panel. An upper substrate having an upper resistive film formed in the input area on the inner surface of the film member and a lower substrate having a lower resistive film formed in the input area on the inner surface of the hard plate are bonded to each other by a seal area orbiting the input area. It is configured to obtain a detection output in which a contact position between the upper resistive film and the lower resistive film by performing a pressing input operation from the upper substrate side to the lower substrate side in a region is set as a two-dimensional coordinate value. In the opposing gap of the input area of the substrate, the opposing gap is kept at a predetermined value except during the pressing input operation, and the upper substrate is deformed by the pressing input operation on the upper substrate side and deformed so as to contact the upper substrate with the lower substrate. The pillars of Screen input type display device characterized by comprising a p o. 5. The screen input type display device according to claim 4, wherein one or both of the lower substrate and the upper substrate of the touch panel has a dot spacer lower than the height of the columnar spacer. 6. The screen input type display device according to claim 4, wherein said plurality of columnar spacers of said touch panel are arranged only in a central portion of said input area.