Curved Touch Panel Cover Lens Injection Molding
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing touch panels face difficulties in adhering a curved touch sensor layer to a plastic cover lens, often resulting in seams and air gaps, which affect display quality and are challenging to implement effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method involving plastic injection molding, where a touch sensor layer and flexible printed circuit board are placed in a mold cavity, and melted plastic is molded around them, eliminating the need for traditional adhering methods and allowing for the integration of a curved cover lens with touch control functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional adhering methods (edge lamination or full lamination) are used to adhere the touch sensor layer to the plastic cover, then the touch panel can be manufactured, but seams and air gaps occur due to the curvature mismatch between the flat touch sensor layer and the curved plastic cover
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor layer is placed onto the mold cavity surface before the plastic injection molding process begins. This preliminary positioning allows the layer to be conformally integrated with the curved cover during molding, eliminating subsequent adhesion problems caused by curvature mismatch between flat layers and curved surfaces
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical adhesion system (using adhesives in edge lamination or full lamination) with a molding-based integration system. The plastic material is injected to conformally cover the touch sensor layer already positioned on the mold, creating a seamless integrated structure without requiring separate adhesion processes
2Device complexity
If multiple separate components (touch sensor layer, plastic cover, adhesive layers) are used in traditional manufacturing, then flexibility in component selection is maintained, but the overall device thickness increases and production complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the touch sensor layer and the plastic cover into a single integrated structure through conformal molding. The touch sensor layer positioned on the mold cavity becomes an integral part of the molded cover, eliminating the need for separate adhesive layers and reducing overall component count and device thickness
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic cover mold serves multiple functions: it forms the plastic cover structure, positions the touch sensor layer, and integrates both components into a unified assembly. This multi-functional molding process replaces multiple separate manufacturing and assembly steps
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies the manufacturing process, reduces device thickness, increases product yield, and enables seamless integration of touch control functions on curved display screens while avoiding seams and air gaps.
Implementation Method 1
injecting a melted plastic material into the mold cavity; after the plastic material is molded
Implementation Method 2
after the plastic material is molded
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a touch panel, comprising the steps of: placing a touch sensor layer and a flexible printed circuit board connected to the touch sensor layer into a mold cavity constructed by a stationary mold board and a movable mold board of a cover lens mold; injecting a melted plastic material into the mold cavity; removing, after the plastic material is molded, the movable mold board, and withdrawing the touch sensor layer and the flexible printed circuit board that are covered by the molded plastic material; and removing the molded plastic material covering the flexible printed circuit board, the molded plastic material covering the touch sensor layer forming a cover lens. Such a manufacture method can solve the problem of difficulty to adhere a curved cover lens to the touch sensor layer in the existing skills.