Touch panels are operated with fingers or pens.
Nowadays, touch panels are widely used in a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, game consoles, ticket machines at stations, ATMs at banks, and monitors.
Did you know that there are actually several types of touch panels?
This time, we will explain the features and mechanisms of the mainstream methods that are widely used.
Typical touch panel methods
・Resistive film method
The resistive film method is a structure in which two electrode films are placed facing each other on a glass substrate, and a film is layered on top of it. When the screen is touched, the upper and lower electrode films overlap and electricity flows.When the electrode films physically touch each other, electricity flows, and the point is detected as location information.
Touch panels have been widely supported since their early days, from early smartphones, game consoles, car navigation systems, and copy machines.
→What are the advantages and disadvantages?
As long as you can press the surface so that the electrode films touch, you can operate them even with gloves on or with a pen.
Therefore, it is used in equipment in medical and manufacturing facilities where it is often operated while wearing gloves or with dirt on it.
The disadvantage is that the transmittance is low because two electrode films are layered, reducing the visibility of the screen.
In addition, it does not support multi-touch, and "position shift" may occur depending on the surrounding environment, in which case the screen needs to be calibrated so that the touch point can be detected correctly.
・Capacitive touch method
The capacitive touch method is a method of detecting the touch position by the "change in capacitance (amount of electricity)" that occurs when a finger touches the screen.
It is widely used in smartphones, tablets, mobile monitors, etc.
→ What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Many support "multi-touch", which allows multiple points to be touched at the same time.
Another feature is that it can detect the position even if the finger is not completely touching the screen, allowing operations such as flicking and swiping.
Another advantage is that the screen has a high transmittance, so it does not impair the display quality.
The disadvantage is that it does not react when the screen is not conductive, such as when wearing gloves.
In addition, it is easily affected by nearby metal.
Because it requires delicate design and is difficult to enlarge, it is often used for small devices such as smartphones, tablets, and mobile monitors.
What did you think?
This time, we explained how to use a tracing table.
Please refer to this when considering a tracing table.
Click here for a review video of a 7-inch open frame monitor by Takenoshin, who spreads the joy of manufacturing.
https://youtu.be/thpKj_6I3LI
