Touch sensitive control panel and a method of manufacture thereof

A control panel of the type having a plurality of touch sensitive areas in proximate relationship to corresponding functional indicia, said control panel comprising:

• a non-conductive optically transparent support member having a surface;
• a plurality of regions of optically opaque conductive material arranged on said support surface, said regions being printed with removal areas thereof corresponding to said functional indicia;
• means for providing electrical connections to said plurality of conductive material regions;
• an optically transparent protective member having a front surface and a rear surface, said rear surface having areas of color for said functional indicia printed thereon in non-conductive material;
• and
• adhesive means for adhesively securing said rear surface of said graphic display member to said support surface with said areas of color in registration with said functional indicia;
• said graphic display member and said adhesive means forming a dielectric medium in contact with said conductive material regions so as to provide capacitive coupling between selective ones of said conductive material regions and a body portion of an operator touching said front surface of said graphic display member in an area having an overlying relationship to a selected one of said functional indicia visible through said graphic display member.

A method of manufacturing a control panel of the type having a plurality of touch sensitive areas in proximate relationship to corresponding functional indicia, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a non-conductive support member having a surface;
• (b) depositing a plurality of regions of conductive material on said support surface;
• (c) providing electrical connection to said plurality of conductive material regions;
• (d) providing an optically transparent graphic display member having a front surface and a rear surface;
• (e) printing said functional indicia in non-conductive material on said rear surface;
• (f) applying a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive material to said rear surface over said non-conductive material;
• (g) placing said graphic display member over said support surface with said functional indicia in registration with said conductive material regions and with said adhesive layer intermediate said graphic display member and said support surface;
• and
• (h) applying pressure between the front surface of said graphic display member and said support surface so as to adhere said graphic display member to said support member.