Force-touch sensor with multilayered electrodes

• US 10,156,949 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2017
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Superc-Touch Corporation
• Original Assignee: Superc-Touch Corporation
• Inventors: Lee, Hsiang-Yu, Chin, Shang, Lin, Ping-Tsun
• Primary Examiner(s): Watko, Julie Anne
• Application Number:
  US15/416,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20170228065A1
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer

Abstract

A force-touch sensor with multilayered electrodes includes an upper substrate, a first electrode layer arranged on one face of the upper substrate and having a plurality of first sensing electrodes, a second electrode layer arranged opposite to the first electrode layer and having a plurality of second sensing electrodes, each second sensing electrode being electrically connected with one corresponding first sensing electrode to constitute a touch-sensing electrode, a plurality of touching sensing traces, each electrically connected with one touch-sensing electrode and electrically isolated with other touch-sensing electrodes, a resilient dielectric layer arranged on one face of the second electrode layer and opposite to the upper substrate, and a third electrode layer arranged on the resilient dielectric layer and having at least one force-sensing electrode. The force-touch sensor with has enhanced performance due to the multilayered electrodes structure.

Claims

1. A force-touch sensor with multilayered electrodes, the force-touch sensor comprising:

an upper substrate having a first face and a second face opposite to the first face;

a first electrode layer arranged on one face of the upper substrate, the first electrode layer having a plurality of first sensing electrodes;

a second electrode layer arranged opposite to the first electrode layer, and farther away from the upper substrate than the first electrode layer, the second electrode layer having a plurality of second sensing electrodes, each second sensing electrode being corresponding to one of the first sensing electrodes and electrically connected with the corresponding first sensing electrode to form a touch sensing electrode, the plurality of first sensing electrodes and the plurality of second sensing electrodes forming a plurality of touch sensing electrodes;

a plurality of touch electrode traces, each touch electrode trace electrically connected with one corresponding touch sensing electrode and electrically isolated with other touch sensing electrodes;

a resilient dielectric layer arranged on a side of the second electrode layer, the side being opposite to the upper substrate, the resilient dielectric layer being compressively deformed under pressure and restoring to original shape and volume if pressure is not present;

a third electrode layer arranged on a side of the resilient dielectric layer, the side being opposite to the upper substrate, the third electrode layer having at least one force sensing electrode;

wherein the plurality of touch electrode traces is shielded by the first sensing electrodes or the second sensing electrodes.

2. The force-touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of touch electrode traces are shielded by both of the first sensing electrodes and the second sensing electrodes.

3. The force-touch sensor of claim 1 further comprising:

a capacitance sensing circuit sending a touch capacitance-excitation signal to a selected touch sensing electrode sequentially or randomly, and obtaining a touch sensing signal from the touch sensing electrode for performing touch sensing, and sending an auxiliary signal with phase same as that of the touch capacitance-excitation signal to at least one force sensing electrode;

the capacitance sensing circuit sending a force capacitance-excitation signal to the at least one force sensing electrode and obtaining a force sensing signal from the force sensing electrode for performing force sensing;

the capacitance sensing circuit further sending a counter-exciting signal to the selected touch sensing electrode sequentially or randomly when performing force sensing.

4. The force-touch sensor of claim 3, wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is a self-capacitance sensing circuit.

5. The force-touch sensor of claim 3, wherein the capacitance sensing circuit further sends an auxiliary signal with phase same as that of the touch capacitance-excitation signal to the touch sensing electrodes around the selected touch sensing electrode when performing touch sensing.

6. The force-touch sensor of claim 3, wherein the capacitance sensing circuit further sends a shielding signal with phase same as that of the force capacitance-excitation signal to non-selected touch sensing electrodes when performing force sensing.

7. The force-touch sensor of claim 3, wherein the touch capacitance-excitation signal and the force capacitance-excitation signal are time varying signals or current sources.

8. The force-touch sensor of claim 7, wherein the force counter-exciting signal is a dc reference signal or a time varying signal with phase opposite to that of the force capacitance-excitation signal.

9. The force-touch sensor of claim 8, wherein the dc reference signal is a zero volt signal.

10. The force-touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the upper substrate is a polymer thin film or an ultra-thin glass with thickness no more than 500 μ

m.

11. The force-touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the upper substrate is a flexible substrate with thickness no more than 500 μ

m.

12. The force-touch sensor of claim 1 further comprising a lower substrate, wherein the lower substrate is a polymer thin film or glass.

13. The force-touch sensor of claim 1 further comprising an adhesive layer, wherein the adhesive layer is arranged on a side of the third electrode layer opposite to the upper substrate.

14. The force-touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the touch sensing electrodes and force sensing electrodes are made of transparent conductive material.

15. The force-touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the touch sensing electrodes and force sensing electrodes are made of non-transparent conductive material.