Force-touch sensing apparatus with metal traces

• US 10,248,242 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2017
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2016
• 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): Shen, Yuzhen
• Application Number:
  US15/582,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20170336900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• 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 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells

Abstract

A force-touch sensing apparatus with metal traces includes an upper substrate, a metal trace layer, a transparent touch-electrode layer, an insulating layer, a transparent force-electrode layer, a resilient dielectric material layer, and a capacitance sensing circuit. The capacitance sensing circuit sequentially or randomly applies a touch capacitance-exciting signal to a selected transparent touch sensing electrode and receives a touch sensing signal from the selected transparent touch sensing electrode for a touch sensing operation. The capacitance sensing circuit applies a force capacitance-exciting signal to the at least one transparent force sensing electrode, and sequentially or randomly applies a counter-exciting signal to the transparent touch sensing electrode and receives a force sensing signal from the at least one transparent force sensing electrode for a force sensing operation.

Claims

1. A force-touch sensing apparatus with metal traces, comprising:

an upper substrate;

a metal trace layer arranged on a surface of the upper substrate, and the metal trace layer comprising a plurality of metal traces;

a transparent touch-electrode layer arranged on a side of the metal trace layer, and the transparent touch-electrode layer comprising a plurality of transparent touch sensing electrodes;

an insulating layer arranged between the metal trace layer and the transparent touch-electrode layer;

a transparent force-electrode layer arranged on a side of the transparent touch-electrode layer opposite to the insulating layer, and the transparent force-electrode layer comprising at least one transparent force sensing electrode;

a resilient dielectric material layer arranged between the transparent touch-electrode layer and the transparent force-electrode layer; and

a capacitance sensing circuit configured to sequentially or randomly apply a touch capacitance-exciting signal to a selected transparent touch sensing electrode and receive a touch sensing signal from the selected transparent touch sensing electrode for a touch sensing operation;

the capacitance sensing circuit configured to further apply a force capacitance-exciting signal to the at least one transparent force sensing electrode, and sequentially or randomly apply a counter-exciting signal to the selected transparent touch sensing electrode and receive a force sensing signal from the at least one transparent force sensing electrode for a force sensing operation;

wherein an overlap percentage between a projection area of the transparent touch sensing electrodes and a projection area of the at least one transparent force sensing electrode is not less than 90%; and

wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is configured to apply a shieling signal having the same phase as that of the force capacitance-exciting signal to non-selected transparent touch sensing electrodes in the force sensing operation performed after the touch sensing operation.

2. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein a gap between each transparent touch sensing electrode and the adjacent transparent touch sensing electrode is not greater than 500 micrometers.

3. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the metal traces are composed of at least one metal wire, and a width of the metal wire is not greater than 50 micrometers.

4. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is a self-capacitance sensing circuit.

5. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the metal traces are made with a black metal material or a metal material covered with a black resin.

6. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the resilient dielectric material layer comprises a resilient gelatinous material, and the resilient gelatinous material is compressively deformed under force and restores to original shape and volume if force is not present.

7. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is configured to apply a reflection signal having the same phase as that of the touch capacitance-exciting signal to non-selected transparent touch sensing electrodes in the touch sensing operation.

8. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the touch capacitance-exciting signal or the force capacitance-exciting signal is an alternating signal or a current source;

the counter-exciting signal is a DC reference signal or an alternating signal with phase opposite to phase of the force capacitance-exciting signal.

9. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 8, wherein the DC reference signal is a zero volt signal.

10. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the upper substrate is a glass substrate or a polymer material substrate.

11. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 1, further comprising:

a lower substrate arranged on a side of the resilient dielectric material layer opposite to the transparent touch-electrode layer;

wherein the lower substrate is a glass substrate or a polymer material substrate.

12. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 11, wherein the lower substrate is a color filter substrate of a display screen.

13. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 11, wherein the transparent force-electrode layer is a static shielding layer of a display screen.

14. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 11, wherein the transparent force-electrode layer is a polarizing layer formed by a conductive material of a display screen.

15. A force-touch sensing apparatus with metal traces, comprising:

an upper substrate;

a touch-electrode layer with metal traces arranged on a surface of the upper substrate, and the touch-electrode layer with metal trace comprising a plurality of coplanar metal traces and a plurality of transparent touch sensing electrodes;

a transparent force sensing electrode layer arranged on a side of the touch-electrode layer with metal traces, and the transparent force sensing electrode layer comprising at least one transparent force sensing electrode;

a resilient dielectric material layer arranged between the touch-electrode layer with metal traces and the transparent force sensing electrode layer;

the resilient dielectric material layer comprising a resilient gelatinous material, and the resilient gelatinous material compressively deformed under force and restoring to original shape and volume if force is not present; and

a capacitance sensing circuit configured to sequentially or randomly apply a touch capacitance-exciting signal to a selected transparent touch sensing electrode and receive a touch sensing signal from the selected transparent touch sensing electrode for a touch sensing operation;

the capacitance sensing circuit configured to further apply a force capacitance-exciting signal to the at least one transparent force sensing electrode, and sequentially or randomly apply a counter-exciting signal to the selected transparent touch sensing electrode and receive a force sensing signal from the at least one transparent force sensing electrode for a force sensing operation;

wherein an overlap percentage between a sum of a projection area of the transparent touch sensing electrodes and the coplanar metal traces and a projection area of the at least one transparent force sensing electrode is not less than 90%;

wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is configured to apply a shieling signal having the same phase as that of the force capacitance-exciting signal to non-selected transparent touch sensing electrodes in the force sensing operation after the touch sensing operation.

16. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 15, wherein a gap between each transparent touch sensing electrode and the adjacent transparent touch sensing electrode is not greater than 500 micrometers;

a gap between each transparent touch sensing electrode and the adjacent metal trace is not greater than 500 micrometers.

17. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 15, wherein the metal traces are composed of at least one metal wire, and a width of the metal wire is not greater than 50 micrometers.

18. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 15, wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is a self-capacitance sensing circuit.

19. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 15, wherein the metal traces are made with a black metal material or a metal material covered with a black resin.

20. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 15, wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is configured to apply a reflection signal having the same phase as that of the touch capacitance-exciting signal to non-selected transparent touch sensing electrodes in the touch sensing operation.

21. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 15, wherein the touch capacitance-exciting signal or the force capacitance-exciting signal is an alternating signal or a current source;

the counter-exciting signal is a DC reference signal or an alternating signal with phase opposite to phase of the force capacitance-exciting signal.

22. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 15, further comprising:

a lower substrate arranged on a side of the resilient dielectric material layer opposite to the transparent touch-electrode layer;

wherein the lower substrate is a glass substrate or a polymer material substrate.

23. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 22, wherein the lower substrate is a color filter substrate of a display screen.

24. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 22, wherein the transparent force-electrode layer is a static shielding layer of a display screen.

25. The force-touch sensing apparatus in claim 22, wherein the transparent force-electrode layer is a polarizing layer formed by a conductive material of a display screen.