Single-layer touch-sensitive display

• US 10,331,278 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2016
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steve Porter, Zhong, John Z.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sitta, Grant
• Application Number:
  US15/090,555
• Publication Number:
  US 20160216808A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,177 Days
• Field of Search: 345173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/43 Electric condenser making

Abstract

A touch sensor panel having co-planar single-layer touch sensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate is disclosed. The drive and sense lines can be fabricated as column-like patterns in a first orientation and patches in a second orientation, where each column-like pattern in the first orientation is connected to a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel, and all patches in each of multiple rows in the second orientation are connected together using a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel. The metal traces in the border areas can be formed on the same side of the substrate as the patches and columns, but separated from the patches and column-like patterns by a dielectric layer.

Claims

1. A touch sensor panel, comprising:

a plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate, the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material arranged in a plurality of columns, each column forming a sense line upon operation of the touch sensor panel to detect touch;

each sense line extending along the entire touch sensitive area in a column direction;

a plurality of patches of the conductive material supported on a same side of the substrate as the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material, the plurality of patches arranged in a plurality of rows, the patches in a particular row connected together to form a drive line such that a plurality of drive lines are formed corresponding to the plurality of rows of patches;

each patch of conductive material being separate from, non-overlapping and adjacent at least a section of one of the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material;

at least one of the plurality of patches in each of the plurality of rows forming a column disposed between at least some of the sense lines;

each of the plurality of drive lines receiving a stimulation signal upon operation of the touch sensor panel to detect touch;

wherein the plurality of patches together with the sections of the continuous patterns of conductive material form an array of mutual capacitance sensors.

2. The touch sensor panel of claim 1,

wherein each mutual capacitance sensor of the array of mutual capacitance sensors is responsive to a fringing electric field between a section of one of the plurality of patches and an adjacent, non-overlapping, section of one of the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material;

and

wherein;

in operation, the drive lines are driven with the one or more stimulation signals to establish the fringing electric field for coupling charge onto the sense lines.

3. The touch sensor panel of claim 2, wherein the patches of the particular row are connected together via at least one of a plurality of conductor traces.

4. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality of conductor traces are disposed at least in a border area of the touch sensor panel, the plurality of patterns of conductive material connected to at least one of the plurality of conductor traces.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 4, wherein the plurality of patterns of conductive material are formed with notches and staggered edges to form the sections.

6. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of patterns of conductive material are formed with notches and staggered edges to form the sections.

7. The touch sensor panel of claim 6, wherein the patches of a particular row are connected together via at least one of a plurality of conductor traces, and the plurality of conductor traces are disposed at least in a border area of the touch sensor panel, the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material connected to at least one of the plurality of conductor traces.

8. The touch sensor panel of claim 7, wherein portions of the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material and portions of the plurality of patches are formed partially over the plurality of conductor traces but separated therefrom by a dielectric material.

9. The touch sensor panel of claim 8, further comprising vias formed in the dielectric material for providing connections between the portions of the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material and the plurality of conductor traces and between the portions of the plurality of patches and the plurality of conductor traces.

10. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material comprises Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

11. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality of conductor traces are formed from metal.

12. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a cover material for a touch sensitive device.

13. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising a cover material for a touch sensitive device coupled to the substrate.

14. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality of conductive traces are routed to a single side of the substrate for connecting to a flex circuit.

15. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of patches and adjacent sections of the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material have about the same surface area.

16. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein one or more sensors of the mutual capacitance sensors is elongated to provide spatial filtering.

17. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the touch sensor panel integrated into a computing system.

18. The touch sensor panel of claim 17, the computing system integrated into a mobile telephone or digital media player.

19. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality of conductor traces comprises metal traces which are disposed on a border area of the touch sensor panel;

and

wherein the sections of the plurality of patches which are separate from, non-overlapping with, and adjacent to the plurality of patterns of conductive material are connected to the metal traces by single layer transparent conductive traces.

20. A method for forming a touch sensor panel, comprising:

forming a plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material disposed on a single layer on one side of a substrate, and arranged in a plurality of columns, each column forming a sense line upon operation of the touch sensor panel to detect touch;

each sense line extending along the entire touch sensitive area in a column direction;

forming a plurality of patches of the conductive material on a same side of the substrate as the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material and disposed in substantially the same single layer as the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material;

arranging the plurality of patches in a plurality of rows;

connecting together the patches in a particular row to form a drive line such that a plurality of drive lines are formed corresponding to the plurality of rows of patches;

forming a substantially co-planar, single layer array of mutual capacitance sensors from at least sections of the plurality of patches together with sections of the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material, the at least sections of the plurality of patches being separate from, non-overlapping with, and adjacent to the sections of the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material, the array of mutual capacitance sensor capable of detecting one or more contact events at distinct locations on the touch sensor panel at about the same time to thereby provide substantially simultaneous detection of multi-touch events and positioning at least one of the plurality of patches in each of the plurality of rows to form a column disposed between at least some of the sense lines.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising forming the continuous patterns of conductive material with notches and staggered edge.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising forming a plurality of conductor traces in a border area of the substrate for providing, at least in part, a connection to each patch in a particular row and for providing a connection to each continuous pattern of conductive material.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising forming the plurality of continuous patterns of conductive material and the plurality of patches partially over the plurality of conductor traces but separated therefrom by a dielectric material.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising forming vias in the dielectric material for providing the connections between the continuous patterns of conductive material and the plurality of conductor traces and the plurality of patches and the plurality of conductor traces.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the conductive material is Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising forming the plurality of conductor traces from metal.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the substrate is a cover material for a touch sensitive device.

28. The method of claim 20, further comprising attaching a cover material for a touch sensitive device to the substrate.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising routing the plurality of conductor traces to a single side of the substrate for connecting to a flex circuit.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising forming each patch and adjacent sections of the continuous patterns to have substantially the same surface area.

31. The method of claim 20, further comprising elongating each sensor to create spatial blurring.