Double-sided touch-sensitive panel with shield and drive combined layer

• US 10,474,287 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2017
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steven P., Land, Brian Richards
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Jennifer T
• Application Number:
  US15/830,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20180101275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 708 Days
• Field of Search: 345174, 178 1806
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133342 for double-sided displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• 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 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 3/0412 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 3/04166 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 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/047 using sets of wires, e.g. crossed wires
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/04 Structural and physical details of display devices
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092

Abstract

A multi-touch capacitive touch sensor panel can be created using a substrate with column and row traces formed on either side of the substrate. To shield the column (sense) traces from the effects of capacitive coupling from a modulated Vcom layer in an adjacent liquid crystal display (LCD) or any source of capacitive coupling, the row traces can be widened to shield the column traces, and the row traces can be placed closer to the LCD. In particular, the rows can be widened so that there is spacing of about 30 microns between adjacent row traces. In this manner, the row traces can serve the dual functions of driving the touch sensor panel, and also the function of shielding the more sensitive column (sense) traces from the effects of capacitive coupling.

Claims

1. A sensor panel, comprising:

a set of co-planar sense electrodes comprising a transparent conductive material and having a first width;

a set of co-planar drive electrodes comprising the transparent conductive material and having a second width, wherein the set of co-planar drive electrodes are disposed on a different plane than the set of co-planar sense electrodes; and

a dielectric disposed between the set of co-planar sense electrodes and the set of co-planar drive electrodes;

wherein at least one of the set of co-planar drive electrodes is configured for receiving a first alternating current (AC) stimulation signal and configured for shielding the set of co-planar sense electrodes from electrical display interference;

wherein a plurality of touch sensors are formed at a plurality of locations at which the set of co-planar sense electrodes intersect with the set of co-planar drive electrodes; and

wherein the second width of the set of co-planar drive electrodes is wider than the first width of the set of co-planar sense electrodes.

2. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the set of co-planar drive electrodes is further configured to be switchably couplable for receiving a direct current (DC) voltage or the first AC stimulation signal.

3. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the set of co-planar sense electrodes and the set of co-planar drive electrodes are configured for providing optical uniformity.

4. The sensor panel of claim 1, the set of co-planar sense electrodes having a total surface area defining a first surface area and the set of co-planar drive electrodes having a total surface area defining a second surface area, wherein the second surface area is greater than the first surface area.

5. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the set of co-planar sense electrodes are arranged for capacitively coupling with one or more objects.

6. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the set of co-planar drive electrodes is configured for shielding the set of co-planar sense electrodes from a noise source.

7. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the set of co-planar drive electrodes is configured to provide shielding from capacitive coupling.

8. The sensor panel of claim 1, the sensor panel coupled to a panel subsystem controller configured for sending the first AC stimulation signal to the at least one of the set of co-planar drive electrodes and receiving sense signals from the set of co-planar sense electrodes.

9. The sensor panel of claim 1, the sensor panel incorporated into a touch or hover-sensitive computing system.

10. A sensor panel, comprising:

a plurality of sense electrodes of conductive material having a first width; and

a plurality of drive electrodes of the conductive material having a second width and spatially separated from the plurality of sense electrodes;

wherein one or more of the plurality of drive electrodes are configured for receiving a first alternating current (AC) stimulation signal and configured for shielding the plurality of sense electrodes from electrical display interference;

wherein a plurality of touch sensors are formed at a plurality of locations at which the plurality of sense electrodes cross over the plurality of drive electrodes; and

wherein the second width of the plurality of drive electrodes is wider than the first width of the plurality of sense electrodes.

11. The sensor panel of claim 10, wherein the plurality of drive electrodes are further configured to be switchably couplable for receiving a direct current (DC) voltage or the first AC stimulation signal.

12. The sensor panel of claim 10, wherein the plurality of sense electrodes and the plurality of drive electrodes are formed from a transparent conductive material and configured for providing optical uniformity.

13. The sensor panel of claim 10, the plurality of sense electrodes having a total surface area defining a first surface area and the plurality of drive electrodes having a total surface area defining a second surface area, wherein the second surface area is greater than the first surface area.

14. The sensor panel of claim 10, wherein the plurality of sense electrodes are arranged for capacitively coupling with one or more objects.

15. The sensor panel of claim 10, wherein the plurality of drive electrodes are configured for shielding the plurality of sense electrodes from a noise source.

16. The sensor panel of claim 10, wherein the plurality of drive electrodes are configured to provide shielding from capacitive coupling.

17. The sensor panel of claim 10, the sensor panel coupled to a panel subsystem controller configured for sending the first AC stimulation signal to the one or more of the plurality of drive electrodes and receiving sense signals from the plurality of sense electrodes.

18. The sensor panel of claim 10, the sensor panel incorporated into a touch or hover-sensitive computing system.

19. A method for shielding a sensor panel, comprising:

interposing a dielectric between a second layer of conductive material and a first layer of the conductive material, the first layer of conductive material including a plurality of sense electrodes and the second layer of conductive material including a plurality of drive electrodes;

biasing one or more of the plurality of drive electrodes with a first alternating current (AC) stimulation signal to shield the plurality of sense electrodes from electrical display interference and to form a plurality of touch sensors at a plurality of locations at which the plurality of sense electrodes intersect with the plurality of drive electrodes; and

forming the plurality of sense electrodes with a first width and forming the plurality of drive electrodes with a second width such that the second width is wider than the first width.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising switchably biasing one or more of the plurality of drive electrodes to receive either a direct current (DC) voltage or the first AC stimulation signal.