Hybrid in-cell sensor topology

• US 10,540,043 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Issued: 01/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnivision TDDI Ontario Limited Partnership
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Tanemura, Tetsuo, Noto, Takayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Cohen, Yaron
• Application Number:
  US15/199,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20170255295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,300 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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 3/041662 using alternate mutual and self-capacitive scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

An input device and associated processing system and method are disclosed. The input device comprises a lens layer, and a display device comprising a plurality of layers. The plurality of layers comprises a display activation layer. The input device further comprises a plurality of first sensor electrodes arranged with a first sensor pitch on a first layer of the plurality of layers, each first sensor electrode comprising at least one display electrode of a plurality of display electrodes. The input device further comprises a plurality of second sensor electrodes arranged with a second sensor pitch on a second layer between the display activation layer and the lens layer, the second sensor pitch greater than the first sensor pitch along at least one dimension of a sensing region of the input device.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

a lens layer;

a display device comprising a plurality of layers, the plurality of layers comprising a display activation layer;

a plurality of first sensor electrodes arranged with a first sensor pitch on a first layer of the plurality of layers, each first sensor electrode comprising at least one display electrode of a plurality of display electrodes; and

a plurality of second sensor electrodes arranged with a second sensor pitch on a second layer between the display activation layer and the lens layer, the second sensor pitch greater than the first sensor pitch along at least one dimension of a sensing region of the input device,

wherein each first sensor electrode and each second sensor electrode has a substantially equilateral profile within first and second dimensions of the sensing region, and

wherein the substantially equilateral profile of each second sensor electrode entirely overlaps the substantially equilateral profiles of multiple first sensor electrodes of the plurality of first sensor electrodes.

2. The input device of claim 1, wherein the second sensor pitch is greater than the first sensor pitch along two or more dimensions of the sensing region.

3. The input device of claim 1, further comprising:

a processing system configured to;

operate the plurality of second sensor electrodes in a first predefined sensing mode by driving the plurality of second sensor electrodes with first capacitive sensing signals to determine a presence or absence of an input object in the sensing region; and

operate, based on a determination of the presence of the input object in the sensing region, the plurality of first sensor electrodes in a second predefined sensing mode by driving the plurality of first sensor electrodes with second capacitive sensing signals to determine a location of the input object.

4. The input device of claim 1, wherein at least two first sensor electrodes are coupled with a common routing trace.

5. The input device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers further comprises a color filter glass layer, wherein the second layer is disposed between the color filter glass layer and the lens layer.

6. The input device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first sensor electrodes are disposed in a rectangular array configuration.

7. The input device of claim 1, wherein each second sensor electrode is arranged in a respective lattice configuration.

8. The input device of claim 7, wherein each second sensor electrode is comprised of a wire mesh material.

9. The input device of claim 7,

wherein each first sensor electrode is bounded in a first dimension of the sensing region by two electrode segments of the overlapping second sensor electrode, and

wherein each first sensor electrode is overlapped in a second dimension of the sensing region by at least one electrode segment of the overlapping second sensor electrode.

10. A processing system for an input device, the processing system comprising:

sensing circuitry configured to couple with a plurality of first sensor electrodes and a plurality of second sensor electrodes,

the plurality of first sensor electrodes arranged with a first sensor pitch at a first layer of the input device, each first sensor electrode comprising at least one display electrode of a plurality of display electrodes,

the plurality of second sensor electrodes arranged with a second sensor pitch at a second layer between a display activation layer and a lens layer of the input device, the second sensor pitch greater than the first sensor pitch along at least one dimension of a sensing region of the input device,

wherein the sensing circuitry is further configured to;

operate the plurality of second sensor electrodes in a first predefined sensing mode by;

driving the plurality of second sensor electrodes with first capacitive sensing signals; and

determining at least a presence or absence of an input object in a sensing region of the input device, wherein each first sensor electrode and each second sensor electrode has a substantially equilateral profile within first and second dimensions of the sensing region, and wherein the substantially equilateral profile of each second sensor electrode entirely overlaps the substantially equilateral profiles of multiple first sensor electrodes of the plurality of first sensor electrodes; and

operate, based on a determination of the presence of the input object in the sensing region, the plurality of first sensor electrodes in a second predefined sensing mode by;

determining an initial location of the input object in two or more dimensions of the sensing region by identifying one or more second sensor electrodes of the plurality of second sensor electrodes that determined the presence of the input object; and

driving a portion of the plurality of first sensor electrodes with second capacitive sensing signals to determine a refined location of the input object in the two or more dimensions,

wherein the portion comprises one or more first sensor electrodes that overlap with the identified one or more second sensor electrodes.

11. The processing system of claim 10, further comprising:

display driver circuitry coupled with the plurality of display electrodes, wherein the plurality of display electrodes comprises a plurality of common electrodes.

12. The processing system of claim 10, wherein the sensing circuitry is further configured to:

drive, within the first predefined sensing mode, the plurality of first sensor electrodes with a guarding signal.

13. The processing system of claim 10, wherein the sensing circuitry is further configured to:

drive, within a third predefined sensing mode, the plurality of second sensor electrodes to;

perform absolute capacitive sensing using the second plurality of sensor electrodes; and

perform, contemporaneously with performing absolute capacitive sensing, transcapacitive sensing between the plurality of first sensor electrodes and the plurality of second sensor electrodes.

14. The processing system of claim 13, wherein the sensing circuitry is further configured to:

transition from operating in the first predefined sensing mode to operating in the third predefined sensing mode upon determining the presence of the input object in the sensing region; and

transition, upon receiving a predefined gesture within the third predefined sensing mode, from operating in the third predefined sensing mode to operating in the second predefined sensing mode.

15. The processing system of claim 10, wherein the sensing circuitry is further configured to:

drive, within a predefined force sensing mode, the first sensor electrodes to perform absolute capacitive sensing with the first sensor electrodes.

16. The processing system of claim 15, wherein the sensing circuitry is further configured to:

drive, within the predefined force sensing mode, the second sensor electrodes with a guarding signal.

17. The processing system of claim 15, wherein the sensing circuitry is further configured to:

perform, within the predefined force sensing mode and contemporaneously with performing absolute capacitive sensing, transcapacitive sensing between the second sensor electrodes and the first sensor electrodes.

18. A method of operating an input device comprising a plurality of layers and defining a sensing region, the plurality of layers comprising a lens layer and a display activation layer, the method comprising:

operating a plurality of coarse-pitch sensor electrodes in a first predefined sensing mode by driving the coarse-pitch sensor electrodes with first capacitive sensing signals to determine at least a presence or absence of an input object in the sensing region, the coarse-pitch sensor electrodes disposed at a first layer of the plurality of layers; and

operating, based on a determination of the presence of the input object in the sensing region, a plurality of fine-pitch sensor electrodes in a second predefined sensing mode by;

determining an initial location of the input object in two or more dimensions of the sensing region by identifying one or more coarse-pitch sensor electrodes of the plurality of coarse-pitch sensor electrodes that determined the presence of the input object; and

driving a portion of the plurality of fine-pitch sensor electrodes with second capacitive sensing signals to determine a refined location of the input object in the two or more dimensions,

wherein each coarse-pitch sensor electrode and each fine-pitch sensor electrode has a substantially equilateral profile within the two or more dimensions, and wherein the substantially equilateral profile of each coarse-pitch sensor electrode entirely overlaps the substantially equilateral profiles of multiple fine-pitch sensor electrodes,

wherein the portion comprises one or more fine-pitch sensor electrodes that overlap with the identified one or more coarse-pitch sensor electrodes, and

wherein the plurality of fine-pitch sensor electrodes is disposed at a second layer of the plurality of layers between the display activation layer and the lens layer.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

driving, within the first predefined sensing mode, the fine-pitch sensor electrodes with a guarding signal.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

driving, within a predefined force sensing mode, the fine-pitch sensor electrodes to perform absolute capacitive sensing with the fine-pitch sensor electrodes.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

driving, within the predefined force sensing mode, the coarse-pitch sensor electrodes with a guarding signal.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

performing, within the predefined force sensing mode and contemporaneously with performing absolute capacitive sensing, transcapacitive sensing between the coarse-pitch sensor electrodes and the fine-pitch sensor electrodes.