CAPACITIVE TOUCH SENSOR WITH CONDUCTIVE TRACE LINES IN BONDING REGION
First Claim
1. A capacitive touch sensor, comprising:
- a circuit substrate having a first side and a second side, and having a first plurality of contacts formed within a bonding region on the first side and a first plurality of conductive traces formed over the bonding region on the second side, each of the first plurality of conductive traces ohmically coupled to one of the first plurality of contacts through a first plurality of vias;
a touch sensor controller, the touch sensor controller coupled to the circuit substrate and coupled to the first plurality of contacts through the first plurality of conductive traces and the first plurality of vias; and
a sensor substrate, the sensor substrate, including a second plurality of contacts and a plurality of sensing electrodes configured to detect an object proximate to the sensing electrodes capacitively to facilitate detection of the object by the capacitive touch sensor controller, the plurality of sensing electrodes coupled to the touch sensor controller through the first plurality of contacts, the first plurality of vias, the first plurality of conductive traces, and the second plurality of contacts;
wherein at least one of the circuit substrate and sensor substrate is flexible.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus are provided for a capacitive touch sensor including a circuit substrate (which may be a flexible substrate) having a touch sensor controller coupled to a plurality of contacts through a plurality of conductive traces. The contacts are formed on a first (bottom) side of the circuit substrate while the conductive traces are formed on a second (top) side of the circuit substrate, but are ohmically (electrically) coupled to the contacts through the use of conductive vias. This arrangement of conductive traces, vias and contacts allows the conductive traces to reside over the contacts and within the bonding region resulting in an improvement of over fifty percent in wasted space as compared to conventional touch sensors.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A capacitive touch sensor, comprising:
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a circuit substrate having a first side and a second side, and having a first plurality of contacts formed within a bonding region on the first side and a first plurality of conductive traces formed over the bonding region on the second side, each of the first plurality of conductive traces ohmically coupled to one of the first plurality of contacts through a first plurality of vias; a touch sensor controller, the touch sensor controller coupled to the circuit substrate and coupled to the first plurality of contacts through the first plurality of conductive traces and the first plurality of vias; and a sensor substrate, the sensor substrate, including a second plurality of contacts and a plurality of sensing electrodes configured to detect an object proximate to the sensing electrodes capacitively to facilitate detection of the object by the capacitive touch sensor controller, the plurality of sensing electrodes coupled to the touch sensor controller through the first plurality of contacts, the first plurality of vias, the first plurality of conductive traces, and the second plurality of contacts; wherein at least one of the circuit substrate and sensor substrate is flexible. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for making a capacitive touch sensor, comprising the steps of:
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electrically coupling a touch sensor controller to a first plurality of conductive traces formed over a bonding region of a circuit substrate having a first plurality of contacts formed within the bonding region, each of the first plurality of conductive traces ohmically coupled to one of the first plurality of contacts through a first plurality of vias; and electrically coupling the first plurality of contacts on the circuit substrate to a second plurality of contacts formed within the bonding region on a sensor substrate, the sensor substrate having a plurality of sensing electrodes configured to detect an object proximate to the sensing electrodes capacitively, the plurality of sensing electrodes thereby communicating position information of the object to the touch sensor controller though the first plurality of contacts, the first plurality of vias, the first plurality of conductive traces, and the second plurality of contacts. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for assembling a capacitive touch sensor into an electronic device, comprising the steps of:
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providing an area within a housing or case of the electronic device to receive a capacitive touch sensor; electrically coupling a touch sensor controller to a first plurality of conductive traces disposed over a bonding region of a circuit substrate having a first plurality of contacts formed within the bonding region, each of the first plurality of conductive traces ohmically coupled to one of the first plurality of contacts through a first plurality of vias; and electrically coupling the first plurality of contacts on the circuit substrate to a second plurality of contacts formed within the bonding region on a sensor substrate, the sensor substrate having a plurality of sensing electrodes configured to detect an object proximate to the sensing electrodes capacitively, the plurality of sensing electrodes thereby communicating position information of the object to the touch sensor controller though the first plurality of contacts, the first plurality of vias, the first plurality of conductive traces, and the second plurality of contacts; and electrically coupling the touch sensor controller to other electronics within the electronic device such that the position information of the object can be processed by the other electronics to control the electronic device or be displayed by the electronic device.
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Specification