ARRANGEMENT FOR A TOUCHSCREEN AND RELATED METHOD OF MANUFACTURE
First Claim
1. An arrangement (202, 502) for a touchscreen, comprising:
- a substrate (206), such as an optically substantially transparent film, said substrate comprising support electronics (212), such as roll-to-roll processed printed electronics including a number of printed conductors, for providing power, control and/or communications connection to further electronic components (210),a number of emitters and detectors (210) arranged on said substrate into contact with the support electronics, for emitting and detecting light, respectively, anda lightguide (208) arranged onto the substrate such that said emitters and detectors, and optionally at least part of said support electronics, are substantially embedded in the lightguide material, the properties of the lightguide including the refractive index of the lightguide material being selected and the emitters and detectors being configured so as to enable, when in use, total internal reflection (TIR)-type propagation of light within the lightguide between the emitters and detectors and recognition of a touch on the basis of a drop in the TIR performance as determined from the detected light.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Arrangement for use with a touchscreen, includes a substrate, such as an optically substantially transparent film or a film defining a through hole, the substrate including support electronics, such as printed electronics including a number of printed conductors, for providing power, control and/or communications connection to further electronic components, a number of emitters and detectors arranged on the substrate into contact with the support electronics, for emitting and detecting light, respectively, and a lightguide arranged onto the substrate such that the emitters and detectors, and optionally at least part of the support electronics, are substantially immersed in the lightguide material, the properties of the lightguide including the refractive index of the lightguide material being selected and the emitters and detectors being configured so as to enable, when in use, total internal reflection (TIR)-type propagation of light within the lightguide between the emitters and detectors and recognition of a touch on the basis of a drop in the TIR performance as determined from the detected light. A related method of manufacture is presented.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An arrangement (202, 502) for a touchscreen, comprising:
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a substrate (206), such as an optically substantially transparent film, said substrate comprising support electronics (212), such as roll-to-roll processed printed electronics including a number of printed conductors, for providing power, control and/or communications connection to further electronic components (210), a number of emitters and detectors (210) arranged on said substrate into contact with the support electronics, for emitting and detecting light, respectively, and a lightguide (208) arranged onto the substrate such that said emitters and detectors, and optionally at least part of said support electronics, are substantially embedded in the lightguide material, the properties of the lightguide including the refractive index of the lightguide material being selected and the emitters and detectors being configured so as to enable, when in use, total internal reflection (TIR)-type propagation of light within the lightguide between the emitters and detectors and recognition of a touch on the basis of a drop in the TIR performance as determined from the detected light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for manufacturing a touchscreen arrangement, said method comprising:
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providing a substrate (308), such as an optically substantially transparent film, arranging support electronics (302, 322, 310), such as printed electronics including a number of printed conductors, on the substrate for providing power, control and/or communications connection to further electronic components, arranging a number of emitters and detectors (302, 322, 312) on said substrate into contact with the support electronics, for emitting and detecting light, respectively, and producing a lightguide onto the substrate (304, 314) such that said emitters and detectors, and optionally at least part of the support electronics, are substantially immersed in the lightguide material, the properties of the lightguide including the refractive index of the lightguide material being selected and the emitters and detectors being configured so as to enable, when in use, total internal reflection (TIR) -type propagation of light within the lightguide between the emitters and detectors and recognition of a touch on the basis of a drop in the TIR performance as determined from the detected light. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification