IN-CELL OR ON-CELL TOUCH SENSOR WITH COLOR FILTER ON ARRAY

• US 20130044074A1
• Filed: 08/19/2011
• Published: 02/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Park, Youngbae, Chang, Shih Chang, Zhong, John Z., Chen, Cheng
• Granted Patent: US 9,470,941 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1362 Active matrix addressed cells G02F1/134336, G02F1/134363 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136209 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix, incorporated in the active matrix substrate, e.g. structurally associated with the switching element
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136218 Shield electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13685 Top gates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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: Y10T 29/49105 Switch making

Abstract

Methods and devices employing in-cell and/or on-cell touch sensor components, including in-cell and/or on-cell black matrix material that also may serve as a touch drive or sense electrode, are provided. In one example, an electronic display may include a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a black matrix material that shields light between pixels of the electronic display. At least a portion of the black matrix material may form all or part of a component of a touch sensor of the electronic display.

Claims

1. An electronic display comprising:

a lower substrate;

an upper substrate; and

a black matrix material configured to shield light between pixels of the electronic display, wherein the black matrix material is disposed at least partially in a display pixel cell between the lower substrate and the upper substrate or disposed at least partially in a layer formed on an outward-facing side of the upper substrate, wherein at least a portion of the black matrix material comprises a component of a touch sensor of the electronic display.

2. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the black matrix material is formed in a touch sensor layer on an inward-facing side of the upper substrate and wherein the black matrix material is configured to be disposed over two differently colored organic resin filters in a thin film transistor layer disposed on the lower substrate, wherein the electronic display is configured to operate in a fringe-field-switching mode.

3. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein at least the portion of the black matrix material that comprises the component of the touch sensor is configured to provide a signal indicating whether an object is located nearby through self capacitance or mutual capacitance with another touch sensor component of the touch sensor.

4. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the black matrix material is disposed directly on a dielectric layer on the outward-facing side of the upper substrate.

5. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the black matrix material is disposed directly on the outward-facing side of the upper substrate.

6. A method for manufacturing an electronic display panel comprising:

forming a thin film transistor layer over an inward-facing side of a lower substrate at least in part by forming an organic-resin-based color filter layer in the thin film layer, wherein the color filter layer comprises a plurality of colors and wherein each of a plurality of display pixels of the electronic display comprises one of the plurality of colors;

forming a touch sensor layer over an outward-facing side of a top glass substrate at least in part by;

forming a touch drive electrode over the outward-facing side of the top glass substrate;

forming a dielectric layer over the outward-facing side of the top glass substrate; and

forming a black matrix material over the outward-facing side of the top glass substrate, wherein the black matrix material is configured to separate the plurality of display pixels and to reduce an amount of light passing through one of the plurality of display pixels from passing through another of the plurality of display pixels, and wherein at least a portion of the black matrix material comprises a conductive material configured to function as a component of a touch sensor of the electronic display; and

disposing a liquid crystal layer between an inward-facing side of the upper substrate and the inward-facing side of the lower substrate.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the touch sensor layer is formed at least in part in the recited order.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the touch sensor layer is formed at least in part by:

forming the touch drive electrode directly on the outward-facing side of the top glass substrate;

forming the dielectric layer directly on the touch drive electrode; and

forming the black matrix material directly on the dielectric layer.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the touch sensor layer is formed at least in part by:

forming the black matrix material directly on the outward-facing side of the top glass substrate;

forming the dielectric layer directly on the black matrix material; and

forming the touch drive electrode directly on dielectric material.

10. The method of claim 6, comprising forming a shielding layer on the inward-facing side of the top glass substrate, wherein the shielding layer is configured to reduce capacitive coupling between the thin film transistor layer and the touch sensor layer.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the touch sensor layer is formed in part by forming a high resistance film or an anti-static film, or both, over the outward-facing side of the top glass substrate.

12. An electronic device comprising:

data processing circuitry configured to perform an operation based at least in part on a user touch; and

an electronic touch-screen display configured to sense the user touch based at least in part on a capacitive interaction between a touch drive electrode, a touch sense electrode, and a user body part, wherein the touch sense electrode comprises at least a portion of a black matrix material disposed at least partially within or disposed at least partially above, or disposed both at least partially within and at least partially above, a display pixel cell of the display.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the touch sense electrode consists essentially of at least the portion of the black matrix material.

14. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the touch sense electrode comprises a substantially light-transmissive conductive material and wherein at least the portion of the black matrix material comprises a substantially opaque conductive material having a lower electrical resistance than the substantially light-transmissive conductive material.

15. A method for manufacturing an electronic display panel comprising:

forming a thin film transistor layer over an inward-facing side of a lower substrate at least in part by forming an organic-resin-based color filter layer in the thin film layer;

forming a touch sensor layer over an inward-facing side of an upper substrate at least in part by;

forming a first plurality of touch sensor electrodes over the inward-facing side of the upper substrate;

forming a dielectric layer over the first plurality of touch sensor electrodes; and

forming a second plurality of touch sensor electrodes over the dielectric layer, wherein the second plurality of touch sensor electrodes comprises at least a portion of a black matrix material, wherein the black matrix material is configured to shield light between display pixels of the electronic display; and

disposing a liquid crystal layer between the inward-facing side of the upper substrate and the inward-facing side of the lower substrate.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein forming the second plurality of touch sensor electrodes comprises forming a plurality of touch sense electrodes formed from a substantially transparent conductive material and at least the portion of the black matrix material.

17. The method of claim 15, comprising forming a high resistance film or an anti-static film, or both, over an outward-facing side of the upper substrate.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising forming one or more conductors configured to ground the high resistance film or the anti-static film, or both;

a touch sensor flexible printed circuit; and

a display touch flexible printed circuit to the same ground potential.

19. The method of claim 17, comprising forming a polarizing layer above or below the high resistance film or the anti-static film, or both.

20. An electronic display comprising:

a touch sensor controller configured to output drive signals to touch drive electrodes and receive sense signals from touch sense electrodes to detect a user touch based at least in part on a capacitance formed between the touch drive electrodes and the touch sense electrodes; and

a display panel comprising a lower substrate having disposed thereon a thin film transistor layer, wherein the thin film transistor layer comprises an organic-resin-based color filter layer, and an upper substrate having disposed thereon the touch drive electrodes and the touch sense electrodes, wherein the touch sense electrodes comprise at least a portion of a black matrix material of the display.