Electronic Device With Touch Sensitive Display

• US 20140293145A1
• Filed: 04/02/2013
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Jones, Warren Z., Malek, Shayan, Phouthavong, Rasamy
• Granted Patent: US 9,513,663 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a touch screen display. The touch screen display may have an array of display pixels that are used to display images for a user. Touch input to the touch screen display may be provided by a user'"'"'s finger or other external object. A touch sensor in the display may have vertical and horizontal position sensors that are based on distinct touch sensor technologies. The position sensors may be based on strain gauge sensors or other force sensors, capacitive sensors having multiple elongated transparent capacitive electrodes that span the display, acoustic sensors, light-based sensors, and other types of sensors. An opaque masking layer in an inactive area of the display may hide some of the position sensor structures from view such as vertical position sensor structures. The horizontal position sensor structures may have minimal inactive regions along their edges.

Claims

1. An electronic device that receives touch input from an external object, comprising:

a housing; and

a touch screen display in the housing, wherein the touch screen display has a two-dimensional touch sensor, wherein the two-dimensional touch sensor has a horizontal position sensor that determines a horizontal position of the external object on the touch screen display and a vertical position sensor that determines a vertical position of the external object on the display, wherein the horizontal position sensor comprises a capacitive touch sensor, and wherein the vertical position sensor is a non-capacitive touch sensor.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the vertical position sensor comprises a force sensor.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the force sensor includes upper force sensor structures and lower force sensor structures located on opposing ends of the horizontal position sensor.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 further comprising a display cover layer in the housing that overlaps the touch screen display, wherein the upper force sensor structures comprise a first strain gauge on an inner surface of the display cover layer, and wherein the lower force sensor structures comprise a second strain gauge on the inner surface of the display cover layer.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the horizontal position sensor has a substrate with first and second ends and has a plurality of parallel elongated transparent capacitive electrodes that extend between the first and second ends.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the vertical position sensor comprises a resistance-based sensor.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the horizontal position sensor has a substrate with first and second ends and has a plurality of elongated transparent conductive electrodes that extend between the first and second ends and wherein the vertical position sensor comprises impedance measurement circuitry coupled to the elongated transparent conductive electrodes.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising:

a display cover layer that overlaps the touch screen display; and

an opaque masking layer on an inner surface of the display cover layer, wherein the vertical position sensor includes at least one force sensor on the opaque masking layer.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the vertical position sensor comprises an acoustic sensor.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the vertical position sensor comprises a light-based sensor.

11. An electronic device configured to receive touch input from an external object, comprising:

a display module;

a display cover layer that overlaps the display module;

a horizontal position sensor that determines a horizontal position on the display cover layer associated with the touch input; and

a vertical position sensor that determines a vertical position on the display cover layer associated with the touch input, wherein the horizontal and vertical position sensors are based on distinct touch sensor technologies.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein one of the horizontal and vertical position sensors comprises a capacitive touch sensor having a substrate and a plurality of elongated parallel transparent conductive capacitive electrodes.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the horizontal position sensor comprises the capacitive touch sensor and wherein the vertical position sensor comprises a force sensor.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the force sensor is mounted to a surface of the display cover layer.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the display module is attached to the horizontal position sensor with a first layer of adhesive and wherein the horizontal position sensor is attached to the display cover layer with a second layer of adhesive.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein one of the horizontal and vertical position sensors comprises a capacitive touch sensor having a plurality of elongated parallel transparent conductive capacitive electrodes formed on a surface of the display cover layer.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 further comprising a rectangular housing having top, bottom, left, and right edges, wherein the horizontal position sensor includes the elongated parallel transparent conductive capacitive electrodes and wherein the elongated parallel transparent conductive capacitive electrodes extend vertically parallel to left and right edges of the rectangular housing.

18. A touch sensor display operable in response to a touch by an external object, comprising:

a display pixel array;

a force sensor that measures a position of the touch on the touch sensor display with respect to a first lateral dimension; and

a capacitive sensor that measures a position of the touch on the touch sensor display with respect to a second lateral dimension that is perpendicular to the first lateral dimension.

19. The touch sensor display defined in claim 18 wherein the capacitive sensor comprises a plurality of elongated transparent conductive capacitive electrodes each of which extends across the display pixel array.

20. The touch sensor defined in claim 19 further comprising a display cover layer, wherein the force sensor comprises a strain gauge on the display cover layer and wherein the plurality of elongated transparent conductive capacitive electrodes are formed on the display cover layer.