TOUCH AND HOVER SENSING WITH CONDUCTIVE POLARIZER

• US 20150103032A1
• Filed: 10/16/2013
• Published: 04/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Bell, Cynthia Sue
• Granted Patent: US 9,547,395 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- 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 without distance measurement in the Z direction
• 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 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• 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

Abstract

Embodiments are disclosed that relate to touch and proximity sensing with a touch sensor that utilizes a conductive polarizer as a touch sensor electrode. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a touch sensitive display device including a display having a transparent electrode layer including a plurality of transparent electrodes, a conductive polarizer coupled to the transparent electrode layer via a dielectric layer, a touch sensing driver circuit electrically connected to one of the transparent electrode layer and the conductive polarizer, and a touch sensing receiver circuit electrically connected to another of the transparent electrode layer and the conductive polarizer.

Claims

1. A touch sensitive display device, comprising:

a display;

a transparent electrode layer comprising a plurality of transparent electrodes;

a conductive polarizer coupled to the transparent electrode layer via a dielectric layer;

a touch sensing driver circuit electrically connected to one of the transparent electrode layer and the conductive polarizer; and

a touch sensing receiver circuit electrically connected to another of the transparent electrode layer and the conductive polarizer.

2. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the conductive polarizer comprises a wire grid polarizer.

3. The touch sensitive display device of claim 2, wherein the wire grid polarizer comprises a plurality of conductive wires and a plurality of visible light absorbers, each visible light absorber disposed between a corresponding conductive wire and the touch surface.

4. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the transparent electrode layer is formed on a color filter support layer.

5. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the conductive polarizer comprises a substrate on which conductive polarizing elements are formed, and wherein the substrate is positioned between the conductive polarizing elements and the transparent electrode layer.

6. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the conductive polarizer comprises a substrate on which conductive polarizing elements are formed, and wherein the substrate is positioned between the conductive polarizing elements and the touch surface.

7. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, further comprising an anisotropic conductive film material electrically connecting the conductive polarizer to one of the touch sensing driver circuit and the touch sensing receiver circuit via a printed circuit board having electrical contacts that define an electrode width for the conductive polarizer.

8. The touch sensitive display device of claim 7, wherein each electrical contact has a width of between 3 mm and 8 mm.

9. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensing driver circuit is configured to apply a scanning voltage at a frequency of 25 kHz to 900 kHz.

10. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the conductive polarizer is coupled to the transparent electrode layer via one or more of an optically clear resin and an optically clear pressure sensitive adhesive.

11. A method of manufacturing a touch sensitive display device, the method comprising:

positioning an anisotropic conductive film material between a contact region of a flexible printed circuit board and a portion of a conductive polarizer, the contact region of the printed circuit board comprising a plurality of electrical contacts;

applying one or more of pressure and heat to activate the anisotropic conductive film material between the electrical contacts on the flexible printed circuit board and corresponding regions of the conductive polarizer to electrically connect the electrical contacts to the corresponding regions of the conductive polarizer, thereby defining electrode regions on the conductive polarizer based upon geometries of the electrical contacts; and

incorporating the conductive polarizer into the touch sensitive display device at a location closer to a touch surface than a display of the touch sensitive display device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein incorporating the conductive polarizer into the touch sensitive display device comprises incorporating the conductive polarizer into the touch sensitive display device at a location closer to the display surface than a color filter support on which a transparent electrode layer is formed.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein incorporating the conductive polarizer into the touch sensitive display comprises bonding the conducive polarizer to the color filter support with one or more of an optically clear resin and an optically clear pressure sensitive adhesive.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising removing a portion of a protective cover from the conductive polarizer to connect the electrical contacts on the flexible printed circuit board to the corresponding regions of the conductive polarizer, and removing a remainder of the protective cover at a later time to incorporate the conductive polarizer into the touch sensitive display.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the conductive polarizer comprises a wire grid polarizer.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein each electrical contact on the flexible printed circuit board has a width of between 3 mm and 8 mm.

17. A touch sensitive display device, comprising:

a touch surface;

a display comprising

a thin film transistor layer and

a color filter structure comprising a color filter layer and a color filter support layer;

a wire grid polarizer coupled to the color filter support structure, the wire grid polarizer comprising a plurality of conductive polarizing elements;

a touch sensing driver circuit electrically connected to one of the thin film transistor layer and the conductive polarizer; and

a touch sensing receiver circuit electrically connected to another of the thin film transistor layer and the conductive polarizer.

18. The touch sensitive display device of claim 17, further comprising a plurality of visible light absorbers, each visible light absorber disposed between a corresponding conductive polarizing element and the touch surface.

19. The touch sensitive display device of claim 18, wherein the visible light absorbers are formed integrally with the wire grid polarizer.

20. The touch sensitive display device of claim 17, further comprising an anisotropic conductive film material electrically connecting the conductive polarizer to one of the touch sensing driver circuit and the touch sensing receiver circuit via a flexible printed circuit board having contacts that define an electrode width for the conductive polarizer.