Capacitive Sensor Element and Method for the Production Thereof

• US 20160328048A1
• Filed: 01/07/2015
• Published: 11/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PolyIC GmbH & Co. KG (Leonhard KURZ Stiftung & Company KG)
• Original Assignee: PolyIC GmbH & Co. KG (Leonhard KURZ Stiftung & Company KG)
• Inventors: Ullmann, Andreas, Fix, Walter, Walter, Manfred
• Granted Patent: US 10,642,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 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

Abstract

The invention relates to a capacitive sensor element with a plurality of sensor fields, as they correspond for example to the arrangement on a touch screen. This capacitive sensor element comprises at least one multilayer body made up of two structured electrically conductive layers and an insulating layer in between. The invention provides a layout with redundant conductive strips for an arrangement of crossing conductive strips, through which the requirement for register accuracy in the two-layer lamination of layer electrodes is reduced, in particular with respect to connecting the connections to the plugs in the edge area of a module using a corresponding sensor element.

Claims

1. A capacitive sensor element comprising at least one multilayer body made up of two structured electrically conductive layers and an insulating layer in between,

wherein the structuring of an electrically conductive first and second layer comprises conductive strips, in each case galvanically separated from each other, only some of which conductive strips of the first or second layer are connected to connections, and conductive pads connect at least some of the conductive strips to the connections, with the result that the connections of the first and second electrically conductive layers lie in one plane and the insulating layer does not separate the two structured electrically conductive layers from each other over the whole surface.

2. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein conductive strips of the stripe electrodes are alternately connected and not connected to a connection.

3. A sensor element according to claim 2, wherein a distance or between two adjacent conductive strips of the stripe electrodes predetermines the periodicity at which conductive strips connected and not connected to connections lie next to each other on an electrically conductive layer.

4. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the conductive strips of the stripe electrodes are present periodically spaced apart from each other in a regular pattern.

5. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second electrically conductive layer has a layer thickness between 20 nm and 1 μ

m.

6. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the connections lie in the first, electrically conductive, layer plane with the wider conductive strips, the bar electrodes.

7. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the conductive strips which do not lie in a plane with the connections that lead to plugs are connected making contact with the connections via conductive pads.

8. A sensor element according to claim 1, further comprising an area which is formed transparent.

9. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein at least one conductive pad is provided, which lies inside the transparent area of the sensor element.

10. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein a conductive pad is provided, which lies outside the transparent area of the sensor element.

11. A sensor element according to claim 1, further comprising at least one layer which can be produced by printing of a support band.

12. A sensor element according to claim 1, further comprising at least one layer which can be produced by printing in the continuous process.

13. A sensor element according to claim 1, further comprising at least one layer, which can be produced in a roll-to-roll process.

14. A sensor element according to claim 1, which can be produced by lamination of several layers.

15. A sensor element according to claim 1, which can be produced by laminating a second electrically conductive layer onto a first electrically conductive layer by means of an insulating adhesive layer.

16. A sensor element according to claim 13, which can be produced by laminating a second electrically conductive layer onto a first electrically conductive layer by means of an insulating adhesive layer applied in a structured manner.

17. A sensor element according to claim 14, which can be produced by laminating a second electrically conductive layer onto a first electrically conductive layer by means of an electrically insulating adhesive layer applied in a structured manner over the electrodes on the first conductive layer and the connections and by means of an electrically conductive adhesive applied over the conductive pads in a structured manner.

18. A sensor element according to claim 1, in which the first conductive strips in the area of the crossover points with the second conductive strips have gaps, which are not conductive areas.

19. A sensor element according to claim 1, wherein the gaps are adapted to the dimensions at the conductive pads.

20. A method for the production of a layer of a sensor element according to claim 1 by printing in the continuous process.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the printing takes place in the roll-to-roll process.

22. A method for the production of a sensor element according to claim 1 by laminating at least two electrically conductive layers one on top of the other with an insulating layer in between.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the insulating layer is an adhesive layer.

24. A method according to claim 22, wherein areas of the electrically conductive layers which are not covered with an insulating adhesive layer are connected by application of electrically conductive adhesive.