PRESSURE SENSING PATTERN LAYER AND PRESSURE SENSING INPUT DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME

• US 20170010704A1
• Filed: 07/10/2016
• Published: 01/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TPK Touch Solutions (Xiamen) Inc. (TPK Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: TPK Touch Solutions (Xiamen) Inc. (TPK Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ye, Kunxiong, Qiu, Xiaoli, Chen, Feng
• Granted Patent: US 10,732,740 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133345 Insulating layers G02F1/1335, G02F1/1337, G02F1/135, G02F1/136 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133357 Planarisation layers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133528 Polarisers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134309 characterised by their geometrical arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13439 characterised by their electrical, optical, physical properties; materials therefor; method of making
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136286 Wiring, e.g. gate line, drain line
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1368 in which the switching element is a three-electrode device G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/28 Adhesive materials or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• 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 2203/04111 Cross over in capacitive digitiser, i.e. details of structures for connecting electrodes of the sensing pattern where the connections cross each other, e.g. bridge structures comprising an insulating layer, or vias through substrate
• 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 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0296 Conductive pattern lay-out details not covered by sub groups H05K1/02 - H05K1/0295 H05K1/11 takes precedence; lay-out adapted to mounted component configuration H05K1/18

Abstract

A pressure sensing pattern layer is formed on a substrate and comprises a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes. Each of the pressure sensing electrodes comprises a plurality of protruding portions. The protruding portions are formed from a transparent conductive line which is bent zigzag. Each of the pressure sensing electrodes is electrically connected to a Wheatstone bridge circuit through a first conductive line and a second conductive line. A resistance of each of the pressure sensing electrodes is an element of the Wheatstone bridge circuit. When any of the pressure sensing electrodes is touched a variation of the resistance of the touched pressure sensing electrode is detected by the Wheatstone bridge circuit.

Claims

1. A pressure sensing, pattern layer formed on a substrate, and the pressure sensing pattern layer comprising a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes.

wherein each of the pressure sensing electrodes comprises a plurality of protruding portions, and the protruding portions are formed from a transparent conductive line which is bent zigzag;

wherein each of the pressure sensing electrodes is electrically connected to a Wheatstone bridge circuit through a first conductive line and a second conductive line, a resistance of each of the pressure sensing electrodes is an element of the Wheatstone bridge circuit, and when any of the pressure sensing electrodes is touched, a variation of the resistance of the touched pressure sensing electrode is detected by the Wheatstone bridge circuit.

2. The pressure sensing pattern layer of claim 1, wherein the protruding portions are protruded along at least two directions.

3. The pressure sensing pattern layer of claim 1, wherein the protruding portions is distributed in an axially symmetric manner.

4. The pressure sensing, pattern layer of claim 1, wherein the protruding portions of each of the pressure sensing electrodes are comb shaped, saw-tooth shaped, radial shaped, or combinations thereof.

5. The pressure sensing pattern layer of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensing electrodes are uniformly and symmetrically arranged in an array, or are arranged in a cruciform manner or an asterisk shaped manner.

6. The pressure sensing, pattern layer of claim 1, wherein each of the pressure sensing, electrodes has a line width substantially in a range from 10 μ

m to 400 μ

m.

7. The pressure sensing pattern layer of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensing electrodes are made of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium tin oxide doped Ag, silver nanowires, graphene, nano metal meshes carbon nanotubes, or combinations thereof.

8. The pressure sensing pattern layer of claim 1, wherein the first conductive line and the second conductive line are made of transparent indium tin oxide (ITO), silver nanowires, copper nanowires nano metal meshes, graphene, polyaniline, 3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT), carbon nanotubes, or combinations thereof.

9. A pressure sensing input, device, comprising:

a cover plate having a first surface and a second surface respectively located at opposite sides of the cover plate, the first surface being, configured to receive a touch operation of a user;

a substrate; and

a pressure sensing pattern layer formed on a substrate and disposed between the cover and the substrate, and the pressure sensing pattern layer comprising a plurality of pressure sensing electrodes, wherein the pressure sensing electrodes of the pressure sensing pattern layer are configured to detect a strength of the touch operation on the cover plate,

wherein each of the pressure sensing electrodes comprises a plurality of protruding portions, and the protruding, portions are formed from a transparent conductive line which is bent zigzag;

wherein each of the pressure sensing electrodes is electrically connected to a Wheatstone bridge circuit through a first conductive line and a second conductive line, a resistance of each of the pressure sensing electrodes is an element of the Wheatstone bridge circuit, and when any of the pressure sensing, electrodes is touched, a variation of the resistance of the touched pressure sensing electrode is detected by the Wheatstone bride circuit.

10. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, wherein the protruding portions are protruded along at least two directions.

11. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, wherein the protruding portions is distributed in an axially symmetric manner.

12. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, wherein the protruding portions of each of the pressure sensing electrodes are comb shaped, saw-tooth shaped, radial shaped, or combinations thereof.

13. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, wherein the pressure sensing electrodes are uniformly and symmetrically arranged in an array, or are arranged in a cruciform manner or an asterisk shaped manner.

14. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, wherein each of the pressure sensing electrodes has a line width substantially in a range from 10 μ

m to 400 μ

m.

15. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, wherein the pressure sensing electrodes are made of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium tin oxide doped Ag, silver nanowires, graphene, nano metal meshes, carbon nanotubes, or combinations thereof.

16. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, wherein the first conductive line and the second conductive line are made of transparent indium tin oxide (ITO), silver nanowires, copper nanowires, nano metal meshes, graphene, polyaniline, 3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT), carbon nanotubes, or combinations thereof.

17. The pressure sensing input device of claim 9, further comprising:

a touched sensing layer located at a layer different from a layer on which the pressure sensing, pattern layer is located, the touched sensing, layer being configured to detect a position of the touch operation, wherein the pressure sensing, pattern layer is electrically isolated from the touched sensing layer.