DIAMOND PATTERNED TOUCH SENSOR SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20170075496A1
• Filed: 09/21/2016
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensel, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sensel, Inc.
• Inventors: ROSENBERG, Ilya Daniel, ZARRAGA, John Aaron
• Granted Patent: US 9,746,964 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/146 for measuring force distributions, e.g. using force arrays G01L1/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/205 using distributed sensing elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 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 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04146 using pressure sensitive conductive elements delivering a boolean signal and located between crossing sensing lines, e.g. located between X and Y sensing line layers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• 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 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0441 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for receiving changes in electrical potential transmitted by the digitiser, e.g. tablet driving signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• 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: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0448 Details of the electrode shape, e.g. for enhancing the detection of touches, for generating specific electric field shapes, for enhancing display quality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 : by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/047 : using sets of wires, e.g. crossed wires

Abstract

A touch sensor detector system and method incorporating a diamond patterned optionally-interpolated sensor array is disclosed. The system and method utilize a touch sensor array (TSA) configured to detect proximity/contact/pressure (PCP) via a variable impedance array (VIA) electrically coupling interlinked/independent impedance columns (IIC) coupled to an array column driver (ACD), and interlinked/independent impedance rows (IIR) coupled to an array row sensor (ARS). The ACD is configured to select the IIC based on a column switching register (CSR) and electrically drive the IIC using a column driving source (CDS). The VIA conveys current from the driven IIC to the IIC sensed by the ARS. The ARS selects the IIR within the TSA and electrically senses the IIR state based on a row switching register (RSR). Interpolation of ARS sensed current/voltage allows accurate detection of TSA PCP and/or spatial location.

Claims

1. A touch sensor system comprising:

(a) touch sensor array (TSA);

(b) array column driver (ACD);

(c) column switching register (CSR);

(d) column driving source (CDS);

(e) array row sensor (ARS);

(f) row switching register (RSR);

(g) analog to digital converter (ADC); and

(h) computing control device (CCD);

wherein;

said TSA comprises a variable impedance array (VIA) comprising VIA columns and VIA rows;

said VIA columns each comprise a diamond-shaped column electrode pattern (DSC);

said VIA rows each comprise a diamond-shaped row electrode pattern (DSR);

said VIA comprises shunt-mode sensor impedance elements interlinking said VIA columns and said VIA rows;

said VIA is configured to electrically couple one or more interlinked impedance columns (IIC) within said TSA with one or more interlinked impedance rows (IIR) within said TSA;

said IIC further comprises one or more individual column impedance elements (ICIE) electrically connected in series between said VIA columns;

said IIR further comprises one or more individual row impedance elements (IRIE) electrically connected in series between said VIA rows;

said ACD is configured to select said IIC within said TSA based on said CSR;

said ACD is configured to electrically drive said selected IIC using said CDS;

said ARS is configured to select said IIR within said TSA based on said RSR;

said ADC is configured to sense the electrical state of said selected IIR and convert said electrical state to a sensed digital value (SDV);

said electrical state is determined by the interpolated sum of current contributions of variable impedance elements within said VIA, where the current contribution of each of said variable impedance elements is determined by a voltage divider formed between the columns of said VIA, a current divider formed between the rows of said VIA, and the state of said each of said variable impedance elements, to produce a sensed current for a given row-column intersection with said VIA; and

said CCD is configured to sample said SDV from said ADC at one or more positions within said TSA to form a touch sensor matrix (TSM) data structure.

2. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein said variable impedance elements within said VIA comprise a layer of contiguous force sensing material.

3. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein each of said columns of said DSC is contiguously connected.

4. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of diamond-shaped conductive pads (DCP);

said DSC and said DCP are coplanar;

said DCP are each placed individually between each of said DSC;

said DCP are grouped together and electrically coupled along individual conductive rows (ICR) using individual thru-hole printed circuit board (PCB) vias located within each of said DCP; and

said DSC and said ICR are located on different layers of a printed circuit board (PCB).

5. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein:

said columns of said DSC are patterned on a first substrate;

said DSR comprises contact pads on said first substrate that are electrically coupled to conducting layers patterned on a second substrate; and

said first substrate and said second substrate are laminated together to form a unitary touch sensor substrate.

6. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of rows with conductive breaks (RCB);

insulating material is deposited where said CCC patterns travel between said RCB patterns; and

conductive material is deposited to bridge pads belonging to each of said RCB patterns without electrically connecting to said CCC patterns.

7. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein said VIA comprises drive electrodes and sense electrodes placed on the same layer and conductive bridges configured such that said drive electrodes and said sense electrodes overlap each other without shorting.

8. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein said VIA comprises a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or rigid printed circuit board (RPCB).

9. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer.

10. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer wherein:

said VIA is flipped upside down and laminated to said display; and

said VIA is laminated to a layer of force sensing material.

11. A touch sensor method configured to operate on a touch sensor system comprising:

(a) touch sensor array (TSA);

(b) array column driver (ACD);

(c) column switching register (CSR);

(d) column driving source (CDS);

(e) array row sensor (ARS);

(f) row switching register (RSR);

(g) analog to digital converter (ADC); and

(h) computing control device (CCD);

wherein;

said TSA comprises a variable impedance array (VIA) comprising VIA columns and VIA rows;

said VIA columns each comprise a diamond-shaped column electrode pattern (DSC);

said VIA rows each comprise a diamond-shaped row electrode pattern (DSR);

said VIA comprises shunt-mode sensor impedance elements interlinking said VIA columns and said VIA rows;

said VIA is configured to electrically couple one or more interlinked impedance columns (IIC) within said TSA with one or more interlinked impedance rows (IIR) within said TSA;

said IIC further comprises one or more individual column impedance elements (ICIE) electrically connected in series between said VIA columns;

said IIR further comprises one or more individual row impedance elements (IRIE) electrically connected in series between said VIA rows;

said ACD is configured to select said IIC within said TSA based on said CSR;

said ACD is configured to electrically drive said selected IIC using said CDS;

said ARS is configured to select said IIR within said TSA based on said RSR;

said ADC is configured to sense the electrical state of said selected IIR and convert said electrical state to a sensed digital value (SDV);

said electrical state is determined by the interpolated sum of current contributions of variable impedance elements within said VIA, where the current contribution of each of said variable impedance elements is determined by a voltage divider formed between the columns of said VIA, a current divider formed between the rows of said VIA, and the state of said each of said variable impedance elements, to produce a sensed current for a given row-column intersection with said VIA; and

said CCD is configured to sample said SDV from said ADC at one or more positions within said TSA to form a touch sensor matrix (TSM) data structure;

wherein said method comprises the steps of;

(1) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIC within said VIA;

(2) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIR within said VIA;

(3) under control of said CCD, electrically stimulating said IIC with said CDS;

(4) under control of said CCD, sensing said electrical state in said IIR with said ADC as a sensed current for a given row-column intersection within said VIA and converting said electrical state to digital data;

(5) under control of said CCD, storing said digital data in said TSM;

(6) under control of said CCD, determining if predetermined variations in said CDR, said IIC, and said IIR have been logged to said TSM, and if so, proceeding to step (8);

(7) under control of said CCD, reconfiguring said CDS, said IIC, and said IIR for a new VIA sensing variant and proceeding to step (3);

(8) under control of said CCD, interpolating said TSM values to determine focal points of activity within said VIA;

(9) under control of said CCD, converting said focal point activity information into a user interface input command sequence; and

(10) under control of said CCD, transmitting said user interface input command sequence to a computer system for action and proceeding to step (1).

12. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein said variable impedance elements within said VIA comprise a layer of contiguous force sensing material.

13. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein each of said columns of said DSC is contiguously connected.

14. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of diamond-shaped conductive pads (DCP);

said DSC and said DCP are coplanar;

said DCP are each placed individually between each of said DSC;

said DCP are grouped together and electrically coupled along individual conductive rows (ICR) using individual thru-hole printed circuit board (PCB) vias located within each of said DCP; and

said DSC and said ICR are located on different layers of a printed circuit board (PCB).

15. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein:

said columns of said DSC are patterned on a first substrate;

said DSR comprises contact pads on said first substrate that are electrically coupled to conducting layers patterned on a second substrate; and

said first substrate and said second substrate are laminated together to form a unitary touch sensor substrate.

16. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of rows with conductive breaks (RCB);

insulating material is deposited where said CCC patterns travel between said RCB patterns; and

conductive material is deposited to bridge pads belonging to each of said RCB patterns without electrically connecting to said CCC patterns.

17. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein said VIA comprises drive electrodes and sense electrodes placed on the same layer and conductive bridges configured such that said drive electrodes and said sense electrodes overlap each other without shorting.

18. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein said VIA comprises a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or rigid printed circuit board (RPCB).

19. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer.

20. The touch sensor method of claim 11 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer wherein:

said VIA is flipped upside down and laminated to said display; and

said VIA is laminated to a layer of force sensing material.

21. A tangible non-transitory computer usable medium having computer-readable program code means comprising a touch sensor method configured to operate on touch sensor system comprising:

(a) touch sensor array (TSA);

(b) array column driver (ACD);

(c) column switching register (CSR);

(d) column driving source (CDS);

(e) array row sensor (ARS);

(f) row switching register (RSR);

(g) analog to digital converter (ADC); and

(h) computing control device (CCD);

wherein;

said TSA comprises a variable impedance array (VIA) comprising VIA columns and VIA rows;

said VIA columns each comprise a diamond-shaped column electrode pattern (DSC);

said VIA rows each comprise a diamond-shaped row electrode pattern (DSR);

said VIA comprises shunt-mode sensor impedance elements interlinking said VIA columns and said VIA rows;

said VIA is configured to electrically couple one or more interlinked impedance columns (IIC) within said TSA with one or more interlinked impedance rows (IIR) within said TSA;

said IIC further comprises one or more individual column impedance elements (ICIE) electrically connected in series between said VIA columns;

said IIR further comprises one or more individual row impedance elements (IRIE) electrically connected in series between said VIA rows;

said ACD is configured to select said IIC within said TSA based on said CSR;

said ACD is configured to electrically drive said selected IIC using said CDS;

said ARS is configured to select said IIR within said TSA based on said RSR;

said ADC is configured to sense the electrical state of said selected IIR and convert said electrical state to a sensed digital value (SDV);

said electrical state is determined by the interpolated sum of current contributions of variable impedance elements within said VIA, where the current contribution of each of said variable impedance elements is determined by a voltage divider formed between the columns of said VIA, a current divider formed between the rows of said VIA, and the state of said each of said variable impedance elements, to produce a sensed current for a given row-column intersection with said VIA; and

said CCD is configured to sample said SDV from said ADC at one or more positions within said TSA to form a touch sensor matrix (TSM) data structure;

wherein said method comprises the steps of;

(1) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIC within said VIA;

(2) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIR within said VIA;

(3) under control of said CCD, electrically stimulating said IIC with said CDS;

(4) under control of said CCD, sensing said electrical state in said IIR with said ADC as a sensed current for a given row-column intersection within said VIA and converting said electrical state to digital data;

(5) under control of said CCD, storing said digital data in said TSM;

(6) under control of said CCD, determining if predetermined variations in said CDR, said IIC, and said IIR have been logged to said TSM, and if so, proceeding to step (8);

(7) under control of said CCD, reconfiguring said CDS, said IIC, and said IIR for a new VIA sensing variant and proceeding to step (3);

(8) under control of said CCD, interpolating said TSM values to determine focal points of activity within said VIA;

(9) under control of said CCD, converting said focal point activity information into a user interface input command sequence; and

(10) under control of said CCD, transmitting said user interface input command sequence to a computer system for action and proceeding to step (1).

22. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein said variable impedance elements within said VIA comprise a layer of contiguous force sensing material.

23. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein each of said columns of said DSC is contiguously connected.

24. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of diamond-shaped conductive pads (DCP);

said DSC and said DCP are coplanar;

said DCP are each placed individually between each of said DSC;

said DCP are grouped together and electrically coupled along individual conductive rows (ICR) using individual thru-hole printed circuit board (PCB) vias located within each of said DCP; and

said DSC and said ICR are located on different layers of a printed circuit board (PCB).

25. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein:

said columns of said DSC are patterned on a first substrate;

said DSR comprises contact pads on said first substrate that are electrically coupled to conducting layers patterned on a second substrate; and

said first substrate and said second substrate are laminated together to form a unitary touch sensor substrate.

26. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of rows with conductive breaks (RCB);

insulating material is deposited where said CCC patterns travel between said RCB patterns; and

conductive material is deposited to bridge pads belonging to each of said RCB patterns without electrically connecting to said CCC patterns.

27. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein said VIA comprises drive electrodes and sense electrodes placed on the same layer and conductive bridges configured such that said drive electrodes and said sense electrodes overlap each other without shorting.

28. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein said VIA comprises a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or rigid printed circuit board (RPCB).

29. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer.

30. The computer useable medium of claim 21 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer wherein:

said VIA is flipped upside down and laminated to said display; and

said VIA is laminated to a layer of force sensing material.

31. A touch sensor system comprising:

(a) touch sensor array (TSA);

(b) array column driver (ACD);

(c) column switching register (CSR);

(d) column driving source (CDS);

(e) array row sensor (ARS);

(f) row switching register (RSR);

(g) analog to digital converter (ADC); and

(h) computing control device (CCD);

wherein;

said TSA comprises a variable impedance array (VIA) comprising VIA columns and VIA rows;

said VIA columns each comprise a diamond-shaped column electrode pattern (DSC);

said VIA rows each comprise a diamond-shaped row electrode pattern (DSR);

said VIA comprises shunt-mode sensor impedance elements interlinking said VIA columns and said VIA rows;

said VIA is configured to electrically couple one or more independent impedance columns (IIC) within said TSA with one or more independent impedance rows (IIR) within said TSA;

said ACD is configured to select said IIC within said TSA based on said CSR;

said ACD is configured to electrically drive said selected IIC using said CDS;

said ARS is configured to select said IIR within said TSA based on said RSR;

said ADC is configured to sense the electrical state of said selected IIR and convert said electrical state to a sensed digital value (SDV);

said electrical state is determined by the non-interpolated sum of current contributions of variable impedance elements within said VIA, where the current contribution of each of said variable impedance elements is determined by voltage sources formed by one or more columns of said VIA, current sinks formed by one or more rows of said VIA, and the state of said each of said variable impedance elements, to produce a sensed current for a given row-column intersection with said VIA; and

said CCD is configured to sample said SDV from said ADC at one or more positions within said TSA to form a touch sensor matrix (TSM) data structure.

32. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein said variable impedance elements within said VIA comprise a layer of contiguous force sensing material.

33. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein each of said columns of said DSC is contiguously connected.

34. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of diamond-shaped conductive pads (DCP);

said DSC and said DCP are coplanar;

said DCP are each placed individually between each of said DSC;

said DCP are grouped together and electrically coupled along individual conductive rows (ICR) using individual thru-hole printed circuit board (PCB) vias located within each of said DCP; and

said DSC and said ICR are located on different layers of a printed circuit board (PCB).

35. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein:

said columns of said DSC are patterned on a first substrate;

said DSR comprises contact pads on said first substrate that are electrically coupled to conducting layers patterned on a second substrate; and

said first substrate and said second substrate are laminated together to form a unitary touch sensor substrate.

36. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of rows with conductive breaks (RCB);

insulating material is deposited where said CCC patterns travel between said RCB patterns; and

conductive material is deposited to bridge pads belonging to each of said RCB patterns without electrically connecting to said CCC patterns.

37. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein said VIA comprises drive electrodes and sense electrodes placed on the same layer and conductive bridges configured such that said drive electrodes and said sense electrodes overlap each other without shorting.

38. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein said VIA comprises a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or rigid printed circuit board (RPCB).

39. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer.

40. The touch sensor system of claim 31 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer wherein:

said VIA is flipped upside down and laminated to said display; and

said VIA is laminated to a layer of force sensing material.

41. A touch sensor method configured to operate on a touch sensor system comprising:

(a) touch sensor array (TSA);

(b) array column driver (ACD);

(c) column switching register (CSR);

(d) column driving source (CDS);

(e) array row sensor (ARS);

(f) row switching register (RSR);

(g) analog to digital converter (ADC); and

(h) computing control device (CCD);

wherein;

said TSA comprises a variable impedance array (VIA) comprising VIA columns and VIA rows;

said VIA columns each comprise a diamond-shaped column electrode pattern (DSC);

said VIA rows each comprise a diamond-shaped row electrode pattern (DSR);

said VIA comprises shunt-mode sensor impedance elements interlinking said VIA columns and said VIA rows;

said VIA is configured to electrically couple one or more independent impedance columns (IIC) within said TSA with one or more independent impedance rows (IIR) within said TSA;

said ACD is configured to select said IIC within said TSA based on said CSR;

said ACD is configured to electrically drive said selected IIC using said CDS;

said ARS is configured to select said IIR within said TSA based on said RSR;

said ADC is configured to sense the electrical state of said selected IIR and convert said electrical state to a sensed digital value (SDV);

said electrical state is determined by the non-interpolated sum of current contributions of variable impedance elements within said VIA, where the current contribution of each of said variable impedance elements is determined by voltage sources formed by one or more columns of said VIA, current sinks formed by one or more rows of said VIA, and the state of said each of said variable impedance elements, to produce a sensed current for a given row-column intersection with said VIA; and

said CCD is configured to sample said SDV from said ADC at one or more positions within said TSA to form a touch sensor matrix (TSM) data structure;

wherein said method comprises the steps of;

(1) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIC within said VIA;

(2) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIR within said VIA;

(3) under control of said CCD, electrically stimulating said IIC with said CDS;

(4) under control of said CCD, sensing said electrical state in said IIR with said ADC as a sensed current for a given row-column intersection within said VIA and converting said electrical state to digital data;

(5) under control of said CCD, storing said digital data in said TSM;

(6) under control of said CCD, determining if predetermined variations in said CDR, said IIC, and said IIR have been logged to said TSM, and if so, proceeding to step (8);

(7) under control of said CCD, reconfiguring said CDS, said IIC, and said IIR for a new VIA sensing variant and proceeding to step (3);

(8) under control of said CCD, inspecting said TSM values to determine focal points of activity within said VIA;

(9) under control of said CCD, converting said focal point activity information into a user interface input command sequence; and

(10) under control of said CCD, transmitting said user interface input command sequence to a computer system for action and proceeding to step (1).

42. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein said variable impedance elements within said VIA comprise a layer of contiguous force sensing material.

43. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein each of said columns of said DSC is contiguously connected.

44. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of diamond-shaped conductive pads (DCP);

said DSC and said DCP are coplanar;

said DCP are each placed individually between each of said DSC;

said DCP are grouped together and electrically coupled along individual conductive rows (ICR) using individual thru-hole printed circuit board (PCB) vias located within each of said DCP; and

said DSC and said ICR are located on different layers of a printed circuit board (PCB).

45. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein:

said columns of said DSC are patterned on a first substrate;

said DSR comprises contact pads on said first substrate that are electrically coupled to conducting layers patterned on a second substrate; and

said first substrate and said second substrate are laminated together to form a unitary touch sensor substrate.

46. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of rows with conductive breaks (RCB);

insulating material is deposited where said CCC patterns travel between said RCB patterns; and

conductive material is deposited to bridge pads belonging to each of said RCB patterns without electrically connecting to said CCC patterns.

47. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein said VIA comprises drive electrodes and sense electrodes placed on the same layer and conductive bridges configured such that said drive electrodes and said sense electrodes overlap each other without shorting.

48. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein said VIA comprises a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or rigid printed circuit board (RPCB).

49. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer.

50. The touch sensor method of claim 41 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer wherein:

said VIA is flipped upside down and laminated to said display; and

said VIA is laminated to a layer of force sensing material.

51. A tangible non-transitory computer usable medium having computer-readable program code means comprising a touch sensor method configured to operate on touch sensor system comprising:

(a) touch sensor array (TSA);

(b) array column driver (ACD);

(c) column switching register (CSR);

(d) column driving source (CDS);

(e) array row sensor (ARS);

(f) row switching register (RSR);

(g) analog to digital converter (ADC); and

(h) computing control device (CCD);

wherein;

said TSA comprises a variable impedance array (VIA) comprising VIA columns and VIA rows;

said VIA columns each comprise a diamond-shaped column electrode pattern (DSC);

said VIA rows each comprise a diamond-shaped row electrode pattern (DSR);

said VIA comprises shunt-mode sensor impedance elements interlinking said VIA columns and said VIA rows;

said VIA is configured to electrically couple one or more independent impedance columns (IIC) within said TSA with one or more independent impedance rows (IIR) within said TSA;

said ACD is configured to select said IIC within said TSA based on said CSR;

said ACD is configured to electrically drive said selected IIC using said CDS;

said ARS is configured to select said IIR within said TSA based on said RSR;

said ADC is configured to sense the electrical state of said selected IIR and convert said electrical state to a sensed digital value (SDV);

said electrical state is determined by the non-interpolated sum of current contributions of variable impedance elements within said VIA, where the current contribution of each of said variable impedance elements is determined by voltage sources formed by one or more columns of said VIA, current sinks formed by one or more rows of said VIA, and the state of said each of said variable impedance elements, to produce a sensed current for a given row-column intersection with said VIA; and

said CCD is configured to sample said SDV from said ADC at one or more positions within said TSA to form a touch sensor matrix (TSM) data structure;

wherein said method comprises the steps of;

(1) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIC within said VIA;

(2) under control of said CCD, configuring said IIR within said VIA;

(3) under control of said CCD, electrically stimulating said IIC with said CDS;

(4) under control of said CCD, sensing said electrical state in said IIR with said ADC as a sensed current for a given row-column intersection within said VIA and converting said electrical state to digital data;

(5) under control of said CCD, storing said digital data in said TSM;

(6) under control of said CCD, determining if predetermined variations in said CDR, said IIC, and said IIR have been logged to said TSM, and if so, proceeding to step (8);

(7) under control of said CCD, reconfiguring said CDS, said IIC, and said IIR for a new VIA sensing variant and proceeding to step (3);

(8) under control of said CCD, inspecting said TSM values to determine focal points of activity within said VIA;

(9) under control of said CCD, converting said focal point activity information into a user interface input command sequence; and

(10) under control of said CCD, transmitting said user interface input command sequence to a computer system for action and proceeding to step (1).

52. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein said variable impedance elements within said VIA comprise a layer of contiguous force sensing material.

53. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein each of said columns of said DSC is contiguously connected.

54. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of diamond-shaped conductive pads (DCP);

said DSC and said DCP are coplanar;

said DCP are each placed individually between each of said DSC;

said DCP are grouped together and electrically coupled along individual conductive rows (ICR) using individual thru-hole printed circuit board (PCB) vias located within each of said DCP; and

said DSC and said ICR are located on different layers of a printed circuit board (PCB).

55. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein:

said columns of said DSC are patterned on a first substrate;

said DSR comprises contact pads on said first substrate that are electrically coupled to conducting layers patterned on a second substrate; and

said first substrate and said second substrate are laminated together to form a unitary touch sensor substrate.

56. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein:

said DSC comprises a pattern of contiguously conducting columns (CCC);

said DSR comprises a pattern of rows with conductive breaks (RCB);

insulating material is deposited where said CCC patterns travel between said RCB patterns; and

conductive material is deposited to bridge pads belonging to each of said RCB patterns without electrically connecting to said CCC patterns.

57. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein said VIA comprises drive electrodes and sense electrodes placed on the same layer and conductive bridges configured such that said drive electrodes and said sense electrodes overlap each other without shorting.

58. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein said VIA comprises a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or rigid printed circuit board (RPCB).

59. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer.

60. The computer useable medium of claim 51 wherein said touch sensor system further comprises a display and a protective layer wherein:

said VIA is flipped upside down and laminated to said display; and

said VIA is laminated to a layer of force sensing material.