Integrated Touch Sensor and Force Sensor for an Electronic Device

• US 20180025694A1
• Filed: 09/19/2017
• Published: 01/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Al-Dahle, Ahmad, Li, Yingxuan, Yousefpor, Marduke, Yao, Weijun
• Granted Patent: US 10,043,469 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04184 Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally
• 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: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence

Abstract

Systems and method of performing touch and force sensing in an electronic device. The device includes a cover and an array of touch-sensor electrodes disposed below the cover. The first array of electrodes may be configured to sense a touch on the cover using a capacitive sensing scheme. The device also includes a force-sensor drive electrode disposed below the first array of electrodes and a force-sensor sense electrode disposed below the force-sensor drive electrode. The force-sensor drive and sense electrode may be configured to sense a force on the cover. The device also includes a shared drive circuit having an output that is operatively coupled to the array of touch-sensor electrodes and the force-sensor drive electrode.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A touch and force sensing device comprising:

a cover;

a layer of touch-sensor electrodes disposed below the cover, the layer of touch-sensor electrodes being configured to sense a touch on the cover;

a force-sensor drive electrode layer disposed below the cover;

a force-sensor sense electrode layer disposed below the cover, wherein the force-sensor drive electrode layer and the force-sensor sense electrode layer are configured to sense a force on the cover; and

a shared voltage source operatively coupled to the layer of touch-sensor electrodes and the force-sensor drive electrode later.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the force-sensor drive electrode layer comprises a single electrode having an area that is approximately the same as an area of the layer of touch-sensor electrodes.

23. The device of claim 21, wherein the force-sensor sense electrode layer is disposed below the force sensor drive electrode layer.

24. The device of claim 21, wherein the force-sensor drive electrode layer substantially shields the touch-sensor electrodes from electrical interference produced by components located below the force-sensor drive electrode layer.

25. The device of claim 21, wherein:

the force-sensor drive electrode layer comprises an array of drive electrodes, the array of drive electrodes having an area that is approximately the same as an area of the layer of touch-sensor electrodes; and

the array of drive electrodes substantially shields the array of touch-sensor electrodes from electrical interference produced by components located below the force-sensor drive electrode.

26. The device of claim 21, wherein the layer of touch-sensor electrodes are disposed over a display element, and the layer of touch-sensor electrodes are used to drive the display element.

27. The device of claim 21, wherein the array of touch-sensor electrodes form a Vcom layer of a thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) element.

28. The device of claim 21, further comprising an array of sense electrodes operatively coupled to touch-sensing circuitry that is configured to detect changes in charge coupling between one or more electrodes of the array of sense electrodes and one or more electrodes of the layer of touch-sensor electrodes.

29. The device of claim 21, wherein the layer of touch-sensor electrodes comprises an array of touch-sensor electrodes.

30. An electronic device comprising:

a housing;

a display disposed within an opening of the housing;

a cover disposed over the display;

an array of touch-sensor electrodes disposed below the cover, the array of touch-sensor electrodes being configured to sense a touch on the cover;

a force-sensor drive electrode disposed in a first layer below the cover;

a force-sensor sense electrode disposed in a second layer, wherein the force-sensor drive electrode and force-sensor sense electrode are configured to sense a force on the cover; and

a shared voltage source operatively coupled to the array of touch-sensor electrodes and the force-sensor drive electrodes.

31. The electronic device of claim 30, further comprising:

a polarizer layer disposed below the display; and

a back-light unit disposed below the polarizer layer, wherein the force-sensor drive electrode is disposed between the display and the polarizer.

32. The electronic device of claim 30, wherein:

the force-sensor drive electrode and the force-sensor sense electrode are separated by a gap;

a force on the cover causes the gap to decrease; and

the force-sensor sense electrode is operatively coupled to force-sensing circuitry that is configured to detect changes in capacitance between the force-sensor drive electrode and the force-sensor sense electrode due to the decrease in the gap.

33. The electronic device of claim 32, wherein the gap includes one or more of:

air, a compressible medium, or a combination of air and a compressible medium.

34. The electronic device of claim 30, wherein the array of touch-sensor electrodes are disposed over the display.

35. The electronic device of claim 30, wherein the second layer is disposed below the first layer of the force-sensor drive electrode.

36. A method of performing touch and force sensing on a cover of a device, the method comprising:

transmitting a drive signal to an array of touch-sensor electrodes using a common voltage source, the array of touch-sensor electrodes being disposed below the cover;

transmitting the drive signal to a force-sensor drive electrode using the common voltage source;

sensing a response from the array of touch-sensor electrodes;

determining if an object is touching the cover based on the sensed response from the array of touch sensor electrodes;

sensing a response from a force-sensor sense electrode; and

determining a force associated with the object touching the cover based on the sensed response from the force-sensor sense electrode.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the transmitting the drive signal to the array of touch-sensor electrodes and the transmitting the drive signal to the force-sensor drive electrode is performed at substantially the same time.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

transmitting a display drive signal to a display element of the device, wherein the transmitting the display drive signal is performed at a separate time than the transmitting the drive signal to the array of touch-sensor electrodes and the transmitting the drive signal to the force-sensor drive electrode.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the force-sensor drive electrode is disposed above the force-sensor sense electrode.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein the force-sensor sense electrode is disposed in a layer below the force-sensor drive electrode.