Method and apparatus for a touch sensing device having a thin film insulation layer about the periphery of each sensing element
First Claim
1. A method of making a touch sensing device having a plurality of touch sensing elementseach touch sensing element comprising first and second overlapping electrically conductive layers carried on a common support andin which the second conductive layer is spaced from the first conductive layer and is displaceable towards the first conductive layer in response to a touch input,characterized byproviding on the common support a multi-layer thin film structure comprising:
- a first layer of electrically conductive material,a layer of insulating material extending over the first conductive layer anda second layer of electrically conductive material extending over the insulating layer and which second conductive layer is provided at predetermined regions with apertures extending therethrough, andperforming an etching process to remove via said apertures at each region an underlying part of the insulating layer between the first and second conductive layers at said region to leave the second conductive layer extending over the first conductive layer and supported in spaced relationship to the first conductive layer at that region by the insulating layer extending therearound to form a touch sensing element at each region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A touch sensing device comprising a plurality of individually operable touch sensing elements having first and second overlapping and spaced conductive layers (12, 15) with the second conductive layer being displaceable towards the first conductive layer in response to a touch input. The device is fabricated by forming on a support a thin film multi-layer structure comprising the first and second conductive layers with an insulating layer (16) therebetween and in which the second conductive layer is provided with apertures at predetermined regions, and subjecting the structure to an etching process which removes insulating material between the conductive layers at the apertured regions via the apertures to form gaps (19). This leaves the second conductive layer (15) at each region supported in spaced relationship to the first conductive layer by the insulating layer around the periphery of the region. The device may be used, for example, as a keypad or, with larger numbers of elements arranged in a row and column matrix, as a graphics tablet or display overlay and operated with a stylus. The device can conveniently be integrated with a liquid crystal display panel using a substsrate of the panel as the support.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of making a touch sensing device having a plurality of touch sensing elements
each touch sensing element comprising first and second overlapping electrically conductive layers carried on a common support and in which the second conductive layer is spaced from the first conductive layer and is displaceable towards the first conductive layer in response to a touch input, characterized by providing on the common support a multi-layer thin film structure comprising: -
a first layer of electrically conductive material, a layer of insulating material extending over the first conductive layer and a second layer of electrically conductive material extending over the insulating layer and which second conductive layer is provided at predetermined regions with apertures extending therethrough, and performing an etching process to remove via said apertures at each region an underlying part of the insulating layer between the first and second conductive layers at said region to leave the second conductive layer extending over the first conductive layer and supported in spaced relationship to the first conductive layer at that region by the insulating layer extending therearound to form a touch sensing element at each region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A touch sensing device having a plurality of touch sensing elements, each touch sensing element comprising:
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first and second overlying electrically conductive thin-film layers carried on a common support, with the second conductive layer being spaced from the first conductive layer and displaceable towards the first conductive layer in response to a touch input, wherein the second conductive layer has an apertured region at each sensing element location and said second conductive layer is supported around the periphery of the apertured region by a layer of insulating material carried on the common support which insulating layer determines a space between the second and first conductive layers into which space the apertured region of the second conductive layer is displaced in response to a touch input. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification