Ground guard for capacitive sensing

• US 8,487,898 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steve Porter
• Primary Examiner(s): Leiby, Christopher E
• Application Number:
  US12/110,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20090267916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,908 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-174, 341/33
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• 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

A touch sensor panel is disclosed including the use of ground guards or ground isolation bars to improve the touch event detection capabilities of the touch sensor panel. Ground isolation bars can be formed between connecting traces and adjacent sense lines to shunt near-field lines to ground and reduce unwanted capacitive coupling between the connecting traces and the sense lines. Ground guards can be formed between the drive and sense lines to partially or fully surround a sense line and shunt near-field lines to ground and improve the touch event detection capabilities of the sensor.

Claims

1. A capacitive touch sensor panel, comprising:

a plurality of sense lines formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate;

a plurality of drive lines formed on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of sense lines, each of the plurality of drive lines formed along rows from a corresponding plurality of polygonal areas electrically coupled together by a plurality of traces routed to a plurality of bus lines including at least a first and second bus line, the plurality of sense lines formed of a plurality of columns, the plurality of sense lines and the plurality of drive lines forming an array of capacitive sensors;

one or more ground guards formed adjacent to one or more of the sense lines for shunting electric field lines that would otherwise couple capacitance onto the one or more sense lines;

the plurality of connecting traces routed adjacent to at least a first and second column of the polygonal areas, each column having at least a first and second polygonal area disposed in the same position in each column relative to the plurality of bus lines, the distance between the first polygonal area and the bus lines being different from the distance between the second polygonal area and the bus lines;

the plurality of connecting traces formed on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of sense lines;

a first connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the first polygonal area of the first column and a second connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the second polygonal area of the second column; and

a third connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the second polygonal area of the first column, and fourth connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the first polygonal area of the second column;

whereby at least the first and second bus lines have a substantially uniform average impedance.

2. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the one or more ground guards configured for shunting near-field electric field lines that would otherwise couple capacitance onto the sense lines.

3. The touch sensor panel as recited in claim 1 wherein the traces are connected to the polygonal areas and the bus lines so as to interleave the polygonal areas.

4. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the one or more ground guards formed between one or more of the polygonal areas and the one or more sense lines for shunting electric field lines from the one or more polygonal areas.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the touch sensor panel integrated within a computing system.

6. The touch sensor panel of claim 5, computing system integrated within a mobile telephone.

7. The touch sensor panel of claim 5, the computing system integrated within a media player.

8. A method for improving a touch detection capability of a capacitive touch sensor panel having a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines formed on a same side of a single substrate, comprising:

forming the plurality of drive lines from a plurality of polygonal areas electrically coupled together by a plurality of traces routed to a plurality of bus lines including at least a first and second bus line;

forming the plurality of sense lines as a plurality of columns;

routing the plurality of connecting traces adjacent to the polygonal areas on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of sense lines;

routing the plurality of connecting traces adjacent to at least a first and second column of the polygonal areas, each column having at least a first and second polygonal area disposed in the same position in each column relative to the plurality of bus lines, the distance between the first polygonal area and the bus lines being different from the distance between the second polygonal area and the bus lines; and

a first connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the first polygonal area of the first column and a second connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the second polygonal area of the second column;

a third connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the second polygonal area of the first column, and fourth connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the first polygonal area of the second column; and

forming the one or more ground guards adjacent one or more sense lines for shunting electric field lines that would otherwise couple capacitance onto the one or more sense lines;

whereby at least the first and second bus lines have a substantially uniform average impedance.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising configuring the one or more ground guards for shunting near-field electric field lines.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising forming the one or more ground guards between the polygonal areas and the sense lines for shunting electric field lines from the polygonal areas.

11. A mobile telephone including a touch sensor panel, the touch sensor panel comprising:

a plurality of sense lines formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate;

a plurality of drive lines formed on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of sense lines, each of the plurality of drive lines formed along rows from a corresponding plurality of polygonal areas electrically coupled together by a plurality of traces routed to a plurality of bus lines, including at least a first and second bus line, the plurality of sense lines formed of a plurality of columns, the plurality of sense lines and the plurality of drive lines forming an array of capacitive sensors;

one or more ground guards formed adjacent to one or more of the sense lines for shunting electric field lines that would otherwise couple capacitance onto the one or more sense lines;

the plurality of connecting traces routed adjacent to at least a first and second column of the polygonal areas, each column having at least a first and second polygonal area disposed in the same position in each column relative to the plurality of bus lines, the distance between the first polygonal area and the bus lines being different from the distance between the second polygonal area and the bus lines;

the plurality of connecting traces formed on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of sense lines;

a first connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the first polygonal area of the first column and a second connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the second polygonal area of the second column; and

a third connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the second polygonal area of the first column, and fourth connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the first polygonal area of the second column;

whereby at least the first and second bus lines have a substantially uniform average impedance.

12. A media player including a touch sensor panel, the touch sensor panel comprising:

a plurality of sense lines formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate;

a plurality of drive lines formed on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of sense lines, each of the plurality of drive lines formed along rows from a corresponding plurality of polygonal areas electrically coupled together by a plurality of traces routed to a plurality of bus lines, including at least a first and second bus line, the plurality of sense lines formed of a plurality of columns, the plurality of sense lines and the plurality of drive lines forming an array of capacitive sensors;

one or more ground guards formed adjacent to one or more of the sense lines for shunting electric field lines that would otherwise couple capacitance onto the one or more sense lines;

the plurality of connecting traces routed adjacent to at least a first and second column of the polygonal areas, each column having at least a first and second polygonal area disposed in the same position in each column relative to the plurality of bus lines, the distance between the first polygonal area and the bus lines being different from the distance between the second polygonal area and the bus lines;

the plurality of connecting traces formed on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of sense lines;

a first connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the first polygonal area of the first column and a second connecting trace coupling the first bus line to the second polygonal area of the second column; and

a third connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the second polygonal area of the first column, and fourth connecting trace coupling the second bus line to the first polygonal area of the second column;

whereby at least the first and second bus lines have a substantially uniform average impedance.