Mutual capacitance touch sensing device

• US 8,514,185 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2007
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, VIET DAVID
• Application Number:
  US11/882,424
• Publication Number:
  US 20080007539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,211 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/156
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96077 comprising an electrode which is floating
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960775 Emitter-receiver or "fringe" type detection, i.e. one or more field emitting electrodes and corresponding one or more receiving electrodes

Abstract

A mutual capacitive touch sensing device is disclosed. The touch sensing device includes a mutual capacitive sensing controller having a plurality of distinct drive lines and a plurality of distinct sense lines; a source for driving a current or voltage separately though each drive line; and a mutual capacitance sensing circuit that monitors the capacitance at the sensing lines. The touch sensing device also includes a plurality of independent and spatially distinct mutual capacitive sensing nodes set up in a non two dimensional array. Each node includes a drive electrode that is spatially separated from a sense electrode. The drive electrode is coupled to one of the drive lines and the sense electrode is coupled to one of the sense lines. Each node is set up with a different combination of drive and sense line coupled thereto.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes arranged along node paths that form an array, the array comprising multiple first node paths arranged in a first pattern and multiple second node paths arranged in a second pattern,

the node paths being arranged such that when a first node path and a second node path intersect then the intersecting node paths form an angle of greater than or less than 90 degrees, each of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes comprising an electrode pair formed in a first layer, each of the electrode pairs comprising a drive electrode and a sense electrode, and

a controller configured to detect a capacitance value associated with each of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes by driving the drive electrode and sensing the sense electrode of each of the electrode pairs, the capacitance value associated with each of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes enabling differentiation between the presence of a touch and the absence of a touch at each of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes.

2. The device of claim 1 comprising a floating electrode formed in a second layer, wherein for each of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes the driving of the drive electrode causes a first capacitive coupling to occur between the drive electrode and the floating electrode and a second capacitive coupling to occur between the floating electrode and the sense electrode.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the drive electrodes and the sense electrodes of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes are disposed on an opposite side of a substrate on which the floating electrodes of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes are disposed.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein for each of the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes an outer dimension of the floating electrode matches an outer dimension of the drive electrode and the sense electrode combined.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein each of the drive electrodes and the sense electrodes comprises a plate.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein each of the drive electrodes and the sense electrodes comprises a band.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the drive electrode and the sense electrode of each of the electrode pairs are juxtaposed next to one another in a side-by-side relationship.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the drive electrode and the sense electrode of each of the electrode pairs are interleaved with one another.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a first line coupling the controller to multiple of the drive electrodes and a second line coupling multiple of the sense electrodes to the controller.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising lines coupling the electrode pairs to the controller, the lines formed in a layer other than the first layer.

11. The device of claim 1, further comprising lines coupling the electrode pairs to the controller, the lines formed in the first layer.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to drive the drive electrodes by driving a current to the drive electrodes.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to drive the drive electrodes by driving a voltage to the drive electrodes.

14. The device of claim 1 comprising a hand held electronic device.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the multiple mutual capacitive sensing nodes are positioned at angular positions in a circular manner.