In-cell or on-cell touch sensor with color filter on array

• US 9,470,941 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2011
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Park, Youngbae, Chen, Cheng, Chang, Shih Chang, Zhong, John Z.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moon, Seokyun
• Application Number:
  US13/213,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20130044074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,887 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1362 Active matrix addressed cells G02F1/134336, G02F1/134363 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136209 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix, incorporated in the active matrix substrate, e.g. structurally associated with the switching element
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136218 Shield electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13685 Top gates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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: Y10T 29/49105 Switch making

Abstract

Methods and devices employing in-cell and/or on-cell touch sensor components, including in-cell and/or on-cell black matrix material that also may serve as a touch drive or sense electrode, are provided. In one example, an electronic display may include a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a black matrix material that shields light between pixels of the electronic display. At least a portion of the black matrix material may form all or part of a component of a touch sensor of the electronic display.

Claims

1. An electronic display comprising:

a touch drive electrode comprising a first common electrode configured to be supplied a first common voltage; and

touch sense electrodes configured to detect a user touch based at least in part on a capacitance formed between the touch drive electrode and the touch sense electrodes, wherein the touch sense electrodes comprise;

a first substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode and a second substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode, wherein the first substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode and the second substantially light transmissive touch sense electrode comprise a second common electrode configured to be supplied a second common voltage different from the first common voltage; and

a conductive portion of a black matrix material, wherein the black matrix material is configured to shield light between pixels of the electronic display and the conductive portion of the black matrix material is configured to supplement the first substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode and the second substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode.

2. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the black matrix material is formed in a touch sensor layer on an inward-facing side of an upper substrate and is configured to be disposed over two differently colored organic resin filters in a thin film transistor layer disposed on a lower substrate.

3. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the conductive portion of the black matrix material is configured to provide a signal indicating whether an object is located nearby through self capacitance or mutual capacitance with the touch drive electrode.

4. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the black matrix material is disposed directly on a dielectric layer on an inward facing side of an upper substrate.

5. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the black matrix material is disposed directly on an inward facing side of an upper substrate.

15. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the touch drive electrode comprise a gate line, a source line, a drain line, or a pixel electrodes.

16. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the touch sense electrodes comprise one or more gate lines, one or more source lines, one or more drain lines, one or more pixel electrodes, or any combination thereof.

17. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein:

the touch drive electrode is configured to receive drive signals; and

the touch sense electrodes are configured to generate sense signals based at least in part on capacitive interaction between a user body part and the drive signals to indicate occurrence of a user touch.

18. The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the first common electrode and the second common electrode are electrically isolated.

19. The electronic display of claim 1, comprising a common voltage source configured to supply the first common voltage to the first common electrode and the second common voltage to the second common electrode.

6. A method of manufacturing an electronic display panel comprising:

forming a touch sensor layer over an inward facing side of a top glass substrate, wherein forming the touch sensor layer comprises;

forming a touch sense electrode over the inward facing side of the top glass substrate, wherein the touch sense electrode comprises a first common electrode;

forming a dielectric layer over the inward facing side of the top glass substrate;

forming a first substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode and a second substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode over the inward facing side of the top glass substrate, wherein the first substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode and the second substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode comprise a second common electrode;

electrically connecting a common voltage source to the first common electrode and the second common electrode to enable the common voltage source to supply a first common voltage to the first common electrode and a second common voltage different from the first common voltage to the second common electrode; and

forming a conductive portion of a black matrix material over the inward facing side of the top glass substrate, wherein the black matrix material is configured to separate a plurality of display pixels in the electronic display panel and the conductive portion of the black matrix material is configured to supplement the first substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode and the second substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode and the second substantially light transmissive touch drive electrode are adjacent.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein forming the touch sensor layer comprises:

forming the touch sense electrode directly on the inward facing side of the top glass substrate;

forming the dielectric layer directly on the touch sense electrode;

forming the first substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode and the second substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode directly on the dielectric layer; and

forming the conductive portion of the black matrix material directly on the dielectric layer, the first substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode, and the second substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode.

20. The method of claim 6, wherein the first common electrode and the second common electrode are electrically isolated.

9. An electronic device comprising:

data processing circuitry configured to perform an operation based at least in part on detection of a user touch; and

an electronic touch-screen display configured to;

detect the user touch based at least in part on a first capacitive interaction between a substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode, a first touch sense electrode, and a user body part, wherein the substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode comprises a first common electrode;

detect the user touch based at least in part on a second capacitive interaction between a second touch sense electrode, a black matrix touch drive electrode, and the user body part, wherein the second touch sense electrode comprises a second common electrode, and the black matrix touch drive electrode is configured to supplement the substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode; and

display an image by supplying a first common voltage to the first common electrode and a second common voltage to the second common electrode.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the black matrix touch drive electrode is configured to facilitate reducing overall resistance of the electronic touch-screen display.

11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the black matrix touch drive electrode comprises a substantially opaque conductive material having a lower electrical resistance than the substantially light-transmissive touch drive electrode.

21. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first touch sense electrode comprises a gate line, a source line, a drain line, a pixel electrode, or any combination thereof.

22. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic touch-screen display comprises a common voltage source configured to supply the first common voltage to the first common electrode and the second common voltage to the second common electrode.

23. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first common voltage and the second common voltage are different.

24. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the black matrix touch drive electrode comprises a conductive portion of a black matrix configured to shield light between pixels of the electronic display.

25. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first common electrode and the second common electrode are electrically isolated.

26. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein:

the substantially light transmissive touch drive electrode and the black matrix touch drive electrode are configured to receive drive signals;

the first touch sense electrode is configured to generate first sense signals to indicate occurrence of the user touch at the first touch sense electrode; and

the second touch sense electrodes is configured to generate second sense signals to indicate occurrence of the user touch at the second touch sense electrode.

12. A method for manufacturing an electronic display panel comprising:

forming a touch sensor layer over an inward-facing side of an upper substrate, wherein forming the touch sensor layer comprises;

forming a first touch drive electrode and a second touch drive electrode over the inward-facing side of the upper substrate, wherein the first touch drive electrode and the second touch drive electrode comprise a first common electrode;

forming a dielectric layer over the inward-facing side of the upper substrate;

forming a substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode over the inward-facing side of the upper substrate, wherein the substantially light transmissive touch sense electrode comprises a second common electrode;

electrically connecting a common voltage source to the first common electrode and the second common electrode to enable the common voltage source to supply a first common voltage to the first common electrode and a second voltage to the second common electrode; and

forming a conductive portion of a black matrix material over the inward-facing side of the upper substrate, wherein the black matrix material is configured to separate a plurality of display pixels in the electronic display panel and the conductive portion of the black matrix material is configured to supplement the substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein forming the touch sensor layer comprises:

forming the first touch drive electrode and the second touch drive electrode directly on the inward-facing side of the top glass substrate;

forming the dielectric layer directly on the first touch drive electrode and the second touch drive electrode;

forming the substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode directly on the dielectric layer; and

forming the conductive portion of the black matrix material directly on the dielectric layer and the substantially light-transmissive touch sense electrode.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the touch sensor layer is formed at least in part in the recited order.

27. The method of claim 12, wherein the first common electrode and the second common electrode are electrically isolated.

28. The method of claim 12, wherein the first common voltage and the second common voltage are different.