Graduated routing for electrodes coupled to touch sensor electrodes

• US 9,572,263 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2014
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cirque Corporation (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Cirque Corporation (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Bytheway, Jared G., Bertrand, Jon Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Arbes, Carl
• Application Number:
  US14/564,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20150096172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G06F 30/394 Routing G06F30/396 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/10 in which conductive material is applied to the insulating support in such a manner as to form the desired conductive pattern
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49155 Manufacturing circuit on or in base

Abstract

A system and method for balancing the capacitive charge on touch sensor electrodes so that every two adjacent routes have the same capacitance as any other adjacent two routes, wherein routing electrodes are spaced further and further apart, or graduated, as they get longer, to thereby balance the capacitance on the touch sensor electrodes without having to add or subtract an offset from each touch sensor electrode.

Claims

1. A method for reducing parasitic capacitance on electrodes of a touch sensor, said method comprising:

1) providing a touch sensor having at least one touch sensor circuit, a plurality of touch sensor electrodes, and a unique routing trace between the at least one touch sensor circuit and each of the plurality of touch sensor electrodes, wherein the plurality of routing traces have a shared path along at least a portion of a path between the plurality of touch sensor electrodes and the at least one touch sensor circuit; and

2) changing the thickness of at least one of the plurality of routing traces along the shared path to thereby reduce parasitic capacitance on the plurality of routing traces.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the method is further comprised of varying a thickness of the plurality of routing traces along the shared path, with thickest routing traces being the shortest, and becoming gradually thinner as the routing traces become longer.

3. The method as defined in claim 2 wherein the method is further comprised of making a space between routing traces smaller for routing traces that have a shorter shared path, and making the space larger for routing traces that have a longer shared path.

4. A method for balancing capacitance on electrodes of a touch sensor, said method comprising:

1) providing a touch sensor having at least one touch sensor circuit, a plurality of touch sensor electrodes, and a unique routing trace between the at least one touch sensor circuit and each of the plurality of touch sensor electrodes, wherein the routing traces have a shared path along at least a portion of a path between the plurality of electrodes and the at least one touch sensor circuit; and

2) disposing a plurality of interleaved branches on at least some of the plurality of routing traces to thereby balance capacitance on the plurality of touch sensor electrodes.