Multipoint touchscreen

• US 10,331,259 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2016
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steve, Strickon, Joshua A., Huppi, Brian Q.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zheng, Xuemei
• Application Number:
  US15/273,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20170010746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,006 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 1804
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• 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

Abstract

A touch panel having a transparent capacitive sensing medium configured to detect multiple touches or near touches that occur at the same time and at distinct locations in the plane of the touch panel and to produce distinct signals representative of the location of the touches on the plane of the touch panel for each of the multiple touches is disclosed.

Claims

1. A device configured to detect a pressure of each of multiple touches that occur at a same time and at distinct locations in a plane of the device and to produce pressure signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches on the plane of the device, wherein the device comprises:

a first layer having a plurality of first conductive lines that are electrically isolated from one another, each of the plurality of first conductive lines being operatively couplable to first circuitry; and

a second layer spatially separated from the first layer and having a plurality of second conductive lines that are electrically isolated from one another, the plurality of second conductive lines being positioned transverse to the plurality of first conductive lines, the intersection of transverse lines being positioned at different locations in the plane of the device, each of the plurality of second conductive lines being operatively coupled to second circuitry that determines the pressure of each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the device and tracks each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the device;

wherein the first circuitry is configured to stimulate the plurality of first conductive lines;

wherein the second circuitry is configured to detect charge coupling events that occur between the plurality of first conductive lines and the plurality of second conductive lines when the first circuitry is stimulating one or more of the plurality of first conductive lines, and

wherein the charge coupling between the plurality of first conductive lines and the plurality of second conductive lines produces the pressure signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches on the plane of the device.

2. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of first conductive lines are substantially parallel to one another, and the plurality of second conductive lines are substantially parallel to one another.

3. The device as recited in claim 2 wherein the pluralities of first and second conductive lines on respective first and second layers are substantially perpendicular to one another.

4. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of first conductive lines of the first layer are disposed on a first member, and wherein the plurality of second conductive lines of the second layer are disposed on a second member, the first member being disposed over the second member.

5. The device as recited in claim 4 further including a third member disposed over the first member, the first and second members being attached to one another via an adhesive layer, the third member being attached to the first member via another adhesive layer.

6. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the pluralities of first and second conductive lines are formed from indium tin oxide (ITO).

7. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to detect mutual capacitance charge coupling between the plurality of first conductive lines and the plurality of second conductive lines.

8. The device as recited in claim 7, wherein the circuitry comprises a virtual ground charge amplifier.

9. The device as recited in claim 1, the pluralities of first and second conductive lines are formed on both sides of a single substrate.

10. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the second circuitry which tracks each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the device compares a current image of the pressure applied by each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the device with a previous image of the pressure applied by each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the device to determine an action to be performed.

11. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of first conductive lines are driven at a time while the other first conductive lines are grounded.

12. The device as recited in claim 11 wherein the plurality of first conductive lines are used as drive lines to the exclusion of sense lines, and the plurality of second conductive lines are used as the sense lines to the exclusion of the drive lines.

13. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of first conductive lines are used as drive lines to the exclusion of sense lines, and the plurality of second conductive lines are used as the sense lines to the exclusion of the drive lines.

14. The device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a processor coupled to the first and the second circuitry, wherein the processor is capable of generating gradient data based on the charge coupling between the plurality of first conductive lines and the plurality of second conductive lines and determining the pressure signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches on the plane of the device using the gradient data.

15. A device comprising:

a display having a screen for displaying a graphical user interface; and

a pressure sensing panel configured to detect a pressure of each of multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at different locations on the panel;

wherein the pressure sensing panel includes a multipoint sensing arrangement configured to detect the pressure at each of the different locations of the multiple touch events by detecting capacitive coupling associated with those multiple touch events that occur at the different locations on the panel; and

wherein the pressure sensing panel comprises;

a first conductive layer comprising a first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, each of the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines being operatively couplable to first circuitry;

a second conductive layer comprising a second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines being substantially perpendicular to the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines and crossing the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines to form to form capacitive sensing nodes; and

an electrically insulating layer interposed between the first and second conductive layers; and

wherein the device further comprises second circuitry operatively coupled to the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines;

wherein the first circuitry is configured to stimulate the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines;

wherein the second circuitry is configured to detect capacitive coupling between the first and second pluralities of spaced apart parallel lines at each of the capacitive sensing nodes, when the first circuitry is stimulating one or more of the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, wherein the capacitive coupling produces a pressure signal for each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations on the panel; and

wherein the second circuitry determines the pressure of each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations on the panel and tracks each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations on the panel.

16. The device as recited in claim 15 further including dummy features disposed in the space between the plurality of first and second spaced apart parallel lines on the respective first conductive layer and on the second conductive layer.

17. The device as recited in claim 15, wherein the second circuitry which tracks each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations on the panel compares a current image of the pressure applied at each of the different locations of the multiple touch events with a previous image of pressure applied at each of the different locations of the multiple touch events to determine an action to be performed.

18. The device as recited in claim 15, further comprising a processor coupled to the first and the second circuitry, wherein the processor is capable of generating gradient data based on the capacitive coupling between the plurality of first spaced apart parallel lines and the plurality of second spaced apart parallel lines on the respective first conductive layer and on the second conductive layer and determining the pressure signals at each of the different locations of the multiple touch events on the panel using the gradient data.

19. An input device comprising a transparent capacitive sensing medium configured to detect a location and pressure of each of multiple touches that occur at a same time and at distinct locations in a plane of the input device and to produce location and pressure signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches on the plane of the input device, wherein the transparent capacitive sensing medium comprises:

a first layer having a plurality of transparent first conductive lines that are electrically isolated from one another, each of the plurality of transparent first conductive lines being operatively couplable to first circuitry; and

a second layer spatially separated from the first layer and having a plurality of transparent second conductive lines that are electrically isolated from one another, the plurality of transparent second conductive lines being positioned transverse to the plurality of transparent first conductive lines, the intersection of transverse lines being positioned at different locations in a plane of the input device, each of the plurality of transparent second conductive lines being operatively coupled to second circuitry that determines the location and pressure of each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the input device and tracks each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the input device;

wherein the first circuitry is configured to stimulate the plurality of transparent first conductive lines;

wherein the second circuitry is configured to detect charge coupling at the capacitive sensing nodes between the plurality of transparent first conductive lines and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines when the first circuitry is stimulating one or more of the plurality of transparent first conductive lines, and wherein the charge coupling between the plurality of transparent first conductive lines and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines produces the location and pressure signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches that occur in the plane of the input device.

20. The input device as recited in claim 19 wherein the plurality of transparent first conductive lines are substantially parallel to one another, and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines are substantially parallel to one another.

21. The input device as recited in claim 20 wherein the pluralities of transparent first and second conductive lines are substantially perpendicular to one another.

22. The input device as recited in claim 19 wherein the plurality of transparent first conductive lines of the first layer are disposed on a first member, and wherein the plurality of transparent second conductive lines of the second layer are disposed on a second member, the first member being disposed over the second member.

23. The input device as recited in claim 22 further including a third member disposed over the first member, the first and second members being attached to one another via an adhesive layer, the third member being attached to the first member via another adhesive layer.

24. The input device as recited in claim 19 wherein at least one of the pluralities of transparent first and second conductive lines are formed from indium tin oxide (ITO).

25. The input device as recited in claim 19, wherein the transparent capacitive sensing medium is a mutual capacitance sensing medium.

26. The input device as recited in claim 25, wherein the circuitry comprises a virtual ground charge amplifier.

27. The input device as recited in claim 19, the pluralities of transparent first and second conductive lines formed on both sides of a single substrate.

28. The input device as recited in claim 19, wherein the second circuitry which tracks each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the input device compares a current image of the multiple touches with a previous image of the multiple touches to determine an action to be performed.

29. The input device as recited in claim 19, wherein one of the plurality of transparent first conductive lines are driven at a time while the other transparent first conductive lines are grounded.

30. The input device as recited in claim 29 wherein the plurality of transparent first conductive lines are used as drive lines to the exclusion of sense lines, and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines are used as the sense lines to the exclusion of the drive lines.

31. The input device as recited in claim 19, wherein the plurality of transparent first conductive lines are used as drive lines to the exclusion of sense lines, and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines are used as the sense lines to the exclusion of the drive lines.

32. The input device as recited in claim 19, further comprising a processor coupled to the first and the second circuitry, wherein the processor is capable of generating gradient data based on the charge coupling between the plurality of transparent first conductive lines and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines and determining the pressure signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches on the plane of the input device using the gradient data.

33. A display arrangement comprising:

a display having a screen for displaying a graphical user interface; and

a transparent input panel allowing the screen to be viewed therethrough and configured to detect a location and pressure of each of multiple touch events that occur at different locations on the input panel;

wherein the input panel includes a multipoint sensing arrangement configured to simultaneously detect and monitor the location and the pressure of each of the multiple touch events and capacitive coupling associated with those multiple touch events at distinct points across the transparent input panel; and

wherein the transparent input panel comprises;

a first member disposed over the screen of the display;

a first transparent conductive layer disposed over the first member, the first transparent conductive layer comprising a first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, each of the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines being operatively couplable to first circuitry;

a second member disposed over the first transparent conductive layer;

a second transparent conductive layer disposed over the second member, the second transparent conductive layer comprising a second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer being substantially perpendicular to the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer;

a third member disposed over the second transparent conductive layer; and

wherein the display arrangement comprises second circuitry operatively coupled to the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conducive layer;

wherein the first circuitry is configured to stimulate the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines and the second circuitry is configured to detect capacitive coupling between the first and second pluralities of spaced apart parallel lines, when the first circuitry is stimulating one or more of the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, wherein the capacitive coupling determines the location and pressure of each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations on the input panel; and

wherein the second circuitry determines the pressure of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at each of the different locations on the input panel and tracks each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at each of the different locations on the input panel.

34. The display arrangement as recited in claim 33 further including dummy features disposed in the space between the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer, and in the space between the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer.

35. The display arrangement as recited in claim 33, wherein the second circuitry which tracks each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at each of the different locations on the input panel compares a current image of the multiple touch events with a previous image of the multiple touch events to determine an action to be performed.

36. The display arrangement as recited in claim 33, wherein one of the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer are driven at a time while the other spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer are grounded.

37. The display arrangement as recited in claim 36 wherein the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer are used as drive lines to the exclusion of sense lines, and the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer are used as the sense lines to the exclusion of the drive lines.

38. The display arrangement as recited in claim 33, wherein the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer are used as drive lines to the exclusion of sense lines, and the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer are used as the sense lines to the exclusion of the drive lines.

39. The display arrangement as recited in claim 33, further comprising a processor coupled to the first and the second circuitry, wherein the processor is capable of generating gradient data based on the capacitive coupling between the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer and the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer and determining the pressure signals at each of the different locations of the multiple touch events on the input panel using the gradient data.

40. An input device comprising a transparent capacitive sensing medium configured to detect a location of each of multiple touches that occur at a same time and at distinct locations in a plane of the input device and to produce distinct signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches on the plane of the input device, wherein the transparent capacitive sensing medium comprises:

a first layer having a plurality of transparent first conductive lines that are electrically isolated from one another, each of the plurality of transparent first conductive lines being operatively couplable to first circuitry; and

a second layer spatially separated from the first layer and having a plurality of transparent second conductive lines that are electrically isolated from one another, the plurality of transparent second conductive lines being positioned transverse to the plurality of transparent first conductive lines, the intersection of transverse lines being positioned at different locations in a plane of the input device, each of the plurality of transparent second conductive lines being operatively coupled to second circuitry that determines each location of the multiple touches that occur at the same time in the plane of the input device and tracks each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the input device;

wherein the first circuitry is configured to stimulate the plurality of transparent first conductive lines;

wherein the second circuitry is configured to detect charge coupling between the plurality of transparent first conductive lines and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines when the first circuitry is stimulating one or more of the plurality of transparent first conductive lines, wherein the charge coupling between the plurality of transparent first conductive lines and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines produces the distinct signals at each location of the multiple touches that occur in the plane of the input device;

wherein the input device is configured for detecting pressure of a touch on the plane of the input device.

41. The input device as recited in claim 40 wherein the plurality of transparent first conductive lines are substantially parallel to one another, and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines are substantially parallel to one another.

42. The input device as recited in claim 41 wherein the pluralities of transparent first and second conductive lines are substantially perpendicular to one another.

43. The input device as recited in claim 40 wherein the plurality of transparent first conductive lines of the first layer are disposed on a first member, and wherein the plurality of transparent second conductive lines of the second layer are disposed on a second member, the first member being disposed over the second member.

44. The input device as recited in claim 43 further including a third member disposed over the first member, the first and second members being attached to one another via an adhesive layer, the third member being attached to the first member via another adhesive layer.

45. The input device as recited in claim 40 wherein at least one of the pluralities of transparent first and second conductive lines are formed from indium tin oxide (ITO).

46. The input device as recited in claim 40, wherein the transparent capacitive sensing medium is a mutual capacitance sensing medium.

47. The input device as recited in claim 46, wherein the circuitry comprises a virtual ground charge amplifier.

48. The input device as recited in claim 40, the pluralities of transparent first and second conductive lines formed on both sides of a single substrate.

49. The input device as recited in claim 40, wherein the second circuitry which tracks each of the multiple touches that occur at the same time and at the distinct locations in the plane of the input device compares a current image of the multiple touches with a previous image of the multiple touches to determine an action to be performed.

50. The input device as recited in claim 40 wherein the detected pressure is detected using capacitive sensing.

51. The input device as recited in claim 40, further comprising a processor coupled to the first and the second circuitry, wherein the processor is capable of generating gradient data based on the charge coupling between the plurality of transparent first conductive lines and the plurality of transparent second conductive lines and determining the pressure signals at each of the distinct locations of the multiple touches on the plane of the input device using the gradient data.

52. A display arrangement comprising:

a display having a screen for displaying a graphical user interface; and

a transparent input panel allowing the screen to be viewed therethrough and configured to detect a location of each of multiple touch events that occur at a same time and at different locations on the input panel;

wherein the input panel includes a multipoint sensing arrangement configured to detect and monitor the location of each of the multiple touch events and capacitive coupling associated with those multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations across the input panel; and

wherein the input panel comprises;

a first member disposed over the screen of the display;

a first transparent conductive layer disposed over the first member, the first transparent conductive layer comprising a first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, each of the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines being operatively couplable to first circuitry;

a second member disposed over the first transparent conductive layer;

a second transparent conductive layer disposed over the second member, the second transparent conductive layer comprising a second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines, the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer being substantially perpendicular to the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer;

a third member disposed over the second transparent conductive layer; and

wherein the display arrangement comprises second circuitry operatively coupled to the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conducive layer wherein the first circuitry is configured to stimulate the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines and the second circuitry determines the location of each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations on the input panel and tracks each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and at the different locations on the input panel when the first circuitry is stimulating one or more of the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines; and

wherein the input panel is configured for detecting pressure of a touch event on the third member.

53. The display arrangement as recited in claim 52 further including dummy features disposed in the space between the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer, and in the space between the plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer.

54. The display arrangement as recited in claim 52, wherein the second circuitry which tracks each of the multiple touch events that occur at the same time and-at the different locations on the input panel compares a current pixilated image of the multiple touch events with a previous pixilated image of the multiple touch events to determine an action to be performed.

55. The display arrangement as recited in claim 52 wherein the detected pressure is detected using capacitive sensing.

56. The display arrangement as recited in claim 52, further comprising a processor coupled to the first and the second circuitry, wherein the processor is capable of generating gradient data based on the capacitive coupling between the first plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the first transparent conductive layer and the second plurality of spaced apart parallel lines of the second transparent conductive layer and determining the pressure signals at each of the different locations of the multiple touch events on the input panel using the gradient data.