SINGLE-LAYER TOUCH-SENSITIVE DISPLAY

• US 20090091551A1
• Filed: 02/27/2008
• Published: 04/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zhong, John Z., Hotelling, Steve Porter
• Granted Patent: US 8,633,915 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• 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 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 3/0443 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/43 Electric condenser making

Abstract

A touch sensor panel having co-planar single-layer touch sensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate is disclosed. The drive and sense lines can be fabricated as column-like patterns in a first orientation and patches in a second orientation, where each column-like pattern in the first orientation is connected to a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel, and all patches in each of multiple rows in the second orientation are connected together using a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel. The metal traces in the border areas can be formed on the same side of the substrate as the patches and columns, but separated from the patches and column-like patterns by a dielectric layer.

Claims

1. A touch sensor panel, comprising:

a plurality of columns of a conductive material formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate; and

a plurality of patches of the conductive material supported on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of columns, the plurality of patches formed on the same layer as the plurality of columns adjacent to the plurality of columns and arranged in a plurality of rows, each patch in a particular row connected together;

wherein each of the plurality of patches and each of the plurality of columns form a portion of a capacitive sensor.

2. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein each patch together with a section of a column adjacent to that patch form a mutual capacitance sensor.

3. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising:

a ground plane supported on the substrate;

wherein each plurality of patches arranged in a row together with the ground plane form a self-capacitance sensor, and each of the plurality of columns together with the ground plane forms a self-capacitance sensor.

4. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the columns are formed with notches and staggered edges to form the sections of the columns.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of conductive traces in a border area of the substrate configured for providing a connection to each patch in a particular row and for providing a connection to each column.

6. The touch sensor panel of claim 5, wherein the plurality of conductive traces are formed on the substrate, and the plurality of columns and patches are formed over the plurality of conductive traces but separated by a dielectric material.

7. The touch sensor panel of claim 6, further comprising vias formed in the dielectric material for providing the connections between the columns and conductive traces and the patches and the conductive traces.

8. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the conductive material is Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

9. The touch sensor panel of claim 5, wherein the conductive traces are formed from metal.

10. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a cover material for a touch sensitive device.

11. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising a cover material for a touch sensitive device connected to the substrate.

12. The touch sensor panel of claim 5, wherein the plurality of conductive traces are routed to a single side of the substrate for connecting to a flex circuit.

13. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein each patch and adjacent column section have about the same surface area.

14. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, each sensor elongated in an x-direction to create spatial blurring.

15. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the touch sensor panel integrated into a computing system.

16. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the computing system integrated into a mobile telephone.

17. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the computing system integrated into a digital media player.

18. A method for forming a touch sensor panel, comprising:

forming a plurality of columns of a conductive material on a single layer on one side of a substrate;

forming a plurality of patches of the conductive material on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of columns and on the same layer as the plurality of columns adjacent to the plurality of columns and arranged in a plurality of rows;

connecting each patch in a particular row together; and

forming a portion of a capacitive sensor from each of the plurality of patches and each of the plurality of columns.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming a mutual capacitance sensor from each patch together with a section of a column adjacent to that patch.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

forming a ground plane on the substrate; and

forming a self-capacitance sensor from each plurality of patches arranged in a row together with the ground plane, and from each of the plurality of columns together with the ground plane.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming the columns with notches and staggered edges to form the sections of the columns.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming a plurality of conductive traces in a border area of the substrate for providing a connection to each patch in a particular row and for providing a connection to each column.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising forming the plurality of conductive traces on the substrate, and forming the plurality of columns and patches over the plurality of conductive traces but separated by a dielectric material.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising forming vias in the dielectric material for providing the connections between the columns and conductive traces and the patches and the conductive traces.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein the conductive material is Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising forming the conductive traces from metal.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the substrate is a cover material for a touch sensitive device.

28. The method of claim 18, further comprising attaching a cover material for a touch sensitive device to the substrate.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising routing the plurality of conductive traces to a single side of the substrate for connecting to a flex circuit.

30. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming each patch and adjacent column section to have about the same surface area.

31. The method of claim 18, further comprising elongating each sensor in an x-direction to create spatial blurring.

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

a plurality of columns of a conductive material formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate; and

a plurality of patches of the conductive material supported on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of columns, the plurality of patches formed on the same layer as the plurality of columns adjacent to the plurality of columns and arranged in a plurality of rows, each patch in a particular row connected together;

wherein each of the plurality of patches and each of the plurality of columns form a portion of a capacitive sensor.

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

a plurality of columns of a conductive material formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate; and

a plurality of patches of the conductive material supported on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of columns, the plurality of patches formed on the same layer as the plurality of columns adjacent to the plurality of columns and arranged in a plurality of rows, each patch in a particular row connected together;

wherein each of the plurality of patches and each of the plurality of columns form a portion of a capacitive sensor.