Touch Sensitive Device with Dielectric Layer

• US 20110100727A1
• Filed: 10/30/2009
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Tang, Patrick Jee Phone, Clayton, Joseph Edward, Choi, Shin John
• Application Number:
  US12/610,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20110100727A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 178/18.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0444 using a single conductive element covering the whole sensing surface, e.g. by sensing the electrical current flowing at the corners
• 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 sensitive device having a dielectric layer between a cover layer and a touch sensor layer is disclosed. The dielectric layer can reduce a negative pixel effect associated with poor grounding of an object touching the device. The dielectric layer can reduce a capacitance per unit area of the device to less than about 0.0305 picofarads per square millimeter, thereby reducing the negative pixel effect. The dielectric layer can have a thickness of about 0.50 millimeters or more and/or a dielectric constant of about 2.3 or less to reduce the negative pixel effect.

Claims

1. A touch sensitive device comprising:

a cover layer;

a touch sensor layer; and

a dielectric layer disposed between the cover layer and the touch sensor layer and configured to reduce a capacitance per unit area of the device to less than about 0.0305 picofarads per square millimeter.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the cover layer comprises at least one of glass or plastic.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor layer comprises silver.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer comprises polypropylene.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer comprises a material configured to be non-deformable so as to maintain a distance of about 0.50 millimeters or more between the cover layer and the touch sensor layer.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer comprises a material configured to have a dielectric constant of about 2.3 or less.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer comprises a material configured to support an adhesive so as to adhere to at least one of the cover layer or the touch sensor layer.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one adhesive layer configured to adhere the dielectric layer to at least one of the cover layer or the touch sensor layer.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a base layer configured to support the touch sensor layer that has at least one printed layer.

10. A touch sensitive device comprising:

a cover layer having a touchable surface;

a touch sensor layer; and

a dielectric layer having a thickness of about 0.50 millimeters assembled between the cover layer and the touch sensor layer to decrease capacitive coupling between the touch sensor layer and an ungrounded object proximate to the touchable surface.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the cover layer has a thickness of about 0.55 millimeters.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the touch sensor layer has a thickness of about 80 microns.

13. The device of claim 10, further comprising:

a first base layer configured to support the touch sensor layer, the first base layer having a thickness of about 25 microns;

a metal layer configured to provide a ground shield, the metal layer having a thickness of about 10 microns; and

a second base layer adjacent to the first base layer and configured to support the metal layer, the second base layer having a thickness of about 100 microns.

14. The device of claim 10, wherein the dielectric layer is configured to have a thickness for decreasing the capacitive coupling.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein the dielectric layer and the cover layer are configured to have a combined thickness for decreasing the capacitive coupling.

16. A touch sensitive device comprising:

a touch sensor layer configured to sense an object touching the device; and

a dielectric layer having a dielectric constant of about 2.3 or less attached over the touch sensor layer to substantially reduce a negative pixel effect in the device that is associated with a grounding condition of the object.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the dielectric layer is configured to substantially reduce an amount of capacitance formed between the object and the touch sensor layer when the object is not grounded.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the dielectric layer is configured to substantially reduce an amount of charge from being transferred from the object into the touch sensor layer when the object is not grounded.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein the touch sensor layer comprises at least one printed layer configured to form a capacitance and to have a change in the formed capacitance in association with the object'"'"'s touch.

20. A method comprising:

providing a dielectric layer between a cover layer and a touch sensor layer of a touch sensitive device; and

forming with the dielectric layer a total capacitance per unit area in the device of less than about 0.0305 picofarads per square millimeter.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the providing comprises providing a dielectric layer having a capacitance per unit area of about 0.0407 picofarads per square millimeter.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the providing comprising providing a dielectric layer having a capacitance per unit area of about 0.0221 picofarads per square millimeter.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the forming comprises forming with the dielectric layer a total capacitance per unit area in the device of less than about 0.0187 picofarads per square millimeter.

24. A dielectric layer comprising a dielectric material having a capacitance per unit area of about 0.0407 picofarads per square millimeter, the dielectric layer being configured to contribute to a total capacitance per unit area in a touch sensitive device of less than about 0.0305 picofarads per square millimeter.

25. The dielectric layer of claim 24 incorporated into a computing system.