PET-BASED TOUCH PAD

• US 20110181550A1
• Filed: 04/05/2011
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steve Porter Hotelling
• Original Assignee: Steve Porter Hotelling
• Inventors: HOTELLING, Steve Porter
• Granted Patent: US 9,354,753 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 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 3/04164 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 3/0445 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 3/047 using sets of wires, e.g. crossed wires
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0353 consisting of two or more materials, e.g. two or more polymers, polymer + filler, + reinforcement
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/11 Printed elements for providing electric connections to or between printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0108 Transparent
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0326 Inorganic, non-metallic conductor, e.g. indium-tin oxide [ITO]
• 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 29/49165 by forming conductive walled aperture in base

Abstract

A space-efficient substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel can be created by forming columns made of a substantially transparent conductive material on one side of a first substantially transparent substrate, forming rows made of the substantially transparent conductive material on one side of a second substantially transparent substrate, adhering the two substrates together with a substantially transparent adhesive, bringing column connections down to the second substrate using vias, and routing both the column and row connections to a single connection area on the second substrate. In addition, in some embodiments some of the row connections can be routed to a second connection area on the second substrate to minimize the size of the sensor panel.

Claims

1. A substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel, comprising:

a first substantially transparent substrate;

a second substantially transparent substrate;

a first plurality of electrodes of a first substantially transparent conductive material formed on the first substantially transparent substrate;

a second plurality of electrodes of the first substantially transparent conductive material formed on the second substantially transparent substrate;

a first group of traces of a second conductive material formed on the second substantially transparent substrate and routed along a first border of the second substantially transparent substrate for connecting to a first group of the second plurality of electrodes and routing the first group of the second plurality of the electrodes to a first edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections;

a second group of traces of the second conductive material formed on the second substantially transparent substrate and routed along the first border of the second substantially transparent substrate for connecting to a second group of the second plurality of electrodes and routing the second group of the second plurality of the electrodes to a second edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections; and

wherein one or more mutual capacitance sensors are formed between the first and second plurality of electrodes at locations at which the first and second plurality of electrodes cross over each other, a mutual capacitance of each mutual capacitance sensor capable of being modified by an object in close proximity to the sensor.

2. The touch sensor panel of claim 1 further comprising means for connecting the first plurality of electrodes on the first substantially transparent substrate to the second substantially transparent substrate.

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

a second group of traces of the second conductive material formed on the second substantially transparent substrate and routed along a second border of the second substantially transparent substrate, opposite the first border, for connecting to a third group of the second plurality of electrodes and routing the third group of the second plurality of the electrodes to the first edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections;

a fourth group of traces of the second conductive material formed on the second substantially transparent substrate and routed along the second border of the second substantially transparent substrate for connecting to a fourth group of the second plurality of electrodes and routing the fourth group of the second plurality of the electrodes to the second edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections.

4. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, further comprising means for connecting the first plurality of electrodes on the first substantially transparent substrate to the second substantially transparent substrate.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising substantially transparent substrate;

a third disposed between the first substantially transparent substrate and the second substantially transparent substrate.

6. A substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel, comprising:

a first substantially transparent substrate having a first plurality of electrodes of a first substantially transparent conductive material formed thereon; and

a second substantially transparent substrate having a second plurality of electrodes the first substantially transparent conductive material formed thereon;

a plurality of vias filed or coated with a conductive material for connecting the first plurality of electrodes of the first substantially transparent substrate to the second substantially transparent substrate;

the first substantially transparent substrate having a border region of the first substantially transparent conductive material formed adjacent edges thereof around the periphery of the first substantially transparent substrate to form a ground border region, the first plurality of electrodes insulated from the ground region;

wherein one or more mutual capacitance sensors are formed between the first and second plurality of electrodes at locations at which the first and second plurality of electrodes cross over each other, a mutual capacitance of each mutual capacitance sensor capable of being modified by an object in close proximity to the sensor.

7. A substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel, comprising:

a first substantially transparent substrate having a first, outer side and a second side,

a second substantially transparent substrate having a first side and a second, outer side;

the second substantially transparent substrate having the first side thereof disposed facing the second side of the first substantially transparent substrate,

a first plurality of electrodes of a first substantially transparent conductive material formed on the first, outer, side of the first substantially transparent substrate, the first plurality of electrodes forming sense lines of the mutual capacitance touch sensor panel;

a second plurality of electrodes of the first substantially transparent conductive material formed on the second, outer, side of the second substantially transparent substrate, the second plurality of electrodes forming drive lines of the mutual capacitance touch sensor panel;

a first group of traces of a second conductive material formed on the second, outer side of the second substantially transparent substrate and routed along a first border of the second substantially transparent substrate for connecting to a first group of the second plurality of electrodes and routing the first group of the second plurality of the electrodes to a first edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections;

a plurality of vias formed in the first and second substantially transparent substrates, the plurality of vias filed or coated with a conductive material for connecting the first plurality of electrodes on the first substantially transparent substrate to the second substrate;

wherein one or more mutual capacitance sensors are formed between the first and second plurality of electrodes at locations at which the first and second plurality of electrodes cross over each other, a mutual capacitance of each mutual capacitance sensor capable of being modified by an object in close proximity to the sensor.

8. A method for forming a substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel, comprising:

forming a first plurality of electrodes of a first substantially transparent conductive material on a first substantially transparent substrate;

forming a second plurality of electrodes of the first substantially transparent conductive material on a second substantially transparent substrate;

disposing a third substantially transparent substrate between the first and second substrates;

forming vias in first, second and third substantially conductive substrates;

coating or filling the vias with a conductive material for connecting the first plurality of electrodes to the second substrate;

coupling the second substrate to the first substrate with substantially transparent adhesive; and

forming one or more mutual capacitance sensors between the first plurality of electrodes and the second plurality of electrodes at locations at which the first plurality of electrodes and the second plurality of electrodes cross over each other, a mutual capacitance of each mutual capacitance sensor capable of being modified by an object in close proximity to the sensor.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising orienting at least one of the first and second substantially transparent substrates to form a dielectric material separating the rows and columns and provide mutual capacitance between the rows and columns.

10. The method of claim 8, the first and second substantially transparent substrates formed from plastic.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising forming the first and second substantially transparent substrates from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising forming the first substantially transparent conductive material from Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

disposing a first group of traces of a second conductive material on the second substantially transparent substrate along a border of the second substantially transparent substrate;

connecting the first group of traces to ones of the second plurality of electrodes; and

routing the first group of traces disposed along the border to a first edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

disposing a second group of traces of the second conductive material on the second substantially transparent substrate;

connecting the second group of traces of to others of the second plurality of electrodes;

routing the second group of traces to a second edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections, the second edge being opposite from the first edge.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising forming a first tail at the first edge of the second substantially transparent substrate for providing off-panel connections.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising forming a second tail at the second edge of the second substantially transparent substrate for providing off-panel connections.