PET-based touchpad

• US 7,948,477 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2007
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steve Porter
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen; Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): YEUNG, MATTHEW M
• Application Number:
  US11/818,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20080143683A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 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 of the first substantially transparent conductive material formed thereon;

a first layer of optically transparent adhesive disposed between the first and second substrates;

the second substantially transparent substrate having traces of a second conductive material formed thereon and routed along a 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;

the traces of the second conductive material for additionally routing a second group of the second plurality of electrodes to a second edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections, the second edge being opposite from the first edge

a plurality of vias formed in the first and second substantially transparent substrates and connected to the first plurality of electrodes on the first substantially transparent substrate for electrically connecting the first plurality of electrodes to the second substrate;

the plurality of vias extending through the first layer of optically transparent adhesive;

the plurality of vias filed or coated with a conductive material;

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 substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, at least one of the first and second substantially transparent substrates forming a dielectric material separating the first and second plurality of electrodes and providing mutual capacitance between the first and second plurality of electrodes.

3. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising:

a third substantially transparent substrate coupled between the first and second substantially transparent substrates, the third substantially transparent substrate forming a dielectric material separating the first and second plurality of electrodes and providing mutual capacitance between the first and second plurality of electrodes,

the first layer of substantially transparent adhesive disposed between the first substrate and the third substrate;

a second layer of substantially transparent adhesive disposed between the second substrate and the third substrate;

the third substantially transparent substrate being separate and distinct from the first and second layers of optically transparent adhesive.

4. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, the first and second substantially transparent substrates formed from plastic.

5. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, the first and second substantially transparent substrates formed from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

6. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, the first substantially transparent conductive material formed from Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

7. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the conductive material filling or coating the plurality of vias comprises silver paste.

8. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1 further comprising a coverlay disposed on said second substantially transparent substrate to prevent shorts to the traces.

9. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, the second substantially transparent substrate having a first tail formed at the first edge for providing off-panel connections.

10. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 9, the second substantially transparent substrate having a second tail formed at the second edge for providing off-panel connections.

11. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising:

an optically transparent release liner disposed on a side of the first substantially transparent substrate opposite the second substantially transparent substrate; and

a second layer of optically transparent adhesive disposed between the first substantially transparent substrate and the release liner.

12. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising a computing system that incorporates the sensor panel.

13. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 12, further comprising a mobile telephone that incorporates the computing system.

14. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 12, further comprising a digital audio player that incorporates the computing system.

15. A mobile telephone having the substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel as recited in claim 1.

16. A digital audio player having the substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel as recited in claim 1.

17. 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 of the first substantially transparent conductive material formed thereon;

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

a first layer of substantially transparent adhesive disposed between the first substrate and the third substrate;

a second layer of substantially transparent adhesive disposed between the second substrate and the third substrate;

wherein the third substantially transparent substrate is separate and distinct from the first and second adhesive layers; 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.

18. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 17, the second substantially transparent substrate having traces of a second conductive material formed thereon and routed along a 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 electrodes to a first edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections;

the traces of the second conductive material for additionally routing a second group of the second plurality of electrodes to a second edge of the second substrate for providing off-panel connections, the second edge being opposite from the first edge

a plurality of vias formed in the first and second substantially transparent substrates and connected to the first plurality of electrodes on the first substantially transparent substrate for electrically connecting the first plurality of electrodes to the second substrate;

the plurality of vias extending through the first layer of optically transparent adhesive, extending through the second layer of optically transparent adhesive and extending through the third substantially transparent substrate;

the plurality of vias filed or coated with a conductive material.

19. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 17, the first and second substantially transparent substrates formed from plastic.

20. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 17, the first and second substantially transparent substrates formed from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

21. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 17, the first substantially transparent conductive material formed from Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

22. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 17, further comprising a coverlay disposed on said second substantially transparent substrate to prevent shorts to the traces.

23. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 17 further comprising:

an optically transparent release liner disposed on a side of the first substantially transparent substrate opposite the second substantially transparent substrate; and

a third layer of optically transparent adhesive disposed between the first substantially transparent substrate and the release liner.

24. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 17, the second substantially transparent substrate having a first tail formed at the first edge for providing off-panel connections.

25. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 24, the second substantially transparent substrate having a second tail formed at the second edge for providing off-panel connections.

26. The substantially transparent mutual capacitance touch sensor panel of claim 22, further comprising:

an optically transparent release liner disposed on a side of the first substantially transparent substrate opposite the second substantially transparent substrate; and

a third layer of optically transparent adhesive disposed between the first substantially transparent substrate and the release liner.