Integrated touch screen

• US 7,995,041 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2009
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Chang, Shih Chang
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang; Regina
• Application Number:
  US12/558,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20100194699A1
• Time in Patent Office: 697 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178/18.01, 178/18.03, 178/18.05, 178/18.06
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04111 Cross over in capacitive digitiser, i.e. details of structures for connecting electrodes of the sensing pattern where the connections cross each other, e.g. bridge structures comprising an insulating layer, or vias through substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 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

Abstract

Displays with touch sensing circuitry integrated into the display pixel stackup are provided. Circuit elements, such as touch signal lines, such as drive lines and sense lines, grounding regions, in the display pixel stackups can be grouped together to form touch sensing circuitry that senses a touch on or near the display. An integrated touch screen can include multi-function circuit elements that can operate as circuitry of the display system to generate an image on the display, and can also form part of a touch sensing system that senses one or more touches on or near the display. The multi-function circuit elements can be, for example, capacitors in display pixels that can be configured to operate as storage capacitors/electrodes, common electrodes, conductive wires/pathways, etc., of the display circuitry in the display system, and that may also be configured to operate as circuit elements of the touch sensing circuitry.

Claims

1. A stackup of a plurality of display pixels, the stackup comprising:

a first layer of conductive material;

a second layer of conductive material;

a third layer of conductive material including first conductive lines in a first direction, each of the first conductive lines including a plurality of first line portions extending through plural display pixels and separated from each other by disconnections; and

second conductive lines in a second direction transverse to the first direction, each of the second conductive lines including a plurality of second line portions extending through plural display pixels and separated from each other by disconnections,

wherein circuit elements of the display pixels in a first region are electrically connected together in the first direction by a first plurality of the first line portions, the circuit elements of the display pixels in the first region are electrically connected together in the second direction by a first plurality of the second line portions, and a plurality of display pixels disposed along the first direction in the first region are contact pixels that include contact points that electrically connect the circuit elements of each of the contact pixels with a conductive pathway that extends along the first direction from the first region into a second region of display pixels without electrically connecting to circuit elements of display pixels in the second region.

2. The stackup of claim 1, wherein the contact pixels are adjacent display pixels that are not contact pixels.

3. The stackup of claim 1, wherein the contact points are disposed at a same location within their respective contact pixels.

4. The stackup of claim 3, wherein the contact points are disposed in a blue sub-pixel of their respective contact pixels.

5. The stackup of claim 1 wherein the contact points are disposed within at least two different sub-pixels of the contact pixels.

6. The stackup of claim 1 wherein circuit elements of the display pixels in the second region are electrically connected together in the first direction by a second plurality of the first line portions, and the circuit elements of the display pixels in the second region are electrically connected together in the second direction by a second plurality of the second line portions.

7. The stackup of claim 6 further comprising a third region wherein circuit elements of the display pixels in the third region are electrically connected together in the first direction by a third plurality of the first line portions, and the circuit elements of the display pixels in the third region are electrically connected together in the second direction by a third plurality of the second line portions.

8. The stackup of claim 7 wherein the second region is disposed between the first and third regions along the first direction, and a plurality of display pixels in the third region are contact pixels that include contact points that electrically connect the circuit elements of each of the contact pixels in the third region with the conductive pathway that extends from the first region and electrically bypasses the second region.

9. The stackup of claim 8 wherein the contact points in the third region are disposed at a same location within their respective contact pixels.

10. The stackup of claim 9, wherein the contact points are disposed in a blue sub-pixel of their respective contact pixels.

11. The stackup of claim 8 wherein each pixel included three sub-pixels and the contact points are disposed within at least two different sub-pixels of the contact pixels.

12. The stackup of claim 1 wherein the first layer of conductive material includes gate lines and the second layer of conductive material includes data lines.

13. A touch sensing system comprising the stackup of claim 8, further comprising:

a drive signal generator connected to one of the first and third regions; and

a sense channel connected to the second region.

14. The touch sensing system of claim 13 wherein each display pixel has a common electrode and wherein:

the first plurality of first line portions and the first plurality of second line portions connect together the common electrodes of the display pixels in the first region,

the second plurality of first line portions and the second plurality of second line portions connect together the common electrodes of the display pixels in the second region,

the third plurality of first line portions and the third plurality of second line portions connect together the common electrodes of the display pixels in the third region, and

wherein the drive signal generator is connected to at least one of the first plurality of first line portions or the first plurality of second line portions in the first region or to at least one of the third plurality of first line portions or the third plurality of second line portions in the third region.

15. The touch sensing system of claim 14 wherein the sense channel is connected to one of the second plurality of first line portions or the second plurality of second line portions, and the sense channel includes a charge amplifier.

16. A touch screen having an integrated display, the touch screen comprising:

a plurality of display pixels, each having a gate line, a data line and a circuit element;

a first plurality of drive lines in a first region, including at least a first conductive layer connected to at least a first plurality of circuit elements of the display pixels, the first conductive layer connecting the first plurality of circuit elements to one another along both a positive and a negative first direction and a positive and a negative second direction;

a plurality of sense lines in a second region including at least a second plurality of circuit elements of the display pixels;

a second plurality of drive lines in a third region, including at least a first conductive layer connected to at least a first plurality of circuit elements of the display pixels, the first conductive layer connecting the first plurality of circuit elements to one another along both a positive and a negative first direction and a positive and a negative second direction;

the second region disposed between the first and third regions along the first direction;

the first conductive layer in the first region electrically connected to the first conductive layer in the third region by at least one conductive pathway that extends through the second region without connecting to the second plurality of circuit elements of the second region;

in the first region, a plurality of display pixels disposed along the first direction within at least one of the plurality of drive lines comprising contact pixels that include contact vias that electrically couple the circuit elements of each of the contact pixels with the at least one conductive pathway;

wherein a plurality of touch pixels are formed by adjacent ones of the first plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines and adjacent ones of the second plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines.

17. The touch screen of claim 16, further comprising, in the third region, a plurality of display pixels disposed along the first direction within the at least one of the plurality of drive lines comprising contact pixels that include contact vias that electrically couple the circuit elements of each of the contact pixels of the third region with the at least one conductive pathway.

18. A computer system comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a display system including

display circuitry that includes a plurality of circuit elements of display pixels, and

a display controller; and

a touch sensing system including

touch sensing circuitry that includes the plurality of circuit elements grouped into a plurality of first regions and a plurality of second regions and arranged such that a second region is disposed between two first regions, wherein electrically conductive pathways through the second regions couple circuit elements of a plurality of first regions while bypassing circuit elements of the plurality of second regions, the conductive pathways coupling circuit elements of the plurality of first regions via a plurality of adjacent contact pixels disposed within at least some of the plurality of first regions;

the circuit elements of each of the first regions being electrically connected together along a first direction and along a second direction, transverse to the first direction, and

a touch controller.

19. A touch screen comprising:

touch sensing circuitry that includes a plurality of display pixels having a plurality of circuit elements grouped into a plurality of first regions and a plurality of second regions, arranged such that a second region is disposed between two first regions, wherein electrically conductive pathways through the plurality of second regions couple circuit elements of the plurality of first regions while bypassing circuit elements of the plurality of second regions, the conductive pathways coupling circuit elements of the plurality of first regions via a plurality of adjacent contact pixels disposed within at least some of the plurality of first regions; and

the circuit elements of each of the first and second regions being electrically connected together along a first direction and along a second direction, transverse to the first direction;

wherein touch pixels are formed by capacitive coupling between circuit elements in adjacent first and second regions.

20. The touch screen of claim 19 wherein each contact pixel has a conductive via coupling the circuit element of the contact pixel with the conductive pathway.