Single layer touch panel with segmented drive and sense electrodes

• US 8,319,747 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steve Porter, Grunthaner, Martin Paul, Yousefpor, Marduke
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): REGN, MARK W
• Application Number:
  US12/333,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20100149108A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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

Abstract

A touch sensor panels having segmented electrodes for both the drive and sense lines. The touch sensor panel may include a number of columns of sense electrodes and a number of rows of drive electrodes. Each of the drive and sense electrodes are connected to one of the metal bus lines using a connecting trace. Pixels on the touch sensor panel are formed by the unique pairings of individual drive electrodes and their adjacent sense electrodes. Electrically, the mutual capacitance of one touch-sensing pixel can be distinguished from the mutual capacitance of another touch sensing pixel because the two mutual capacitances are formed with combinations of different drive electrodes and sense electrodes. In one embodiment, the drive electrodes and sense electrodes in adjacent columns are staggered horizontally with respect to each other by half a Y-pitch of the electrodes.

Claims

1. A touch sensor panel, comprising:

a plurality of first polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of first columns formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate, each of the first columns including at least two of the first polygonal areas;

a plurality of second polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of second columns formed on the same layer as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each of the second columns including at least two of the second polygonal areas;

a plurality of first connecting traces formed on the same layer as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each first connecting trace coupled to a different first polygonal area; and

a plurality of second connecting traces formed on the same layer as the plurality of second polygonal areas, each second connecting trace coupled to a different second polygonal area,

wherein the plurality of first polygonal areas and the plurality of second polygonal areas form an array of capacitive sensors, each capacitive sensor comprising one of the first polygonal areas and one of the second polygonal areas.

2. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first polygonal areas are staggered with respect to the plurality of second polygonal areas.

3. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first polygonal areas represents a drive electrode, and wherein each of the plurality of second polygonal areas represents a sense electrode.

4. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein each of the first drive electrodes is capacitively coupled to at least two sense electrodes.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein each of the drive electrodes are associated with a particular one of a plurality of drive lines, each of the sense electrodes are associated with a particular one of a plurality of sense lines, and the drive and sense electrodes are arranged such that each capacitive sensor in the touch sensor panel is formed from a drive and sense electrode pair associated with a unique drive and sense line pair.

6. The touch sensor panel of claim 3 wherein the drive electrodes are arranged such that all of the drive electrodes associated with a particular drive line are arranged in a repeating diagonal pattern.

7. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of bus lines formed along at least one edge of the substrate on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each of the first connecting traces and second connecting traces coupled to the one of the bus lines.

8. The touch sensor panel of claim 7 wherein, for the first polygonal area and the second polygonal comprising any given capacitive sensor, the first and second polygonal areas are coupled to different bus lines.

9. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, each of the plurality of first columns is adjacent to at least one of the plurality of second columns, and wherein the first polygonal areas in the plurality of first columns are staggered with respect to the second polygonal areas in the plurality of second columns.

10. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, the touch sensor panel integrated within a computer system.

11. The touch sensor panel of claim 10, the computer system integrated within a mobile telephone.

12. The touch sensor panel of claim 10, the computer system integrated within a media player.

13. A touch sensor panel, comprising:

a plurality of drive lines formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate, each of the plurality of drive lines comprising a plurality of a first polygonal areas; and

a plurality of sense lines formed on the same layer as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each of the plurality of sense lines comprising a plurality of a second polygonal areas;

wherein the plurality of first polygonal areas and the plurality of second polygonal areas form an array of capacitive sensors, each capacitive sensor comprising one of the first polygonal areas and one of the second polygonal areas.

14. The touch sensor panel of claim 13, wherein the plurality of first polygonal areas are staggered with respect to the plurality of second polygonal areas.

15. The touch sensor panel of claim 13, wherein each of the first polygonal areas is capacitively coupled to at least two second polygonal areas.

16. The method for fabricating a touch sensor panel, comprising:

forming a plurality of first polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of first columns and a plurality of second polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of second columns on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate, each of the first columns including at least two of the first polygonal areas and each of the second columns including at least two of the second polygonal areas;

coupling each of the plurality of first polygonal areas to a plurality of first bus lines via first connecting traces, the first bus lines formed along at least one edge of the substrate on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of first polygonal areas, the first connecting traces routed on the same layer as the plurality of the first polygonal areas; and

coupling each of the a plurality of second polygonal areas to a plurality of second bus lines via second connecting traces, the second bus lines formed along at least one edge of the substrate on the same side of the substrate as the plurality of second polygonal areas, the second connecting traces routed on the same layer as the plurality of the second polygonal areas,

wherein the plurality of first polygonal areas and the plurality of second polygonal areas form an array of capacitive sensors, each capacitive sensor comprising one of the first polygonal areas and one of the second polygonal areas.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising staggering the plurality of first polygonal areas with respect to the plurality of second polygonal areas.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the plurality of first polygonal areas represents a drive electrode, and wherein each of the plurality of second polygonal areas represents a sense electrode.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each of the drive electrodes are associated with a particular one of a plurality of drive lines, each of the sense electrodes are associated with a particular one of a plurality of sense lines, and the drive and sense electrodes are arranged such that each capacitive sensor in the touch sensor panel is formed from a drive and sense electrode pair associated with a unique drive and sense line pair.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the drive electrodes are arranged such that all of the drive electrodes associated with a particular drive line are arranged in a repeating diagonal pattern.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising capacitively coupling each of the first drive electrodes to at least two sense electrodes.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein for the first polygonal area and the second polygonal comprising any given capacitive sensor, the first and second polygonal areas are coupled to different bus lines.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the plurality of the second columns is adjacent to at least one of the plurality of first columns;

and

staggering the plurality of first columns with respect to the plurality of second columns.

24. A handheld electronic device including a touch sensor panel, the touch sensor panel comprising:

a plurality of first polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of first columns formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate, each of the first columns including at least two of the first polygonal areas;

a plurality of second polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of second columns formed on the same layer as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each of the second columns including at least two of the second polygonal areas;

a plurality of first connecting traces formed on the same layer as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each first connecting trace coupled to a different first polygonal area; and

a plurality of second connecting traces formed on the same layer as the plurality of second polygonal areas, each second connecting trace coupled to a different second polygonal area,

wherein the plurality of first polygonal areas and the plurality of second polygonal areas form an array of capacitive sensors, each capacitive sensor comprising one of the first polygonal areas and one of the second polygonal areas.

25. A personal computer including a touch sensor panel, the touch sensor panel comprising:

a plurality of first polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of first columns formed on a single layer and supported on one side of a substrate, each of the first columns including at least two of the first polygonal areas;

a plurality of second polygonal areas partitioned in a plurality of second columns formed on the same layer as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each of the second columns including at least two of the second polygonal areas;

a plurality of first connecting traces formed on the same layer as the plurality of first polygonal areas, each first connecting trace coupled to a different first polygonal area; and

a plurality of second connecting traces formed on the same layer as the plurality of second polygonal areas, each second connecting trace coupled to a different second polygonal area,

wherein the plurality of first polygonal areas and the plurality of second polygonal areas form an array of capacitive sensors, each capacitive sensor comprising one of the first polygonal areas and one of the second polygonal areas.

26. The personal computer of claim 25, wherein the touch sensor panel is integrated with a display screen.

27. The personal computer of claim 25, wherein the touch sensor panel is integrated with a trackpad.

28. The personal computer of claim 25, wherein the touch sensor panel is integrated with a virtual keyboard.