Flexible circuit routing of a touch sensitive display device comprising a set of drive lines and a set of sense lines

• US 9,201,461 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2014
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steven P., Wurzel, Joshua G., Martisauskas, Steven J., Miller, Thayne M., Sung, Kuo-Hua
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Paul
• Application Number:
  US14/204,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20140192276A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 349/12
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1658 related to the mounting of internal components, e.g. disc drive or any other functional module
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/028 Bending or folding regions of flexible printed circuits H05K1/0283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/147 at least one of the printed circuits being bent or folded, e.g. by using a flexible printed circuit H05K1/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/40 OLEDs integrated with touch screens

Abstract

Flexible circuits for routing signals of a device, such as a touch sensor panel of a touch sensitive device, are provided. The flexible circuit can include a first set of traces for routing a first set of lines and a second set of traces for routing a second set of lines. The first set of traces can couple together the ends of at least a portion of the first set of lines. Additionally, the first set of traces can be non-intersecting or non-overlapping with the second set of traces. The flexible circuit can have a T-shape configuration and can be incorporated within a touch sensitive device, display device, printed circuit board, or the like. The flexible circuit can be placed over another flexible circuit, and can extend onto the device.

Claims

1. A touch sensitive display device comprising:

a touch sensor panel comprising;

a set of drive lines, and

a set of sense lines; and

a flex circuit coupled to the set of drive lines and set of sense lines, the flex circuit comprising;

a first line contact portion operable to couple to a first end of the set of drive lines,

a second line contact portion operable to couple to a second end of the set of drive lines,

a third line contact portion operable to couple to the set of sense lines,

an output portion,

a first set of traces coupling together the first line contact portion, the second line contact portion, and the output portion, and

a second set of traces coupling together the third line contact portion and the output portion, wherein the first set of traces and second set of traces are non-overlapping with each other.

2. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the flex circuit is operable to transmit display signals for the touch sensitive display device, and wherein the flex circuit is further coupled to a backlight assembly.

3. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the flex circuit covers at least a portion of a thin film transistor glass of the touch sensitive display device, and wherein the touch sensitive display device further comprises an insulating layer between the thin film transistor glass and the flex circuit.

4. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein:

the first line contact portion is located on a first end of the touch sensitive display device,

the second line contact portion is located on a second end of the touch sensitive display device opposite the first end, and

the third line contact portion is located between the first line contact portion and the second line contact portion.

5. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the flex circuit further comprises a guard trace between the first set of traces and the second set of traces.

6. The touch sensitive display device of claim 5, wherein the guard trace comprises a conductive material coupled to ground.

7. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the first set of traces is operable to couple the first end of at least a portion of the set of drive lines to the second end of each corresponding line.

8. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the first set of traces create an open circuit between the first end of at least one line of the set of drive lines and the second end of the at least one line.

9. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the flex circuit comprises a first layer and a second layer.

10. The touch sensitive display device of claim 9, wherein the second set of traces is routed through the first layer, and wherein the first set of traces is routed through the first layer and the second layer.

11. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1 comprising at least one of a mobile telephone, a digital media player, an LCD, an OLED display, or a personal computer.

12. The touch sensitive display device of claim 1, wherein the flex circuit is a second flex circuit attached to a distal end of a substrate comprising the touch sensor panel, the device further comprising:

a first flex circuit attached to the distal end of the substrate,

wherein the second flex circuit overlaps the first flex circuit.

13. The touch sensitive display device of claim 12, wherein the first flex circuit is coupled to an integrated circuit at the distal end of the substrate.

14. The touch sensitive display device of claim 12, further comprising a grounded silver film disposed between the first flex circuit and the second flex circuit.

15. The touch sensitive display device of claim 12, wherein the second flex circuit comprises at least one pre-bend section operable to reduce a distance between the second flex circuit and the first flex circuit.

16. The touch sensitive display device of claim 12, further comprising a stiffener disposed on the second flex circuit, the stiffener operable to limit a distance between the second flex circuit and the first flex circuit, wherein the stiffener comprises a grounded metal plate or polyimide film.

17. The touch sensitive display device of claim 12, wherein the second flex circuit is in a T-shape configuration.