Funneled touch sensor routing

• US 9,280,251 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2014
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Shih, David H. C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Application Number:
  US14/329,719
• Publication Number:
  US 20160011702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 606 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A touch sensor panel. In some examples, a first touch pixel can be coupled to a first sense connection, and a second touch pixel can be coupled to a second sense connection. In some examples, a first portion of the first sense connection can be disposed in a first region of the touch sensor panel, a second portion of the second sense connection can be disposed in the first region, and a third portion of the second sense connection can be disposed in a second region of the touch sensor panel. In some examples, a width of the third portion of the second sense connection can be larger than a width of the second portion of the second sense connection.

Claims

1. A touch sensor panel comprising:

a first touch pixel coupled to a first sense connection and a second touch pixel coupled to a second sense connection, the first sense connection having a first portion disposed in a first active region of the touch sensor panel between the first touch pixel and the second touch pixel, and the second sense connection having a second portion disposed in the first active region; and

a third touch pixel coupled to a third sense connection and a fourth touch pixel coupled to a fourth sense connection, the third sense connection having a third portion disposed in the first active region and a fourth portion disposed in a second active region of the touch sensor panel between the third touch pixel and the fourth touch pixel, and the fourth sense connection having a fifth portion disposed in the first active region and a sixth portion disposed in the second active region,

wherein;

a width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is larger than a width of the third portion of the third sense connection, and

widths of the first portion of the first sense connection, the second portion of the second sense connection, the third portion of the third sense connection and the fifth portion of the fourth sense connection are substantially the same in the first active region.

2. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein a distance between the first touch pixel and the second touch pixel is based on minimum process widths.

3. The touch sensor panel of claim 2, wherein the widths of the first portion of the first sense connection, the second portion of the second sense connection, the third portion of the third sense connection and the fifth portion of the fourth sense connection are minimum process widths.

4. The touch sensor panel of claim 2, wherein:

a distance between the first touch pixel and the first sense connection is the minimum process distance,

a distance between the first sense connection and the third sense connection is the minimum process distance,

a distance between the fourth sense connection and the second sense connection is the minimum process distance, and

a distance between the second sense connection and the second touch pixel is the minimum process distance.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is configured such that a bandwidth of the third sense connection is greater than a bandwidth of the third sense connection with the fourth portion having a different width.

6. The touch sensor panel of claim 5, wherein the width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is configured such that a resistance of the third sense connection is less than a resistance of the third sense connection with the fourth portion having a different width.

7. The touch sensor panel of claim 5, wherein the width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is configured such that a capacitance of the third sense connection is less than a capacitance of the third sense connection with the fourth portion having a different width.

8. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the first touch pixel, the second touch pixel, the third touch pixel and the fourth touch pixel comprise self-capacitance touch pixels.

9. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the fourth portion of the third sense connection and the sixth portion of the fourth sense connection are configured so as to minimize touch centroid inaccuracy on the touch sensor panel.

10. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the fourth portion of the third sense connection and the sixth portion of the fourth sense connection are configured so as to minimize touch non-linearity of the touch sensor panel.

11. A method of fabricating a touch sensor panel, the method comprising:

forming a first touch pixel, a second touch pixel, a third touch pixel and a fourth touch pixel;

coupling the first touch pixel to a first sense connection and the second touch pixel to a second sense connection, the first sense connection having a first portion disposed in a first active region of the touch sensor panel between the first touch pixel and the second touch pixel, and the second sense connection having a second portion disposed in the first active region; and

coupling the third touch pixel to a third sense connection and the fourth touch pixel to a fourth sense connection, the third sense connection having a third portion disposed in the first active region and a fourth portion disposed in a second active region of the touch sensor panel between the third touch pixel and the fourth touch pixel, and the fourth sense connection having a fifth portion disposed in the first active region and a sixth portion disposed in the second active region,

wherein;

a width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is larger than a width of the third portion of the third sense connection, and

widths of the first portion of the first sense connection, the second portion of the second sense connection, the third portion of the third sense connection and the fifth portion of the fourth sense connection are substantially the same in the first active region.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a distance between the first touch pixel and the second touch pixel is based on minimum process widths.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the widths of the first portion of the first sense connection, the second portion of the second sense connection, the third portion of the third sense connection and the fifth portion of the fourth sense connection are minimum process widths.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein:

a distance between the first touch pixel and the first sense connection is the minimum process distance,

a distance between the first sense connection and the third sense connection is the minimum process distance,

a distance between the fourth sense connection and the second sense connection is the minimum process distance, and

a distance between the second sense connection and the second touch pixel is the minimum process distance.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is configured such that a bandwidth of the third sense connection is greater than a bandwidth of the third sense connection with the fourth portion having a different width.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is configured such that a resistance of the third sense connection is less than a resistance of the third sense connection with the fourth portion having a different width.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the width of the fourth portion of the third sense connection is configured such that a capacitance of the third sense connection is less than a capacitance of the third sense connection with the fourth portion having a different width.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein forming the first touch pixel, the second touch pixel, the third touch pixel and the fourth touch pixel comprises forming self-capacitance touch pixels.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the fourth portion of the third sense connection and the sixth portion of the fourth sense connection are configured so as to minimize touch centroid inaccuracy on the touch sensor panel.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the fourth portion of the third sense connection and the sixth portion of the fourth sense connection are configured so as to minimize touch non-linearity of the touch sensor panel.

21. A method of creating a touch sensor panel layout, the method comprising:

providing an initial sense connection characteristic for a sense connection, the sense connection configured to be coupled to a touch pixel;

determining a figure of merit associated with the sense connection and the touch pixel;

determining whether the initial sense connection characteristic can be modified to improve the figure of merit; and

in accordance with a determination that the figure of merit can be improved, modifying the initial sense connection characteristic to improve the figure of merit.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the initial sense connection characteristic comprises a width of the sense connection.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the figure of merit is based on a bandwidth associated with the sense connection and the touch pixel.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the figure of merit is based on a touch non-linearity associated with the sense connection and the touch pixel.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the figure of merit is based on a touch centroid associated with the sense connection and the touch pixel.