KR-102963217-B1 - TOUCH ELECTRODES WITH BAR AND STRIPE PATTERN

KR102963217B1KR 102963217 B1KR102963217 B1KR 102963217B1KR-102963217-B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to touch sensor panels/touch screens comprising touch electrodes of a bar-stripe pattern. The bar-stripe pattern can improve touch signal levels for touch detection and improve the uniformity of the touch signal when objects move across the touch sensor panel/touch screen. The touch electrodes of the bar-stripe pattern may be formed from a metal mesh within one or more layers of a metal mesh. In some examples, "stripes" may be formed from groups of touch electrode segments within a first layer of the metal mesh and may be interconnected by bridges formed in a second layer of the metal mesh different from the first layer of the metal mesh in an active area of the touch screen. A plurality of stripes may be interconnected in a boundary area and/or an active area to form row touch electrodes. In some examples, "bars" may also include bridges within the second layer of the metal mesh.

Inventors

블론딘, 크리스토프
조우, 시아오치

Assignees

애플 인크.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20240920
Priority Date: 20200820

Claims (20)

As a touch screen, A display having an active area; and The display comprises a plurality of touch electrodes formed on the active area, and the touch electrodes are A contiguous thermal touch electrode of the first layer; and It includes a row touch electrode comprising a plurality of touch electrode segments on the same first layer having the above-mentioned continuous column touch electrodes; The plurality of touch electrode segments include pairs of touch electrode segments having individual first and second edges facing each other; One or more portions of a continuous thermal touch electrode, comprising a first portion separating individual first and second edges of a first pair of touch electrode segments and a second portion separating individual first and second edges of a second pair of touch electrode segments, separate the individual first and second edges of the pairs of touch electrode segments, a touch screen.
A touch screen according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of touch electrode segments comprises a two-dimensional array of touch electrode segments.
In paragraph 2, the two-dimensional array of the touch electrode segments is, A first one-dimensional array of touch electrode segments; and A touch screen comprising a second one-dimensional array of touch electrode segments electrically insulated from the first one-dimensional array within an active area of the display.
In paragraph 3, The above continuous thermal touch electrode is a first continuous thermal touch electrode between a first vertical boundary and a second vertical boundary; The plurality of touch electrodes further include a second continuous thermal touch electrode between the third vertical boundary and the fourth vertical boundary; A touch screen, wherein a first touch electrode segment of a first one-dimensional array of touch electrode segments comprises a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, wherein the first side is entirely within a first region between the first vertical boundary and the second vertical boundary, and the second side is entirely within a second region between the third vertical boundary and the fourth vertical boundary.
In paragraph 3, The above continuous thermal touch electrode is in the region between the first vertical boundary and the second vertical boundary; The first touch electrode segment of the first one-dimensional array of the touch electrode segments includes a first side and a second side opposite to the first side; The first and second sides are touch screens located entirely within the area.
In claim 1, the first layer comprises a metal mesh, the plurality of touch electrodes are formed of the metal mesh, and the touch screen is, A touch screen further comprising a plurality of bridges formed at least partially in a second layer different from the first layer, wherein the plurality of bridges include a bridge that electrically couples a pair of touch electrode segments of a plurality of touch electrode segments of the row touch electrode.
In claim 6, the plurality of touch electrode segments includes a two-dimensional array of touch electrode segments, and the two-dimensional array is, A first one-dimensional array of touch electrode segments; and It includes a second one-dimensional array of touch electrode segments, wherein the second one-dimensional array of touch electrode segments is electrically insulated from the first one-dimensional array of touch electrode segments within an active area of the display, and The first one-dimensional array of the touch electrode segments comprises a first group of touch electrode segments electrically coupled by one or more first bridges among the plurality of bridges; The second one-dimensional array of the touch electrode segments comprises a second group of touch electrode segments electrically coupled by one or more second bridges among the plurality of bridges; A touch screen, wherein a first one-dimensional array of the touch electrode segments is arranged in parallel with a second one-dimensional array of the touch electrode segments.
In Paragraph 7, A touch screen, wherein a first group of touch electrode segments and a second group of touch electrode segments are electrically coupled through a conductor disposed in a boundary region outside the active region of the display.
In Paragraph 7, The touch node of the above touch screen corresponds to a portion of the plurality of touch electrode segments of the row touch electrode and an adjacent portion of the continuous column touch electrode; Some of the above plurality of touch electrode segments are, Three touch electrode segments of the first group electrically coupled by two bridges of the first bridges; and A touch screen comprising three touch electrode segments of the second group electrically coupled by two bridges of the second bridges.
In Paragraph 7, The touch node of the above touch screen corresponds to a portion of the plurality of touch electrode segments of the row touch electrode and an adjacent portion of the continuous column touch electrode; Some of the above plurality of touch electrode segments are, Two touch electrode segments of the first group electrically coupled by the first bridge of the first bridges; and A touch screen comprising two touch electrode segments of the second group electrically coupled by the second bridge of the second bridges.
In paragraph 1, A touch screen further comprising a buffer electrode disposed between a portion of the continuous thermal touch electrodes and a portion of the plurality of touch electrode segments, wherein the buffer electrode is floating, grounded, or driven at a certain potential.
In claim 1, the first layer comprises a first metal mesh layer, and the plurality of touch electrodes are formed of a metal mesh disposed on the first metal mesh layer disposed on the active area of the display, and the touch screen is, A plurality of bridges formed at least partially in a second metal mesh layer different from the first metal mesh layer—a bridge among the plurality of bridges electrically couples two of the plurality of touch electrode segments along a second direction—; It further includes a neck region between two of the plurality of touch electrode segments that tapere from a first width to a second width smaller than the first width; A touch screen, wherein among the plurality of bridges, the length of a bridge electrically coupling two of the plurality of touch electrode segments across the neck region is greater than or equal to the second width and smaller than the length of the first width.
In paragraph 1, The first layer above includes a first metal mesh layer; The plurality of touch electrodes are formed from a metal mesh disposed on the first metal mesh layer; Electrical discontinuities of the first metal mesh layer form a boundary between a portion of the continuous thermal touch electrode and one or more touch electrode segments of the plurality of touch electrode segments, and the boundaries are in a zigzag pattern, a touch screen.
In paragraph 1, The first layer comprises a first metal mesh layer; The plurality of touch electrodes are formed of a metal mesh disposed on the first metal mesh layer; The metal mesh of a portion of the above continuous thermal touch electrode is at the same potential with respect to the reference potential; A touch screen in which a metal mesh of part of the continuous thermal touch electrode includes electrical discontinuities within an area of part of the continuous thermal touch electrode.
In paragraph 1, The first layer above includes a first metal mesh layer; The plurality of touch electrodes are formed of a metal mesh disposed on the first metal mesh layer; Among the plurality of touch electrode segments above, the metal mesh of the touch electrode segment is at the same potential with respect to the reference potential; A touch screen in which the metal mesh of the touch electrode segment among the plurality of touch electrode segments includes electrical discontinuities within the region of the touch electrode segment among the plurality of touch electrode segments.
A touch screen according to claim 1, wherein the pattern of electrical discontinuities within the region of a touch electrode among the plurality of touch electrodes is repeated across the region of the touch electrode among the plurality of touch electrodes.
In paragraph 1, The first layer above includes a first metal mesh layer; The plurality of touch electrodes are formed of a metal mesh disposed on the first metal mesh layer; The metal mesh of a portion of the above continuous thermal touch electrode is at the same potential with respect to the reference potential; A first region of the metal mesh of a portion of the continuous thermal touch electrode comprises electrical discontinuities within the region of the portion of the continuous thermal touch electrode; The second region of the metal mesh of the part of the continuous thermal touch electrode does not include electrical discontinuities within the region of the part of the continuous thermal touch electrode; The second region corresponds to a neck region between two of the plurality of touch electrode segments, a touch screen.
As a touch-sensitive device, Energy storage device; Communication circuit section; Touch controller; and A display having an active area; and The display comprises a plurality of touch electrodes formed on the active area, and the touch electrodes are A continuous thermal touch electrode of the first layer; and It includes a row touch electrode comprising a plurality of touch electrode segments on the same first layer having the above-mentioned continuous column touch electrodes; The plurality of touch electrode segments include pairs of touch electrode segments having individual first and second edges facing each other; One or more portions of a continuous thermal touch electrode, comprising a first portion separating individual first and second edges of a first pair of touch electrode segments and a second portion separating individual first and second edges of a second pair of touch electrode segments, are a touch-sensitive device that separates the individual first and second edges of the pairs of touch electrode segments.
In claim 18, the first layer comprises a metal mesh, the plurality of touch electrodes are formed of the metal mesh, and the plurality of touch electrodes are, A touch-sensitive device further comprising a plurality of bridges formed at least partially in a second layer different from the first layer, wherein the plurality of bridges include a bridge that electrically couples a pair of touch electrode segments of a plurality of touch electrode segments of the row touch electrode.
As a touch sensor panel, It includes a plurality of touch electrodes formed on an active area of a display, and the touch electrodes, A continuous thermal touch electrode of the first layer; and It includes a row touch electrode comprising a plurality of touch electrode segments on the same first layer having the continuous column touch electrode; The plurality of touch electrode segments include pairs of touch electrode segments having individual first and second edges facing each other; One or more portions of a continuous thermal touch electrode, comprising a first portion separating individual first and second edges of a first pair of touch electrode segments and a second portion separating individual first and second edges of a second pair of touch electrode segments, are a touch sensor panel that separates the individual first and second edges of the pairs of touch electrode segments.

Description

Touch electrodes with a bar and stripe pattern Cross-reference of related applications This application claims the benefit of 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/969,652 filed February 3, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Technology field The present invention generally relates to touch sensor panels, and more specifically to touch sensor panels comprising touch electrodes having a bar-and-stripe pattern. Many types of input devices, such as buttons or keys, mice, trackballs, joysticks, touch sensor panels, and touch screens, are currently available to perform operations in computing systems. In particular, touch screens are popular due to their ease of operation and versatility, as well as their declining price. Touch screens may include a touch sensor panel, which may be a transparent panel having a touch-sensitive surface, and a display device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) display, or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, wherein the display device may be positioned partially or completely behind the panel so that the touch-sensitive surface covers at least a portion of the visible area of the display device. Touch screens may allow a user to perform various functions by touching the touch sensor panel using a finger, stylus, or other object at a location indicated by a user interface (UI) often displayed by the display device. Generally, touch screens can recognize touches on the touch sensor panel and the location of the touch, and the computing system can then interpret the touch according to the display that appears at the time of the touch and subsequently perform one or more operations based on the touch. In some touch sensing systems, a physical touch on the display is not required to detect the touch. For example, in some capacitive-type touch sensing systems, the fringing electrical field used to detect the touch can extend beyond the surface of the display, and objects approaching the surface can be detected near the surface without actually touching the surface. Capacitive touch sensor panels can be formed by a matrix of partially or completely transparent or opaque conductive plates (e.g., touch electrodes) made of materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO). In some examples, the conductive plates may be formed of other materials including conductive polymers, metal mesh, graphene, nanowires (e.g., silver nanowires), or nanotubes (e.g., carbon nanotubes). As previously mentioned, the fact that some capacitive touch sensor panels can be overlaid on a display to form a touch screen is partly due to their substantial transparency. Some touch screens can be formed by integrating the touch sensing circuitry at least partially into the display pixel stackup (i.e., stacked material layers forming the display pixels). The present invention relates to touch sensor panels/touch screens comprising touch electrodes of a bar-stripe pattern. The bar-stripe pattern can improve touch signal levels for touch detection and improve the uniformity of the touch signal when objects move across the touch sensor panel/touch screen. The touch electrodes of the bar-stripe pattern may be formed from a metal mesh within a single layer of the metal mesh. In some examples, "stripes" may be formed from groups of touch electrode segments interconnected by bridges (formed in a second layer of the metal mesh different from the first layer of the metal mesh) in the active area (visible area of the display) of the touch screen, and a plurality of stripes may be interconnected in the boundary area and/or the active area (outside the visible area of the display) to form row touch electrodes. In some examples, "bars" may also include bridges. To reduce the visibility of metal mesh touch electrodes, in some examples, the boundaries between touch electrodes may be non-linear (a non-linear pattern in which electrical discontinuities within the metal mesh proceed along the boundaries). In some examples, dummy cuts (electrical discontinuities within the metal mesh) may be formed within the area of the touch electrode region (e.g., while maintaining the same potential with respect to the touch electrode region). FIGS. 1a through 1e illustrate exemplary systems that may include a touch screen according to examples of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computing system including a touch screen according to examples of the present disclosure. FIG. 3a illustrates an exemplary touch sensor circuit corresponding to a magnetic-capacitance measuring part of a touch node electrode and a sensing circuit according to examples of the present disclosure. FIG. 3b illustrates an exemplary touch sensor circuit corresponding to a mutual capacitance driving line, a sensing line, and a sensing circuit according to examples of the present disclosure. FIG. 4a illustrates a touch screen having touch electrodes ar