Discriminative capacitive touch panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9105255-B2
Application number	US-201314135639-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2013
Priority date	Dec 20, 2013
Publication date	Aug 11, 2015
Grant date	Aug 11, 2015

Abstract

A mutual capacitance touch sensor includes a substrate, and an array of electrode elements formed on the substrate. Each electrode element includes at least one of a first electrode group having at least two drive electrodes and at least one sense electrode, or a second electrode group having at least two sense electrodes and at least one drive electrode. The respective electrodes of the first or second group are arranged to form multiple capacitances over different coupling distances. A controller is operatively coupled to the array of electrode elements, the controller configured to assign an input object as a conductive object when measurements of the multiple capacitances decrease as the input object approaches the touch sensor, and assign the input object as non-conductive object when measurements of at least one of the multiple capacitances increase as the input object approaches the touch sensor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A mutual capacitance touch sensor, comprising:
a substrate;
an array of electrode elements formed on the substrate, each electrode element including at least one of a first electrode group comprising at least two drive electrodes and at least one sense electrode, or a second electrode group comprising at least two sense electrodes and at least one drive electrode, wherein the respective electrodes of the first or second group are arranged to form multiple capacitances over different coupling distances; and
a controller operatively coupled to the array of electrode elements, the controller configured to assign an input object as a conductive object according to a first characteristic change of the multiple capacitances as the input object approaches the touch sensor, and assign the input object as non-conductive object according to a second characteristic change of the multiple capacitances different from the first characteristic change as the input object approaches the touch sensor.

2. The touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first characteristic change is a decrease in capacitance of the multiple capacitances as the input object approaches the touch sensor, and the second characteristic change is an increase in capacitance of at least one of the multiple capacitances as the input object approaches the touch sensor.

3. The touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine, based on measurements of the multiple capacitances, a location and height of the object relative to a surface of the touch sensor.

4. The touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two sense electrodes of the second electrode group are arranged as pairs such that two sense electrodes are provided at every row-column intersection in the array.

5. The touch sensor according to claim 4 , wherein a first sense electrode of a sense electrode pair is separated from the drive electrode by a shorter distance, in a plane of the sensor substrate, than a second sense electrode of the pair of sense electrodes.

6. The touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two drive electrodes of the first electrode group are arranged as pairs such that two drive electrodes are provided at every row-column intersection in the array.

7. The touch sensor according to claim 6 , wherein a second drive electrode of the pair of drive electrodes is separated from the sense electrode by a greater distance, in a plane of the sensor substrate, than a first drive electrode of the pair of drive electrodes.

8. The touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two drive electrodes of the first electrode group are arranged as drive electrode pairs and the at least one sense electrode of the first electrode group is arranged as a sense electrode pair such that two drive electrodes and two sense electrodes are provided at every row-column intersection in the array.

9. The touch sensor according to claim 4 , wherein a first sense electrode of the sense electrode pair is split into two parts that run adjacent to a side of a second sense electrode of the sense electrode pair.

10. The touch sensor according to claim 6 , wherein a first drive electrode of the drive electrode pair is split into two parts that run adjacent to a side of a second drive electrode of the drive electrode pair.

11. The touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the sense electrodes of the second electrode group are arranged as a plurality of sense electrode pairs, each pair including a first dual-function sense electrode and a second dual-function sense electrode, and the at least one drive electrode comprises a pair of drive electrodes, or wherein
the drive electrodes of the first electrode group are arranged as a plurality of drive electrode pairs, and the at least one sense electrode comprises a pair of sense electrodes, each pair including a first dual-function sense electrode and a second dual-function sense electrode.

12. The touch sensor according to claim 11 wherein
the sense electrode pairs are divided into odd numbered sense electrode pairs and even numbered sense electrodes pairs, and the drive electrode pairs are divided into odd numbered drive electrode pairs and even numbered drive electrodes pairs,
a majority of the first odd numbered dual function sense electrodes of a pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first odd numbered dual-function drive electrodes of a pair of drive electrodes, and a majority of the second odd numbered dual-function sense electrodes of the pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first even numbered dual-function drive electrodes of the pair of drive electrodes, and
a majority of the second even numbered dual-function sense electrodes of a pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the second even numbered dual function drive electrodes of a pair of drive electrodes, and a majority of the second odd numbered dual-function sense electrodes of the pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first even numbered dual-function drive electrodes of the pair of drive electrodes.

13. The touch sensor according to claim 11 , wherein
the sense electrode pairs are divided into odd numbered sense electrode pairs and even numbered sense electrodes pairs, and the drive electrode pairs are divided into odd numbered drive electrode pairs and even numbered drive electrodes pairs,
a majority of the first odd numbered dual function sense electrodes of a pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first odd numbered dual-function drive electrodes of a pair of drive electrodes, and a majority of the second odd numbered dual-function sense electrodes of the pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first even numbered dual-function drive electrodes of the pair of drive electrodes, and
a majority of the first even numbered dual-function sense electrodes of a pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the second odd numbered dual function drive electrodes of a pair of drive electrodes, and a majority of the second even numbered dual-function sense electrodes of the pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first even numbered dual-function drive electrodes of the pair of drive electrodes.

14. The touch sensor according to claim 11 , wherein sense electrode pairs are formed in a first transparent conductive layer and drive electrode pairs are formed in a second transparent conductive layer, the first and second transparent conductive layers separated by an insulating layer.

15. The touch sensor according to claim 14 , wherein
the sense electrode pairs are divided into odd numbered sense electrode pairs and even numbered sense electrodes pairs, and the drive electrode pairs are divided into odd numbered drive electrode pairs and even numbered drive electrodes pairs,
a majority of the first odd numbered dual function sense electrodes of a pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first odd numbered dual-function drive electrodes of a pair of drive electrodes, and a majority of the second odd numbered dual-function sense electrodes of the pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the first even numbered dual-function drive electrodes of the pair of drive electrodes, and
a majority of the first even numbered dual-function sense electrodes of a pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the second odd numbered dual function drive electrodes of a pair of drive electrodes, and a majority of the second even numbered dual-function sense electrodes of the pair of sense electrodes are adjacent the second even numbered dual-function drive electrodes of the pair of drive electrodes.

16. The touch se

Assignees

• Sharp Kk

Inventors

• Brown Christopher James
• Kay Andrew
• Slamkul Dauren

Classifications

• G06F3/0488

  using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures · CPC title

• G06F3/0416

  Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers · CPC title

• G09G2300/0426

  Layout of electrodes and connections · CPC title

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G09G2300/0404

  Matrix technologies · CPC title