Touch sensor arrangements for organic light-emitting diode displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9400576-B2
Application number	US-201113186238-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2011
Priority date	Jul 19, 2011
Publication date	Jul 26, 2016
Grant date	Jul 26, 2016

Abstract

Displays such as organic light-emitting diode displays may be provided with touch sensing capabilities. A touch sensor may be formed from electrodes located on a thin-film encapsulation layer or one or more sides of a polarizer. A single-sided or double-sided touch sensor panel may be attached to the upper or lower surface of a polarizer. Control circuitry may be used to provide control signals to light-emitting diodes in the display using a grid of control lines. The control lines and transparent electrode structures such as indium tin oxide structures formed on a thin-film encapsulation layer or polarizer may be used as electrodes for a touch sensor. Displays may have active regions and inactive peripheral portions. The displays may have edge portions that are bent along a bend axis that is within the active region to form a borderless display. Virtual buttons may be formed on the bent edge portions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A display, comprising:
an array of organic light-emitting diodes;
a thin-film encapsulation layer that encapsulates the organic light-emitting diodes;
capacitive touch sensor electrodes on the thin-film encapsulation layer;
control lines that convey touch sensor signals, wherein the thin-film encapsulation layer is interposed between the capacitive touch sensor electrodes and the control lines; and
a patterned black masking layer having clear openings that are aligned with the array of organic light-emitting diodes, wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes comprise a grid of conductive lines and wherein the conductive lines are covered by the patterned black masking layer.

2. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive lines are patterned to form diamond-shaped electrode pads, wherein at least some of the diamond-shaped electrode paths are connected together to form the capacitive touch sensor electrodes.

3. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the conductive lines comprise metal lines.

4. The display defined in claim 1 further comprising:
a polarizer; and
a layer of adhesive between the polarizer and the capacitive touch sensor electrodes.

5. The display defined in claim 4 wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes comprise patterned transparent conductive structures on the thin-film encapsulation layer that are covered by the layer of adhesive.

6. The display defined in claim 5 wherein the control lines are coupled to the organic light-emitting diodes, the display further comprising:
display and touch sensor control circuitry that is configured to generate control signals that are conveyed over the control lines to the light-emitting diodes and that is configured to gather touch sensor capacitance signals from the patterned transparent conductive structures on the thin-film encapsulation layer and from at least some of the control lines.

7. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes are deposited directly on a surface of the thin-film encapsulation layer.

8. A display, comprising:
an array of organic light-emitting diodes;
a thin-film encapsulation layer that encapsulates the organic light-emitting diodes;
capacitive touch sensor electrodes on the thin-film encapsulation layer;
a polarizer;
a layer of adhesive between the polarizer and the capacitive touch sensor electrodes, wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes comprise patterned transparent conductive structures on the thin-film encapsulation layer that are covered by the layer of adhesive;
control lines that are coupled to the organic light-emitting diodes; and
display and touch sensor control circuitry that is configured to generate control signals that are conveyed over the control lines to the light-emitting diodes and that is configured to gather touch sensor capacitance signals from the patterned transparent conductive structures on the thin-film encapsulation layer and from at least some of the control lines, wherein at least some of the thin-film encapsulation layer is interposed between the control lines and the patterned transparent conductive structures.

9. The display defined in claim 6 wherein the control lines and the array of organic light-emitting diodes are formed on a common substrate.

10. The display defined in claim 4 wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes are interposed between and in contact with the layer of adhesive and the thin-film encapsulation layer.

11. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes comprise indium tin oxide.

12. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes comprise square electrode pads.

13. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes comprise diamond-shaped electrode pads.

14. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the capacitive touch sensor electrodes are interposed between the array of organic light-emitting diodes and the patterned black masking layer.

Assignees

• Chen Wei
• Hotelling Steven P
• Zhong John Z
• Chang Shih-Chang
• Poon Stephen S
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Chen Wei
• Hotelling Steven P
• Zhong John Z
• Chang Shih-Chang
• Poon Stephen S

Classifications

• H10K59/8792

  comprising light absorbing layers, e.g. black layers · CPC title

• H10K59/873

  Encapsulations · CPC title

• H10K59/8722

  Peripheral sealing arrangements, e.g. adhesives, sealants · CPC title

• G06F2203/04112

  Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material · CPC title

• G06F3/04886

  by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus · CPC title