Apple Inc.

Sentons Inc.

Mark Arthur Hamblin

Steve Porter Hotelling

Brian Richards Land

Steven Porter Hotelling

Tang Yew Tan

Richard Hung Minh Dinh

Samuel W Sheng

Shih-Ming Shih

Yenyu Hsieh

Lapoe E Lynn

A multi-touch sensor panel is disclosed that can be produced by forming a plurality of first traces of substantially transparent conductive material on a first substrate, forming a plurality of second traces of the substantially transparent material, and creating a fluid-tight gap between the plurality of first traces and the plurality of second traces. The fluid-tight gap can then be filled with a fluid having substantially no bubbles and an optical index similar to the optical index of the first and second traces to make the gap and the first and second traces substantially transparent. The second and first traces can be oriented to cross over each other at crossover locations separated by the fluid, the crossover locations forming mutual capacitance sensors for detecting touches.

Touch screen stack-up processing

A multi-touch sensor panel is disclosed that can include a glass subassembly having a plurality of column traces of substantially transparent conductive material that can be formed on the back side, wherein the glass subassembly can also act as a cover that can be touched on the front side. Row traces of the same or different substantially transparent conductive material can then be located near the column traces, and a layer of dielectric material can be coupled between the column traces and the row traces. The row and column traces can be oriented to cross over each other at crossover locations separated by the dielectric material, and the crossover locations can form mutual capacitance sensors for detecting one or more touches on the front side of the glass subassembly.

Touch screen stack-ups

A touch input provided by a touch input indicator device is received on a propagating medium of a receiving device. The touch input indicator device includes a transmitter that transmits a signal to the propagating medium when the touch input indicator device contacts the propagating medium. The signal encodes a digital binary data identifying the signal. The signal that has been propagated through the propagating medium is received at a receiver of the receiving device. The receiver is coupled to the propagating medium. The digital binary data is detected in the received signal. Based at least in part on the detection of the digital binary data, the touch input provided by the touch input indicator device is detected.

Detecting touch input provided by signal transmitting stylus

A multi-touch sensor panel can be created using a substrate with column and row traces formed on either side. Metal traces running along the border of the substrate can be used to bring the row traces to the same edge as the column traces. A single flex circuit can be fabricated to connect to the rows and columns on directly opposing sides. Flex printed circuits can be bonded to directly opposing attachment areas of a substrate by cooling one side of the substrate while bonding the other. In addition, 'coverlay' material extending over right-angled traces on the flex circuit ensure that those traces do not get shorted should conductive bonding material get squeezed out during bonding. Furthermore, a spacer is placed at the distal end of the flex circuit to apply even bonding pressure over the entire flex circuit attachment area during bonding.

Double-sided touch sensitive panel and flex circuit bonding

A multi-layer cover for an electronic device having one or more of a sensor panel, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a display device can include an outer hardcoat, a structural layer, an IR transmissive ink layer, a mask layer, and a backside hardcoat. The backside hardcoat can reduce cover warpage, enable full surface lamination of the cover to the sensor panel, prevent bubbles from forming in transparent windows in the cover, enable a wider range of functional inks to be applied in various layering orders to allow certain types of light to pass through while blocking others, and hide the sensors to provide a seamless, uncluttered visual appearance.

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Mark Arthur Hamblin