Apple Inc.

Other

Seung Jae Hong

John Z Zhong

Martin Paul Grunthaner

Lynn Richard Youngs

Lili Huang

Steven Porter Hotelling

Sunggu Kang

Shih Chang Chang

Tongbi T Jiang

Matthew Emanuel Last

Kuo-Hua Sung

Casey J Feinstein

Ralph E Kauffman

A touch sensitive device that includes a touch sensor having an opaque passivation layer is disclosed. The opaque passivation layer can be made from an organic or inorganic material, such as acrylic. The opaque passivation layer can be positioned in the touch sensitive device between the cover material of the device and conductive traces located on the touch sensor to hide the conductive traces from the user's view and protect the conductive traces from corrosion. Processes for making the touch sensitive devices that include a touch sensor having an opaque passivation layer are also disclosed.

Opaque thin film passivation

A touch sensor panel including a plurality of drive lines crossing a plurality of sense lines, forming an array. The plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines are formed by interconnecting sections of at least one conductive material having a truncated diamond shape or formed of interconnected conductive lines. At least one conductive dummy region may be disposed in an area of the touch sensor panel around the truncated diamond shape sections or interconnected conductive lines of the plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines. One or more lines may be formed overlapping the interconnected sections of each of the plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines.

Touch sensor panel design

Methods for chemically strengthening the edges of glass sheets are provided. Voids can be formed in a mother sheet. The edges of these voids may correspond to a portion of the new edges that would normally be created during separation and free shaping of the mother sheet. The mother sheet can then be immersed in a chemical strengthener. The edges of the voids can be chemically strengthened in addition to the front and back sides of the mother sheet. After thin film processing and separation, each of the resulting individual sheets has been chemically strengthened on both sides and on a portion of its edges.

Perforated mother sheet for partial edge chemical strengthening and method therefor

Improved techniques are disclosed for fabrication of touch panels using thin sheet glass. Thin touch sensor panels each having a thickness of substantially less than approximately one-half millimeter can be produced. A thin mother glass sheet having a thickness of substantially less then approximately one half millimeter can be used. A thin film can be coupled to a surface of the thin mother glass sheet, and the thin film can be photolithographically patterned, while avoiding breakage of the thin mother glass sheet. The thin mother glass sheet can be singulated into the thin touch sensor panels.

Thin sheet glass processing

A method for fabricating thin DITO or SITO touch sensor panels with a thickness less than a minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. In one embodiment, a sandwich of two thin glass sheets is formed such that the combined thickness of the glass sheets does not drop below the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment when thin film process is performed on the surfaces of the sandwich during fabrication. The sandwich may eventually be separated to form two thin SITO/DITO panels. In another embodiment, the fabrication process involves laminating two patterned thick substrates, each having at least the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. One or both of the sides of the laminated substrates are then thinned so that when the substrates are separated, each is a thin DITO/SITO panel having a thickness less than the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment.

Method for fabricating thin touch sensor panels

A sensor array package can include a sensor disposed on a first side of a substrate. Signal trenches can be formed along the edges of the substrate and a conductive layer can be deposited in the signal trench and can couple to sensor signal pads. Bond wires can be attached to the conductive layers and can be arranged to be below a surface plane of the sensor. The sensor array package can be embedded in a printed circuit board enabling the bond wires to terminate at other conductors within the printed circuit board.

Sensor array package

A method of forming a curved touch surface is disclosed. The method can include depositing and patterning a conductive thin film on a flexible substrate to form at least one touch sensor pattern, while the flexible substrate is in a flat state. According to certain embodiments, the method can include supporting the flexible substrate in the flat state on at least one curved forming substrate having a predetermined curvature; and performing an anneal process, or an anneal-like high-heat process, on the conductive thin film, wherein the anneal process can cause the flexible substrate to conform to the predetermined curvature of the at least one curved forming substrate. According to an embodiment, the curved forming substrate can include a first forming substrate having a first predetermined curvature and a second forming substrate having a second predetermined curvature complementing the first predetermined curvature.

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Seung Jae Hong