US 10,310,667 B2Granted

Multi-bar capacitive sense electrode

AssigneeApple Inc.

InventorsAlexandre Gourevitch, Albert Lin, Isaac Chan, Martin Paul Grunthaner, Prathit Bugnait, Seyed Mohammad Navidpour, Sumant Ranganathan

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Abstract

Electrode configurations for reducing wobble error for a stylus translating on a surface of a touch sensor panel is disclosed. Electrodes associated with a more linear signal profile can correlate to lower wobble error. In some examples, electrodes can be configured such that the signal profile associated with each electrode is spread to be wider, and thus, more linear. In some configurations, electrodes can include two or more bars extending along the length of the electrode with each bar electrically connected to one another at one or both ends. Bars can be of non-uniform width or spacing. Some configurations can include a “split bar,” which can divide a bar lengthwise in order to improve optical uniformity. In some examples, electrodes can include projections which can interleave with corresponding projections in adjacent electrodes.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A touch sensor panel comprising:

a first electrode including a first plurality of electrically connected bars extending in a first direction parallel to a length of the first electrode, wherein
a first set of bars of the first plurality of bars are immediately adjacent to one another and are each separated from one another by a first distance, and
a second set of bars of the first plurality of bars are immediately adjacent to one another and are each separated from one another by a second distance, greater than the first;
and
a second electrode including a second plurality of electrically connected bars extending in the first direction parallel to the length of the first electrode, wherein:
a third set of bars of the second plurality of bars are immediately adjacent to one another and are each separated from one another by the first distance;
a fourth set of bars of the second plurality of bars are immediately adjacent to one another and are each separated from one another by the second distance, greater than the first distance;
and
the second electrode is separated from the first electrode by the first distance, wherein all bars of the first electrode extending in the direction parallel to the length of the first electrode have a width equal to a common width.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/860,364Filed 21 Sep 2015
Published: US 2017/0083152 A123 Mar 2017
Granted: 4 Jun 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G06F 3/0442
By capacitive means: using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
G06F 3/0448
By capacitive means: details of the electrode shape, e.g. for enhancing the detection of touches, for generating specific electric field shapes,…
G06F 3/04186
For error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment: touch location disambiguation
G06F 3/0446
By capacitive means: using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Family

US 2017/0083152 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Mar 2017
US 10,310,667 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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