US 6,163,313 A · Touch sensitive screen and method

Abstract

A position touch sensor having a substrate and a resistive layer disposed on the substrate. At least one pair of electrodes is positioned on the resistive layer. A portion of one electrode is spaced from a portion of another electrode to produce an overlapped resistive region between the spaced portions of the electrodes. An insulating region extends into and terminates in the overlapped resistive region from a resistive region of the resistive layer outside the overlapped resistive region. A method for controlling the flow of current through a resistive layer for converting physical position information on the resistive layer into electrical signals. The method includes determining a dimension of a length of a generally continuous resistive section which is to be located in the resistive layer. The dimension of the length is determined through the use of electrical excitation in the resistive layer. A first insulating region is disposed in the resistive layer to form a first boundary of the generally continuous resistive section. Subsequently and at a distance from the first insulating region essentially equaling the dimension of the length, a second insulating region is disposed in the resistive layer to form a second boundary of the generally continuous resistive section such that current may be conducted through the generally continuous resistive section between the first and second insulating regions.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method for controlling the flow of current through a resistive layer for converting physical position information on the resistive layer into electrical signals comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a resistive layer for converting physical position information thereon into electrical signals;
(b) determining through the use of electrical excitation in the resistive layer a dimension of a length of a generally continuous resistive section which is to be located in the resistive layer of step (a);
(c) providing a pair of generally parallel electrodes engaged to said resistive layer to produce an overlapped resistive region in said resistive layer between said pair of generally parallel electrodes;
(d) disposing a first insulating region in the overlapped resistive region of step (c) to form a first boundary of the generally continuous resistive section;
(e) disposing, at a distance from the first insulating region essentially equaling the dimension of step (b), a second insulating region in the overlapped resistive region of step (c) to form a second boundary of the generally continuous resistive section such that current may be conducted through the generally continuous resistive section between the first insulating region and the second insulating region and such that said generally continuous resistive section is located in said overlapped resistive region.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Touch sensitive screen and method

Life of this patent

Touch sensitive screen and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23