Touch sensitive displays with coplanar capacitive touch and proximity sensor pads and related touch panels

A touch sensitive display comprising:

• an image rendering layer that is configured to control light transmissivity through pixel locations therein responsive to a display control signal;
• a plurality of touch sensor pads that are arranged in a plurality of spaced apart columns on a planar layer that is connected to the image rendering layer, wherein each of the touch sensor pads are spaced apart and serially connected in each column and are electrically isolated from first sensor pads in other columns;
• a proximity sensor pad on the planar layer that is electrically isolated from the touch sensor pads, wherein the proximity sensor pad has a greater surface area than a plurality of the touch sensor pads and extends as a continuous line on the planar layer between adjacent ones of the spaced apart columns of touch sensor pads;
• and
• a position detection circuit that is configured to electrically charge the touch sensor pads to generate capacitive coupling to an adjacent user object and detect therefrom a location of the user object relative to a direction across the image rendering layer, and configured to electrically charge the proximity sensor pad to generate a higher level of capacitive coupling to the user object than a plurality of the touch sensor pads and to detect therefrom a proximity of the user object in a perpendicular direction to the image rendering layer.