Abstract: The border routing of conductive traces in devices, such as displays, touch sensor panels, and touch screens, to improve border area space usage, thereby reducing device size, and to reduce trace resistance, thereby improving device operation, is disclosed. The conductive traces can form a staggered stair-step configuration in the device border area, in which the average widths of the traces can be different from each other and each trace can have segments with different widths. The conductive traces can be coupled to an active area of the device to transmit signals to and from the active area in accordance with a device operation. The varying widths can help improve the border area space usage, reduce trace resistance, and reduce the differences in resistance between traces.

Abstract: A touch sensor panel is disclosed. The touch sensor panel includes a plurality of rows, at least one of the rows being a split row including a plurality of row subsections; and a plurality of columns, at least one of the columns being a split column including a plurality of column subsections. The touch sensor panel is configured with at least one split row and at least one split column located to increase a likelihood that a touch anywhere on the touch sensor panel overlaps with at least one split row and at least one split column. The rows and columns are individually charged electrodes capable of detecting a change in capacitance in a corresponding area of the touch sensor panel.

Abstract: This relates to compensation for undesirable capacitance changes in a touch sensing device, where the capacitance changes are not indicative of a touch at the device. The touch sensing device can include a touch sensor panel having touch sensors for sensing a touch at the panel, a flexible circuit for transmitting the sensed touch signal from the panel, and a touch controller for receiving and processing the transmitted signal. To compensate for the capacitance changes, the touch sensing device can include one or more reference conductive traces decoupled from touch sensors of the device to measure non-touch capacitances in the device. The touch sensing device can then adjust a touch signal from the touch sensors using the non-touch capacitance measurements to substantially reduce or eliminate the non-touch capacitances from the signal.

Abstract: A flex circuit having conductive traces formed on only one side of a base film for attaching to both sides of a DITO touch sensor panel is disclosed. By having conductive traces formed on only one side of the base film, the number of process steps and fabrication cost can be reduced because only a single etching step is needed. Furthermore, because the flex circuit is thinner, the resultant space savings can be utilized for other features in a device without enlarging the overall device package.

Abstract: A substantially transparent touch sensor panel having co-planar single-layer touch sensors and traces fabricated on a single side of a substrate for detecting single or multi-touch events. The touch sensor elements can be fabricated in columns and rows, with each sensor element in a row adjacent to a sensor element in a column. By using a board as the dielectric to connect traces from multiple sensor elements in each row, rather than using a dielectric layer on the substrate upon which the sensor elements and traces are formed, the sensor elements and traces on the substrate can be formed by simply patterning a single layer of conductive material on the substrate, which can simplify the manufacturing process of the substrate from a complexity and cost perspective.

Abstract: A touch sensor panels having segmented electrodes for both the drive and sense lines. The touch sensor panel may include a number of columns of sense electrodes and a number of rows of drive electrodes. Each of the drive and sense electrodes are connected to one of the metal bus lines using a connecting trace. Pixels on the touch sensor panel are formed by the unique pairings of individual drive electrodes and their adjacent sense electrodes. Electrically, the mutual capacitance of one touch-sensing pixel can be distinguished from the mutual capacitance of another touch sensing pixel because the two mutual capacitances are formed with combinations of different drive electrodes and sense electrodes. In one embodiment, the drive electrodes and sense electrodes in adjacent columns are staggered horizontally with respect to each other by half a Y-pitch of the electrodes.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for correcting electrical noise coupling from a liquid crystal module to a plurality of sense elements disposed within a touch sensor panel, and for reducing errors in touch detection algorithms. Erroneous signal values detected by the sense elements may be corrected by utilizing a set of reference elements for detecting noise common to both the sense elements and the reference elements, and a correction module for effectively subtracting out the noise from the sensed values. Errors in touch detection algorithms may be reduced by providing a more uniform spacing between successive sense elements. In some embodiments, one or more dummy ground elements may be inserted between adjacent sense elements in order to reduce signal interference.

Abstract: The formation of metal traces in the border areas of a touch sensor panel to provide improved reliability, better noise rejection, and lower manufacturing costs is disclosed. The metal traces can be coupled to rows on the touch sensor panel in an interleaved manner, so that any two successive rows can be coupled to metal traces in border areas on opposite sides of the touch sensor panel. In addition, by utilizing the full width available in the border areas in some embodiments, the metal traces can be formed from higher resistivity metal, which can reduce manufacturing costs and improve trace reliability. The wider traces can also provide better noise immunity from noise sources such as an LCD by providing a larger fixed-potential surface area and by more effectively coupling the drive lines to the fixed potential.

Abstract: A flex circuit having conductive traces formed on only one side of a base film for attaching to both sides of a DITO touch sensor panel is disclosed. By having conductive traces formed on only one side of the base film, the number of process steps and fabrication cost can be reduced because only a single etching step is needed. Furthermore, because the flex circuit is thinner, the resultant space savings can be utilized for other features in a device without enlarging the overall device package.