Flexible touch sensor
View Patent ↗In one embodiment, an apparatus include a substantially flexible substrate and a touch sensor disposed on the substantially flexible substrate. The touch sensor comprising drive or sense electrodes made of flexible conductive material configured to bend with the substantially flexible substrate.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a substantially flexible substrate; and
a touch sensor disposed on the substantially flexible substrate, the touch sensor comprising drive or sense electrodes made of flexible conductive material configured to bend with the substantially flexible substrate, wherein:
the flexible conductive material of the drive or sense electrodes comprises first and second conductive lines that electrically contact one another at an intersection to form a mesh grid; and
the substantially flexible substrate and the touch sensor are configured to wrap around one or more edges of a display.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the touch sensor further comprises tracking disposed on the substantially flexible substrate configured to provide drive or sense connections to or from the drive or sense electrodes and configured to bend with the substantially flexible substrate.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are made from one of carbon nanotubes, copper, silver, a copper-based material, or a silver-based material.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the touch sensor comprises:
a single-layer configuration with drive and sense electrodes disposed only on a first surface of the substantially flexible substrate; or
a two-layer configuration with drive electrodes disposed on the first surface of the substantially flexible substrate and sense electrodes disposed on a second surface of the substrate opposite the first surface.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the touch sensor is a mutual-capacitance touch sensor or a self-capacitance touch sensor.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the touch sensor further comprises electrically-isolated structures made of conductive material comprising a conductive mesh.
7. A device comprising:
a substantially flexible substrate;
a touch sensor disposed on the substantially flexible substrate, the touch sensor comprising a plurality of capacitive nodes formed from drive or sense electrodes made of flexible conductive material configured to bend with the substantially flexible substrate, wherein:
the flexible conductive material of the drive or sense electrodes comprises first and second conductive lines that electrically contact one another at an intersection to form a mesh grid;
the substantially flexible substrate and the touch sensor are configured to wrap around one or more edges of a display; and
one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying logic that is configured when executed to control the touch sensor.
8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the touch sensor further comprises tracking disposed on the substantially flexible substrate configured to provide drive or sense connections to or from the drive or sense electrodes and configured to bend with the substantially flexible substrate.
9. The device of claim 7 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are made from one of carbon nanotubes, copper, silver, a copper-based material, or a silver-based material.
10. The device of claim 7 , wherein the touch sensor comprises:
a single-layer configuration with drive and sense electrodes disposed only on a first surface of the substantially flexible substrate; or
a two-layer configuration with drive electrodes disposed on the first surface of the substantially flexible substrate and sense electrodes disposed on a second surface of the substrate opposite the first surface.
11. The device of claim 7 , wherein the touch sensor is a mutual-capacitance touch sensor or a self-capacitance touch sensor.
12. The device of claim 7 , wherein the touch sensor further comprises electrically-isolated structures made of conductive material comprising a conductive mesh.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are substantially orthogonal to one another.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are non-linear.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are made of fine lines of metal having a thickness of approximately 5 micrometers or less and a width of approximately 10 micrometers or less.
16. The device of claim 7 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are substantially orthogonal to one another.
17. The device of claim 7 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are non-linear.
18. The device of claim 7 , wherein the first and second conductive lines are made of fine lines of metal having a thickness of approximately 5 micrometers or less and a width of approximately 10 micrometers or less.
19. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second conductive lines of the flexible conductive material of the drive or sense electrodes is wider at the one or more edges of the display.
20. The device of claim 7 , wherein the first and second conductive lines of the flexible conductive material of the drive or sense electrodes is wider at the one or more edges of the display.