Capacitive Touchscreen Border Width Reduction via Vertical Wire Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current capacitive touchscreens require a border area for outgoing wires, which limits the minimization of terminal width and conflicts with the trend towards thinner, lighter devices with maximized display areas.
Innovation Solution
The capacitive touchscreen design features electrically conductive patterns on two opposite surfaces of a substrate, with outgoing wires integrated into the remaining areas on each surface, allowing for complementary sensing without the need for a border area, thereby reducing the terminal border width.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a border area is reserved for outgoing wires in current capacitive touchscreen design, then the outgoing wires can be properly connected, but the terminal width increases and the touchscreen display area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by moving the outgoing wires from the traditional planar border area to the vertical dimension beneath the touchscreen display. The wires are routed through the substrate thickness, allowing connections without occupying lateral display area, thus resolving the contradiction between display area and wire connection requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The outgoing wires are nested within the substrate structure itself, embedded in the vertical thickness of the touchscreen layers. This nesting approach allows the wires to be contained within the existing device volume rather than requiring additional border space, eliminating the need for a separate border area.
2Length of moving object
If the border area is eliminated to reduce terminal width, then the device becomes more compact, but the outgoing wires have no area to be disposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the manufacturing challenge by routing wires in the vertical dimension through the substrate rather than laterally across the border area. This allows compact terminal width while maintaining wire routing capability through multi-layer substrate pathways and vias.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate is segmented into multiple conductive layers with distinct functions - some layers contain the touchscreen sensing patterns while other layers or regions are dedicated to wire routing. This segmentation allows wires to be disposed in specific substrate regions without interfering with the touchscreen display area.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enables effective touchscreen sensing without a border, reducing the terminal's width and enhancing the integration of outgoing wires into the touchscreen area, thus aligning with the goal of thinner, more compact devices.
Implementation Method 1
A touch-sensing principle of a capacitive touchscreen is that: when a finger touches a surface of the cover lens 4 covering the ITO pattern, the touch IC determines a location, touched by the finger, by using coordinates of an electrode with a variation in capacitance detected on the sensing ITO pattern.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a capacitive touchscreen and a terminal, which can reduce or even eliminate a width of a terminal border. The capacitive touchscreen includes: a substrate including a first surface and a second surface; a first pattern and a first outgoing wire that are formed on the first surface of the substrate, where the first pattern covers a partial area of the first surface of the substrate, and the first outgoing wire is formed in a remaining area, except the first pattern, of the first surface of the substrate; and a second pattern and a second outgoing wire that are formed on the second surface of the substrate, where the second pattern covers a partial area of the second surface of the substrate, and the second outgoing wire is formed in a remaining area, except the second pattern, of the second surface of the substrate. The first surface and the second surface are two opposite surfaces of the substrate. A perpendicular projection, on the first surface, of the second pattern covers at least the remaining area, except the first pattern, on the first surface.