Touch Sensor Layout for Finger and Stylus Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices face challenges in distinguishing between a finger and a stylus pen due to operational errors, require additional components for stylus pen functionality, and have limitations in thickness and cost due to separate sensor panels and integrated circuits, especially in foldable devices.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device design that integrates a sensor unit with a touch controller using a plurality of patterns and traces to simultaneously sense objects and stylus pens without separate sensors, reducing channel count and supporting stylus functions on both inner and outer screens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a separate sensor panel and integrated circuit are added for EMR method, then stylus pen detection accuracy is improved, but device thickness and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the stylus detection function with the existing touch sensor panel by integrating additional sensing patterns (second and fourth patterns) into the same panel structure. This merging eliminates the need for a separate sensor panel, thereby maintaining stylus detection accuracy while reducing device thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch sensor panel is designed to perform multiple functions: it detects both finger touches and stylus pens using the same physical structure. By making the sensor panel universal, the patent avoids adding separate dedicated components for stylus detection, thus reducing overall device complexity and thickness.
2Measurement precision
If a separate sensor panel and integrated circuit are added for EMR method, then stylus pen detection accuracy is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the stylus detection functionality into the existing touch sensor panel manufacturing process. By using the same production line and materials for both touch sensing and stylus detection, the patent eliminates the need for separate manufacturing processes, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor panel is designed as a universal component that serves both touch input and stylus detection functions. This multi-functionality reduces the total bill of materials and simplifies the supply chain, leading to lower manufacturing costs compared to using separate dedicated components.
3Reliability
If additional separate FPCB and sensor film are attached for EMR method, then magnetic field transmission is improved, but device thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the magnetic field transmission function from separate external components (FPCB and sensor film) and integrates it directly into the touch sensor panel structure. This extraction eliminates the need for additional layers, thereby maintaining reliable magnetic field transmission while reducing device thickness.
4Measurement precision
If C-type touch screen is used, then finger touch sensitivity is improved, but stylus pen detection accuracy deteriorates due to unintended hand contact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different sensing patterns to different regions or functions within the same touch sensor panel. The first and third patterns are optimized for finger touch detection, while the second and fourth patterns are configured for stylus pen detection. This local differentiation allows the system to maintain high finger touch sensitivity while achieving accurate stylus detection by analyzing signals from specific pattern combinations.
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
Enables accurate detection of both fingers and stylus pens, reduces device thickness and cost by eliminating the need for additional sensors, and supports stylus functionality on both inner and outer touch screens.
Implementation Method 1
The C-type touch screen operates in a method of sensing a difference between capacitances of transparent electrodes generated by contact of an object
Implementation Method 2
a position measurement device in an electromagnetic resonance (EMR) method is used to distinguish the hand from the stylus pen
Implementation Method 3
The EMR method has an advantage of being insensitive to a display and an external noise by using a magnetic field instead of an electric field as driving force
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device capable of sensing a stylus pen and an external object such as a finger, which is brought into proximity or contact with the electronic device and reducing the number of channels between a sensor unit and a touch controller. The electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sensor unit and a touch controller. Here, the sensor unit includes: a plurality of first patterns, each of which extends in a first direction and has both ends electrically connected to the touch controller; and a plurality of third patterns, each of which extends in a second direction different from the first direction to cross the first pattern and has both ends of which at least one end is electrically connected to the touch controller.