1302668 玖、發明說明： 【發明所屬之技術領域】 本說明書要求一美國臨時專利說明書申請日期的優勢， 該說明書之案號為60/373,022、於2002年4月16日提出申靖、 標題為「在接觸區域的周緣上具有一連串電阻鏈的觸控勞1302668 玖, invention description: [Technical field to which the invention pertains] This specification claims the advantage of the filing date of a US provisional patent specification, the case number of which is 60/373,022, and the application of Shenjing on April 16, 2002, entitled " Touching a series of resistor chains on the periphery of the contact area
幕」（Touchscreen Having A Series Resistor Chain On The Periphery Of ATouchscreen Having A Series Resistor Chain On The Periphery Of A
Touch Area)，該文件在此一併附上作為參考。 本發明領域涉及接觸感測器技術，更特言之，係涉及電 阻和電容的接觸感測器技術。 【先前技術】 接觸感測器是透明或不透明的輸入裝置，用於電腦和其 他電子系統。如其名稱所暗示，接觸感測器由使用者的手 指、或一觸控筆或一些其他裝置的接觸而啟動。透明的接 觸感測器，而且特別是觸控螢幕，通常放置在顯示裝置例 如像陰極射線管（CRT)監視器和液晶顯示器之上’以建立接 觸顯示器系統。這些系統逐漸用於商業應用，例如像餐廳 叮位系統、工業流程控制應用、互動式博物館展覽 '公用 資訊亭、呼叫器、蜂巢式電話、個人數位助理和電視遊樂 器〇 目前主要使用的接觸技術是電阻、電容、紅外線和聲音 技術。結纟這些技術的觸控勞幕已經以具競爭力的價格提 以上全都是透明裝置’冑由傳送接觸位 置坐標到主控電腦來回應—次接觸。觸控f幕效能的重要 觀點在於，位於接觸感測器上的接觸敏感區域之内所有位 84971 1302668 置處（也说是說’接觸區）真正和測量過的接觸位置之間的 接近通信。 一種電阻式觸控螢幕的類型，特別是5線的電阻觸控螢幕 ，例如，位於加州 Fremont 的 Elo TouchSystems 公司的 AccuTouch™ 產品線，已為許多觸控螢幕應用廣泛地接受。在這些觸控 螢幕中，來自一根手指或觸控筆的機械壓力導致塑膠的薄 膜表面層板彎曲，並使實體接觸一基礎玻璃基板。該玻璃 基板塗佈有一電阻層，在該層上，電壓梯度經由沿著基板 周緣處理的電極圖案受到刺激。經由電連接至塗怖玻璃基 板的四個隅角，相關的電子可以連續刺激乂和¥方向的梯度 ，如美國專利第3,591，718號所描述。表面層板的下側具有傳 導性塗料，提供在接觸位置和電壓感應電子之間的電連續 性。關於5線的電阻觸控螢幕的進一步詳細說明，請見美國 專利第 4,220,815、4,661，655、4,731，508、4,822,957、5,045,644、和 5,220，136 號。 在典型的5線電阻觸控螢幕中，一電極圖案沿著基板的每 邊框在「來源」模式和「非來源」模式中運作。例如，圖 1和2說明一個觸控式螢幕基板2，其中個別的又和丫激勵， 藉由沿著基板2的周緣8延伸、施加不同隅角電壓（在這情況 ，為5伏特）到電極圖案6，以便在接觸區4上產生。箭頭表 ，電流流過接觸區4的方向，而且虛線表示等位的線，也就 是說，沿著線向前的電壓是持續的。所謂理想的線性觸控 螢幕效能，等位線應完全是直線，如圖丨和2所建議。電流 的/瓜動與每些等位線垂直，因此當等位線是直線的時候， 84971 1302668 電流的線是直的。 如圖1所示，一X激勵係藉由傳送電流產生，透過在邊框 電極圖案6的右側注入以及在左側收集的接觸區4。也就是 說，左側和右側是在X激勵的「來源」（或吸收）模式中。理 想上，X激勵沒有電流從上下兩側進入或離開接觸區4。也 就是上下兩側是X激勵的「非來源」。 如圖2所示，一γ激勵係藉由傳送電流產生，透過在邊框 電極圖案6的右侧注入以及在左側收集的接觸區4。也就是 說，上下兩側是處於γ激勵的r來源」（或吸收）模式中。理 想上，Y激勵沒有電流從左侧和右側進入或離開接觸區4。 也就是說，左和右側是γ激勵的「非來源」。電子可以經由 如上所描述的電壓激勵從5線電阻觸控螢幕取得接觸資訊， 以及目前的注入和電容的架構。還在有一 9線的連接配置， 可提供電子和各四個隅角連接點之間的傳動和感測線連接 。廷些和其他技術描述於美國專利說明書第〇9/7〇5,3幻號中 ’此處已一併附上作為參考。 一 5線連接接觸感測器利用具有不連續的重疊電阻器的周 邊電極圖案，例如Elo TouchSystems公司的AccuTouch™產品， 並揭示於美國專利第5,045,644號中，此處已一併附上作=參 考在本案f列巾，平;f亍電阻電流的路徑係彡過接觸區對側 上周邊電極圖案之間的隔絕線内的間隙提供。首亥電流路徑 在周邊電極圖案附近的接觸區内產生一個不希望存在的波 紋非線性。因&，在這個區域以直線移動的一根手指，將 經歷激勵電壓的變化，測量座標的變化也由此而來（除非加 84971 1302668 以更正，否則會產生變化）。相鄰上下兩側電阻鏈的相當多 波紋，限制這一個區域的測量準確度的，因此，減少有效 的接觸區大小。 因此’電阻鏈已設計來減少在接觸區周緣處時常發現的 波敌。美國專利申請書第〇9/705,383號揭露一種方法，藉由 增加在電極邊框和接觸區之間的不連續電連接的密度，減 少觸控螢幕基板來源側上的波紋非線性，也就是，增加隔 絕線内的間隙數。 但當增加電極邊框和接觸區之間不連續電連接的密度以 改進來源側上的直線性時，會發生問題，它提供更多機會 、々在非來源側上電泥的寄生來源和吸收。在非來源側上的 電連接若密度較高，容易使事情更糟。尤其，如果接觸區 有比笔極笔壓更多的連接，那麼會很難避免相同電極電壓 的j接對，以及所希望的線性電壓梯度因而產生的扭曲。 事貝上，在來源側上大幅改良直線性，能夠溫和地減少在 非來源側上的直線性。雖然這似乎是相當合理的工程妥協 ’但市場擔心這會使觸控螢幕效能降級。 =個問I在觀念上在美國專利申請書第⑻幻號中加 以解決，解決方法是找到電極間接面上的某些間隙，因此 ^些間隙㈣有效電壓會位於相鄰電極的電塵之間。例如 ::顯示-電阻鏈48，具有z電極5〇,該電極具有重疊的 外邵和内部部份51、<59 l ^ — ，相鄰電極的内部部份52最靠近接面 54。母個重疊電阻器電極 ^ ，、有兩個間隙56的絕緣區％的陣 列，忒电極與内邵部份一 2千订。一些間隙56位在接面54上 1302668 0如圖4所示的相等線路.，、二 5〇之間交互連接八門 &在m造成兩個相鄰電極 刀开’以致於有效電壓為相鄰電極50的電 -半，藉此減少觸控勞幕非來源側上的波 來純式中流過串聯電阻鏈的主要電流標 』 f __的次要電流為1後者在概念上等同於包= 個相寺電阻的簡單電阻電壓除法器電路。因此 口 隙電壓序列為 H~2、（VN+VN+1)/2、VN+l....m3 但^，已決定相鄭電極50之間的有效電壓，實際上並不 *隔開。絕緣區55通常放置在非常靠近串聯電阻鏈恭 ，50:地万二以回應市場對於最小邊框寬度的需求。、心 =吊=隙見度會比串聯電阻鏈電極5q的間隔要大很多。 這樣的長寬比’電極電壓Vn和W尤沒有足夠空間、，曰 二電壓(Vn+Vn+i)/2給觸控勞幕。有效的是，接‘ =處聚集，如圖5所示。同樣地’圖3的電阻鏈48事實 上八有如圖6說明的相同電路。 【發明内容】 本發明指向-接觸感測器，利用接面間隙内 便在間隙之内提供真正的電壓除法器，藉此提供一沿著. 阻鏈的線性變壓序列。該接觸感測器可以如電阻式接觸I 測器般運作，例如，5或9、線的電容接觸感測器，或任^ 84971 -10- 1302668 要串聯電阻鏈的接觸感測器。 —接觸二u括-基板，具有—由複數個周邊邊緣所界 定的電阻表面。基板假使有觸控勞幕可以是透明的，或半 透明的。電阻表面有一接觸區，位在周邊邊緣的内部。接 觸感測器另包括-串聯電阻鏈，靠近一周邊邊緣，用於建 立跨越接觸區的電場1阻鏈包括複數個傳導性電極（例如 ，Z-:極)，排列成與表面電阻區串聯，在其間形成重疊的 電阻器。每個電極有内部部份面對接觸區，相鄰電極的内 邵邵份，由接面分隔開。 接觸感測器另包括-線性阵列的絕緣區，在接觸區和電 阻鏈《間的電阻表面（未提供電阻層的區域）。絕緣區由間 隙分隔開，例如像電阻表面完全保持原狀的區域。至少兩 個間隙在接觸區和内部部份之間形成，而且其中一個間隙 在接觸區和-接面之間形成接面間隙。在較佳具體實施例 中’接面間隙在接觸區和至少内部部份其中之— 面之間形成。 接觸感測器另包括位於接面間隙内的_傳導性島。依此 方式，電壓除法器在接面間隙之内形成，藉此縮減在非來 源棱式期間電極上的等位線聚束。在較佳具體實施例中， -傳導性島料複數個接面間隙之内，以提供最大利益。 若要在不同間隙之間提供可變電阻，舉例來說沿著電阻鏈 的長度提供拋物線可變電阻，非接面間隙可以各種不同的 万式設計。例如，要提供最大電阻，-非接面間隙可以是 Μ’也就是說’它沒有包含導電材料。若要提供最小電 84971 1302668 阻’非接面間隙可包各爽白兩打 、 士甘、日 匕口术自私極内邵邵份的延伸區。若要 在間某處提供一電阻，非拉 ^ 1 F接面間隙可包含一傳導性I。 本發明也指向利用各種不同類刑 λΛ ,, _ 員土的間隙控制間隙電阻值Touch Area), which is hereby incorporated by reference. The field of the invention relates to contact sensor technology, and more particularly to contact sensor technology involving resistors and capacitors. [Prior Art] Contact sensors are transparent or opaque input devices for computers and other electronic systems. As the name implies, the touch sensor is activated by the user's finger or contact with a stylus or some other device. Transparent touch sensors, and in particular touch screens, are typically placed on display devices such as cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and liquid crystal displays to establish a touch display system. These systems are increasingly being used in commercial applications such as restaurant-style systems, industrial process control applications, interactive museum exhibits, public kiosks, pagers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants and video game instruments. It is a resistor, capacitor, infrared and sound technology. The touch screens that have been used in these technologies have been presented at competitive prices. All of the above are transparent devices. The response is transmitted from the contact location coordinates to the host computer. An important point of view of the performance of the touch screen is that the proximity of all bits 84971 1302668 (also referred to as the 'contact area) within the contact sensitive area on the touch sensor is a close communication with the measured contact position. A type of resistive touch screen, especially a 5-wire resistive touch screen, such as Elo TouchSystems' FreuTouchTM product line in Fremont, Calif., has been widely accepted for many touch screen applications. In these touch screens, mechanical stress from a finger or stylus causes the thin film surface of the plastic to bend and physically contact a base glass substrate. The glass substrate is coated with a resistive layer on which the voltage gradient is stimulated via an electrode pattern processed along the periphery of the substrate. The associated electrons can continuously stimulate the gradient of the 乂 and ¥ directions via electrical connections to the four corners of the smear glass substrate, as described in U.S. Patent No. 3,591,718. The underside of the surface laminate has a conductive coating that provides electrical continuity between the contact location and the voltage sensing electrons. For further details of the 5-wire resistive touch screen, see U.S. Patent Nos. 4,220,815, 4,661,655, 4,731,508, 4,822,957, 5,045,644, and 5,220,136. In a typical 5-wire resistive touch screen, an electrode pattern operates in both "source" mode and "non-source" mode along each frame of the substrate. For example, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a touch screen substrate 2 in which individual and erbium excitations are applied to the electrodes by extending a different corner voltage (in this case, 5 volts) along the periphery 8 of the substrate 2. Pattern 6 is produced on contact area 4. The arrow table, the current flows through the direction of the contact zone 4, and the dashed line indicates the equipotential line, that is, the voltage along the line forward is continuous. The so-called ideal linear touch screen performance, the equipotential line should be completely straight, as suggested in Figure 丨 and 2. The current/drive is perpendicular to each equipotential line, so when the equipotential line is straight, the line of 84971 1302668 current is straight. As shown in Fig. 1, an X-excitation is generated by transmitting a current through the contact region 4 implanted on the right side of the bezel electrode pattern 6 and collected on the left side. That is, the left and right sides are in the "source" (or absorption) mode of the X stimulus. Ideally, the X excitation has no current entering or leaving the contact zone 4 from the upper and lower sides. That is, the upper and lower sides are the "non-source" of X excitation. As shown in Fig. 2, a gamma excitation is generated by transmitting a current through the contact region 4 implanted on the right side of the bezel electrode pattern 6 and collected on the left side. That is, the upper and lower sides are in the "source" (or absorption) mode of gamma excitation. Ideally, the Y excitation has no current entering or leaving the contact zone 4 from the left and right sides. That is to say, the left and right sides are the "non-source" of gamma excitation. Electronics can derive contact information from a 5-wire resistive touch screen via voltage excitation as described above, as well as current implant and capacitor architectures. There is also a 9-wire connection configuration that provides drive and sense line connections between the electronics and each of the four corner joints. These and other techniques are described in U.S. Patent Specification No. 9/7, 5, 3, illusion, which is hereby incorporated by reference. A 5-wire connection contact sensor utilizes a peripheral electrode pattern having a discontinuous overlapping resistor, such as the AccuTouchTM product from Elo Touch Systems, Inc., and is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,045,644, hereby incorporated by reference. In the present case, the path of the resistance current is provided by the gap in the isolation line between the peripheral electrode patterns on the opposite side of the contact area. The first current path creates an undesirable ripple nonlinearity in the contact area near the perimeter electrode pattern. Because of &, a finger moving in a straight line in this area will experience a change in the excitation voltage, and the change in the measurement coordinates will follow (unless 84971 1302668 is added to correct it, it will change). The considerable number of corrugations of the adjacent upper and lower resistance chains limits the measurement accuracy of this area and, therefore, reduces the effective contact area size. Therefore, the resistive chain has been designed to reduce the number of waves that are often found at the periphery of the contact zone. U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 9/705,383 discloses a method for reducing the ripple nonlinearity on the source side of a touch screen substrate by increasing the density of discontinuous electrical connections between the electrode frame and the contact area, i.e., increasing Insulate the number of gaps in the line. However, problems arise when increasing the density of discontinuous electrical connections between the electrode bezel and the contact zone to improve linearity on the source side, which provides more opportunities for parasitic sources and absorption of electrolysis on the non-source side. If the electrical connection on the non-source side is higher, it is easier to make things worse. In particular, if the contact area has more connections than the pen electrode, it will be difficult to avoid the j-pair of the same electrode voltage and the resulting distortion of the linear voltage gradient. On the other hand, the linearity is greatly improved on the source side, and the linearity on the non-source side can be gently reduced. Although this seems to be a fairly reasonable project compromise, 'the market is worried that this will degrade the performance of the touch screen. = Question I is conceptually solved in the U.S. Patent Application (8) phantom. The solution is to find some gaps on the indirect surface of the electrode. Therefore, the gap (4) effective voltage will be between the electric dust of the adjacent electrode. . For example, the :: display-resistor chain 48 has a z-electrode 5 〇 having overlapping outer and inner portions 51, <59 l ^ - , and the inner portion 52 of the adjacent electrode is closest to the junction 54. The mother overlaps the resistor electrode ^ , has an array of two gaps 56 of the insulating region, and the tantalum electrode and the inner portion are one thousand. Some gaps 56 are on the junction 54 1302668 0 as shown in Figure 4. Equal lines., two 5 交互 are connected between the eight gates & m causes two adjacent electrode cutters to open so that the effective voltage is phase The electric-half of the adjacent electrode 50, thereby reducing the wave on the non-source side of the touch screen, the primary current flowing through the series resistance chain in the pure mode, the secondary current of the f __ is 1 and the latter is conceptually equivalent to the package. = Simple resistance voltage divider circuit for phase resistors. Therefore, the gap voltage sequence is H~2, (VN+VN+1)/2, VN+l....m3 but ^, the effective voltage between the phase positive electrodes 50 has been determined, and is actually not *separated . The insulating region 55 is typically placed very close to the series resistor chain, 50: Dimensions in response to market demand for a minimum bezel width. , heart = hang = gap visibility will be much larger than the interval of series resistance chain electrode 5q. Such an aspect ratio 'electrode voltages Vn and W does not have enough space, and the second voltage (Vn + Vn + i) / 2 is given to the touch screen. It is effective to gather at ‘= as shown in Figure 5. Similarly, the resistor chain 48 of Fig. 3 has in fact the same circuit as illustrated in Fig. 6. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The pointing-contact sensor of the present invention utilizes a junction gap to provide a true voltage divider within the gap, thereby providing a linearly transformed sequence along the chain. The contact sensor can operate as a resistive contact detector, for example, a 5 or 9, line capacitive contact sensor, or a contact sensor of a series resistor chain. - Contacting the substrate, having a resistive surface defined by a plurality of peripheral edges. The substrate may be transparent or semi-transparent if it has a touch screen. The surface of the resistor has a contact area located inside the peripheral edge. The contact sensor further includes a series resistor chain adjacent to a peripheral edge for establishing an electric field across the contact region. The chain of resistance includes a plurality of conductive electrodes (eg, Z-: poles) arranged in series with the surface resistance region. An overlapping resistor is formed therebetween. Each electrode has an inner portion facing the contact area, and an inner portion of the adjacent electrode is separated by a junction. The contact sensor further includes a linear array of insulating regions, a resistive surface between the contact regions and the resistive chain (the region where the resistive layer is not provided). The insulating regions are separated by a gap, such as an area where the resistive surface is completely intact. At least two gaps are formed between the contact zone and the inner portion, and one of the gaps forms a junction gap between the contact zone and the junction. In a preferred embodiment, the junction gap is formed between the contact region and at least the inner portion thereof. The contact sensor further includes a _ conductive island located within the junction gap. In this manner, the voltage divider is formed within the junction gap, thereby reducing the bunching of the equipotential lines on the electrodes during the non-source prismatic period. In a preferred embodiment, the conductive island material is within a plurality of junction gaps to provide maximum benefit. To provide a variable resistance between different gaps, for example, a parabolic varistor is provided along the length of the resistor chain, and the non-junction gap can be varied in a variety of designs. For example, to provide maximum resistance, the non-junction gap can be Μ', that is, it does not contain conductive material. To provide the minimum electricity 84,971 1302668 resistance 'non-contact gap can be included in each of the two whitening, Shi Gan, Japan 匕 mouth surgery self-private end Shao Shao part of the extension. To provide a resistor somewhere in between, the non-pull ^ 1 F junction gap can contain a conductivity I. The present invention also points to the use of various types of penalty λΛ , , _ member soil gap control gap resistance value
的接觸感測器。接艄咸：目，丨哭i^ 1JL 接觸感心可如上所述同樣地建構。但是 ，土 V、兩個間隙（可能是接面及/或 又非接面間隙）從一空間隙 的不同部份選取，一島間隙具有一 导兒島，一電極間隙具 有來自内邵邵份之一的一個導電 ^ ^ σ 2 、 之狎例如，其中兩個間 隙可k疋一個空的間隙和一個島 、 馬间隙個空的間隙和一 個電極間隙或-個島間隙和—個電極間隙。假使有三個間 隙，弟一間隙可以是一個空的間隙，第二間隙可以是—個 島間隙，第三間隙可以是一個電極間隙。 依此方式，間隙可以是實質上且古 所 貝貝上具有相冋的寬度，然而實 質上具有不同的電阻。例如’沿著—周邊電極的間隙可^ 具有拋物線可變電阻。或間隙可以實質上具有不同的寬度 ，然而實質上具有相同的電阻。 又 【實施方式】 參見圖7’描述根據本發明較佳具體實施例所建構的電阻 式觸控勞幕I统1G0。該觸控榮幕㈣！⑻通常包括觸控勞幕 1〇5(也就是說，接觸感測器具有一個透明的基板）、控制哭 電子110、和一顯示器12〇。觸控螢幕系統1〇〇通常耦：到： 控電腦115。通常’控制器電子11〇從觸控榮幕1〇5接收傳送 接觸資訊的類比訊號。控制器電子則也對觸控營幕ι〇5傳 送激勵信號。明確地說，控制器電子11〇建立橫跨觸控螢幕 1〇5的電壓梯度。在接觸點的電壓是代表位置接觸。控制器 84971 -12- 1302668 電子110數位化這些電壓，並將這些數位化信號，或以這些 數位化信號為基礎建立的數位形式接觸資訊，傳送到主控 電腦115用於處理。 參見圖8 ,現在將更進一步地描述觸控螢幕1〇5。您將發 現到在某些附圖中的一些元件的厚度、高度或其他尺寸， 為解說起見加以放大。觸控螢幕1〇5包括傾斜薄板195，該薄 板包括基板200,該基板具有一相同的電阻層2〇5，持久不變 地套用到孩裝置的一表面。電阻層2〇5另包括一接觸區2〇6。 基板200的平面可以是例如平面的（如圖8所示），或其外 形可以疋匹配一彎曲物件的表面，例如像一陰極射線管 (CRT)面或其他傳統視訊顯示器螢幕。基板2〇〇也可以具有任 何周長結構，例如矩形（如圖所示），實質上的矩形，或環 狀。 若要提供必要的透明度，基板2〇〇和電阻層2〇5較好是用 實質上透明的材料做成。另一方面，如果所生產的產品要 疋不透明的感測器’那麼基板2〇〇可由一個不透明的材料組 成。在電阻層205之上間隔一小段距離處是一覆蓋層板21〇, 通常是一彈性薄膜215，在該彈性薄膜215的下側上有一傳導 性塗料220。覆蓋層板21〇沿著它的相關邊緣，以黏著劑連結 至觸控螢幕105的剩餘部份，或視需要，以一絕緣黏合框 225或類似事物連結至觸控螢幕。此外，一電極230經由導 線235 ’連接覆蓋層板21〇的傳導性塗料220至適當的外部電 路’例如像控制線路11〇。附加到覆蓋層板210的傳導性塗料 220 ’藉由複數個小的透明絕緣體島或點24〇，與電阻層2〇5 84971 -13 - 1302668 分隔，以避免傳導性塗料220和電阻層2〇5之間意外的接觸。 雖然圖8中描述的具體實施例利用覆蓋層板21〇, #是任 何傳導元件，例如像傳導觸控筆（未顯示），都可以當作替 代品使用。當電阻層205足夠持久時，可使用這個傳^卜 聿以避免這類接觸的毁壞。當作另一替代選擇，一電容或 電阻現成的系統可連同使用者的手指或與適當的探 一起使用。 繼續參見圖8,電阻鏈245與沿著電阻層2〇5的各邊緣有間 隔距離，並用於將電位施加至電阻層205，以在其中建立直 ^的包壓梯度。接下來的附圖顯示，電阻鏈泌（由傳導性 區域、絕、緣區和電阻區組成）包括㈣聯連接的不連續電阻 單元。電阻鏈245 @電阻值，部分取決於形成t阻鏈245的 一部件的電阻層205的電阻值。但是，電阻鏈245的電阻值 可根據設計需求改變。圖8具體實施例的四個電阻鏈2衫， 更明確地標示為250、255、260和265。每-電阻鏈25〇、255、 260或265的末端連結到或接近電阻層2〇5的隅角27〇。每一個 隅角270都具有個別的電導線2乃、28〇、285、29〇。依此方式 ，觸控螢幕105連接至控制器電子11〇，提供電壓給電阻鏈 245並處理來自觸控螢幕1〇5的資訊。 當下壓觸控螢幕105時，覆蓋層板210的傳導性塗料22〇會 與基板200上的電阻層2〇5做直接的電接觸。對於一個類似 的DC電阻觸控螢幕，通常稱為「電阻觸控螢幕」，覆蓋層板 210可以當做感應接觸區電壓的電壓感應探測器，或當做電 流注入來源。如另一選擇，表面層板210可取代為一薄的介 84971 -14- 1302668 電質塗料’直接施加至電阻層205，在這種情況下，控制器 電子110可支援AC操作。 關於觸控式螢幕系統1〇〇的一般構造的更詳細資訊，揭霖 於美國專利第6，163,313號中，該文件在此處一併附上作為來 考。 、、 現在參見圖9，將更進一步地描述電阻鏈245的一部份。 電阻鏈245具有Z形電極305，每個電極都具有一外部部份3 和一内邵邵份315。一第一電極305的内部部份315與第二個 、相鄰的電極305的外部部份31〇重疊。因此，在這些内部 和外部部份之間的電阻層205(如圖8所示）形成一電阻連接 320。相鄰電極305的内部部份315彼此以接面325分隔。複數 個絕緣區330在傾斜薄板195(在圖8中顯示）中形成，例如， 藉由移除所選取位置的電阻層205。其後，電阻塗料2〇5的區 域保持在相鄰的絕緣區330之間，此處稱為「間隙」335。一 些間隙335位在電極305的内部部份315和接觸區2〇6(稱為「非 接面間隙」）之間，一些間隙335則位在接面325和接觸區 之間（稱為「接面間隙」）。 絕緣區330和間隙335也可以下列方式形成：先移除一排 的電阻層205(絕緣線），之後施加電阻材料，例如像汀〇，^ 著絕緣線在選定的薄板上塗佈。在說明的具體實施例中 絕緣區330和間隙335排成一列與電極3〇5的内部部份3丨5平行 的配置。因此，建立複數個橫跨接觸區2〇6的平行電流路Ζ 。絕緣區330很容易就可以雷射燒熔電阻層2〇5形:二, 形成延伸在電極305之間的小部份絕緣區。 可 U k些小邵份的雷 «4071 -15- 1302668 射凋整能夠有效地修整電極305之間的電阻器。 為了要達成相鄰電極305之間接面325處真正的電壓除法 时的目的，傳導性區域或「島」34〇位於接面間隙之内。 傳導性材料可以是例如，—傳導㈣塊。因此，接觸區206 中的vN等位線透過接面間隙335再也「看」不到具有電壓％ 的電極，因為傳導性島34〇很單純地提供電子節點給所希望 的同等電路，如圖1〇所說明。 模擬和原型觸控螢幕已經顯示在接面間隙335之内傳導性 島340的使用不但避免增加在非來源側上的波紋非線性，而 且事實上，相較於每一重疊電阻器電極有一電連接的現有 商業產品’在非來源側上的直線性已有所改卜這種改良 的理由可以從圖9中發現’該圖顯示當他們接近電極邊框時 接觸區206的等位線。由於一傳導區域處於固定不變的電壓 中，取多一個等位線可以在一傳導性電極3〇5或傳導島 上終止。相對地’許多等位線可終止在—絕緣區33〇之上。 寬鬆地說，透過間隙335連接到接觸區的傳導區域「逐退」 等位線。間隙愈寬’等位線扭曲也愈大，因此波紋非㈣ 就愈多。以由兩個較小間隙圍繞的傳導性島來取代大間隙 ’可提供更多的非來源波紋非線性。 田因此，使間隙寬度最小化可縮減非來源波紋非線性的數 量。但是’應該注意到’較寬的間隙較佳用於縮減來源波 紋非線性。因此，最好避免間隙寬度有太多變化。但是， 這項避免間隙寬度不必要變化的要求，會與另一個設計需 求互為消長。在先前技術中已廣為人知，線性觸控螢幕： «4Q71 -16 - 1302668 成十而要接觸區和電阻鏈串聯之間的連結電阻呈拋物線傲 2同才水地’―般較佳間隙寬度，至少在先前技術中，备 >假叹疋㊉樣’電阻鏈245較好使用多種間隙設計。明確地 況’毛阻鏈245包括三種不同類型的間隙設計：_空的間隙 ，一具有傳導性島34G的間隙；以及-具有重疊電阻器電極 305的電極延伸的間隙（例如，一個「τ」）。這三類型如圖 lla-c說明。即使間隙是同樣寬度，如圖na_c所說明，三種 不同間隙設計在電阻鏈245和接觸區2〇6之間提供不同的電 阻。如圖11a說明的空間隙有較高的阻抗，如圖Uc的「丁」 形電極延伸345提供最低的阻抗。另一方面，接觸區2〇6；^ 相同阻抗的情況下，空的間隙將會更寬，且「τ」形電極延 伸345會變得較窄。使用這個設計自由度提供一部份所需要 的拋物線電阻變動，能夠有效地降低間隙寬度所需變化至 某個私度’藉此改良直線性。這個彈性也協助避免容限問 題影響到非常小的傳導性島340和間隙335的螢幕列印。 如圖12所說明，電阻鏈245，除了在接面間隙335之内使用 傳導性島340之外，還在非接面間隙335之内如圖lia-c所示使 用不同類型的間隙設計，以提供必要的拋物線電阻變動。 雖然通常希望在接面間隙335内使用傳導性島34〇，以便沿著 非來源側改良波紋直線性，如先前所討論的一樣，但有時 會希望使用空的間隙設計（圖11a)作為接面間隙335。例如， 假使在希望有高阻抗的地方，例如在相鄰隅角的間隙335處 ，使用空的間隙設計再結合一相當狹窄的間隙是很有幫助 84971 -17- 1302668 的’藉由這種方式，接觸區206透過接面間隙335「看到」電 ， 極305對的純粹電壓的問題就很少。 應注意到，在一些應用中，可能會希望完全最佳化某一 座標的直線性，但犧牲另一座標所增加邊框的波紋非線性 ，例如，當有應用對X和Y直線性的需求不相同時。例如， 考慮圖13,該圖說明當檢視觸控螢幕系統1〇〇的顯示器時， 我們可能會看到的軟體接觸按鈕355的示範顯示。如圖所顯 示，接觸按紐355的寬度比高度要大。因此，對於要正確啟 · 動所需接觸按鈕355的使用者而言，觸控螢幕系統1〇〇必須 以小误差正確地決定γ座標，但僅粗略地決定χ座標。 如先前所討論，測量γ座標時，電極邊框的左和右兩側 疋非來源的，而且上下兩側則是提供來源。對於這類應用 ，在電極邊框的左右兩側上使用具有傳導性島340的間隙335 ，然後在上下兩側各電極處使用超過兩個以上的間隙，是 很有幫助的。這類設計導致在測量χ座標時沿著上下兩側 波紋非線性會增加，但是這對應用而言是次要的事，如圖 _ 13中所說明。 雖然上述的討論已經在電阻觸控螢幕系統1〇〇的内容中發 表，但是它適用更多接觸感測系統的一般設定。這包括並 他類型的接觸感測器（例如，不透明接觸塾或接觸感測機器 人的驅殼）°可以想像出多種具有敏感表面的感測器。的確 ，私阻觸控螢幕系統100真的只是一個特定類型的接觸感測 系’先中特別5又计出傾斜薄板195和覆蓋層板210在觸控 螢幕105中操作。因此，本討論，在它最大範圍的觀點中， δ/1071 18 1302668 應該被視為適用更多的一般設定。 雖然本發明的特定具體實施例已經加以顯示及描述，但 是應瞭解到上述的討論不是要將本發明限制為這些具體實 訑例。本行業的專家將瞭解到可進行各種不同的變更和修 改而仍不脫離本發明的精神和範圍。因此，本發明試圖 /函盍落在申請專利範圍所定義的本發明的精神和範圍之内 的替代選擇、修改和同等替代物。 【圖式簡單說明】 附圖說明本發明的—個較佳具體實施例的設計和利用， 其中類似的元件以通用的參考數字參考。$了要更了解本 發明的優點和目標，應參考說明此—較佳具體實施例的附 圖。但是’附圖只說明本發明的一個具體實施 <列，不廊該 視為限制它的範圍。根據本注意事項，本發明將透㈣圖 的使用，以額外具體性和細節加以描述及解釋，其中· 圖^是先前技術觸控螢幕的平面圖，可用來提似激勵信 左右兩側皆處於來源模式，上下兩㈣處於非來 可用來提供Y激勵信 ’上下兩側則處於來 圖2是先前技術觸控螢幕的平面圖， 號，以致左右兩側皆處於非來源模式 源模式； 電阻器電極都具有 特別顯示當用於 圖3是一串聯電阻鏈的簡圖，每個重疊 兩個間隙(-個接面和-個非接面）； 圖4是圖3電阻鏈的相同電路； 圖5疋圖3串聯電阻鏈的一部份的簡圖 R4Q71 1302668 非來源才旲式時等位線以料性方式終止於該電阻鍵上； 圖6,圖3電阻鏈實際的相同電路，特別顯示電流和電位； 圖7是根據本發明一較佳具體實施例所建構 二 功能性圖表； 扶蜩糸統的 圖8是用於圖7接觸系統的觸控螢幕的分解圖； 圖9是用於圖7觸控螢幕的串聯電阻鏈的簡圖； 圖10是圖9電阻鍵的相同電路； 圖圖—是可用於圖9串聯電阻鏈的不同類型間隙配置的簡 =是-用於圖7觸控瑩幕的傾斜薄板右上角 有不對稱位置準確度需求的軟體 【圖式代表符號說明】 100 電阻式觸控螢幕系統 105 觸控螢幕 110 控制線路 115 主控電腦 120 顯示器 195 梯度薄板 2 觸控式螢幕基板 2〇〇 基板 205 電阻層 206 接觸區 215 彈性薄膜 1302668 220 傳導性塗料 225 絕緣黏合框 230 電極 235 導線 240 島或點 245 電阻鏈 250 電阻鏈 255 電阻鏈 260 電阻鏈 265 電阻鏈 270 隅角 275 電導線 280 電導線 285 導線 290 導線 305 第一電極 310 外部部份 315 内部部份 320 電阻連接 325 接面 330 絕緣區 335 間隙 340 傳導性島 355 接觸按紐 1302668 4 接觸區 48 電阻鏈 50 電阻鏈電極 51 内部部份 52 内部部份 54 接面 55 絕緣區 56 間隙 6 電極圖案 8 周緣Contact sensor. Picking up salty: eye, crying i^ 1JL Contact sensation can be constructed as described above. However, the soil V, the two gaps (possibly the junction and/or the non-joint gap) are selected from different parts of an empty gap, and an island gap has a guide island, and an electrode gap has a source from the inner Shao A conductive ^ ^ σ 2 , for example, wherein the two gaps can be an empty gap and an island, a gap between the horse gap and an electrode gap or - an island gap and an electrode gap. If there are three gaps, the gap can be an empty gap, the second gap can be an island gap, and the third gap can be an electrode gap. In this manner, the gap can be substantially and has a corresponding width on the babe, but has substantially different electrical resistance. For example, the gap along the peripheral electrode can have a parabolic varistor. Or the gaps may have substantially different widths, but substantially have the same electrical resistance. [Embodiment] Referring to Fig. 7', a resistive touch screen system 1G0 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. The touch glory (four)! (8) Usually includes a touch screen 1〇5 (that is, the contact sensor has a transparent substrate), a control crying electron 110, and a display 12〇. The touch screen system 1 is usually coupled to: the control computer 115. Usually, the controller electronics 11 receives an analog signal for transmitting contact information from the touch screen 1〇5. The controller electronics also transmits an excitation signal to the touch camp. Specifically, the controller electronics 11 establish a voltage gradient across the touch screen 1〇5. The voltage at the point of contact is representative of the positional contact. The controller 84971 -12- 1302668 electronically digitizes these voltages and transmits these digitized signals, or digital form contact information based on these digitized signals, to the host computer 115 for processing. Referring to Figure 8, the touch screen 1〇5 will now be described further. You will find thickness, height or other dimensions of some of the elements in some of the figures, which are exaggerated for illustrative purposes. The touch screen 1〇5 includes a slanted sheet 195 comprising a substrate 200 having an identical resistive layer 2〇5 that is permanently applied to a surface of the child device. The resistive layer 2〇5 further includes a contact region 2〇6. The plane of the substrate 200 can be, for example, planar (as shown in Figure 8), or its outer shape can be matched to the surface of a curved object, such as, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) surface or other conventional video display screen. The substrate 2〇〇 may also have any perimeter structure, such as a rectangular shape (as shown), a substantially rectangular shape, or a ring shape. To provide the necessary transparency, the substrate 2 and the resistive layer 2〇5 are preferably made of a substantially transparent material. On the other hand, if the product to be produced is to be opaque to the sensor' then the substrate 2 can be composed of an opaque material. A small distance above the resistive layer 205 is a cover sheet 21, typically an elastic film 215 having a conductive coating 220 on the underside of the elastic film 215. The cover layer 21 is attached to the remaining portion of the touch screen 105 with an adhesive along its associated edge or, if desired, to the touch screen with an insulating bond frame 225 or the like. Further, an electrode 230 is connected via a wire 235' to the conductive coating 220 of the cover layer 21 to a suitable external circuit such as, for example, the control line 11A. The conductive coating 220' attached to the cover sheet 210 is separated from the resistive layer 2〇5 84971 -13 - 1302668 by a plurality of small transparent insulator islands or dots 24 以避免 to avoid the conductive coating 220 and the resistive layer 2〇 5 unexpected contact between. Although the embodiment depicted in Figure 8 utilizes a cover layer 21, # is any conductive element, such as a conductive stylus (not shown), which can be used as an alternative. When the resistive layer 205 is sufficiently long lasting, this pass can be used to avoid the destruction of such contacts. As an alternative, a capacitive or resistive off-the-shelf system can be used with the user's fingers or with appropriate probes. With continued reference to Figure 8, the resistor chain 245 is spaced apart from the edges along the resistive layer 2〇5 and is used to apply a potential to the resistive layer 205 to establish a straight-packed gradient therein. The following figures show that the resistance chain (consisting of the conductive region, the absolute region, and the resistive region) includes (iv) a discontinuous resistance unit connected in series. The resistance chain 245 @resistance value depends in part on the resistance value of the resistive layer 205 forming a component of the t-blocking chain 245. However, the resistance value of the resistor chain 245 can be varied according to design requirements. The four resistor chain 2 shirts of the embodiment of Figure 8 are more clearly labeled 250, 255, 260 and 265. The end of each of the resistance chains 25A, 255, 260 or 265 is connected to or near the corner 27〇 of the resistive layer 2〇5. Each corner 270 has an individual electrical conductor 2, 28 〇, 285, 29 〇. In this manner, touch screen 105 is coupled to controller electronics 11 to provide voltage to resistor chain 245 and process information from touch screen 1〇5. When the touch screen 105 is pressed down, the conductive coating 22 of the cover layer 210 will make direct electrical contact with the resistive layer 2〇5 on the substrate 200. For a similar DC resistance touch screen, commonly referred to as a "resistive touch screen," the overlay 210 can be used as a voltage-sensing detector that senses the voltage of the contact area or as a source of current injection. Alternatively, the surface layer 210 can be applied directly to the resistive layer 205 instead of a thin dielectric 84971 - 14 - 1302668. In this case, the controller electronics 110 can support AC operation. A more detailed information on the general construction of the touch screen system is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,163,313, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Referring now to Figure 9, a portion of the resistor chain 245 will be further described. The resistor chain 245 has a Z-shaped electrode 305, each having an outer portion 3 and an inner portion 315. The inner portion 315 of a first electrode 305 overlaps the outer portion 31 of the second, adjacent electrode 305. Thus, a resistive layer 205 (shown in Figure 8) between these inner and outer portions forms a resistive connection 320. The inner portions 315 of adjacent electrodes 305 are separated from each other by a junction 325. A plurality of insulating regions 330 are formed in the slanted sheet 195 (shown in Figure 8), for example, by removing the resistive layer 205 at the selected location. Thereafter, the region of the resistive coating 2〇5 is held between adjacent insulating regions 330, referred to herein as "gap" 335. Some gaps 335 are between the inner portion 315 of the electrode 305 and the contact region 2〇6 (referred to as "non-junction gap"), and some gaps 335 are located between the junction 325 and the contact region (referred to as "connection" Face clearance"). The insulating region 330 and the gap 335 may also be formed by first removing a row of the resistive layer 205 (insulated wire), and then applying a resistive material such as, for example, Ting, and coating the insulated wire on the selected sheet. In the illustrated embodiment, the insulating region 330 and the gap 335 are arranged in a line parallel to the inner portion 3丨5 of the electrode 3〇5. Therefore, a plurality of parallel current paths across the contact area 2〇6 are established. The insulating region 330 can easily form a laser-fired resistor layer 2〇5 shape: second, a small portion of the insulating region extending between the electrodes 305 is formed. U k some small Shao Lei's «4071 -15- 1302668 shot can effectively trim the resistor between the electrodes 305. In order to achieve the purpose of true voltage division at the junction 325 between adjacent electrodes 305, the conductive regions or "islands" 34 are located within the junction gap. The conductive material can be, for example, a conductive (four) block. Therefore, the vN equipotential line in the contact region 206 passes through the junction gap 335 to "see" the electrode having the voltage % again, because the conductive island 34 〇 simply provides the electronic node to the desired equivalent circuit, as shown in the figure. 1〇 Description. Analog and prototype touch screens have shown that the use of conductive islands 340 within the junction gap 335 not only avoids increasing the ripple nonlinearity on the non-source side, but in fact, has an electrical connection compared to each overlapping resistor electrode. The existing commercial products 'the linearity on the non-source side has been modified. The reason for this improvement can be found in Figure 9' which shows the equipotential lines of the contact area 206 as they approach the electrode frame. Since a conductive region is at a fixed voltage, one more equipotential line can be terminated on a conductive electrode 3〇5 or a conductive island. Relatively many of the equipotential lines may terminate above the insulating region 33A. Loosely speaking, the conduction zone connected to the contact zone through the gap 335 is "retracted" by the equipotential line. The wider the gap, the larger the distortion of the equipotential line, so the more the ripple is not (four). Replacing a large gap with a conductive island surrounded by two smaller gaps provides more non-source ripple nonlinearity. Therefore, minimizing the gap width reduces the amount of non-source ripple nonlinearity. However, it should be noted that a wider gap is preferably used to reduce source ripple nonlinearity. Therefore, it is best to avoid too many variations in the gap width. However, this requirement to avoid unnecessary changes in the gap width will elongate with another design requirement. It is widely known in the prior art, linear touch screen: «4Q71 -16 - 1302668 into ten and the contact resistance between the contact area and the resistance chain series is parabolic proud 2 with the same water' - generally better gap width, at least In the prior art, it is preferable to use a variety of gap designs for the 'squeaky' resistor chain 245. Specifically, the gross chain 245 includes three different types of gap designs: an empty gap, a gap with conductive islands 34G, and a gap with electrode extensions overlapping the resistor electrodes 305 (eg, a "τ" ). These three types are illustrated in Figures 11a-c. Even though the gaps are of the same width, as illustrated by na_c, the three different gap designs provide different resistances between the resistor chain 245 and the contact regions 2〇6. The empty gap illustrated in Figure 11a has a higher impedance, and the "D" shaped electrode extension 345 of Figure Uc provides the lowest impedance. On the other hand, in the case of the contact region 2〇6;^ the same impedance, the empty gap will be wider, and the "τ"-shaped electrode extension 345 will become narrower. Using this design freedom provides a portion of the required parabolic resistance variation that effectively reduces the required variation in gap width to a certain degree of privacy, thereby improving linearity. This resiliency also helps to avoid tolerance issues affecting screen printing of very small conductive islands 340 and gaps 335. As illustrated in Figure 12, the resistor chain 245, in addition to using the conductive islands 340 within the junction gap 335, also uses different types of gap designs as shown in Figure lia-c within the non-junction gap 335. Provide the necessary parabolic resistance variation. Although it is generally desirable to use conductive islands 34 within junction gap 335 to improve corrugation linearity along the non-source side, as previously discussed, it may sometimes be desirable to use an empty gap design (Fig. 11a) as a connection. Face gap 335. For example, if a high impedance is desired, such as at gap 335 of an adjacent corner, it is helpful to use an empty gap design to recombine a fairly narrow gap of '84971 -17-1302668' by this means. The contact region 206 "sees" the electricity through the junction gap 335, and the problem of the pure voltage of the pair 305 is small. It should be noted that in some applications, it may be desirable to fully optimize the linearity of a coordinate, but at the expense of another coordinate to increase the ripple nonlinearity of the bezel, for example, when there is a need for X and Y linearity in the application. The same time. For example, consider Figure 13, which illustrates an exemplary display of a software touch button 355 that we may see when viewing the display of the touch screen system. As shown, the width of the contact button 355 is greater than the height. Therefore, for a user who wants to properly activate the desired touch button 355, the touch screen system 1 must correctly determine the gamma coordinate with a small error, but only roughly determines the χ coordinate. As discussed previously, when measuring the gamma coordinates, the left and right sides of the electrode frame are not sourced, and the upper and lower sides provide the source. For such applications, it is helpful to use a gap 335 with conductive islands 340 on the left and right sides of the electrode frame and then use more than two gaps at each of the upper and lower electrodes. This type of design results in a non-linear increase in ripple along the upper and lower sides when measuring the χ coordinate, but this is a secondary matter for the application, as illustrated in Figure _13. While the above discussion has been published in the context of a resistive touch screen system, it is applicable to the general settings of more contact sensing systems. This includes other types of contact sensors (e.g., opaque contacts or contact sensing robots). A variety of sensors with sensitive surfaces can be imagined. Indeed, the privacy-blocking touchscreen system 100 is really just a particular type of touch-sensing system. The first and second-part tilting sheets 195 and the overlay layer 210 are operated in the touch screen 105. Therefore, in this discussion, in its broadest perspective, δ/1071 18 1302668 should be considered to apply more general settings. While the specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is understood that It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to be limited to alternatives, modifications, and equivalent alternatives within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings illustrate the design and use of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which like reference To better understand the advantages and objectives of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiments. However, the drawings are merely illustrative of one particular embodiment of the invention. In accordance with the present disclosure, the present invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail, wherein FIG. 2 is a plan view of a prior art touch screen, which can be used to indicate that the left and right sides of the motivation letter are in the source. Mode, the upper and lower two (four) are in the non-commitable to provide the Y excitation letter 'the upper and lower sides are in the picture. Figure 2 is the plan view of the prior art touch screen, so that the left and right sides are in the non-source mode source mode; the resistor electrodes are It has a special display when used in Fig. 3 is a simplified diagram of a series resistance chain, each overlapping two gaps (---- and non-contact); Figure 4 is the same circuit of the resistor chain of Figure 3; Figure 5 Figure 3 is a simplified diagram of a portion of a series resistor chain. R4Q71 1302668 The non-source mode is terminated in a material manner on the resistor key. Figure 6, Figure 3 shows the actual same circuit of the resistor chain, specifically showing the current and FIG. 7 is a second functional diagram constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the touch screen for the contact system of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is for FIG. Touch screen series Figure 10 is the same circuit of the resistor key of Figure 9; Figure - is a different type of gap configuration that can be used for the series resistance chain of Figure 9. = Yes - for the upper right corner of the inclined thin plate of Figure 7 touch screen Software with asymmetric position accuracy requirements [Graphic representation symbol description] 100 Resistive touch screen system 105 Touch screen 110 Control line 115 Main control computer 120 Display 195 Gradient sheet 2 Touch screen substrate 2 〇〇 Substrate 205 Resistor layer 206 Contact area 215 Elastic film 1302668 220 Conductive coating 225 Insulation bonding frame 230 Electrode 235 Conductor 240 Island or point 245 Resistance chain 250 Resistance chain 255 Resistance chain 260 Resistance chain 265 Resistance chain 270 Corner 275 Electrical wire 280 Electrical wire 285 Wire 290 Wire 305 First electrode 310 External portion 315 Internal portion 320 Resistance connection 325 Junction 330 Insulation zone 335 Clearance 340 Conductive island 355 Contact button 1302668 4 Contact area 48 Resistance chain 50 Resistance chain electrode 51 Internal portion 52 Inner part 54 junction 55 insulation zone 56 gap 6 electrode pattern 8 circumference