US 11,983,370 B2
Spherical or highly curved touch-sensitive surfaces
Supratik Datta, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Karan Jain, Cupertino, CA (US); Zhiyuan Sun, Chicago, IL (US); Ho Hyung Lee, Campbell, CA (US); Da Yu, San Jose, CA (US); Wei Lin, Santa Clara, CA (US); Nathan K. Gupta, San Francisco, CA (US); and Chun-Chih Chang, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
Filed by Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 24, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/938,544.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/906,010, filed on Sep. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0089170 A1, Mar. 25, 2021
Int. Cl. G06F 3/044 (2006.01); G06F 3/041 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/0446 (2019.05) [G06F 3/04166 (2019.05); G06F 2203/04102 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A touch-sensitive device comprising:
a spherical surface, wherein a curvature of the spherical surface is greater than a threshold curvature; and
a touch sensor panel laminated to the spherical surface;
wherein:
the touch sensor panel comprises a pattern of touch electrodes disposed on a flexible substrate;
the pattern of touch electrodes when in a flat state including a first two-dimensional touch electrode having a first surface area and a second two-dimensional touch electrode having a second surface area different from the first surface area;
the touch sensor panel is formed to a curved shape corresponding to the spherical surface such that the pattern of touch electrodes is distorted more than a threshold amount of distortion by the forming; and
a surface area of each three-dimensional touch electrode of the pattern of touch electrodes when in a curved state, is within a threshold amount of a target surface area for the three-dimensional touch electrodes when the touch sensor panel is in the curved state and formed to the curved shape.