PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11892720-B2
Application Number: US-202017006441-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Display screen shield line system

Abstract:
Electrical shield line systems are provided for openings in common electrodes near data lines of display and touch screens. Some displays, including touch screens, can include multiple common electrodes (Vcom) that can have openings between individual Vcoms. Some display screens can have an open slit between two adjacent edges of Vcom. Openings in Vcom can allow an electric field to extend from a data line through the Vcom layer. A shield can be disposed over the Vcom opening to help reduce or eliminate an electric field from affecting a pixel material, such as liquid crystal. The shield can be connected to a potential such that electric field is generated substantially between the shield and the data line to reduce or eliminate electric fields reaching the liquid crystal.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A display panel stackup comprising:
 a transparent cover; 
 a plurality of pixel electrodes; 
 a plurality of data lines; 
 a plurality of common electrodes including a first common electrode and a second common electrode, the first common electrode having a first edge, at least a portion of the first common electrode being disposed under a first pixel electrode and above a first data line, at least a portion of the second common electrode being disposed under a second pixel electrode, the second common electrode having a second edge disposed at a distance from the first edge, the first and second edges forming a first opening free of conductive material between the first and second common electrodes; and 
 a pixel material that controls an amount of light passing through the transparent cover based on a strength of an electric field through the pixel material, 
 wherein the first opening between the first and second common electrodes is disposed under the second pixel electrode; and 
 wherein the first opening defines a vertical region, and the first data line is located outside the vertical region. 
 
     
     
       2. The display panel stackup of  claim 1 , wherein the second pixel electrode includes a plurality of pixel electrode fingers, and the first opening is disposed under one of the plurality of pixel electrode fingers. 
     
     
       3. The display panel stackup of  claim 2 , wherein the first opening is a slit, and a width of the slit is less than or equal to a width of the pixel electrode finger disposed above the slit. 
     
     
       4. The display panel stackup of  claim 3 , wherein a width of the pixel electrode finger disposed over the slit is greater than a width of one or more other pixel electrode fingers of the second pixel electrode. 
     
     
       5. The display panel stackup of  claim 1 , wherein the first pixel electrode and the second pixel electrode are positioned on a same layer of the stackup. 
     
     
       6. The display panel stackup of  claim 5 , the first pixel electrode and the second pixel electrode forming a second opening therebetween, the display panel stackup further comprising black mask formed above the second opening. 
     
     
       7. The display panel stackup of  claim 1 , wherein the first common electrode and the second common electrode are biased at an electric potential different from a voltage of the first pixel electrode and the second pixel electrode. 
     
     
       8. The display panel stackup of  claim 1 , wherein the display panel stackup includes touch sensing circuitry including drive circuitry for driving drive lines connected at least to the first common electrode, and sense circuitry for receiving sense lines connected to at least the second common electrode. 
     
     
       9. The display panel stackup of  claim 8 , wherein the touch sensing circuitry further includes a grounding line disposed between at least one of the sense lines and at least one of the drive lines. 
     
     
       10. The display panel stackup of  claim 8 , the touch sensing circuitry including a plurality of operational systems including a first operational system and a second operational system, the first operational system including a first conductive line, the first conductive line including the first common electrode, and the second operational system including a second conductive line, the second conductive line including the second common electrodes;
 the display further comprising a first plurality of shields associated with the first conductive line and a second plurality of shields associated with the second conductive line; 
 wherein the first plurality of shields is conductively disconnected from the second plurality of shields, the display further comprising: 
 a first voltage source that applies a first voltage to the first plurality of shields; and 
 a second voltage source that applies a second voltage to the second plurality of shields. 
 
     
     
       11. The display panel stackup of  claim 10 , the display further comprising:
 one or more first connection pads disposed in a border region of the display, the one or more first connection pads conductively connecting the first plurality of shields to the first voltage source; and 
 one or more second connection pads conductively connecting the second plurality of shields to the second voltage source. 
 
     
     
       12. The display panel stackup of  claim 10 , wherein the first voltage source includes one of a ground and a voltage applied to common electrodes of the first conductive line.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/126,416, filed Apr. 27, 2011, published on Dec. 13, 2012 as U.S. Publication No. 2012/0313881, which is a National Phase patent application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2011/027092, filed Mar. 3, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     This relates generally to electrical shield systems in display screens, and more particularly, to electrical shield line systems for openings in common electrodes near data lines of display screens. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Many types of input devices are presently available for performing operations in a computing system, such as buttons or keys, mice, trackballs, joysticks, touch sensor panels, touch screens and the like. Touch screens, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular because of their ease and versatility of operation as well as their declining price. Touch screens can include a touch sensor panel, which can be a clear panel with a touch-sensitive surface, and a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) that can be positioned partially or fully behind the panel so that the touch-sensitive surface can cover at least a portion of the viewable area of the display device. Touch screens can allow a user to perform various functions by touching the touch sensor panel using a finger, stylus or other object at a location often dictated by a user interface (UI) being displayed by the display device. In general, touch screens can recognize a touch and the position of the touch on the touch sensor panel, and the computing system can then interpret the touch in accordance with the display appearing at the time of the touch, and thereafter can perform one or more actions based on the touch. In the case of some touch sensing systems, a physical touch on the display is not needed to detect a touch. For example, in some capacitive-type touch sensing systems, fringing fields used to detect touch can extend beyond the surface of the display, and objects approaching near the surface may be detected near the surface without actually touching the surface. 
     Capacitive touch sensor panels can be formed from a matrix of drive and sense lines of a substantially transparent conductive material, such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), often arranged in rows and columns in horizontal and vertical directions on a substantially transparent substrate. It is due in part to their substantial transparency that capacitive touch sensor panels can be overlaid on a display to form a touch screen, as described above. Some touch screens can be formed by integrating touch sensing circuitry into a display pixel stackup (i.e., the stacked material layers forming the display pixels). 
     Touch screens, or more fundamentally display screens, can suffer from negative visual artifacts caused by the disinclination of material such as liquid crystal resulting from electric fields emanating from the data lines of the display. 
     SUMMARY 
     This relates to electrical shield line systems for openings in common electrodes near data lines of display and touch screens. Some displays, including touch screens, can include multiple common electrodes (Vcom) that can have openings between individual Vcoms. For example, some display screens can have an open slit between two adjacent edges of Vcom. Openings in Vcom can allow an electric field to extend from a data line through the Vcom layer. A shield can be disposed over the Vcom opening to help reduce or eliminate an electric field from affecting a pixel material, such as liquid crystal, and reduce or eliminate a corresponding visual artifact due to the electric field. The shield can be connected to a voltage source such that electric field is generated substantially between the shield and the data line to reduce or eliminate electric fields reaching the liquid crystal, for example. In this way, visual artifacts caused by disinclination of liquid crystal material resulting from electric fields emanating from data lines can be reduced or eliminated. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS.  1 A- 1 D  illustrate an example mobile telephone, an example media player, an example personal computer, and an example display that each include an example display screen (which can be part of a touch screen) according to embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram of an example computing system that illustrates one implementation of an example touch screen according to embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a more detailed view of the touch screen of  FIG.  2    showing an example configuration of drive lines and sense lines according to embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates an example configuration in which touch sensing circuitry includes common electrodes (Vcom) according to embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an exploded view of display pixel stackups according to embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates an example touch sensing operation according to embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a portion of an example display pixel stackup. 
         FIG.  8    illustrates a portion of an example display pixel stackup according to various embodiments. 
         FIG.  9    illustrates a portion of another example display pixel stackup according to various embodiments. 
         FIG.  10    illustrates an example touch screen including an example shield line system according to various embodiments. 
         FIG.  11    illustrates a magnified view of a portion of the touch screen and the shield line system shown in  FIG.  10   . 
         FIG.  12    illustrates an example touch screen including an example shield line system according to various embodiments. 
         FIG.  13    illustrates a magnified view of a portion of the touch screen and the shield line system shown in  FIG.  12   . 
         FIG.  14    illustrates an example touch screen including an example shield line system according to various embodiments. 
         FIGS.  15 ,  16 , and  17 A -C illustrate another example touch screen including another example shield line system according to various embodiments. 
         FIG.  18    illustrates a portion of an example display pixel stackup according to various embodiments. 
         FIG.  19    illustrates a different example configuration of display pixel stackup shown in  FIG.  18    according to various embodiments. 
         FIGS.  20 - 22    illustrate various example configurations of pixel electrode fingers and Vcom slits according to various embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description of example embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which it is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments can be used and structural changes can be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure. 
     This relates to electrical shield line systems for openings in common electrodes near data lines of display and touch screens. Some displays, including touch screens, can include multiple common electrodes (Vcom) that can have openings between individual Vcoms. For example, some display screens can have an open slit between two adjacent edges of Vcom. Openings in Vcom can allow an electric field to extend from a data line through the Vcom layer. A shield can be disposed over the Vcom opening to help reduce or eliminate an electric field from affecting a pixel material, such as liquid crystal, and reduce or eliminate a corresponding visual artifact due to the electric field. The shield can be connected to a voltage source such that electric field is generated substantially between the shield and the data line to reduce or eliminate electric fields reaching the liquid crystal, for example. In this way, visual artifacts caused by disinclination of liquid crystal material resulting from electric fields emanating from data lines can be reduced or eliminated. 
       FIGS.  1 A- 1 D  show example systems in which display screens (which can be part of touch screens) according to embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented.  FIG.  1 A  illustrates an example mobile telephone  136  that includes a display screen  124 .  FIG.  1 B  illustrates an example digital media player  140  that includes a display screen  126 .  FIG.  1 C  illustrates an example personal computer  144  that includes a display screen  128 . 
       FIG.  1 D  illustrates some details of an example display screen  150 .  FIG.  1 D  includes a magnified view of display screen  150  that shows multiple display pixels  153 , each of which can include multiple display sub-pixels, such as red (R), green (G), and blue (B) sub-pixels in an RGB display, for example. The magnified view also shows data lines  155  between each display pixel  153 . 
       FIG.  1 D  also includes a magnified view of two of the display pixels  153 , which illustrates that each display pixel can include pixel electrodes  157 , each of which can correspond to one of the sub-pixels, for example. Each pixel electrode can include a plurality of pixel electrode fingers  158 . Each display pixel can include a common electrode (Vcom)  159  that can be used in conjunction with pixel electrodes  157  to operate the display pixel, as will be described below in more detail. In this example embodiment, the Vcom  159  of adjacent display pixels  153  can be separated by an opening, Vcom opening  161 . The data line  155  between the two display pixels  155  can be disposed under Vcom opening  161 . In this example embodiment, a single data line  155  can be used to operate all three pixel electrodes  157  in a display pixel  153 , for example, by multiplexing the data line, while in other embodiments, the sub-pixels of a display pixel can be operated by separate data lines. In some embodiments, common electrodes can span multiple display pixels of the display screen, such as a single Vcom spanning a rectangular or other shape area of display pixels, and Vcom openings can be formed between these larger areas of Vcom. 
     In some embodiments, display screens  124 ,  126 ,  128 , and  150  can be touch screens in which touch sensing circuitry can be integrated into the display pixels. For example, in some embodiments, common electrodes such as Vcom  159  can be conductively connected together to form circuitry used by the touch sensing system. Touch sensing can be based on, for example, self capacitance or mutual capacitance, or another touch sensing technology in which effects of parasitic capacitances can be equalized. For example, in a self capacitance based touch system, an individual electrode with a self-capacitance to ground can be used to form a touch pixel for detecting touch. As an object approaches the touch pixel, an additional capacitance to ground can be formed between the object and the touch pixel. The additional capacitance to ground can result in a net increase in the self-capacitance seen by the touch pixel. This increase in self-capacitance can be detected and measured by a touch sensing system to determine the positions of multiple objects when they touch the touch screen. A mutual capacitance based touch system can include, for example, drive regions and sense regions, such as drive lines and sense lines. For example, drive lines can be formed in rows while sense lines can be formed in columns (e.g., orthogonal). Touch pixels can be formed at the “cross-overs” or adjacencies of the rows and columns. It is understood that the drive and sense lines do not actually touch each other at the “cross-overs” or adjacencies, and for example, a dielectric layer, a break in a conductive path, etc., can be disposed between drive and sense lines at the “cross-overs” or adjacencies. During operation, the rows can be stimulated with an AC waveform and a mutual capacitance can be formed between the row and the column of the touch pixel. As an object approaches the touch pixel, some of the charge being coupled between the row and column of the touch pixel can instead be coupled onto the object. This reduction in charge coupling across the touch pixel can result in a net decrease in the mutual capacitance between the row and the column and a reduction in the AC waveform being coupled across the touch pixel. This reduction in the charge-coupled AC waveform can be detected and measured by the touch sensing system to determine the positions of multiple objects when they touch the touch screen. In some embodiments, a touch screen can be multi-touch, single touch, projection scan, full-imaging multi-touch, or any capacitive touch. 
       FIGS.  2 - 6    show example systems in which display screens with touch sensing circuitry according to embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented. 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram of an example computing system  200  that illustrates one implementation of an example touch screen  220  according to embodiments of the disclosure. Computing system  200  could be included in, for example, mobile telephone  136 , digital media player  140 , personal computer  144 , or any mobile or non-mobile computing device that includes a touch screen. Computing system  200  can include a touch sensing system including one or more touch processors  202 , peripherals  204 , a touch controller  206 , and touch sensing circuitry (described in more detail below). Peripherals  204  can include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) or other types of memory or storage, watchdog timers and the like. Touch controller  206  can include, but is not limited to, one or more sense channels  208 , channel scan logic  210  and driver logic  214 . Channel scan logic  210  can access RAM  212 , autonomously read data from the sense channels and provide control for the sense channels. In addition, channel scan logic  210  can control driver logic  214  to generate stimulation signals  216  at various frequencies and phases that can be selectively applied to drive regions of the touch sensing circuitry of touch screen  220 , as described in more detail below. In some embodiments, touch controller  206 , touch processor  202  and peripherals  204  can be integrated into a single application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). 
     Computing system  200  can also include a host processor  228  for receiving outputs from touch processor  202  and performing actions based on the outputs. For example, host processor  228  can be connected to program storage  232  and a display controller, such as an LCD driver  234 . Host processor  228  can use LCD driver  234  to generate an image on touch screen  220 , such as an image of a user interface (UI), and can use touch processor  202  and touch controller  206  to detect a touch on or near touch screen  220 , such a touch input to the displayed UI. The touch input can be used by computer programs stored in program storage  232  to perform actions that can include, but are not limited to, moving an object such as a cursor or pointer, scrolling or panning, adjusting control settings, opening a file or document, viewing a menu, making a selection, executing instructions, operating a peripheral device connected to the host device, answering a telephone call, placing a telephone call, terminating a telephone call, changing the volume or audio settings, storing information related to telephone communications such as addresses, frequently dialed numbers, received calls, missed calls, logging onto a computer or a computer network, permitting authorized individuals access to restricted areas of the computer or computer network, loading a user profile associated with a user&#39;s preferred arrangement of the computer desktop, permitting access to web content, launching a particular program, encrypting or decoding a message, and/or the like. Host processor  228  can also perform additional functions that may not be related to touch processing. 
     Touch screen  220  can include touch sensing circuitry that can include a capacitive sensing medium having a plurality of drive lines  222  and a plurality of sense lines  223 . It should be noted that the term “lines” is sometimes used herein to mean simply conductive pathways, as one skilled in the art will readily understand, and is not limited to elements that are strictly linear, but includes pathways that change direction, and includes pathways of different size, shape, materials, etc. Drive lines  222  can be driven by stimulation signals  216  from driver logic  214  through a drive interface  224 , and resulting sense signals  217  generated in sense lines  223  can be transmitted through a sense interface  225  to sense channels  208  (also referred to as an event detection and demodulation circuit) in touch controller  206 . In this way, drive lines and sense lines can be part of the touch sensing circuitry that can interact to form capacitive sensing nodes, which can be thought of as touch picture elements (touch pixels), such as touch pixels  226  and  227 . This way of understanding can be particularly useful when touch screen  220  is viewed as capturing an “image” of touch. In other words, after touch controller  206  has determined whether a touch has been detected at each touch pixel in the touch screen, the pattern of touch pixels in the touch screen at which a touch occurred can be thought of as an “image” of touch (e.g. a pattern of fingers touching the touch screen). 
     In some example embodiments, touch screen  220  can be an integrated touch screen in which touch sensing circuit elements of the touch sensing system can be integrated into the display pixels stackups of a display. An example integrated touch screen in which embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented with now be described with reference to  FIGS.  3 - 6   .  FIG.  3    is a more detailed view of touch screen  220  showing an example configuration of drive lines  222  and sense lines  223  according to embodiments of the disclosure. As shown in  FIG.  3   , each drive line  222  can be formed of one or more drive line segments  301  that can be electrically connected by drive line links  303  at connections  305 . Drive line links  303  are not electrically connected to sense lines  223 , rather, the drive line links can bypass the sense lines through bypasses  307 . Drive lines  222  and sense lines  223  can interact capacitively to form touch pixels such as touch pixels  226  and  227 . Drive lines  222  (i.e., drive line segments  301  and corresponding drive line links  303 ) and sense lines  223  can be formed of electrical circuit elements in touch screen  220 . In the example configuration of  FIG.  3   , each of touch pixels  226  and  227  can include a portion of one drive line segment  301 , a portion of a sense line  223 , and a portion of another drive line segment  301 . For example, touch pixel  226  can include a right-half portion  309  of a drive line segment on one side of a portion  311  of a sense line, and a left-half portion  313  of a drive line segment on the opposite side of portion  311  of the sense line. 
     The circuit elements can include, for example, elements that can exist in conventional LCD displays, as described above. It is noted that circuit elements are not limited to whole circuit components, such a whole capacitor, a whole transistor, etc., but can include portions of circuitry, such as only one of the two plates of a parallel plate capacitor.  FIG.  4    illustrates an example configuration in which common electrodes (Vcom) can form portions of the touch sensing circuitry of a touch sensing system. Each display pixel can include a common electrode  401 , which is a circuit element of the display system circuitry in the pixel stackup (i.e., the stacked material layers forming the display pixels) of the display pixels of some types of conventional LCD displays, e.g., fringe field switching (FFS) displays, that can operate as part of the display system to display an image. 
     In the example shown in  FIG.  4   , each common electrode (Vcom)  401  can serve as a multi-function circuit element that can operate as display circuitry of the display system of touch screen  220  and can also operate as touch sensing circuitry of the touch sensing system. In this example, each common electrode  401  can operate as a common electrode of the display circuitry of the touch screen, and can also operate together when grouped with other common electrodes as touch sensing circuitry of the touch screen. For example, a group of common electrodes  401  can operate together as a capacitive part of a drive line or a sense line of the touch sensing circuitry during the touch sensing phase. Other circuit elements of touch screen  220  can form part of the touch sensing circuitry by, for example, electrically connecting together common electrodes  401  of a region, switching electrical connections, etc. In general, each of the touch sensing circuit elements may be either a multi-function circuit element that can form part of the touch sensing circuitry and can perform one or more other functions, such as forming part of the display circuitry, or may be a single-function circuit element that can operate as touch sensing circuitry only. Similarly, each of the display circuit elements may be either a multi-function circuit element that can operate as display circuitry and perform one or more other functions, such as operating as touch sensing circuitry, or may be a single-function circuit element that can operate as display circuitry only. Therefore, in some embodiments, some of the circuit elements in the display pixel stackups can be multi-function circuit elements and other circuit elements may be single-function circuit elements. In other embodiments, all of the circuit elements of the display pixel stackups may be single-function circuit elements. 
     For example,  FIG.  4    shows common electrodes (Vcom)  401  grouped together to form drive region segments  403  and sense regions  405  that generally correspond to drive line segments  301  and sense lines  223 , respectively. Grouping multi-function circuit elements of display pixels into a region can mean operating the multi-function circuit elements of the display pixels together to perform a common function of the region. Grouping into functional regions may be accomplished through one or a combination of approaches, for example, the structural configuration of the system (e.g., physical breaks and bypasses, voltage line configurations), the operational configuration of the system (e.g., switching circuit elements on/off, changing voltage levels and/or signals on voltage lines), etc. For example, individual common electrodes  401  within each drive and sense region can be conductively connected together along rows, along column, along both rows and columns, etc. In some embodiments, a single common electrode can span multiple display pixels in a region, such as a drive region or sense region. For example, in some embodiments, each drive region segment can include a single Vcom spanning all of the display pixels in the drive region segment. 
     Multi-function circuit elements of display pixels of the touch screen can operate in both the display phase and the touch phase. For example, during a touch phase, common electrodes  401  can be grouped together to form touch signal lines, such as drive regions and sense regions. In some embodiments circuit elements can be grouped to form a continuous touch signal line of one type and a segmented touch signal line of another type. For example,  FIG.  4    shows one example embodiment in which drive region segments  403  and sense regions  405  correspond to drive line segments  301  and sense lines  223  of touch screen  220 . Other configurations are possible in other embodiments, for example, common electrodes  401  could be grouped together such that drive lines are each formed of a continuous drive region and sense lines are each formed of a plurality of sense region segments linked together through connections that bypass a drive region. 
     The example configuration of Vcom  401  shown in  FIG.  4    can include vertical Vcom slits  409 , which can be between edges of Vcoms of different operational regions, such as drive and sense regions, or can be between edges of Vcoms within the same operational region. Likewise, horizontal Vcom slits can be between or within operation regions. Similar to the example embodiment shown in  FIG.  1 D , data lines can be disposed under Vcom slits, such as the vertical or horizontal Vcom slits. 
     The drive regions in the example of  FIG.  3    are shown in  FIG.  4    as rectangular regions including a plurality of common electrodes of display pixels, and the sense regions of  FIG.  3    are shown in  FIG.  4    as rectangular regions including a plurality of common electrodes of display pixels extending the vertical length of the LCD. In some embodiments, a touch pixel of the configuration of  FIG.  4    can include, for example, a 64×64 area of display pixels. However, the drive and sense regions are not limited to the shapes, orientations, and positions shown, but can include any suitable configurations according to embodiments of the disclosure. It is to be understood that the display pixels used to form the touch pixels are not limited to those described above, but can be any suitable size or shape to permit touch capabilities according to embodiments of the disclosure. 
       FIG.  5    is a three-dimensional illustration of an exploded view (expanded in the z-direction) of example display pixel stackups  500  showing some of the elements within the pixel stackups of an example integrated touch screen  550 . Stackups  500  can include a configuration of conductive lines that can be used to group common electrodes, such as common electrodes  401 , into drive region segments and sense regions, such as shown in  FIG.  4   , and to link drive region segments to form drive lines. 
     Stackups  500  can include elements in a first metal (M1) layer  501 , a second metal (M2) layer  503 , a common electrode (Vcom) layer  505 , and a third metal (M3) layer  507 . Each display pixel can include a common electrode  509 , such as common electrodes  401  in  FIG.  4   , that is formed in Vcom layer  505 . M3 layer  507  can include connection element  511  that can electrically connect together common electrodes  509 . In some display pixels, breaks  513  can be included in connection element  511 . Together with the Vcom slits between edges of Vcoms, breaks  513  can serve to separate different groups of common electrodes  509  to form drive region segments  515  and a sense region  517 , such as drive region segments  403  and sense region  405 , respectively. Breaks  513  can include breaks in the x-direction that can separate drive region segments  515  from sense region  517 , and breaks in the y-direction that can separate one drive region segment  515  from another drive region segment. In the example embodiment shown in  FIG.  5   , connection elements  511  can connect common electrodes  509  within each drive region segment  515  and each sense region  517  along both rows (first or x direction) and columns (y or second direction, orthogonal to the first direction). M1 layer  501  can include gate lines  518 . M1 layer  501  can include tunnel lines (also referred to as “bypass lines”)  519  that can electrically connect together drive region segments  515  through connections, such as conductive vias  521 , which can electrically connect tunnel line  519  to the grouped common electrodes in drive region segment display pixels. Tunnel line  519  can run through the display pixels in sense region  517  with no connections to the grouped common electrodes in the sense region, e.g., no vias  521  in the sense region. One or more tunnel lines  519  can be used to connect drive region segments together. M2 layer  503  can include data lines  523 . Only one data line  523  is shown for the sake of clarity; however, a touch screen can include multiple data lines running through each vertical row of pixels, for example, one multiplexed data line for each red, green, blue (RGB) color sub-pixel in each pixel in a vertical row of an RGB display integrated touch screen. 
     Structures such as connection elements  511 , tunnel lines  519 , and conductive vias  521  can operate as a touch sensing circuitry of a touch sensing system to detect touch during a touch sensing phase of the touch screen. Structures such as data lines  523 , along with other pixel stackup elements such as transistors, pixel electrodes, common voltage lines, gate lines, etc. (not shown), can operate as display circuitry of a display system to display an image on the touch screen during a display phase. Structures such as common electrodes  509  can operate as multifunction circuit elements that can operate as part of both the touch sensing system and the display system. 
     For example, in operation during a touch sensing phase, stimulation signals can be transmitted through a row of drive region segments  515  connected by tunnel lines  519  and conductive vias  521  to form electric fields between the stimulated drive region segments and sense region  517  to create touch pixels, such as touch pixel  226  in  FIG.  2   . In this way, the row of connected together drive region segments  515  can operate as a drive line, such as drive line  222 , and sense region  517  can operate as a sense line, such as sense line  223 . When an object such as a finger approaches or touches a touch pixel, the object can affect the electric fields extending between the drive region segments  515  and the sense region  517 , thereby reducing the amount of charge capacitively coupled to the sense region. This reduction in charge can be sensed by a sense channel of a touch sensing controller connected to the touch screen, such as touch controller  206  shown in  FIG.  2   , and stored in a memory along with similar information of other touch pixels to create an “image” of touch. 
     A touch sensing operation according to embodiments of the disclosure will be described with reference to  FIG.  6   .  FIG.  6    shows partial circuit diagrams of some of the touch sensing circuitry within display pixels in a drive region segment  601  and a sense region  603  of an example touch screen according to embodiments of the disclosure. For the sake of clarity, only one drive region segment is shown. Also for the sake of clarity,  FIG.  6    includes circuit elements illustrated with dashed lines to signify some circuit elements operate primarily as part of the display circuitry and not the touch sensing circuitry. In addition, a touch sensing operation is described primarily in terms of a single display pixel  601   a  of drive region segment  601  and a single display pixel  603   a  of sense region  603 . However, it is understood that other display pixels in drive region segment  601  can include the same touch sensing circuitry as described below for display pixel  601   a , and the other display pixels in sense region  603  can include the same touch sensing circuitry as described below for display pixel  603   a . Thus, the description of the operation of display pixel  601   a  and display pixel  603   a  can be considered as a description of the operation of drive region segment  601  and sense region  603 , respectively. 
     Referring to  FIG.  6   , drive region segment  601  includes a plurality of display pixels including display pixel  601   a . Display pixel  601   a  can include a TFT  607 , a gate line  611 , a data line  613 , a pixel electrode  615 , and a common electrode  617 .  FIG.  6    shows common electrode  617  connected to the common electrodes in other display pixels in drive region segment  601  through a connection element  619  within the display pixels of drive region segment  601  that is used for touch sensing as described in more detail below. Sense region  603  includes a plurality of display pixels including display pixel  603   a . Display pixel  603   a  includes a TFT  609 , a gate line  612 , a data line  614 , a pixel electrode  616 , and a common electrode  618 . FIG.  6  shows common electrode  618  connected to the common electrodes in other display pixels in sense region  603  through a connection element  620  that can be connected, for example, in a border region of the touch screen to form an element within the display pixels of sense region  603  that is used for touch sensing as described in more detail below. 
     During a touch sensing phase, drive signals can be applied to common electrodes  617  through a tunnel line  621  that is electrically connected to a portion of connection element  619  within a display pixel  601   b  of drive region segment  601 . The drive signals, which are transmitted to all common electrodes  617  of the display pixels in drive region segment  601  through connection element  619 , can generate an electrical field  623  between the common electrodes of the drive region segment and common electrodes  618  of sense region  603 , which can be connected to a sense amplifier, such as a charge amplifier  626 . Electrical charge can be injected into the structure of connected common electrodes of sense region  603 , and charge amplifier  626  converts the injected charge into a voltage that can be measured. The amount of charge injected, and consequently the measured voltage, can depend on the proximity of a touch object, such as a finger  627 , to the drive and sense regions. In this way, the measured voltage can provide an indication of touch on or near the touch screen. 
       FIG.  7    illustrates a portion of an example display pixel stackup  700  including a color filter substrate, such as a color filter glass  701 , and a TFT substrate, such as a TFT glass  705 . Color filter glass  701  can provide a transparent cover that can include a color filter and a black mask  703 . TFT glass  705  can include a data line  707  disposed on a dielectric layer I  711 , a common electrode (Vcom)  713  and a common electrode (Vcom)  715  disposed on dielectric layer II  717 , and a pixel electrode  719  and a pixel electrode  721  disposed on a dielectric layer III  723 . Each pixel electrode includes multiple pixel electrode fingers  725 . Pixel electrode fingers  725  can correspond to fingers  158  in  FIG.  1 D , for example. Although not illustrated, TFT substrate  705  can include gate lines and switching elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs) connected to both the gate and data lines for controlling voltages applied to the pixel electrodes. For example, one TFT can be associated with the pixel electrode of each sub-pixel. During a display operation, voltages applied to the common electrodes and to the pixel electrodes can create an electric field through a pixel material, such as liquid crystal  727  disposed between color filter glass  701  and TFT glass  705 . In the case of liquid crystal, for example, the electric field can cause inclination of the liquid crystal molecules that can control the amount of light from a backlight (not shown) that passes through a transparent cover, such as color filter glass  701 . The amount of light passing through color filter glass  701  can be based on an amount of inclination of the liquid crystal, which can be based on the strength of the electric field through the liquid crystal. Other pixel materials that can control and/or generate light based on an application of an electric field could be used. 
     In this example embodiment, one end of Vcom  713  and one end of Vcom  715  are separated by a distance to form an opening, a Vcom slit  729 . In this example, Vcom  713  can be at least partially disposed between data line  707  and pixel electrode  719 . Likewise, Vcom  715  can be at least partially disposed between data line  707  and pixel electrode  721 . The opening, Vcom slit  729 , formed between edges of Vcom  713  and Vcom  715  can allow an electric field  731  to be generated between data line  707  and pixel electrodes  719  and  721 , particularly when there is a large voltage difference between a data line voltage and a pixel electrode voltage. Part of electric field  731  can pass through the pixel material, liquid crystal  727 , and can result in an unintended inclination, i.e. a disinclination, of the liquid crystal molecules. In some cases, a disinclination caused by such an electric field can result in a visual artifact in the affected display pixels. 
       FIG.  8    illustrates a portion of an example display pixel stackup  800  according to various embodiments. Similar to the example display pixel stackup shown in  FIG.  7   , display pixel stackup  800  can include a color filter substrate, such as a color filter glass  801  and a TFT substrate, such as a TFT glass  805 . Color filter glass  801  can provide a transparent cover that can include a color filter and a black mask  803 . TFT glass  805  can include a data line  807  disposed on a dielectric layer I  811 , a Vcom  813  and a Vcom  815  disposed on a dielectric layer II  817 , a pixel electrode  819  and a pixel electrode  821  disposed on a dielectric layer III  823 , each pixel electrode including pixel electrode fingers  825 , and liquid crystal  827 . Pixel electrode fingers  825  can correspond to fingers  158  in  FIG.  1 D , for example. Although not illustrated, TFT substrate  805  can include gate lines and switching elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs) connected to both the gate and data lines for controlling voltages applied to the pixel electrodes. For example, one TFT can be associated with the pixel electrode of each sub-pixel. Edges of Vcom  813  and Vcom  815  can form an opening, Vcom slit  829 , that can allow an electric field  831  to extend from data line  807  through the Vcom layer. A shield  833  can be disposed between pixel electrode  819  and pixel electrode  821  such that Vcom slit  829  is substantially between shield  833  and data line  807 . In this example embodiment, shield  833 , Vcom slit  829 , and data line  807  can be aligned with one another (in the vertical direction). Shield  833  can be connected to a voltage source such that electric field  831  is generated substantially between shield  833  and data line  807  to reduce or eliminate an amount of electric field between data line  807  and pixel electrodes  819  and  821 . In this way, visual artifacts caused by disinclination of liquid crystal  827  caused by an electric field from data line  807  can be reduced or eliminated. 
     The voltage applied to shield  833  by the voltage source (not shown) can include, for example, ground, virtual ground, or any voltage source such that the electric fields that extend from data line  807  to pixel electrodes  819  and  821  through liquid crystal  827  are reduced or eliminated. The voltage can include, for example, a voltage applied to one or both of Vcom  813  and Vcom  815 , etc. Shield  833  can be formed of, for example, a conductive material, such as a nontransparent conductor, a partially transparent conductor, etc. In this example embodiment, shield  833  can be formed in the same material layer as pixel electrodes  819  and  821 ; for example, the shield can be formed of a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO). 
       FIG.  9    illustrates a portion of an example display pixel stackup  900  according to various embodiments. Similar to the display pixel stackup shown in  FIG.  8   , display pixel stackup  900  can include a color filter substrate, such as a color filter glass  901 , and a TFT substrate, such as a TFT glass  905 . Color filter glass  901  can include a color filter and a black mask  903 . TFT glass  905  can include a data line  907  disposed on a dielectric layer I  911 , a Vcom  913  and a Vcom  915  disposed on a dielectric layer II  917 , a pixel electrode  919  and a pixel electrode  921  disposed on a dielectric layer III  923 , each pixel electrode including pixel electrode fingers  925 , and liquid crystal  927 . Pixel electrode fingers  925  can correspond to fingers  158  in  FIG.  1 D , for example. Although not illustrated, TFT substrate  905  can include gate lines and switching elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs) connected to both the gate and data lines for controlling voltages applied to the pixel electrodes. For example, one TFT can be associated with the pixel electrode of each sub-pixel. Edges of Vcom  913  and Vcom  915  can form an opening, Vcom slit  929 , that can allow an electric field  931  to extend from data line  907  through the Vcom layer. 
     A shield  933  can be disposed between pixel electrode  919  and pixel electrode  921  such that Vcom slit  929  is substantially between the shield and data line  907 . In this example embodiment, shield  933 , Vcom slit  929 , and data line  907  can be aligned with one another (in the vertical direction). In comparison to the previous example embodiment of  FIG.  8   , shield  933  can be wider than shield  833 . In this way, shield  933  can more fully cover Vcom slit  929  and can further reduce or eliminate visual artifacts caused by an electric field from data line  907 . 
       FIG.  10    illustrates an example touch screen  1000  including an example shield line system according to various embodiments.  FIG.  11    illustrates a magnified view of a portion of touch screen  1000  and the shield line system shown in  FIG.  10   . Referring to  FIGS.  10  and  11   , an example shield line system according to various embodiments will now be described. The example drive line system can include multiple shield lines  1001  over multiple Vcom slits  1003 . Shield lines  1001  can be connected to a common shield line connection pad  1005  that can connect all of the shield lines to a shield driver  1007 . Shield driver  1007  can apply a voltage to shield lines  1001  during operation to reduce or eliminate visual artifacts caused by an electric field from data lines  1101 . 
     In this example embodiment, shield lines  1001  can be disposed over Vcom slits  1003  that are formed between edges of common electrodes that are used in different operational systems of the touch screen.  FIGS.  10  and  11    illustrate three example operational systems of touch screen  1000 . Touch screen  1000  includes a drive system that can include a driver integrated circuit (IC)  1009  that can stimulate multiple drive lines including a first drive line  1011   a , a second drive line  1011   b , a third drive line  1011   c , a fourth drive line  1011   d , and a fifth drive line  1011   e  with stimulation signals. Drive lines  1011   a - e  can each include multiple drive region segments  1013 . In this example embodiment, each drive region segment  1013  can be formed of a single common electrode, drive Vcom  1015 , that can run through multiple display pixels of touch screen  1000 . For example, each drive Vcom  1015  can include a single, continuous common electrode layer of ITO that spans an entire block of multiple display pixels. Touch screen  1000  can also include a sense system that includes multiple sense regions  1017  that can be connected to sense channels (not shown) to receive sense signals to sense touch. In this example embodiment, each sense region  1017  can include a single, continuous common electrode layer of ITO that can span multiple display pixels of a block of display pixels as shown in  FIG.  10   . 
     Touch screen  1000  can also include a grounding system that can include multiple grounding regions  1021  disposed between the drive region segments  1013  and the sense regions  1017 . Each grounding region  1021  can include a single grounding Vcom  1023  that can be connected to a ground, such as a virtual ground, to improve the touch sensing of the system. 
     Vcom slits  1003  can be formed between edges of common electrodes that form the conductive lines of different operational systems of the touch screen. For example, Vcom slits  1003  are formed between each drive region segment  1013  and each grounding region  1021 . Likewise Vcom slits  1003  are formed between each grounding region  1021  and each sense region  1017 . In this example embodiment, drive region segments  1013  of different drive lines can be separated by Vcom slits  1025 . Data lines  1101  that are disposed under Vcom slits  1003  can be covered by shield lines  1001  to help reduce or eliminate visual artifacts that can be a consequence of undesirable electrical fields between data lines  1101  and pixel electrodes  1103  through Vcom slits, for example. In this example, shield lines are not disposed over data lines  1101  that are not disposed under a slit  1003 . For example, referring to  FIG.  11   , some data lines  1101  run between display pixels associated with the same operational system of touch screen  1000 . For example,  FIG.  11    shows a data line  1101  running between display pixels of drive region segments  1013 . In this example embodiment, in which each drive region segment  1013  includes a single drive Vcom spanning multiple display pixels, data lines  1101  that run through the drive region segments of the drive system can be substantially covered by drive Vcom. For example,  FIG.  11    shows a data line  1101  that runs through drive region segments  1013  can be substantially covered by a first drive line drive Vcom  1105  and a second drive line drive Vcom  1107 . 
     In example touch screen  1000 , different sets of common electrodes of the display stackup can be conductively disconnected from other sets of common electrodes to form various conductive lines that can be used as touch sensing circuitry of the touch screen. Example touch screen  1000  shown in the  FIGS.  10  and  11    can include conductive lines of three operational systems of the touch sensing circuitry: a drive system including drive lines formed of drive region segments that are each formed of a single drive Vcom, a sense system including sense regions that are each formed of a single sense Vcom, and a grounding system including grounding regions that are each formed of a single grounding Vcom. Some example embodiments can include more or fewer operational systems. For example, some embodiments can include only drive lines of a drive system, or sense lines of a sense system. In this case, for example, shield lines can be disposed over Vcom slits that are formed between regions of drive Vcom and regions of sense Vcom. In some embodiments, regions of Vcom associated with an operational system can include multiple Vcoms instead of a single Vcom. For example, in some embodiments, each display pixel can include a single Vcom that can be conductively connected to other Vcom within the same operational region. 
       FIG.  12    illustrates an example touch screen  1200  including an example shield line system according to various embodiments.  FIG.  13    illustrates a magnified view of a portion of touch screen  1200 . Similar to the example touch screen shown in  FIGS.  10  and  11   , touch screen  1200  includes a shield line system that includes multiple shield lines disposed over Vcom slits. In this example embodiment, various conductive lines, including drive region segments, sense regions, and grounding regions, of the operational systems of the touch sensing circuitry can be formed of sets of common electrodes. In this embodiment, each segment and region associated with each operational system can include multiple Vcoms. Each display pixel of touch screen  1200  can include a separate Vcom, which can be conductively connected to one or more other Vcoms of other display pixels, for example, as described above with reference to connection element  511  shown in  FIG.  5   . 
     Shield lines  1201  can be connected to a shield line connection pad  1205  that can connect all of the shield lines to a shield driver  1207 . Shield driver  1207  can apply a potential to all of the shield lines  1201 , such as a ground, a virtual ground, a fixed potential, a voltage applied to one or more Vcoms, etc. A driver IC  1209  can apply stimulation signals to drive lines such as a first drive line  1211   a , a second drive line  1211   b , a third drive line  1211   c , a fourth drive line  1211   d , and a fifth drive line  1211   e . Each drive line can include multiple drive region segments  1213 . In contrast to the example touch screen shown in  FIGS.  10  and  11   , each drive region segment  1213  can include multiple drive Vcoms  1215 , where each drive Vcom can be associated with a single display pixel and connected together with other drive Vcoms within the drive region segment through a conductive connection structure, such as, for example, connection element  511  of  FIG.  5   . Likewise, each sense region  1217  of touch screen  1200  can include multiple sense Vcoms  1219 , and each grounding region  1221  can include multiple grounding Vcoms  1223 . 
     Consequently, Vcom slits can be formed between edges of Vcoms in each adjacent column of display pixels. Drive region Vcom slits  1203   a  can be formed between adjacent columns of drive Vcom  1215  in drive region segments  1213 . Drive-grounding Vcom slits  1203   b  can be formed between drive Vcoms  1215  and grounding Vcoms  1223 . Sense-grounding Vcom slits  1203   c  can be formed between sense Vcom  1219  and grounding Vcom  1223 . Vcom slits  1225  can run through and between drive region segments  1213 . 
     Data lines  1301  that are disposed under drive region Vcom slits  1203   a , drive-grounding Vcom slits  1203   b , and sense-grounding Vcom slits  1203   c  can be covered by shield lines  1201  to help reduce or eliminate visual artifacts that can be a consequence of undesirable electrical fields between data lines  1301  and pixel electrodes  1304  through Vcom slits, for example. 
       FIG.  14    illustrates an example touch screen  1400  including an example shield line system according to various embodiments. Similar to the example touch screen shown in  FIGS.  12 - 13   , touch screen  1400  can include various conductive lines, including drive region segments, sense regions, and grounding regions of the operational systems of the touch sensing circuitry. 
     A driver IC  1409  can apply stimulation signals to drive lines such as a first drive line  1411   a , a second drive line  1411   b , a third drive line  1411   c , a fourth drive line  1411   d , and a fifth drive line  1411   e . Each drive line can include multiple drive region segments  1413 . Similar to the example touch screen shown in  FIGS.  12  and  13   , each drive region segment  1413  can include multiple drive Vcoms  1415 , where each drive Vcom can be associated with a single display pixel and connected together with other drive Vcoms within the drive region segment through a conductive connection structure, such as, for example, connection element  511  of  FIG.  5   . Likewise, each sense region  1417  of touch screen  1400  can include multiple sense Vcoms  1419 , and each grounding region  1421  can include multiple grounding Vcoms  1423 . 
     Vcom slits can be formed between edges of Vcoms in each adjacent column of display pixels. Drive region Vcom slits  1403   a  can be formed between adjacent columns of drive Vcom  1415  in drive region segments  1413 . Drive-grounding Vcom slits  1403   b  can be formed between drive Vcoms  1415  and grounding Vcoms  1423 . Sense-grounding Vcom slits  1403   c  can be formed between sense Vcom  1419  and grounding Vcom  1423 . Vcom slits  1425  can run through and between drive region segments  1413 . 
     Shield lines  1401  that run through drive region segments  1413  can each be connected to one of multiple drive region shield line connection pads  1405 . All of the drive region shield line connection pads  1405  can be connected together and all connected to a single voltage source (not shown) that can apply a voltage to all of the shield lines  1401  in the drive region segments  1413 . Shield lines  1401  that run through each sense region  1417  can each be connected to one of multiple sense region shield line connection pads  1407 . Each sense region shield line connection pad  1407  can be connected to a separate voltage source (not shown), such that shield lines  1401  in each sense region  1417  can be driven independently of each other, and driven independently of shield lines associated with the drive and grounding regions. Shield lines  1401  running through grounding regions  1421  can each be connected to one of multiple grounding region shield lines connection pads  1429 , each of which can be connected to a separate voltage source (not shown), such that shield lines  1401  in each grounding region  1421  can be driven independently of each other, and driven independently of shield lines associated with the drive and sense regions. 
     As shown in  FIG.  14   , shield lines in each operational system region can be kept conductively disconnected from shield lines associated with other operational systems regions. Furthermore, it can be seen that shield lines  1401  associated with a particular region or region segment of an operational system can be kept conductively disconnected from shield lines of other segments or regions of the same operational system, such as shown for the sense system and the grounding system. In this way, undesirable signal coupling between different operational systems and/or between different regions of an operational system can be reduced or eliminated. For example, conductively disconnecting shield lines  1401  running through drive region segments  1413  from shield lines  1401  running through sense regions  1417  can help prevent stimulation signals applied to drive Vcom from being coupled into sense Vcom of the sense regions through the shield line system. 
       FIGS.  15 ,  16 , and  17 A -C illustrate an example touch screen  1500  including an example shield line system according to various embodiments. As in the example touch screens shown in  FIGS.  12 ,  13 , and  14   , each display pixel of touch screen  1500  can be associated with an individual Vcom. 
     Similar to the foregoing example embodiment of  FIGS.  12  and  13   , a driver IC  1509  of touch screen  1500  can apply stimulation signals to drive lines such as a first drive line  1511   a , a second drive line  1511   b , a third drive line  1511   c , a fourth drive line  1511   d , and a fifth drive line  1511   e . Each drive line can include multiple drive region segments  1513 . Similar to the example touch screen shown in  FIGS.  12  and  13   , each drive region segment  1513  can include multiple drive Vcoms  1515 , where each drive Vcom can be associated with a single display pixel and connected together with other drive Vcoms within the drive region segment through a conductive connection structure. Each sense region  1517  of touch screen  1500  can include multiple sense Vcoms  1519  that can be conductively connected with a connection element (not shown), and each grounding region  1521  can include multiple grounding Vcoms  1523 . In this example, grounding region  1521  can include a single column of grounding Vcoms  1523  that can be connected together with a connection element (not shown). 
     Vcom slits can be formed between edges of Vcoms in each adjacent column of display pixels. Drive region Vcom slits  1503   a  can be formed between adjacent columns of drive Vcom  1515  in drive region segments  1513 . Drive-grounding Vcom slits  1503   b  can be formed between drive Vcoms  1515  and grounding Vcoms  1523 . Sense-grounding Vcom slits  1503   c  can be formed between sense Vcom  1519  and grounding Vcom  1523 . Vcom slits  1525  can run through and between drive region segments  1513 . 
     Data lines  1601  disposed under drive region Vcom slits  1503   a , drive-grounding Vcom slits  1503   b , and sense-grounding Vcom slits  1503   c  can be covered by shield lines  1501  to help reduce or eliminate visual artifacts that can be a consequence of undesirable electrical fields between data lines  1601  and pixel electrodes  1604  through Vcom slits, for example. 
     In this example embodiment, each shield line  1501  can be conductively connected to the Vcom of the region or region segment in which the shield line is disposed. Consequently, the voltage applied to each shield line  1501  can be the voltage that is applied to the Vcom of the segment or region of the shield line. In this way, shield lines  1501  can be connected to on-panel voltage sources and the need for an off-panel shield driver and connection pads can be eliminated. In addition, each shield line  1501  can be conductively disconnected from Vcom in other regions and region segments, which can reduce or eliminate undesirable coupling of signal between different operational systems, such as the drive and sense systems, and between different regions in the same operational system, such as between different drive lines. 
     For example,  FIG.  16    shows a Vcom-Vcom connection  1602  that can conductively connect adjacent Vcoms within a particular drive region segment  1513 . Vcom-Vcom connection  1602  can be formed in the Vcom material layer of the stackup, for example, as an extension of Vcom material between the edges of adjacent Vcoms. Conductive connections, such as conductive vias  1603 , can connect shield lines  1501  to Vcom-Vcom connections  1602 , such that the shield lines can be conductively connected to Vcoms within the region or region segment of the shield line. 
     Breaks in shield lines can conductively disconnect shield lines in one region or region segment from shield lines in another region or region segment. For example, a shield line break  1527  can disconnect a shield line between a first drive line drive Vcom  1605  and a second drive line drive Vcom  1607  to form a shield line  1609   a  that can be conductively connected to first drive line  1511   a  only, and a shield line  1609   b  that can be conductively connected to second drive line  1511   b  only. In this way, for example, shield lines  1501  in a particular drive region segment  1513  can be driven independently of shield lines in other drive region segments, and driven independently of shield lines associated with the sense and grounding regions. 
     Although  FIG.  16    shows a Vcom-Vcom connections  1602  can conductively connect adjacent Vcoms in a row of Vcoms, the columns of Vcoms (as well as the rows of Vcoms) of each region can be conductively connected through a connection element (not shown), such as connection element  511  of  FIG.  5   . In this regard, Vcom-Vcom connections  1602  can be used in place of or in conjunction with another connection element. 
     Each grounding Vcom  1523  can include a Vcom extension  1611  that can allow a shield line  1501  in drive-grounding Vcom slit  1503   b  to be connected to the grounding Vcoms through conductive vias  1603 . Vcom extension  1611  can be formed in the Vcom material layer of the stackup, for example, as an extension of Vcom material. Conductive connections, such as conductive vias  1603 , can connect shield lines  1501  to Vcom extensions  1611  such that the shield lines can be conductively connected to Vcoms within the region or region segment of the shield line. Unlike Vcom-Vcom connection  1602 , Vcom extension  1611  can extend from a Vcom but not conductively connect with an adjacent Vcom. In this way, for example, Vcom extensions  1611  can be used to connect Vcoms to shield lines in Vcom slits between two different operational regions, such as shield lines  1501  in drive-grounding Vcom slits  1503   b  and shield lines in sense-grounding Vcom slits  1503   c , while maintaining the conductive disconnection between the Vcoms of the different regions. 
     Likewise, shield lines  1501  that run through a particular sense region  1517  can each be connected to sense Vcom  1519  of the sense region, such that shield lines  1501  in a particular sense region  1517  can be driven independently of shield lines in other sense regions, and driven independently of shield lines associated with the drive and grounding regions. 
     In other words, different configurations of conductive connections, such as Vcom-Vcom connections  1602 , Vcom extensions  1611  and conductive vias  1603 , and other connection structures and conductive breaks such as shield line breaks  1527 , can be used to provide a shield line system that can utilize on-panel voltage sources to drive the shield lines while reducing or eliminating undesirable signal coupling between touch circuit elements of different operational systems (such as a drive system and a sense system) and undesirable signal coupling between elements of the same operational system (such as a first drive line and a second drive line). 
       FIGS.  17 A,  17 B, and  17 C  show cross-sectional views of different conductive connections between material layers of touch screen  1500  along lines A-A′, B-B′, and C-C′, respectively, shown in  FIG.  16   .  FIGS.  17 A-C  include material layers that extend through each of the cross-sections, including a dielectric layer I  1701 , a dielectric layer II  1703 , and a dielectric layer III  1705 .  FIG.  17 A  illustrates an example connection of pixel electrode  1604  to a pixel TFT  1707  through a conductive via  1709  and a conductive via  1711 . Pixel TFT  1707  can include a gate line  1713 , and conductive via  1711  can connect to the drain of the TFT for electrical connection to pixel electrode  1604 . Conductive via  1709  can be formed by etching a via in dielectric layer III  1705  and dielectric layer II  1703  to expose conductive via  1711  in an etching step of processing touch screen  1500 , for example. A transparent conductor, such as ITO, can be deposited to fill in the via to form conductive via  1709  together with pixel electrode  1604  in a material deposition step of the process, for example. 
       FIGS.  17 B and  17 C  illustrate an example process of forming conductive connections between shield lines and Vcoms of touch screen  1500  according to various embodiments. In this example, conductive via  1603  connected to shield line  1609   a  in  FIG.  17 B  and conductive via  1603  connected to shield line  1501  in  FIG.  17 C  can be formed during the same etching and deposition processing steps as the formation of conductive via  1709 . In particular, during the etching step, a via can be formed through dielectric layer III  1705  to expose Vcom-Vcom connection  1602 , as shown in  FIG.  17 B . Likewise, during the same etching step, a via can be formed through dielectric layer III  1705  to expose Vcom extension  1611 , as shown in  FIG.  17 C . During the deposition step, the deposited transparent conductor can form shield line  1609   a  and the conductive via  1603  connecting the shield line to Vcom-Vcom connection  1602  of  FIG.  17 B . Likewise, during the same deposition step, the deposited transparent conductor can form shield line  1501  and the conductive via  1603  connecting the shield line to Vcom extension  1611  of  FIG.  17 C . In this way, for example, the connections between shield lines and corresponding Vcoms can be formed without requiring additional processing steps. 
       FIG.  18    illustrates a portion of an example display pixel stackup  1800  according to various embodiments. Display pixel stackup  1800  can include a color filter substrate (e.g., glass)  1801 , a black mask  1803  and a TFT substrate (e.g., glass)  1805  including a data line  1807  disposed on a dielectric layer I  1811 , a common electrode (Vcom)  1813  and a common electrode (Vcom)  1815  disposed on dielectric layer II  1817 , and a pixel electrode  1819  and a pixel electrode  1821  disposed on a dielectric layer III  1823 . A pixel material, such as liquid crystal  1827 , can be disposed between color filter glass  1801  and TFT glass  1805 . 
     In this example embodiment, one end of Vcom  1813  and one end of Vcom  1815  are separated by a distance to form an opening, a Vcom slit  1829 . In this example, Vcom  1813  can include a portion disposed under pixel electrode  1819  and a portion above data line  1807 , and Vcom  1815  can include a portion disposed under pixel electrode  1821 . Vcom slit  1829  can be disposed under another portion of pixel electrode  1821 . In this embodiment, Vcom slit  1829  can be disposed under a pixel electrode finger closest to data line  1807 . In this way, for example, an amount of an electric field  1831  that can reach liquid crystal  1827  from data line  1807  through Vcom slit  1829  can be reduced or eliminated. 
       FIG.  19    illustrates a different example configuration of display pixel stackup  1800  according to various embodiments. In the example configuration shown in  FIG.  19   , Vcom slit  1829  can be shifted to be disposed under a middle pixel electrode finger  1825 . In this example, an amount of an electric field  1901  that can reach liquid crystal  1827  from data line  1807  through Vcom slit  1829  can be further reduced or eliminated. 
       FIGS.  20 - 22    illustrate various example configurations of pixel electrode fingers and Vcom slits according to various embodiments. In  FIG.  20   , a Vcom slit  2001  between a Vcom  2003  and a Vcom  2005  can be under a pixel electrode finger  2007  of a pixel electrode  2009 . The width of Vcom slit  2001  can be substantially the same as the width of pixel finger  2007 , which can result in little or no overlap of the pixel electrode finger and Vcoms  2003  and  2005 . 
     In  FIG.  21   , a Vcom slit  2101  between a Vcom  2103  and a Vcom  2105  can be under a pixel electrode finger  2107  of a pixel electrode  2109 . The width of Vcom slit  2101  can be less than the width of pixel finger  2107 , which can result in overlap  2111  of the pixel electrode finger and Vcoms  2103  and  2105 . Overlap  2111  can help mitigate a loss of a pixel electrode-to-common electrode storage capacitance that can result from placing Vcom slit  2101  under pixel electrode  2109 , for example. 
     In  FIG.  22   , a Vcom slit  2201  between a Vcom  2203  and a Vcom  2205  can be under an extended pixel electrode finger  2207   a  of a pixel electrode  2209 . The width of extended pixel electrode finger  2207   a  can be greater than the width of pixel electrode finger  2207   b , for example. The width of Vcom slit  2201  can be less than the width of extended pixel finger  2207   a , which can result in overlap  2211  of the extended pixel electrode finger and Vcoms  2203  and  2205 . Overlap  2211  can help mitigate a loss of a pixel electrode-to-common electrode storage capacitance that can result from placing Vcom slit  2201  under pixel electrode  2209 , for example. 
     Although embodiments of this disclosure have been fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications including, but not limited to, combining features of different embodiments, omitting a feature or features, etc., as will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the present description and figures. 
     For example, although specific materials and types of materials may be included in the descriptions of example embodiments, one skilled in the art will understand that other materials that achieve the same function can be used. In some embodiments, the drive lines and/or sense lines can be formed of other elements including, for example other elements already existing in typical LCD displays (e.g., other electrodes, conductive and/or semiconductive layers, metal lines that would also function as circuit elements in a typical LCD display, for example, carry signals, store voltages, etc.), other elements formed in an LCD stackup that are not typical LCD stackup elements (e.g., other metal lines, plates, whose function would be substantially for the touch sensing system of the touch screen), and elements formed outside of the LCD stackup (e.g., such as external substantially transparent conductive plates, wires, and other elements). For example, part of the touch sensing system can include elements similar to known touch panel overlays. 
     In this example embodiment, each sub-pixels can be a red (R), green (G) or blue (B) sub-pixel, with the combination of all three R, G and B sub-pixels forming one color display pixel. Although this example embodiment includes red, green, and blue sub-pixels, a sub-pixel may be based on other colors of light or other wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., infrared) or may be based on a monochromatic configuration.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200828
Publication Date: 20240206
Grant Date: 20240206
Priority Date: 20110303
Inventors: GE, ZHIBING
YU, CHENG-HO
PARK, YOUNG-BAE
JAMSHIDI ROUDBARI, ABBAS
CHANG, SHIH-CHANG
CHEN, CHENG
YOUSEFPOR, MARDUKE
ZHONG, JOHN Z.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G02F1/13338", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/1362", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/134318", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/134372", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/136218", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/136286", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04107", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/13338", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/13338", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/1362", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/136286", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04107", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/134318", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/136218", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/134372", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/1362", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/136286", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04107", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/134318", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/134372", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/136218", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 44262470