Touch panel and sensing method of touch panel capable of simultaneously activating columns of sensors within one drive cycle

• US 10,067,603 B1
• Filed: 05/03/2017
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Himax Technologies Ltd. (Himax Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Himax Technologies Ltd. (Himax Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hsieh, Chi-Hsuan, Chang, Yaw-Guang
• Primary Examiner(s): Dicke, Chad
• Application Number:
  US15/586,253
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

A sensing method of a touch panel is provided. The touch panel includes N control lines, M groups of sense lines and a touch sensor array having a plurality of sensors arranged in M rows and N columns. The N control lines are coupled to N columns of sensors. The M groups of sense lines are coupled to M rows of sensors. The sensing method includes the following steps: alternately driving the N control lines to alternately enable the N columns of sensors to detect a touch event, wherein P control lines are driven at a time such that P sensors within each of the M rows of sensors are enabled simultaneously, and P is a positive integer greater than one; and receiving P sensing results generated by the enabled P sensors through a corresponding group of sense lines, and generating a sensing output according to the P sensing results.

Claims

1. A touch panel, comprising:

a touch sensor array, comprising a plurality of sensors arranged in M rows and N columns, the touch sensor array arranged for detecting a touch event on the touch panel, wherein each of M and N is a positive integer greater than two;

N control lines, coupled to N columns of sensors respectively;

wherein each N control line corresponds to a single column and is directly coupled to the sensors in the corresponding single column;

M groups of sense lines, wherein each M group comprises a plurality of N sense lines and are coupled to M rows of sensors respectively;

wherein each one of the plurality of sense lines in a M group of sense lines is directly connected to only one sensor of a plurality of sensors in a corresponding M row of sensors;

a control circuit, coupled to the N control lines, the control circuit arranged for alternately driving the N control lines to alternately enable the N columns of sensors to detect the touch event, wherein the control circuit drives P control lines at a time such that P sensors within each of the M rows of sensors are enabled simultaneously, and P is a positive integer greater than one and less than N; and

a sensing circuit, coupled to the M groups of sense lines, wherein regarding each of the M rows of sensors, the sensing circuit is arranged for receiving P sensing results generated by the simultaneously enabled P sensors in response to the touch event through a group of sense lines coupled to the row of sensors, and generating a sensing output corresponding to the row of sensors according to the P sensing results.

2. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the P control lines are adjacent to each other.

3. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein in a first drive cycle, the control circuit simultaneously drives a first control line and (P−

1) second control lines included in the N control lines;

in a second drive cycle next to the first cycle, the control circuit simultaneously drives the (P−

1) second control lines and a third control line included in the N control lines; and

the third control line is different from the first control line.

4. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the sensing circuit comprises:

a processing circuit, arranged for receiving the P sensing results to generate the sensing output; and

a selection circuit, coupled between the processing circuit and the M groups of sense lines, the selection circuit arranged for coupling P sense lines coupled to the enabled P sensors to the processing circuit in order to transmit the P sensing results to the processing circuit, and uncoupling sense lines coupled to unenabled sensors from the processing circuit.

5. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the control circuit generates a drive signal to the P control lines coupled to the enabled P sensors, the selection circuit couples the (N−

P) sense lines coupled to the unenabled (N−

P) sensors to a reference signal, and the reference signal has a waveform identical to a waveform of the drive signal.

6. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the sensing circuit sums up the P sensing results and accordingly generates the sensing output.