Flexible processing module for different integrated touch and display configurations

• US 10,133,419 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2014
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Ludden, Christopher A., Small, Jeffrey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Li, Lin
• Application Number:
  US14/224,032
• Publication Number:
  US 20150268759A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,702 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04184 Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

Embodiments described herein include a processing system for a display device comprising an integrated capacitive sensing device that includes at least one input/output pad that is selectable between providing source signals to the display device and operating a sensor electrode for capacitive sensing. Other embodiments include a display device having a capacitive sensing device, an input device having an integrated display and capacitive sensing device, and a method for operating an integrated display and capacitive sensing device.

Claims

1. A processing system for a display device comprising an integrated capacitive sensing device, the processing system comprising a touch and display interface chip comprising:

a plurality of input/output pads comprising;

a first input/output pad configured to be coupled with a first subpixel data line of a plurality of subpixel data lines of the display device;

a second input/output pad configured to be coupled with a first external touch trace of a plurality of external touch traces of the integrated capacitive sensing device; and

a plurality of shared pads, each of the plurality of shared pads configured to be coupled with one of the plurality of subpixel data lines or one of the plurality of external touch traces coupled to the first input/output pad and configured to drive a first subpixel data signal onto the first subpixel data line;

sensor circuitry coupled to the second input/output pad and configured to drive a first sensor electrode via the first external touch trace;

selection circuitry coupled to the display circuitry, the sensor circuitry, and at least one shared pad of the plurality of shared pads, the selection circuitry is configured to selectively couple the at least one shared pad to the display circuitry for display updating and to the sensor circuitry for capacitive sensing; and

a selection mechanism coupled to the selection circuitry and configured to control the selection circuitry to select between coupling the at least one shared pad with the display circuitry and the sensor circuitry,

wherein the selection mechanism comprises a configuration register configured to switch the at least one shared pad between coupling to the display circuitry for display updating and coupling to the sensor circuitry for capacitive sensing.

2. The processing system of claim 1, wherein:

the display circuitry includes a display circuitry port that is coupled to the first input/output pad;

the sensing circuitry includes a sensing circuitry port that is coupled to the second input/output pad; and

the selection circuitry is configured to select between the display circuitry port and the sensing circuitry port for the at least one shared pad.

3. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor electrode is one of a plurality of sensor electrodes that each comprises one or more common voltage layer segments of the display device.

4. The processing system of claim 1, wherein:

the display device includes;

a plurality of subpixel elements arranged in a plurality of columns,

wherein each subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines is coupled to a different column of subpixel elements, and

one or more of the plurality the input/output pads is configured to be coupled to a different subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines.

5. The processing system of claim 4, wherein the display circuitry is configured to drive each of the subpixel data lines in the plurality of subpixel data lines in the same time period to drive a single row of subpixel elements included in the display device.

6. The processing system of claim 1, wherein:

the display device includes;

a plurality of subpixel elements arranged in a plurality of columns, and

a plurality of multiplexers, each having two inputs,

wherein each subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines being coupled to a different column of subpixel elements,

the plurality of subpixel data lines is coupled to a the plurality of multiplexers, and

at least two input/output pads of the input/output pads is configured to be coupled to a common multiplexer of the plurality of multiplexers.

7. The processing system of claim 6, wherein the display circuitry is configured to drive a first half of the plurality subpixel data lines, via a first input in each of the plurality of multiplexers, in a first time period, and to drive a second half of the plurality of subpixel data lines, via a second input in each of the plurality of multiplexers, in a second time period.

8. The processing system of claim 1, wherein:

the display device includes;

a plurality of subpixel elements arranged in a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows, and

a plurality of gate lines, wherein each row of the plurality of rows is coupled to a different pair of the of the plurality of gate lines, and each subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines being coupled to two different rows of the plurality of rows.

9. The processing system of claim 8, wherein the display circuitry is configured to drive each of the subpixel data lines while asserting a first gate line for a one of the rows of subpixel elements in a first time period, and to drive each of the subpixel data lines while asserting a second gate line for the row in a second time period.

10. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the selection circuitry is further configured to:

receive a second subpixel data signal from the display circuitry and a sensing signal from the sensing circuitry; and

wherein selectively coupling the at least one shared pad with the display circuitry and the sensor circuitry comprises selectively driving the at least one shared pad with the second subpixel data signal and the sensing signal.

11. An input device, comprising:

a plurality of subpixel data lines, each of the plurality of subpixel data lines is coupled to at least one of a plurality of subpixel elements of a display device;

a plurality of external touch traces;

a plurality of sensor electrodes coupled to of the plurality of external touch traces, wherein a one or more of the plurality of sensor electrodes comprises at least one common electrode of a display device; and

a processing system comprising;

a plurality of input/output pads comprising;

a first input/output pad configured to be coupled with a first subpixel data line of the subpixel data lines;

a second input/output pad configured to be coupled with a first external touch trace of the plurality of external touch traces; and

a plurality of shared pads, each of the plurality of shared pads configured to be coupled with one of the plurality of subpixel data lines or one of the plurality of external touch traces;

display circuitry coupled to the first input/output pad and configured to drive a first subpixel data signal onto the first subpixel data line;

sensor circuitry coupled to the second input/output pad of sensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes for capacitive sensing via the first external touch trace;

selection circuitry coupled to the display circuitry, the sensor circuitry, and at least one shared pad of the plurality of shared pads, the selection circuitry is configured to select between configuring the at least one shared pad for display updating and for capacitive sensing; and

a selection mechanism coupled to the selection circuitry and configured to control the selection circuitry to select between coupling the at least one shared pad with the display circuitry and the sensor circuitry,

wherein the selection mechanism comprises a configuration register configured to switch the at least one shared pad between coupling to the display circuitry for display updating and coupling to the sensor circuitry for capacitive sensing.

12. The input device of claim 11, wherein:

the display circuitry includes a display circuitry port that is coupled to the first input/output pad;

the sensing circuitry includes a sensing circuitry port that is coupled to the second input/output pad; and

the selection circuitry is configured to select between the display circuitry port and the sensing circuitry port for the at least one shared pad.

13. The input device of claim 11, wherein:

the display device includes;

a plurality of subpixel elements arranged in a plurality of columns,

wherein each subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines is coupled to a different column of subpixel elements, and

each input/output pad of the input/output pads is coupled to a different subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines.

14. The input device of claim 13, wherein the display circuitry is configured to drive each of the subpixel data lines in the plurality of subpixel data lines in the same time period to drive a single row of subpixel elements included in the display device.

15. The input device of claim 11, wherein:

the display device includes;

a plurality of subpixel elements arranged in a plurality of columns,

wherein each subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines being coupled to a different column of subpixel elements, and

the input device further comprises a plurality of multiplexers, each having two inputs,

each subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines is coupled to a different output of a multiplexer in the plurality of multiplexers, and

at least two input/output pads of the input/output pads is configured to be coupled to a common multiplexer of the plurality of multiplexers.

16. The input device of claim 15, wherein the display circuitry is configured to drive a first half of the subpixel data lines in the plurality of subpixel data lines, via a first input in each of the multiplexers, in a first time period, and to drive a second half of the subpixel data lines in the plurality of subpixel data lines, via a second input in each of the multiplexers, in a second time period.

17. The input device of claim 11, wherein:

the display device includes;

a plurality of subpixel elements arranged in a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows,

wherein each subpixel data line in the plurality of subpixel data lines being coupled to two different columns of subpixel elements, and

wherein the input device further comprises a plurality of gate lines, each gate line being coupled to half of the subpixel elements included in a row of subpixel elements.

18. The input device of claim 17, wherein the processing system is configured to:

drive each of the subpixel data lines of the plurality subpixel data lines while asserting a first gate line for a one of the rows of subpixel elements in a first time period, and drive each of the subpixel data lines while asserting a second gate line for the row, during a second period.

19. A method for operating a display device comprising an integrated capacitive sensing device, the method comprising:

driving a first subpixel data signal onto a first subpixel data line of the display device to update a first display element of the display device through a first input/output pad of a plurality of input/output pads, the first input/output pad is coupled to display circuitry, and the plurality of input/output pads is formed on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip, and the plurality of input/output pads comprises a plurality of shared pads configured to be shared between display updating and capacitive sensing;

driving a sensor electrode of the integrated capacitive sensing device for capacitive sensing through a first external touch trace coupled to a second input/output pad of the plurality of input/output pads, the second input/output pad is coupled to sensor circuitry; and

operating selection circuitry with a selection control signal provided by a selection mechanism comprises a configuration register to select between configuring at least one shared pad of the plurality of shared pads for display updating by driving the at least one shared pad with a second subpixel data signal provided by the display circuitry and for capacitive sensing by driving the at least one shared pad with the sensor circuitry.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

communicating a second subpixel data signal from the display circuitry to the selection circuitry; and

communicating a sensing signal from the sensing circuitry to the selection circuitry,

wherein configuring the at least one shared pad for display updating and capacitive sensing comprises selectively driving the at least one shared pad with the second subpixel data signal for display updating and the sensing signal for capacitive sensing.