Touch detection method and touch detector performing the same

• US 10,331,267 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2015
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HiDeep Inc.
• Original Assignee: HiDeep Inc.
• Inventors: Yoon, Sangsic, Kim, Seyeob, Kim, Bonkee
• Primary Examiner(s): Joseph, Dennis P
• Application Number:
  US14/666,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20150268783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• 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 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells

Abstract

Disclosed is a touch detector which detects a touch on a touch sensor panel including a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of second electrodes and a plurality of third electrodes. The touch detector includes: a driving signal supplier which applies a driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes; and a sensing unit which receives a first signal including information on a capacitance changing depending on the touch on a touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the plurality of second electrodes. The sensing unit detects a touch pressure and a touch position on the touch surface of the touch sensor panel.

Claims

1. A touch detector which detects a touch on a touch sensor panel including a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of second electrodes and a plurality of third electrodes, wherein the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes are formed in different layers with an insulation layer placed therebetween, and the plurality of third electrodes are formed in the same layer in which the plurality of first electrodes are formed, the touch detector comprising:

a driving signal supplier which applies a driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes; and

a sensing unit which receives a first signal including information on a capacitance changing depending on the touch on a touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the plurality of second electrodes formed in a different layer from the layer in which the plurality of first electrodes are formed, and receives a second signal including information on a capacitance changing depending on the touch on a touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the plurality of third electrodes formed in the same layer in which the plurality of first electrodes are formed,

wherein the plurality of second electrodes are separate and distinct from the plurality of third electrodes, and

wherein the sensing unit detects a touch pressure from the second signal and a touch position on the touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the first signal.

2. The touch detector of claim 1, wherein the sensing unit receives the first signal and the second signal at the same time, and wherein the sensing unit detects the touch position from the first signal and detects the touch pressure from the second signal.

3. The touch detector of claim 1, wherein the sensing unit receives the first signal in a first time interval and receives the second signal in a second time interval different from the first time interval, and wherein the sensing unit detects the touch position from the first signal in the first time interval and detects the touch pressure from the second signal in the second time interval.

4. The touch detector of claim 3, further comprising an impedance controller, wherein, through the impedance controller, the plurality of third electrodes are maintained at a shielding impedance in the first time interval.

5. The touch detector of claim 1,

further comprising an impedance controller,

further comprising a controller which, through the impedance controller, controls the plurality of third electrodes to be maintained at a first impedance in a first time interval and to be maintained at a second impedance in a second time interval different from the first time interval,

wherein the second impedance is greater than the first impedance,

and wherein the sensing unit detects the touch position from the first signal in the first time interval and detects the touch pressure from the first signal in the second time interval.

6. The touch detector of claim 1,

further comprising an impedance controller,

wherein the driving signal supplier applies the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of third electrodes in a first time interval and applies the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes in a second time interval different from the first time interval,

wherein, through the impedance controller, the plurality of third electrodes are maintained at a shielding prevention impedance in the second time interval,

and wherein the sensing unit detects the touch position in the first time interval and detects the touch pressure in the second time interval.

7. The touch detector of claim 1,

wherein the driving signal supplier applies the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of third electrodes in a first time interval,

wherein, in a second time interval different from the first time interval, the sensing unit receives a second signal including information on the capacitance changing depending on the touch on the touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the plurality of third electrodes,

and wherein the sensing unit detects the touch position in the first time interval and detects the touch pressure in the second time interval.

8. The touch detector of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first electrodes and plurality of second electrodes has a length and a shorter width, and wherein the width of each of the plurality of first electrodes is not larger than the width of each of the plurality of second electrodes.

9. A method for detecting a touch position and a touch pressure in a capacitive touch input device including a touch sensor panel including a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of second electrodes and a plurality of third electrodes wherein the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes are formed in different layers with an insulation layer placed therebetween and the plurality of third electrodes are formed in the same layer in which the plurality of first electrodes are formed, and a driving signal supplier, the method comprising:

applying a driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes of the touch sensor panel;

receiving a first signal including information on a capacitance changing depending on the touch input on a touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the plurality of second electrodes formed in a different layer from the layer in which the plurality of first electrodes are formed,

and a second signal including information on a capacitance changing depending on the touch input on a touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the plurality of third electrodes formed in the same layer in which the plurality of first electrodes are formed; and

detecting a touch pressure from the second signal and a touch position on the touch surface of the touch sensor panel from the first signal,

wherein the plurality of second electrodes are separate and distinct from the plurality of third electrodes.

10. The method of claim 9,

wherein the detecting comprises detecting the touch position based on a first detection signal from the plurality of second electrodes in a first time interval and detecting the touch pressure based on a second detection signal from the plurality of third electrodes in a second time interval different from the first time interval,

further comprising maintaining the plurality of third electrodes at a shielding impedance in the first time interval.

11. The method of claim 9,

wherein the detecting comprises detecting the touch position based on a first detection signal from the plurality of second electrodes in a first time interval and detecting the touch pressure based on the first detection signal in a second time interval different from the first time interval,

further comprising maintaining the plurality of third electrodes at a first impedance in the first time interval and maintaining the plurality of third electrodes at a second impedance in the second time interval,

wherein the second impedance is greater than the first impedance.

12. The method of claim 9,

wherein the applying the driving signal comprises applying the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of third electrodes in a first time interval and applying the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes in a second time interval different from the first time interval,

and wherein the detecting comprises detecting the touch position based on a first detection signal from the plurality of second electrodes in the first time interval and detecting the touch pressure based on a second detection signal from the plurality of third electrodes in the second time interval.

13. The method of claim 9,

wherein the applying the driving signal comprises applying the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of third electrodes in a first time interval and applying the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes in a second time interval,

wherein the detecting comprises detecting the touch position based on a first detection signal from the plurality of second electrodes in the first time interval and detecting the touch pressure based on the first detection signal in the second time interval different from the first time interval, and

wherein the plurality of third electrodes are maintained at a shielding prevention impedance in the second time interval.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising maintaining remaining electrodes except for the some of the plurality of first electrodes at a shielding prevention impedance in the second time interval.