Integrated active matrix touch panel

• US 10,359,874 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2016
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Gallardo, Diego, Brown, Christopher James
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang, Dong Hue
• Application Number:
  US15/761,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20180232088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/121 common or background
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/123 pixel
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• 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 3/047 using sets of wires, e.g. crossed wires

Abstract

An integrated touchscreen comprises display pixels arranged in a two-dimensional matrix of rows and columns to minimize the reduction in aperture ratio of the display pixels. A matrix of touch element is defined in the display pixels, with a touch unit cell encompassing a group of display pixels. A touch element is comprised of a matrix of touch unit cells. The common electrodes of the display pixels encompassed in the touch element are electrically connected together to form a common electrode for the touch element. The touch unit cell includes conductive lines extending in the row direction and conductive lines extending in the column direction. The touchscreen comprises a controller that can operate in either one of a self-capacitance touch sensing mode and a mutual-capacitance touch sensing mode.

Claims

1. An integrated touchscreen operable in either one of a self-capacitance touch sensing mode and a mutual-capacitance touch sensing mode and comprising a plurality of display pixels arranged in a two-dimensional matrix of rows and columns, each pixel row having an associated display control line and each pixel column having an associated display data line, each pixel including a pixel electrode, a common electrode and a display control switch for selectively connecting the pixel electrode to the display data line associated with the pixel, the display control switch having a control terminal connected to the display control line associated with the pixel;

wherein a matrix of touch elements is defined in the display pixels, a touch element encompassing an n×

m group of touch unit cells, each unit cell composed of an k×

j group of display pixels where k denotes the number of rows of pixels and j denotes the number of columns of pixels;

wherein the common electrodes of the display pixels encompassed in the touch unit cell are electrically connected together to form a common electrode for the touch unit cell;

wherein the common electrodes of the unit cells encompassed in the touch element form a common electrode for the touch element;

wherein the touch unit cell includes a conductive lines extending in the row direction and b conductive lines extending in the column direction, where a≤

k and b≤

j and at least one of a and b is non-zero;

wherein each of the (a+b) conductive lines of a unit cell encompassed by a touch element is connected to the respective conductive line of other units cells encompassed by the touch element;

wherein a touch unit cell includes two switching arrangements, one for selectively connecting the common electrode of the touch unit cell to a first touch data line and the other for selectively connecting the common electrode of the touch unit cell to a second touch data line;

and wherein the touchscreen comprises a controller adapted to operate in either one of a self-capacitance touch sensing mode in which, for at least one touch element, the controller applies an excitation voltage to the common electrode of the touch element and senses a signal generated by the touch element and a mutual-capacitance touch sensing mode in which the controller applies an excitation voltage to the common electrode of at least one touch element and determines a signal generated in at least another touch element of the matrix of touch elements.

2. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein

the one switching arrangement comprises a first touch control switch connected between the first touch data line and the common electrode of the touch unit cell, and having a control terminal connected to a first touch sensing control line;

and

the other switching arrangement comprises a second touch control switch connected between the second touch data line and the common electrode of the touch unit cell, and having a control terminal connected to a second touch sensing control line.

3. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 2 where the first touch control switch is disposed in a first display pixel of the display pixels encompassed in the touch unit cell and the second touch control switch is disposed in a second display pixel of the display pixels encompassed in the touch unit cell, the second display pixel being different to the first display pixel.

4. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 3 wherein the first display pixel and the second display pixel are in different rows of display pixels and different columns of display pixels.

5. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 3 wherein the first touch data line is distinct from the display data line connectable to the pixel electrode of the first pixel and the second touch data line is distinct from the display data line connectable to the pixel electrode of the second pixel.

6. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 2 wherein the one switching arrangement further comprises a third touch control switch connected in series with the first touch control switch between the first touch data line and the common electrode of the touch unit cell, and having a control terminal connected to a third touch sensing control line.

7. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 6 wherein the third touch control switch is disposed in a third display pixel of the display pixels encompassed in the touch element, the third display pixel being different to the first display pixel and to the second display pixel.

8. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first and second touch sensing control lines are distinct from one another and from the display control lines.

9. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 2 wherein the other switching arrangement further comprises a third touch control switch connected in series with the second touch control switch between the second touch data line and the common electrode of the touch unit cell, and having a control terminal connected to a third touch sensing control line.

10. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first touch data line and the second touch data line are distinct from the display data lines.

11. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 10, wherein the controller is operable, while supplying an excitation voltage to at least one of the touch elements, to simultaneously write display data to one or more display pixels in rows of display pixels different from the rows of display pixels not encompassed in the at least one touch element.

12. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein, in a touch unit cell, the a conductive lines extending in the row direction are disposed in different rows of display pixels encompassed in the touch unit cell.

13. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein, in a touch unit cell, the b conductive lines extending in the column direction are disposed in different columns of display pixels encompassed in the touch unit cell.

14. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein, in the self-capacitance touch sensing mode, the controller, in use, applies the excitation voltage to the common electrode of the touch element via either the first touch data line or the second touch data line.

15. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein, in the mutual-capacitance touch sensing mode, the controller, in use, applies the excitation voltage to the common electrode of the at least one touch element via either the first touch data line or the second touch data line.

16. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein the controller is further operable to, for at least one touch element, isolate the common electrode of the touch element from both the first touch data line and the second touch data line.

17. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein the controller is further operable to, for at least one touch element, simultaneously connect the common electrode of the touch element to both the first touch data line and the second touch data line.

18. A touch screen as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of the first touch data line and the second touch data line extends in the row direction and is provided in a row of display pixels.

19. A touchscreen as claimed in claim 1 wherein any two of the display data lines constitute the first touch data line and the second touch data line respectively.

20. A touch screen as claimed in claim 1 wherein k≥

2 or k≥

3.