Touch panel and coordinate measuring system having the same

• US 10,379,694 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2015
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Sung-soo, Kang, Byung-hoon, Park, Ju-wan, Kim, Gwan-hyung, Hong, Sung-wan
• Primary Examiner(s): Adams, Carl
• Application Number:
  US14/833,629
• Publication Number:
  US 20160062519A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,450 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• 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 3/0446 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092

Abstract

A touch panel is provided. The touch panel includes a channel electrode unit configured to include a plurality of first electrodes disposed in a first direction and a plurality of second electrodes disposed in a second direction intersecting with the first direction, and a controlling unit configured to apply a driving signal to the electrodes in the channel electrode unit in a unit of a plurality of electrodes, transmit the driving signal to a resonance circuit of a stylus pen approaching the touch panel through a capacitive coupling, and receive response signals generated from the resonance circuit of the stylus pen from each of the plurality of electrodes to determine a location of the stylus pen including the resonance circuit.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

a channel electrode unit configured to include a plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electrodes including a plurality of first electrodes disposed in a first direction and a plurality of second electrodes disposed in a second direction intersecting with the first direction; and

a processor configured to;

apply a driving signal to at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes in the channel electrode unit,

transmit the driving signal to a resonance circuit of a stylus pen approaching the touch panel through a capacitive coupling, and

receive response signals generated from the resonance circuit of the stylus pen from each of the plurality of electrodes to determine a location of the stylus pen including the resonance circuit,

wherein the processor is further configured to;

determine a location of the stylus pen,

apply a first driving signal to a first plurality of electrodes corresponding to the location of the stylus pen, and

apply a second driving signal, which is an inversion of the first driving signal, to a second plurality of electrodes disposed adjacent to the first plurality of electrodes.

2. The touch panel of claim 1,

wherein the channel electrode unit is further configured to detect capacitances between the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes during an approach of a touch object, and

wherein the processor is further configured to calculate variation of the capacitances between respective electrodes at a plurality of electrodes intersecting points formed between the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes, and to determine a location of the touch object based on the calculated variation of capacitances.

3. The touch panel of claim 2, further comprising:

a first driving unit configured to simultaneously apply the driving signal to at least two electrodes of the electrodes, when the stylus pen is sensed;

a second driving unit configured to apply the driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes when the touch object is sensed;

a first receiving unit configured to receive the response signals from each of the electrodes in a section in which the driving signal is not applied when the stylus pen is sensed, and

a second receiving unit configured to receive the response signals from the plurality of second electrodes in a section in which the driving signal is applied when the touch object is sensed.

4. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a location of the stylus pen including the resonance circuit based on a ratio between the response signals received from the first plurality of electrodes and a ratio between the response signals received from the second plurality of electrodes.

5. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to apply a same driving signal to all of the plurality of first electrodes.

6. The touch panel of claim 4,

wherein the plurality of first electrodes are classified into a plurality of sub-groups in a unit of a plurality of electrodes which are continuously disposed, and

wherein the processor is further configured to simultaneously apply a same driving signal to all of the first electrodes in one sub-group.

7. The touch panel of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to simultaneously apply the driving signal to an electrode receiving a largest response signal among the plurality of first electrodes and an electrode within a preset distance from the electrode receiving the largest response signal.

8. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to simultaneously apply the driving signal to at least one first electrode of the plurality of first electrodes and at least one second electrode of the plurality of second electrodes.

9. The touch panel of claim 1, further comprising:

a driving unit configured to apply the driving signal to at least two first electrodes of the plurality of first electrodes; and

a receiving unit configured to receive the response signals of each of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes in a section in which the driving signal is not applied,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine the location of the stylus pen including the resonance circuit based on the response signals received from the receiving unit.

10. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to sequentially receive the response signals of each of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes.

11. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to control the driving unit and the receiving unit so that the application of a same driving signal to the plurality of first electrodes and the reception of the response signals for each of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes are alternately performed.

12. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the receiving unit includes:

an amplifying unit configured to amplify the received response signals and output the amplified response signals;

an analog-to-digital converting (ADC) unit configured to convert the amplified response signals into a digital signal; and

a signal processing unit configured to extract a preset frequency component from the response signals converted into the digital signal.

13. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive in parallel the response signals of each of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes in a unit of a plurality of channels.

14. The touch panel of claim 13, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to simultaneously receive the response signals from at least one first electrode of the plurality of first electrodes and at least one second electrode of the plurality of second electrodes.

15. The touch panel of claim 13, wherein the receiving unit includes:

a parallel amplifying unit configured to amplify each of the response signals received from the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes;

an analog-to-digital converting (ADC) unit configured to convert each of the plurality of amplified response signals into a digital signal; and

a signal processing unit configured to extract a preset frequency component from a difference between the plurality of response signals converted into the digital signal.

16. The touch panel of claim 13, wherein the receiving unit includes a differential amplifying unit configured to differentially amplify a difference between response signals of two electrodes of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes, and to output the differentially amplified response signal.

17. The touch panel of claim 13, wherein the receiving unit includes:

a differential amplifying unit configured to differentially amplify a difference between response signals of two electrodes of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes and output the differentially amplified response signal;

an analog-to-digital converting (ADC) unit configured to convert the differentially amplified response signal into a digital signal; and

a signal processing unit configured to extract a preset frequency component from the response signal converted into the digital signal.

18. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to control the channel electrode unit so that at least one of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes is grounded in a section in which the response signals are received.

19. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control the channel electrode unit so that at least one electrode other than the electrodes to which the driving signal is applied is grounded in a section in which the driving signal is applied.

20. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to simultaneously apply driving signals having different phases to at least one of the plurality of first electrodes and at least one of the plurality of second electrodes.

21. The touch panel of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a phase difference between a first driving signal applied to the first electrodes and a second driving signal applied to the second electrodes, depending on locations of the first electrodes and the second electrodes to which the first driving signal and second driving signal are applied.