Display device and driving method thereof

• US 10,430,632 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hong, Won Ki, Lee, Jong Seo
• Primary Examiner(s): Kassa, Yosef
• Application Number:
  US15/402,019
• Publication Number:
  US 20170200037A1
• Time in Patent Office: 995 Days
• Field of Search: 382115, 382116, 382124, 382209, 382278, 340340, 340 552, 340 553, 340 583
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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 3/0445 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 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1306 non-optical, e.g. ultrasonic or capacitive sensing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/442 using a biometric data reading device

Abstract

An exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept provides a display device including: a display unit including a plurality of pixels disposed on a display area; a display controller configured to control the display unit; a sensor including a plurality of first sensing electrodes and a plurality of second sensing electrodes disposed in the display area; and a sensor controller configured to recognize a touch of a user inputted into the sensor in a touch sensing mode and to recognize a fingerprint of the user inputted into the sensor in a fingerprint sensing mode, wherein the sensor controller changes a mode to the fingerprint sensing mode when no touch is inputted for a predetermined time period in the touch sensing mode and changes the mode to the touch sensing mode when authorization on a fingerprint inputted into the sensor is succeeded in the fingerprint sensing mode.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a display including a plurality of pixels disposed on a display area;

a display controller including a timing controller and configured to control the display;

a sensor including a plurality of first sensing electrodes and a plurality of second sensing electrodes disposed in the display area; and

a sensor controller including a touch detector configured to recognize a touch of a user inputted into the sensor in a touch sensing mode and a fingerprint authorizer configured to recognize a fingerprint of the user inputted into the sensor in a fingerprint sensing mode,

wherein the sensor controller changes a mode to the fingerprint sensing mode when no touch is inputted for a predetermined time period in the touch sensing mode and changes the mode to the touch sensing mode when authorization on a fingerprint inputted into the sensor is succeeded in the fingerprint sensing mode, and

wherein the sensor controller sequentially drives all the first sensing electrodes in the fingerprint sensing mode and the sensor controller drives all the second sensing electrodes in the fingerprint sensing mode.

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the sensor controller drives a portion of the first sensing electrodes and a portion of the second sensing electrodes in the touch sensing mode.

3. The display device of claim 1, wherein the sensor controller groups the first sensing electrodes into a plurality of first sensing electrode groups and the second sensing electrodes into a plurality of second sensing electrode groups and drives the first and second sensing electrode groups in the touch sensing mode.

4. The display device of claim 3, wherein the sensor controller drives a portion of the first sensing electrode groups and a portion of the second sensing electrode groups in the touch sensing mode.

5. The display device of claim 3, wherein the sensor controller disables a portion of the first sensing electrode groups and a portion of the second sensing electrode groups in the touch sensing mode.

6. The display device of claim 1, wherein the sensor controller drives all the first sensing electrodes and all the second sensing electrodes in the touch sensing mode, recognizes the touch and the fingerprint of the user inputted into the sensor in the touch sensing mode together, and detects a touch pressure of the user touch through a form variation of the recognized fingerprint.

7. The display device of claim 1, wherein the sensor controller further includes a fingerprint storage configured to store at least one reference fingerprint, and

wherein the fingerprint authorizer is configured to recognize the fingerprint of the user inputted into the sensor in the fingerprint sensing mode, to compare the recognized fingerprint with the reference fingerprint, and to determine that the authorization is succeeded when the recognized fingerprint is identical to the reference fingerprint.

8. The display device of claim 7, wherein the fingerprint storage stores reference fingerprints set for each of a plurality of users,

the fingerprint authorizer transfers user information related to a user who succeeds authorization to the display controller, and

the display controller controls the display to display images that are different for each of the users on the display area by referring to the user information.

9. The display device of claim 7, wherein the fingerprint storage stores a plurality of reference fingerprints, and

the fingerprint authorizer recognizes a plurality of fingerprints of a user inputted into the sensor in the fingerprint sensing mode, compares the recognized fingerprints with the reference fingerprints, and determine that authorization is succeeded when a number of the recognized fingerprints that are identical to the reference fingerprints is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference number.

10. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first sensing electrodes and the second sensing electrodes are disposed to cross each other.

11. A driving method of a display device, comprising:

recognizing a touch of a user inputted into a sensor in a touch sensing mode;

when no touch is inputted into the sensor for a predetermined time period in the touch sensing mode, changing a mode from the touch sensing mode to a fingerprint sensing mode;

recognizing a fingerprint of the user inputted into the sensor in the fingerprint sensing mode; and

authorizing the fingerprint inputted into the sensor in the fingerprint sensing mode and, when the authorization is succeeded, changing the mode to the touch sensing mode,

wherein the sensor includes a plurality of first sensing electrodes and a plurality of second sensing electrodes disposed in a display area, and

wherein all the first sensing electrodes and all the second sensing electrodes are driven in the fingerprint sensing mode.

12. The driving method of claim 11, wherein a portion of the first sensing electrodes and a portion of the second sensing electrodes are driven in the touch sensing mode.

13. The driving method of claim 11, wherein the first sensing electrodes are grouped into a plurality of first sensing electrode groups, the second sensing electrodes are grouped into a plurality of second sensing electrode groups, and the first and second sensing electrode groups are driven in the touch sensing mode.

14. The driving method of claim 13, wherein a portion of the first sensing electrode groups and a portion of the second sensing electrode groups are driven in the touch sensing mode.

15. The driving method of claim 11, wherein all the first sensing electrodes and all the second sensing electrodes are driven in the touch sensing mode, and

the touch and the fingerprint of the user inputted into the sensor in the touch sensing mode are recognized together and a touch pressure of the user is detected through a form variation of the recognized fingerprint in the recognizing of the touch.

16. The driving method of claim 11, wherein the authorizing of the fingerprint includes comparing the fingerprint of the user recognized in the fingerprint sensing mode with a reference fingerprint stored in a fingerprint storage and determining that the authorization is succeeded when the recognized fingerprint is identical to the reference fingerprint.

17. The driving method of claim 16, wherein the fingerprint storage stores reference fingerprints set for each of a plurality of users, and

images that are different for each of the users are displayed on the display by referring to user information related to a user who succeeds the authorization in the authorizing of the fingerprint.

18. The driving method of claim 16, wherein the fingerprint storage stores a plurality of reference fingerprints,

a plurality of touch of the user inputted into the sensor in the fingerprint sensing mode are recognized in the recognizing of the fingerprint, and

the authorization is determined to be succeeded when a number of the recognized fingerprints that are identical to the reference fingerprints are equal to or greater than a predetermined reference number in the authorizing of the fingerprint.