Common electrode driving and compensation for pixelated self-capacitance touch screen

• US 10,534,472 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2017
• Issued: 01/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Chaohao, Choi, Wonjae, Sacchetto, Paolo
• Primary Examiner(s): Khan, Ibrahim A
• Application Number:
  US15/687,354
• Publication Number:
  US 20170351378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• 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 3/04184 Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

A touch screen is disclosed. A plurality of common electrodes can be configured to operate as display circuitry during a display phase, and to operate as touch sensing circuitry during a touch sensing phase. The plurality of common electrodes can include a first common electrode associated with a first display pixel, and a second common electrode associated with a second display pixel. Circuitry can be configured to update the first display pixel at a first time while driving the first common electrode but not the second common electrode, and update the second display pixel at a second time, after the first time, while driving the second common electrode but not the first common electrode. In some examples, the circuitry can be configured to leave the second common electrode floating while driving the first common electrode, and leave the first common electrode floating while driving the second common electrode.

Claims

1. A touch screen comprising:

a plurality of common electrodes configured to operate as display circuitry during a display phase, and to operate as touch sensing circuitry during a touch sensing phase, wherein the plurality of common electrodes includes;

a first common electrode associated with a first display pixel; and

a second common electrode associated with a second display pixel; and

circuitry configured to;

update the first display pixel at a first time while driving the first common electrode;

while updating the first display pixel and driving the first common electrode, drive the second common electrode until the second display pixel is updated; and

after updating the first display pixel, update the second display pixel at a second time, after the first time, while continuing to drive the second common electrode but not the first common electrode.

2. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the common electrodes are configured to operate as self-capacitance touch pixel electrodes during the touch sensing phase.

3. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein:

driving the first common electrode comprises driving the first common electrode to a first reference voltage, and

driving the second common electrode comprises driving the second common electrode to the first reference voltage.

4. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein:

the first common electrode and the second common electrode are part of a first set of common electrodes, and

the circuitry is further configured to;

update the first display pixel while driving the first set of common electrodes but not a second set of common electrodes, different than the first set of common electrodes.

5. The touch screen of claim 4, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

update a first set of display pixels associated with the first set of common electrodes while driving the first set of common electrodes but not the second set of common electrodes, and

update a second set of display pixels, different than the first set of display pixels, associated with the second set of common electrodes while driving the second set of common electrodes but not the first set of common electrodes.

6. The touch screen of claim 4, wherein the first set of common electrodes comprises one or more rows of common electrodes, and the second set of common electrodes comprises one or more rows of common electrodes.

7. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein:

the first common electrode is part of a first set of common electrodes,

the second common electrode is part of a second set of common electrodes,

a third common electrode is part of a third set of common electrodes, and

the circuitry is further configured to;

update the first display pixel while driving the first set of common electrodes and the second set of common electrodes, but not the third set of common electrodes,

update the second display pixel while driving the third set of common electrodes and the second set of common electrodes, but not the first set of common electrodes, and

update the third display pixel while driving the third set of common electrodes but not the first set of common electrodes or the second set of common electrodes.

8. The touch screen of claim 7, wherein the first set of common electrodes comprises a first row of common electrodes, the second set of common electrodes comprises a second row of common electrodes, and the third set of common electrodes comprises a third row of common electrodes.

9. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein:

the circuitry comprises driving circuitry configurably coupled to the first common electrode, the second common electrode and a third common electrode at the first time, and

the driving circuitry is configured to drive the first common electrode and the second common electrode, and receive feedback from the third common electrode.

10. The touch screen of claim 9, wherein the circuity further comprises touch sensing circuitry, the touch sensing circuitry configured to sense touch on one or more of the plurality of common electrodes during the touch sensing phase.

11. The touch screen of claim 10, wherein the driving circuitry and the touch sensing circuitry are integrated into a single chip.

12. The touch screen of claim 11, wherein the driving circuitry and the touch sensing circuitry share one or more circuit components.

13. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to leave a third common electrode floating while driving the first common electrode and the second common electrode, and leave the first common electrode floating while driving the second common electrode and the third common electrode.

14. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the touch screen further comprises second circuitry configured to weakly drive a third common electrode while the circuitry drives the first common electrode and the second common electrode, and weakly drive the first common electrode while the circuitry drives the second common electrode and the third common electrode.

15. A touch screen comprising:

a plurality of common electrodes, the plurality of common electrodes including a first set of common electrodes and a second set of common electrodes, the first set of common electrodes associated with a first set of display pixels, and the second set of common electrodes associated with a second set of display pixels; and

circuitry configured to;

drive the first set of common electrodes to a display voltage while updating the first set of display pixels based on the display voltage;

while updating the first set of display pixels and driving the first set of common electrodes, drive the second set of common electrodes to the display voltage until the second set of display pixels is updated;

after updating the first set of display pixels, update the second set of display pixels based on the display voltage while continuing to drive the second set of common electrodes to the display voltage but not the first set of common electrodes; and

while driving the first set of common electrodes and the second set of common electrodes to the display voltage, drive a third set of common electrodes to a touch voltage.

16. The touch screen of claim 15, wherein the common electrodes are configured to operate as display circuitry during a display phase, and to operate as touch sensing circuitry during a touch sensing phase.

17. The touch screen of claim 16, wherein the circuitry is further configured to sense touch at the third set of common electrodes.

18. The touch screen of claim 17, wherein the circuitry is further configured to sense touch at the third set of common electrodes while updating the first set of display pixels.

19. The touch screen of claim 17, wherein the circuitry is further configured to sense touch at the third set of common electrodes after updating the first set of display pixels.

20. The touch screen of claim 15, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

drive the first set of common electrodes to the touch voltage; and

while driving the first set of common electrodes to the touch voltage, drive the third set of common electrodes to the display voltage while updating a third set of display pixels associated with the third set of common electrodes based on the display voltage.

21. The touch screen of claim 20, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

drive the first set of common electrodes to the display voltage and the third set of common electrodes to the touch voltage during a first time period, and

drive the first set of common electrodes to the touch voltage and the third set of common electrodes to the display voltage during a second time period, after the first time period.

22. A method of operating a touch screen, the touch screen comprising a plurality of common electrodes configured to operate as display circuitry during a display phase, and to operate as touch sensing circuitry during a touch sensing phase, the method comprising:

updating a first display pixel at a first time while driving a first common electrode, the first common electrode associated with the first display pixel, and the second common electrode associated with a second display pixel;

while updating the first display pixel and driving the first common electrode, driving the second common electrode until the second display pixel is updated; and

after updating the first display pixel, updating the second display pixel at a second time, after the first time, while continuing to drive the second common electrode but not the first common electrode.

23. A method of operating a touch screen, the touch screen comprising a plurality of common electrodes, the method comprising:

driving a first set of the plurality of common electrodes to a display voltage while updating a first set of display pixels based on the display voltage, the first set of display pixels associated with the first set of common electrodes;

while updating the first set of display pixels and driving the first set of common electrodes, driving a second set of the plurality of common electrodes to the display voltage until a second set of display pixels, associated with the second set of common electrodes, is updated;

after updating the first set of display pixels, updating the second set of display pixels based on the display voltage while continuing to drive the second set of common electrodes to the display voltage but not the first set of common electrodes; and

while driving the first set of common electrodes and the second set of common electrodes to the display voltage, driving a third set of the plurality of common electrodes to a touch voltage, the third set of common electrodes associated with a third set of display pixels.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

sensing touch at the third set of common electrodes after updating the first set of display pixels.