TOUCH SCREEN DISPLAY APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME

• US 20080018613A1
• Filed: 06/27/2007
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Baek, Seung-soo, KIM, Dong-gyu
• Granted Patent: US 8,072,430 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/047 using sets of wires, e.g. crossed wires
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0224 Details of interlacing

Abstract

A touch screen display apparatus and a method of driving the same in which the touch screen display apparatus includes a first transparent substrate, a gate line and a sensor conductor formed on the first transparent substrate, a data line insulated from and intersecting the gate line and sensor conductor, a second transparent substrate facing the first transparent substrate, and a sensor electrode formed on the second transparent substrate so as to correspond to an intersection of the sensor conductor and the data line, the sensor electrode electrically connecting the sensor conductor with the data line when acted upon by an external pressure.

Claims

1. A touch screen display apparatus comprising:

a first transparent substrate;

a gate line and a sensor conductor formed on the first transparent substrate;

a data line insulated from and intersecting the gate line and sensor conductor;

a second transparent substrate facing the first transparent substrate; and

a sensor electrode formed on the second transparent substrate so as to correspond to an intersection of the sensor conductor and the data line, the sensor electrode electrically connecting the sensor conductor with the data line when acted upon by an external pressure.

2. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a passivation layer formed on the sensor conductor and the data line and having first and second contact holes partially exposing the sensor conductor and the data line, respectively; and

first and second electrode pads formed on the passivation layer to be connected with the sensor conductor and the data line through the first and second contact holes, respectively.

3. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the sensor electrode is connected with the first and second electrode pads when an external pressure is applied.

4. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a planarization pattern formed between the first electrode pad and the first transparent substrate for the purpose of flattening the surface of the first electrode pad and the surface of the second electrode pad, wherein the passivation layer is made of an insulating material.

5. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 4, wherein the planarization pattern is made of the same material on the same plane as the data line.

6. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 5, wherein the passivation layer includes a third contact hole for connecting the planarization pattern with the first electrode pad.

7. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least two of red, green, and blue color filters overlapping each other are disposed between the second transparent substrate and the sensor conductor.

8. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a sensor spacer having a height less than that of a cell gap between the first transparent substrate and the second transparent substrate is formed between the second transparent substrate and the sensor conductor.

9. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a blue pixel is defined by an intersection of the gate line and the data line.

10. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor conductor is implemented by a storage conductor, and a common voltage and a sensor voltage for touch screen driving are alternately applied to the sensor conductor.

11. A touch screen display apparatus comprising:

a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of sensor conductors extending in a first direction, a plurality of data lines extending in a second direction, and a sensor electrode electrically connecting the sensor conductors with the data lines when an external pressure is applied to the liquid crystal panel;

a gate driver connected to the gate lines and sequentially applying a gate driving signal to the gate lines;

a sensor signal generator including a shift register which is connected to the sensor conductors and sequentially applies a sensor driving signal to the sensor conductors; and

an integrated data driver applying a data voltage to the data lines or sensing the sensor driving signal transmitted from the data lines.

12. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the sensor signal generator includes a plurality of stages sequentially providing the sensor driving signal.

13. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 12, wherein each of the stages includes a first clock terminal to which a first clock signal is applied, a second clock terminal to which a first clock inversion signal having a phase opposite to that of the first clock signal is applied, a first input terminal to which a signal output from a previous stage is applied, a second input terminal to which a signal output from a next stage is applied, a ground voltage terminal to which a ground voltage is applied, and an output terminal connected to the sensor conductor.

14. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the integrated data driver includes a data driver applying the data voltage to the data lines, a sensor signal detector detecting the sensor driving signal transmitted from the data lines, and a switch connecting either the data driver or the sensor signal detector with the data lines.

15. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the sensor conductors and the gate lines are alternately disposed and are substantially parallel with each other.

16. The touch screen display apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least two among the sensor conductors are electrically connected to each other in sequence and the same sensor driving signal is applied to the electrically connected sensor conductors.

17. A method of driving a touch screen display apparatus having a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of sensor conductors extending in a first direction, a plurality of data lines extending in a second direction, and a sensor electrode electrically connecting the sensor conductors with the data lines when external pressure is applied to the liquid crystal panel, the method comprising:

sequentially providing a gate driving signal to the gate lines;

sequentially providing a sensor driving signal to the sensor conductors and;

is and

applying a data voltage to the data lines or sensing the sensor driving signal transmitted from the data lines.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the gate driving signal and the sensor driving voltage are alternately sequentially output.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the sensor driving signal is output prior to the gate driving signal.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein after the gate driving signal is sequentially applied to the gate lines, the sensor driving signal is sequentially applied to the sensor conductors.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the sensor driving signal is output to the sensor conductors during a blank period existing between a frame and its next frame.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein at least two among the sensor conductors are electrically connected to each other in sequence and the same sensor driving signal is applied to the electrically connected sensor conductors.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein a common voltage is provided to the sensor conductors while the sensor driving signal is not being provided to the sensor conductors.