DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20100013790A1
• Filed: 07/09/2009
• Published: 01/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ahn, Soon-Sung, Choi, In-Ho, Park, Yong-Sung
• Granted Patent: US 8,760,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a display apparatus including: a first substrate; an optical layer on the first substrate, the optical layer comprising a plurality of pixels for displaying an image and an array of optical sensors for detecting a contact location on the display apparatus; and a contact detector detecting whether or not the display apparatus is touched.

Claims

1. A display apparatus comprising:

a first substrate;

an optical layer on the first substrate, the optical layer comprising a plurality of pixels for displaying an image and an array of optical sensors for detecting a contact location on the display apparatus; and

a contact detector detecting whether or not the display apparatus is touched.

2. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the contact detector comprises a variable capacitor for detecting whether or not the display apparatus is touched through capacitance measurement.

3. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the variable capacitor comprises a contact detecting layer on the optical layer and a cathode electrode of the pixels.

4. The display apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a second substrate between the contact detecting layer and the optical layer.

5. The display apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a dielectric layer on the contact detecting layer.

6. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the variable capacitor comprises:

a first contact detecting layer; and

a second contact detecting layer spaced from and parallel to the first contact detecting layer.

7. The display apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a dielectric layer between the first and second contact detecting layers.

8. The display apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a second substrate between the first and second contact detecting layers.

9. The display apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a dielectric layer between the first and second contact detecting layers.

10. The display apparatus of claim 9, wherein the dielectric layer comprises a material having a dielectric constant or a gap that changes according to pressure applied to the dielectric layer.

11. The display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a second substrate between the dielectric layer and the second contact detecting layer.

12. The display apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a second substrate between the second contact detecting layer and the optical layer.

13. The display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second substrate on the optical layer, and

wherein the contact detector comprises a touch film on the second substrate for transforming pressure applied at the contact location into an electrical signal.

14. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the touch film comprises a transparent conductive film, or a transparent film coated with a conductive material.

15. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the touch film comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate resin, poly ether sulfone, poly carbon, poly arylate, indium tin oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, CdSnO4, and combinations thereof.

16. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the touch film is configured to transform the applied pressure into the electric signal utilizing at least one of a pressure-sensitive method, a resistance layer method or a capacitance method.

17. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the contact detector comprises a pressure-sensitive sensor under the first substrate configured to change resistance in response to pressure applied.

18. A display apparatus comprising:

a display panel comprising;

a plurality of pixels displaying an image;

a plurality of optical sensors for detecting a contact location of an object on the display panel; and

a contact detecting layer for detecting whether or not the display panel is touched; and

a contact location determining unit for determining the contact location on the display panel in accordance with a signal output by the optical sensors.

19. The display apparatus of claim 18, wherein the contact detecting layer is embedded within the display panel.

20. The display apparatus of claim 18, wherein the contact detecting layer is on a surface of the display panel.

21. The display apparatus of claim 18, wherein the contact location determining unit comprises a contact measuring unit receiving contact information from the contact detecting layer and measuring a degree of change in the contact information.

22. The display apparatus of claim 21, wherein the contact information comprises at least one of capacitance, a dielectric constant, a gap, and a resistance value.

23. The display apparatus of claim 21, wherein the contact location determining unit further comprises a contact determining unit for determining whether or not the display panel is contacted in accordance with the degree of change in the contact information output by the contact measuring unit.

24. The display apparatus of claim 23, wherein the contact determining unit is configured to determine whether or not the display panel is contacted by comparing the degree of change in the contact information with a reference value.

25. The display apparatus of claim 23, wherein the contact location determining unit further comprises a signal generating unit for generating a first signal or a second signal, where the first signal instructs that the optical sensors be driven and information be read from the optical sensors when the contact is detected and the second signal instructs that the driving of the optical sensors and the reading of the information from the optical sensors be discontinued when the contact is not detected.

26. The display apparatus of claim 25, further comprising a sensor array driving unit for driving the optical sensors when the first signal is received from the signal generating unit.

27. The display apparatus of claim 25, further comprising a sensor information reading unit for receiving sensed signals from the optical sensors and for providing the sensed signals to the contact location determining unit.

28. The display apparatus of claim 27, wherein the contact location determining unit further comprises a coordinate calculating unit for determining the contact location in accordance with the sensed signals received from the sensor information reading unit.

29. A method of determining a contact location on a display apparatus that comprises a display panel comprising a plurality of pixels, an array of optical sensors and a contact detecting layer, a sensor array driving unit, a sensor information reading unit, and a contact location determining unit, the method comprising:

detecting contact information of an object on the display panel utilizing the contact detecting layer;

if there is no contact, deactivating the sensor array driving unit and the sensor information reading unit; and

if there is a contact, activating the sensor array driving unit and the sensor information reading unit to read sensed signals from the optical sensors.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising obtaining an image of the object contacting the display panel according to scan signals received from the sensor array driving unit.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising calculating coordinates of a location of the contact by analyzing the image.

32. A display apparatus comprising:

an image display unit comprising a display region;

a contact detection unit for determining whether or not the display apparatus is touched; and

a contact location identifying unit for determining a location on the display region that is touched.