FLAT PANEL DISPLAY WITH BUILT-IN TOUCH SCREEN AND A METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME

• US 20110102365A1
• Filed: 09/30/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Mobile Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: PARK, Jin-Woo, Yoshimura, Hideo, Jeon, Mu-Kyung, Kim, Sang-Uk, Hwang, Hee-Chul
• Granted Patent: US 8,599,172 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means

Abstract

A flat panel display (FPD) with a photo sensor type built-in touch screen capable of performing a scan operation. The FPD with the built-in touch screen includes a plurality of unit pixels disposed in a display region of the FPD and arranged in pixel groups and photo sensors adjacent to the unit pixels of the respective pixel groups. In a scan operation mode, the plurality of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups sequentially emit light to perform a scan operation using the light emitted from the unit pixels and reflected by a scan object to be scanned to be incident on the photo sensors.

Claims

1. A flat panel display (FPD) with a built-in touch screen, comprising:

a plurality of unit pixels disposed in a display region of the FPD and arranged in pixel groups; and

photo sensors adjacent to the unit pixels of the respective pixel groups,

wherein, in a scan operation mode, the plurality of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups sequentially emit light to perform a scan operation using the light emitted from the unit pixels and reflected by a scan object to be scanned to be incident on the photo sensors.

2. The FPD as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pixel group comprises:

four unit pixels disposed in two rows and two columns; and

one photo sensor provided in the center of the four unit pixels.

3. The FPD as claimed in claim 2, wherein the four unit pixels sequentially emit light in a sequential order of a matrix in a scan operation mode.

4. The FPD as claimed in claim 1, wherein the unit pixels include a plurality of sub-pixels that emit light of different colors.

5. The FPD as claimed in claim 4, wherein the plurality of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups sequentially emit light during the scan mode operation and the plurality of sub-pixels in the unit pixels sequentially emit light one at a time.

6. The FPD as claimed in claim 1, wherein the unit pixels and the photo sensors are formed on the same substrate.

10. The FPD as claimed in claim 4, wherein the more than one of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups simultaneously emit light during the scan mode operation.

7. A method of driving a FPD with a built-in touch screen including a plurality of unit pixels disposed in a display region of the FPD and arranged in pixel groups and photo sensors adjacent to the unit pixels of the respective pixel groups each including a plurality of unit pixels, the method comprising:

selecting a scan mode;

sequentially emitting light from selected ones of the plurality of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups in response to the scan mode; and

scanning an object using light emitted from the selected ones of the plurality of unit pixels and reflected by the scanned object to be incident on the photo sensors.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the scan operation is performed while the plurality of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups sequentially emit light in a sequential order of a matrix.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein a plurality of sub-pixels constituting the unit pixels sequentially emit light in the plurality of unit pixels sequentially emitting light.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the more than one of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups simultaneously emit light during the scan mode operation.

12. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel including a built-in touch screen, a top substrate, a bottom substrate, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the top substrate and the bottom substrate and a backlight to illuminate the liquid crystal layer, the LCD panel comprising:

color filters interposed between the top substrate and the liquid crystal layer;

light receiving units interposed between the top substrate and the liquid crystal layer and adjacent to the color filters;

unit pixels interposed between the liquid crystal layer and the bottom substrate and arranged in pixel groups;

black matrices interposed between the liquid crystal layer and the bottom substrate and adjacent to the unit pixels; and

photo sensors respectively disposed on a surface of the black matrices facing the liquid crystal layer;

wherein the photo sensors are disposed below and aligned with the light receiving units in order to sense light.

13. The LCD panel as claimed in claim 12, wherein the pixel group comprises:

four unit pixels disposed in two rows and two columns; and

one of the black matrices having one of the photo sensors provided in the center of the four unit pixels.

14. The LCD panel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the four unit pixels emit light in a sequential order of a matrix in a scan operation mode.

15. The LCD panel as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the unit pixels includes a plurality of sub-pixels that emit light of different colors.

16. The LCD panel as claimed in claim 15, wherein the different colors are red, green and blue, and each of the unit pixels comprises three sub-pixels each emitting light of one of the different colors red, green and blue.

17. The LCD panel as claimed in claim 14, wherein the plurality of unit pixels in each of the pixel groups sequentially emit light during the scan mode operation and the plurality of sub-pixels in the unit pixels sequentially emit light one at a time.

18. The LCD panel as claimed in claim 15, wherein the unit pixels and the photo sensors are formed on the bottom substrate.

19. The LCD panel as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the color filters comprise R, G, and B color filters respectively corresponding to the colors red, green and blue.

20. A method of performing a scan operation on a scan object using an liquid crystal display (LCD) panel with a built-in touch screen including a plurality of unit pixels disposed in a display region of the LCD panel and arranged in pixel groups and photo sensors adjacent to the unit pixels of the respective pixel groups each including a plurality of unit pixels, the method comprising:

initiating a scan operation to scan a scan object disposed on the LCD panel;

sequentially emitting light from selected unit pixels from among the plurality of unit pixels during a plurality of scan periods of the scan operation;

sensing light emitted from the plurality of unit pixels and reflected from the scan object to be incident on the photo sensors; and

scanning the scan object using the sensed light.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the initiating of a scan operation comprises selecting a first scan operation or a second scan operation.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein, upon selecting the first scan operation, the sequentially emitting light from the selected unit pixels comprises sequentially emitting light from each one of four unit pixels of a pixel group, one at a time.

23. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein, upon selecting the second scan operation, the sequentially emitting light from the selected unit pixels comprises sequentially emitting light from more than one of four unit pixels of a pixel group at a time.

24. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein a plurality of sub-pixels constituting the unit pixels sequentially emit light in the unit pixels sequentially emitting light.

25. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein a plurality of sub-pixels constituting the unit pixels sequentially emit light in the unit pixels sequentially emitting light.