TOUCH SCREEN SYSTEM

• US 20120182254A1
• Filed: 07/19/2011
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Jang, Hyoung-Wook, Ku, Ja-Seung, Ahn, Soon-Sung, Lee, Choon-Hyop, Kim, Jung Yun
• Granted Patent: US 8,477,120 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0441 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for receiving changes in electrical potential transmitted by the digitiser, e.g. tablet driving signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• 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

Abstract

A touch screen system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a touch screen panel including a plurality of driving electrodes coupled to a plurality of driving lines that extend in a first direction and a plurality of sensing electrodes coupled to a plurality of sensing lines that extend in a second direction crossing the first direction, the driving electrodes and the sensing electrodes being alternately arranged so as not to overlap with each other; and an active stylus separated from the touch screen panel, the active stylus configured to output an electric field in synchronization with driving signals that are applied to the driving lines coupled to the driving electrodes that are adjacent to the active stylus, wherein the driving electrodes and the sensing electrodes have different areas.

Claims

1. A touch screen system comprising:

a touch screen panel comprising a plurality of driving electrodes coupled to a plurality of driving lines extending in a first direction and a plurality of sensing electrodes coupled to a plurality of sensing lines extending in a second direction crossing the first direction, the driving electrodes and the sensing electrodes being alternately arranged so as not to overlap with each other; and

an active stylus separated from the touch screen panel, the active stylus being configured to output an electric field in synchronization with driving signals that are applied to the driving lines coupled to the driving electrodes that are adjacent to the active stylus,

wherein the driving electrodes and the sensing electrodes have different areas.

2. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein one of the driving electrodes has a polygon shape having a width in the first direction longer than a width in the second direction.

3. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein a length in the second direction of one of the driving electrodes is shorter than a length in the second direction of one of the sensing electrodes.

4. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein the sensing electrodes have a shape including a body extending in the second direction and a plurality of protrusions protruded in the first direction from the left and right of the body.

5. The touch screen system according to claim 4, wherein the protrusions comprise first protrusions protruded from the left of the sensing electrode body and second protrusions protruded from the right of the sensing electrode body, and the first protrusions and the second protrusions are arranged to be offset in the second direction.

6. The touch screen system according to claim 5, wherein the first protrusions of one of the sensing electrodes and the second protrusion of an adjacent one of the sensing electrodes are arranged to be offset in the second direction.

7. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein one of the driving electrodes has a shape including a body extending in the first direction and at least one protrusion that protrudes in the second direction from upper or lower portions of the body.

8. The touch screen system according to claim 7, wherein the body of the driving electrode has a polygon shape having a length in the first direction longer than a length in the second direction.

9. The touch screen system according to claim 7, wherein the at least one protrusion protruded from the body of the driving electrode is between adjacent ones of the sensing electrodes.

10. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of driving electrodes are coupled to each other along the first direction, and the plurality of sensing electrodes are coupled to each other along the second direction.

11. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of driving electrodes and sensing electrodes are at the same layer and comprise a transparent conductive material.

12. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein the driving electrodes and the sensing electrodes comprise a combination of a plurality of fine patterns.

13. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein adjacent ones of the driving electrodes and the sensing electrodes configure independent sensing cells.

14. The touch screen system according to claim 13, further comprising:

a driving circuit for sequentially applying driving signals to the driving lines;

a sensing circuit coupled to the sensing lines, the sensing circuit being configured to receive sensing signals generated by detecting a change in capacitance sensed from each of the sensing cells; and

a processor for receiving the sensing signals from the sensing circuit to determine touched positions.

15. The touch screen system according to claim 1, wherein the active stylus comprises:

an electric field sensing sensor for sensing a first electric field generated by the driving signals applied to one of the driving lines that is touched or approached by the active stylus;

a signal generator for generating a signal in order to generate a second electric field corresponding to the sensed first electric field;

an electric field emitter for amplifying the signal generated from the signal generator and outputting the amplified signals as the second electric field; and

a power supply for applying power to the electric field sensing sensor, the signal generator, and the electric field emitter.

16. The touch screen system according to claim 15, wherein the signal generated from the signal generator is an AC voltage having a same phase as the driving signals.

17. The touch screen system according to claim 15, wherein the electric emitter comprises a non-inverting amplifier that maintains a phase of the signal generated from the signal generator and amplifies the amplitude of the signal generated from the signal generator.