TOUCH SCREEN SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME

• US 20120262411A1
• Filed: 09/21/2011
• Published: 10/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ahn, Soon-Sung, Jang, Hyoung-Wook, Ku, Ja-Seung
• Granted Patent: US 9,367,168 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• 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 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A touch screen system includes a touch screen panel including first lines, second lines crossing the first lines, a plurality of sensing cells formed at the crossing regions between the first lines and the second lines, a driving circuit for sequentially applying a driving signal to the first lines, a first sensing circuit for receiving capacitance change information sensed by the first lines, and generating a first sensing signal corresponding to the capacitance change information, a selecting unit for selectively coupling the first lines to the driving circuit or the first sensing circuit, a second sensing circuit for receiving the capacitance change information sensed by the sensing cells from the second lines and generating a second sensing signal corresponding to the capacitance change information, and a processing unit for receiving a sensing signal from the first sensing circuit and/or the second sensing circuit and determining a detected touch position.

Claims

1. A touch screen system comprising:

a touch screen panel comprising a plurality of first lines, a plurality of second lines crossing the first lines, and a plurality of sensing cells formed at crossing regions of the first lines and the second lines;

a driving circuit for sequentially applying a driving signal to the first lines;

a first sensing circuit for receiving capacitance change information sensed by the first lines, and generating a first sensing signal corresponding to the capacitance change information;

a selecting unit for selectively coupling the first lines to the driving circuit or the first sensing circuit;

a second sensing circuit for receiving the capacitance change information sensed by the sensing cells from the second lines, and generating a second sensing signal corresponding to the capacitance change information; and

a processing unit for receiving a sensing signal from the first sensing circuit and/or the second sensing circuit, and determining a detected touch position.

2. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an active stylus,

wherein the active stylus is configured to generate and emit an electric field signal at a set frequency.

3. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selecting unit comprises a plurality of selecting switches for coupling the first lines to the driving circuit or the first sensing circuit.

4. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plurality of selecting switches are configured to selectively couple the first lines to a ground power source.

5. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the plurality of selecting switches are configured to couple others of the first lines adjacent to a first line of the first lines to which the driving signal is applied, to the ground power source.

6. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plurality of selecting switches are configured to couple the first lines, other than the one or more of the first lines coupled to the driving circuit by the selecting switches, to the first sensing circuit or the ground power source.

7. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first sensing circuit and the second sensing circuit comprises:

an amplifying unit coupled to a corresponding one of the first lines or a corresponding one of the second lines;

a sample/hold circuit for sampling a signal output from the amplifying unit in a sampling period; and

an analog digital converter for converting a signal output from the sample/hold circuit into the first sensing signal or the second sensing signal, and outputting the first sensing signal or the second sensing signal to the processing unit.

8. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the amplifying unit comprises:

an amplifier having a negative (−

) input terminal coupled to the first line or the second line, a positive (+) input terminal for receiving a reference voltage, and an output terminal coupled to the sample/hold circuit;

an initializing switch coupled between the negative (−

) input terminal and the output terminal; and

a first capacitor coupled to the initializing switch in parallel.

9. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the sample/hold circuit comprises:

a sampling switch coupled between an output of the amplifying unit and the analog digital converter; and

a second capacitor coupled to an output of the sample/hold circuit.

10. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the sampling switch is configured to be turned on in a sampling section of a sampling period to sample capacitance change information of the first line or capacitance change information of a sensing cell coupled to a second line.

11. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 7, wherein a period of an electric field signal emitted by an active stylus is set as 4/3 of the sampling period.

12. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 10, wherein a phase of a signal sampled when the sampling switch is turned on is reversed every 2 sampling periods.

13. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the sampled signal corresponds to signals generated by contact made by an active stylus.

14. A method of driving a touch screen system comprising a plurality of first lines, a plurality of second lines crossing the first lines, and a plurality of sensing cells formed at crossing regions of the first lines and the second lines, the method comprising:

sequentially applying a driving signal provided by a driving circuit to the plurality of first lines;

coupling the first lines, excluding a first line to which the driving signal is applied, to a first sensing circuit or a ground power source;

outputting first capacitance change information sensed by a sensing cell among the sensing cells to a corresponding one of the second lines coupled to the sensing cell when a finger contacts the sensing cell corresponding to the first line to which the driving signal is applied, and generating a sensing signal corresponding to the first capacitance change information; and

outputting second capacitance change information sensed by another one of the first lines and another one of the second lines coupled to another one of the sensing cells when an active stylus contacts or approaches the another sensing cell corresponding to the another first line coupled to the first sensing circuit, and generating another sensing signal corresponding to the second capacitance change information.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first lines, excluding the first line coupled to the driving circuit by the selecting switch, are coupled to the first sensing circuit or the ground power source.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the active stylus generates and emits an electric field signal at a set frequency.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first sensing circuit samples the capacitance change information provided to the first line in a sampling period.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, a period of an electric field signal emitted by the active stylus is set as 4/3 of the sampling period.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein a phase of a signal sampled by the first sensing circuit is reversed every 2 sampling periods.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the sampled signal corresponds to a signal generated by contact made by an active stylus.