TOUCH-SCREEN INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICE TOUCH SENSING TECHNIQUES

• US 20130176251A1
• Filed: 12/31/2012
• Published: 07/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Wyatt, David, Toorians, Arman
• Granted Patent: US 9,342,181 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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: G09G 5/18 Timing circuits for raster scan displays specially adapted for television H04N ; synchronisation between the display unit and other display units, videodisc player G09G5/12

Abstract

A touch-screen input/output device including a touch sensor, a display, a display control module, a touch sensor control module and a synchronizer module. The touch sensor is overlaid on a display. The display control module is communicatively coupled to the display and converts video data into a serial bit stream video display signal include one or more blanking intervals. The touch sensor control module is communicatively coupled to the touch sensor and determines touch events and location of the touch event on the touch sensor during one or more touch sensor scan cycles. The synchronizer module is communicatively coupled between the display control module and the touch sensor control module, and interleaves the one or more touch sensor scan cycles with the one or more blanking intervals of the video display signal.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a touch sensor overlaid on a display;

a display control module communicatively coupled to the display to convert video data into a serial bit stream video display signal include one or more blanking intervals

a touch sensor control module communicatively coupled to the touch sensor to determine touch events and location of the touch event on the touch sensor during one or more touch sensor scan cycles; and

a synchronizer module communicatively coupled between the display control module and the touch sensor control module to interleave the one or more touch sensor scan cycles with the one or more blanking intervals of the video display signal.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module provides a control signal to the touch sensor module indicating the occurrence of the one or more blanking intervals.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module shared a common clock between the touch sensor control module and the display control module.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module interleaves the one or more touch sensor scan cycles during vertical blanking intervals of the video display signal.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module interleaves portions of the one or more touch sensor scan cycles during corresponding horizontal blanking intervals of the video display signal.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module interleaves portions of one sensor scan cycle during corresponding horizontal blanking intervals of the video display signal and interleaves another sensor scan cycle during a vertical blanking interval of the video display signal.

7. A method comprising:

scanning out frames of pixel data to a display during trace intervals; and

scanning a touch sensor array during vertical blanking intervals between the frames of pixel data.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the vertical blanking interval is extended to enable scanning the touch sensor array between trace intervals.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein scanning the touch sensor array during vertical blanking intervals is synchronized by as blanking control signal indicating the occurrence of the vertical blanking interval.

10. A method comprising:

scanning out lines of a frame of pixel data; and

scanning each of a plurality of portions of a touch sensor array during a corresponding horizontal blanking interval between lines of the frame of pixel data.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the horizontal blanking interval is extended to enable scanning the touch sensor array between line trace intervals.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein scanning the plurality of portions of the touch sensor array during corresponding horizontal blanking intervals is synchronized by a blanking control signal indicating the occurrence of the horizontal blanking interval.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein scanning the plurality of portions of the touch sensor array during corresponding horizontal blanking intervals is synchronized by a scan control signal indicating which of the plurality of portions of the touch sensor array to scan.

14. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

scanning out another frame of pixel data; and

scanning the touch sensor array again during the vertical blanking interval between the frame of pixel data and the other frame of pixel data.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the vertical blanking interval is extended to enable scanning the touch sensor array between frame trace intervals.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein scanning the plurality of portions of the touch sensor array during corresponding vertical blanking intervals is synchronized by a second blanking control signal indicating the occurrence of the vertical blanking interval.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein scanning the touch sensor array again the vertical blanking interval between the frame of pixel data and the other frame of pixel data is synchronized by a second scan control signal indicating a full scan of the touch sensor array.