METHOD OF OPERATING A TOUCH PANEL, TOUCH PANEL AND DISPLAY DEVICE

• US 20130215049A1
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Ji-Gong Lee
• Inventors: LEE, Ji-Gong
• Granted Patent: US 9,563,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• 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 method of operating a touch panel including a plurality of driving lines and a plurality of sensing lines includes performing a first limited scan by activating only a first portion of the plurality of driving lines and only a first portion of the plurality of sensing lines, such that a first coarse position of a first touch by a user is detected, and performing a first local scan by activating only driving lines and sensing lines adjacent to the detected first coarse position of the first touch, such that a first fine position of the first touch by the user is detected.

Claims

1. A method of operating a touch panel including a plurality of driving lines and a plurality of sensing lines, the method comprising:

performing a first limited scan by activating only a first portion of the plurality of driving lines and only a first portion of the plurality of sensing lines, such that a first coarse position of a first touch by a user is detected; and

performing a first local scan by activating only driving lines and sensing lines adjacent to the detected first coarse position of the first touch, such that a first fine position of the first touch by the user is detected.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating M driving lines of N driving lines among the plurality of driving lines, where N is an integer greater than 1, and M is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than N; and

activating K sensing lines of L sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines, where L is an integer greater than 1, and K is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than L.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating only odd-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating only odd-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating only even-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating only even-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating only odd-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines in an odd-numbered touch frame;

activating only odd-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines in the odd-numbered touch frame;

activating only even-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines in an even-numbered touch frame; and

activating only even-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines in the even-numbered touch frame.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first local scan includes:

activating a first driving line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch and at least one second driving line adjacent to the first driving line among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating a first sensing line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch and at least one second sensing line adjacent to the first sensing line among the plurality of sensing lines.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising performing a second local scan subsequent to the first local scan by activating driving lines and sensing lines adjacent to the first fine position of the first touch, such that a changed fine position of the first touch is detected.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein performing the second local scan detects a drag operation.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising performing subsequent second limited and local scans, after a period of sensing no touch, such that a second touch at a second position spaced apart from the first position is determined.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising performing a second limited scan simultaneously with the first local scan to detect a second coarse position simultaneously with the first fine position by further activating a second portion of the driving lines and a second portion of the sensing lines.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating M driving lines of N driving lines among the plurality of driving lines, where N is an integer greater than 1, and M is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than N; and

activating K sensing lines of L sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines, where L is an integer greater than 1, and K is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than L.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein performing the simultaneous limited and local scans includes:

activating the second portion of the plurality of driving lines, a first driving line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch, and at least one second driving line adjacent to the first driving line among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating the second portion of the plurality of sensing lines, a first sensing line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch, and at least one second sensing line adjacent to the first sensing line among the plurality of sensing lines.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising performing a third limited scan simultaneously with a second local scan to detect a third coarse position simultaneously with a second fine position by further activating driving lines adjacent to the second coarse position, a third portion of the driving lines, sensing lines adjacent to the second coarse position, and a third portion of the sensing lines.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein performing the third limited scan simultaneously with the second local scan includes sensing a multi-touch of the first touch and the second touch.

15. A touch panel, comprising:

a plurality of driving lines extending in a first direction; and

a plurality of sensing lines extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction,

wherein the touch panel is configured to activate only a portion of the plurality of driving lines and only a portion of the plurality of sensing lines to perform a first limited scan detecting a coarse position of a touch by a user by, and

wherein the touch panel is configured to activate only driving and sensing lines adjacent to the coarse position of the touch to perform a first local scan detecting a fine position of the touch.

16. The touch panel as claimed in claim 15, wherein the touch panel is configured to perform a second limited scan simultaneously with the first local scan to detect a second coarse position simultaneously with the fine position by further activating a second portion of the driving lines and a second portion of the sensing lines.

17. A display device, comprising:

a display panel configured to display an image;

a display driver configured to drive the display panel;

the touch panel as claimed in claim 15; and

a touch controller configured to drive the touch panel.

18. The display device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the display driver and the touch controller are separate chips.

19. The display device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the display driver and the touch controller are in a single chip.

20. The display device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the touch controller includes a transmitting block configured to apply a driving pulse to the plurality of driving lines, and a receiving block configured to receive outputs from the plurality of sensing lines, the transmitting block of the touch controller being within the display driver.

21. The display device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the touch controller is configured to control the touch panel to perform a second limited scan simultaneously with the first local scan to detect a second coarse position simultaneously with the fine position by further activating a second portion of the driving lines and a second portion of the sensing lines.

22. A display device, comprising:

a display panel configured to display an image;

a display driver configured to drive the display panel;

a touch panel including a plurality of sensing blocks configured to operate independently of each other, the touch panel being configured to sense a touch by a user; and

a touch controller configured to drive the touch panel,

wherein the touch controller is configured to control the touch panel, such that a portion of the plurality of sensing blocks is configured to perform a limited scan that detects a coarse position of a touch in each touch frame, and

wherein the touch controller is configured to control the touch panel, such that one of the plurality of sensing blocks having sensed the touch performs a local scan that detects a fine position of the touch.

23. The display device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the touch controller is configured to sequentially activate the plurality of sensing blocks to have one of the plurality of sensing blocks perform the limited scan in each touch frame.

24. A method of operating a touch panel including a plurality of touch sensor cells arranged in a matrix form having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, the method comprising:

performing a first limited scan that detects a first coarse position of a first touch by a user by activating a portion of the plurality of touch sensor cells; and

performing a first local scan that detects a first fine position of the first touch by activating touch sensor cells adjacent to the first coarse position of the first touch among the plurality of touch sensor cells.

25. The method as claimed in claim 24, further comprising performing a second limited scan simultaneously with the first local scan, such that a second coarse position of a second touch by the user is detected simultaneously with the first fine position, by further activating a portion of the touch sensor cells with the touch sensor cells adjacent to the first coarse position of the first touch.

26. A method of operating a touch panel including a plurality of driving lines and a plurality of sensing lines, the method comprising:

receiving information about a region receiving an input of a user from an external host; and

performing a local scan that detects a position of a touch by the user by activating a portion of the plurality of driving lines and a portion of the plurality of sensing lines corresponding to the region receiving the input based on the information about the region receiving the input.

27. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the region receiving the input is a region where a user interface is displayed.

28. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the information about the region receiving the input includes driving line information that represents at least one driving line located at the region receiving the input and sensing line information that represents at least one sensing line located at the region receiving the input.