BEND SENSOR, BEND SENSING METHOD AND BEND SENSING SYSTEM FOR FLEXIBLE DISPLAY PANEL

• US 20150169091A1
• Filed: 04/17/2014
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HannStar Display Corporation
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: HO, Chang-An, WU, Chih-Hung, PENG, Yi-Cheng
• Granted Patent: US 9,557,862 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer

Abstract

A bend sensor for a flexible display panel is provided. The bend sensor includes plural detecting electrodes and a controlling circuit. The plural detecting electrodes are disposed on a touch panel. The touch panel is attached on the flexible display panel. The plural detecting electrodes generate plural detecting signals according to a change of an electric field or a magnetic field. The controlling circuit receives the plural detecting signals and judges a bending status of the flexible display panel according to the plural detecting signals.

Claims

1. A bend sensor for a flexible display panel, the bend sensor comprising:

plural detecting electrodes disposed on a touch panel, wherein the touch panel is attached on the flexible display panel, wherein the plural detecting electrodes generate plural detecting signals according to a change of an electric field or a magnetic field; and

a controlling circuit for receiving the plural detecting signals and judging a bending status of the flexible display panel according to the plural detecting signals.

2. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plural detecting electrodes are made of indium tin oxide, copper foil, nano silver wire or semiconductor material.

3. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 1, wherein after the plural detecting signals are received by the controlling circuit, the controlling circuit judges that a touch event or a bending event is generated by the touch panel.

4. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 3, wherein if the controlling circuit judges that the touch event is generated, a touch point is determined by the controlling circuit according to the plural detecting signals.

5. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 3, wherein if the controlling circuit judges that the bending event is generated, the controlling circuit increases a count value of a bend counter by 1.

6. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 3, wherein a bending direction or a bending angle of the flexible display panel is determined by the controlling circuit according to the plural detecting signal.

7. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plural detecting signals are correlated with the bending direction or the bending angle by the controlling circuit according to a correlative relationship.

8. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 7, wherein the correlative relationship is obtained by a look-up table.

9. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 7, wherein the correlative relationship is obtained by a systematic close-loop circuit.

10. The bend sensor as claimed in claim 9, wherein the systematic close-loop circuit comprises:

a reference model for receiving the plural detecting signals, thereby generating a reference mode output signal;

a controlling unit for receiving the plural detecting signals, thereby generating a controlling unit output signal;

a convolution unit for receiving the reference mode output signal and the controlling unit output signal, thereby generating a determination signal and a feedback signal; and

a parameter tuning device for adjusting plural control parameters of the controlling unit according to the feedback signal, and updating the controlling unit output signal,

wherein the determination signal denotes the bending direction or the bending angle.

11. A bend sensing method for a flexible display panel, the flexible display panel comprising plural detecting electrodes, the plural detecting electrodes generating plural detecting signals according to a change of an electric field or a magnetic field, the bend sensing method comprising steps of:

(a) generating a status change event according to plural detecting signals;

(b) judging whether a bending event is generated according to a relationship between the plural detecting signals; and

(c) performing a corresponding control action.

12. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step (a) comprises sub-steps of:

(a1) normalizing the plural detecting signals;

(a2) judging whether the status change event needs to be generated; and

(a3) if the status change event does not needs to be generated, repeatedly performing the step (a2), and if the status change event needs to be generated, generating the status change event.

13. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step (c) comprises sub-steps of:

(c1) if the bending event is generated, triggering the bending event; and

(c2) if a touch event is generated, triggering the touch event.

14. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 11, wherein if the bending event is generated, the bend sensing method further comprises a step of increasing a count value of a bend counter by 1.

15. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 14, wherein a display parameter or a sensing parameter of the flexible display panel is updated according to the count value of the bend counter.

16. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the touch event is triggered, a touch point is determined according to the plural detecting signals.

17. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the bending event is triggered, a bending direction or a bending angle of the flexible display panel is determined according to the plural detecting signal.

18. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a step of correlating the plural detecting signals with the bending direction or the bending angle according to a correlative relationship.

19. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the correlative relationship is obtained by a look-up table.

20. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the correlative relationship is obtained by a systematic close-loop circuit.

21. The bend sensing method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the systematic close-loop circuit comprises:

a reference model for receiving the plural detecting signals, thereby generating a reference mode output signal;

a controlling unit for receiving the plural detecting signals, thereby generating a controlling unit output signal;

a convolution unit for receiving the reference mode output signal and the controlling unit output signal, thereby generating a determination signal and a feedback signal; and

a parameter tuning device for adjusting plural control parameters of the controlling unit according to the feedback signal, and updating the controlling unit output signal,

wherein the determination signal denotes the bending direction or the bending angle.

22. A bend sensing system for a flexible display panel, the bend sensing system comprising:

a touch panel attached on the flexible display panel, wherein plural detecting electrodes are disposed on the touch panel, wherein the plural detecting electrodes generate plural detecting signals according to a change of an electric field or a magnetic field; and

a controlling circuit for receiving the plural detecting signals and generating a status change event according to plural detecting signals,

wherein after the status change event is generated, the controlling circuit judges whether a bending event is generated according to a relationship between the plural detecting signals.

23. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the controlling circuit comprises a memory module, a control processing module, a signal processing module, and a judging module.

24. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 23, wherein a correlative relationship is stored in the memory module, wherein the plural detecting signals are correlated with a touch event or the bending event by the judging module according to the correlative relationship.

25. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 24, wherein the control processing module generates the status change event according to the plural detecting signals and normalizing the plural detecting signals.

26. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 25, wherein if the controlling circuit judges that the bending event is generated, the controlling circuit triggers the bending event, wherein if the controlling circuit judges that the touch event is generated, the controlling circuit triggers the touch event.

27. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 26, wherein after the bending event or the touch event is triggered, the plural detecting signals are updated as reference signals by the controlling circuit.

28. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 27, wherein the controlling circuit further compares the reference signals with newly-received detecting signals, wherein if the reference signals are not identical to the newly-received detecting signals, the controlling circuit generates the status change event.

29. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 24, wherein if the controlling circuit judges that the touch event is generated, a touch point is determined by the controlling circuit according to the plural detecting signals.

30. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 24, wherein if the controlling circuit judges that the bending event is generated, the controlling circuit increases a count value of a bend counter by 1.

31. The bend sensing system as claimed in claim 24, wherein a bending direction or a bending angle of the flexible display panel is determined by the controlling circuit according to the plural detecting signal.