SENSOR-EQUIPPED DISPLAY DEVICE

• US 20150268795A1
• Filed: 03/18/2015
• Published: 09/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: KURASAWA, Hayato, MIZUHASHI, Hiroshi, ISHIZAKI, Koji, WATANABE, Yoshihiro, IKEDA, Masanobu
• Granted Patent: US 9,791,972 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• 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 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• 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

According to one embodiment, a sensor-equipped display device includes a display panel, first driver, and second driver. The display panel includes a common electrode, a pixel electrode, a detection electrode, a connection line and lead line. The first driver supplies a common driving signal to the common electrode during a display drive time and supplies a sensor driving signal to the common electrode during a sensing drive time. The second driver detects a sensor output value during the sensing drive time. The lead line and the common electrode are apart from each other with a certain gap at least during the sensing drive time.

Claims

1. A sensor-equipped display device comprising:

a display panel comprising a common electrode and a pixel electrode disposed within a display area to display an image, a detection electrode opposed to the common electrode, a connection line connected to the detection electrode, and a lead line provided within a non-display area outside the display area and electrically connected to the detection electrode via the connection line;

a first driver which supplies a common driving signal to the common electrode during a display drive time in which an image is displayed using the pixel electrode and supplies a sensor driving signal to the common electrode during a sensing drive time in which sensing is performed using the detection electrode; and

a second driver which is connected to the lead line and detects a sensor output value of the detection electrode output from the lead line during the sensing drive time,

wherein the lead line and the common electrode are apart from each other with a certain gap at least during the sensing drive time.

2. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 1, further comprising

a third driver,

wherein

the display panel further comprises a shield electrode disposed at an end of the display area, and

the third driver supplies the common driving signal to the shield electrode during the display drive time and maintains the shield electrode to have a potential different from a potential of the sensor driving signal during the sensing drive time.

3. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 2, wherein the third driver maintains the shield electrode at ground potential during the sensing drive time.

4. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 2, wherein the third driver switches the shield electrode to an electrically floating state during the sensing drive time.

5. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 2, wherein

the display panel further comprises a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other with a gap therebetween,

the common electrode, the pixel electrode, and the shield electrode are disposed on the first substrate at an inner surface side thereof to be opposed to the second substrate, and

the detection electrode, connection line, and lead line are disposed on the second substrate at an outer surface side thereof which is opposite to the side opposed to the first substrate.

6. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 1, wherein

the common electrode includes a first divisional electrode and a second divisional electrode arranged in a first direction with a gap therebetween and extended in a second direction which is orthogonal to the first direction, the second divisional electrode disposed closer to an end of the display area than the first divisional electrode, and

the shield electrode extends in the second direction and is provided between the second divisional electrode and a boundary between the display area and the non-display area.

7. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 6, wherein

the first divisional electrode has a first electrode width in the first direction, and

the second divisional electrode has a second electrode width in the first direction, which is less than the first electrode width.

8. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 7, wherein

the shield electrode has a third electrode width in the first direction,

the sum of the second electrode width and the third electrode width equals the first electrode width, and

the third electrode width is half the first electrode width or less.

9. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 1, wherein the lead line is provided to be apart from an edge of the common electrode with a distance of 30 μ

m or more.

10. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 9, wherein

the detection electrode consists of a plurality of detection lines, and

the detection lines, connection line, and lead line are metal.

11. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 9, wherein

the display panel further comprises other lead line, other detection electrode, and other connection line,

the lead line is provided between the edge of the common electrode and the other lead line, extends along the edge of the common electrode, and includes a tip connected to the connection line,

the other lead line is arranged within the non-display area, are extended in a direction of the extension of the lead line, and includes an expanded tip beyond the tip of the lead line,

the other connection line connects between the tip of the other lead line and the other detection electrode, and

the tip of the other lead line is provided to be apart from the edge of the common electrode with a distance of 30 μ

m or more.

12. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 11, wherein a side of the lead line to be opposed to the edge of the common electrode and a side of the tip of the other lead line to be opposed to the edge of the common electrode are disposed on the same plane.

13. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 9, wherein

the display panel further comprises a frame-like peripheral light shielding layer provided within the non-display area, the peripheral light shielding layer having an inner periphery which is on the same plane on which an outer periphery of the display area is, and

where a distance between the inner periphery of the peripheral light shielding layer and the lead line in a direction along a display surface of the display panel is given a first distance, and a distance between the peripheral light shielding layer and the lead line in a direction parallel to the normal of the display surface is given a second distance, the first distance is 0.4 times of the second distance or more.

14. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 9, wherein the display panel further comprises a first pad and a second pad provided within the non-display area, and

the detection electrode includes one end which is electrically connected to the first pad via the connection line and the lead line, and the other end which is electrically connected to the second pad.

15. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 9, wherein

the display panel further comprises a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other with a gap therebetween, and

the common electrode and the pixel electrode are disposed on the first substrate at an inner surface side opposed to the second substrate.

16. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 9, wherein

the detection electrode extends in a first direction,

the lead line extends in a second direction crossing the first direction and is provided to be apart from an edge of the common electrode with the distance in the first direction,

the common electrode includes a plurality of stripe-like divisional electrodes arranged in the first direction at intervals therebetween and extended in the second direction,

a divisional electrode at an end of the divisional electrodes includes a side edge opposed to the lead line, and

the side edge of the divisional electrode and an outer periphery of the display area are on the same plane.

17. The sensor-equipped display device of claim 9, further comprising

a polarizer disposed on the display area to reach the non-display area,

wherein

the display panel further comprises a frame-like peripheral light shielding layer provided within the non-display area, and

a color difference between light reflected by the lead line and light reflected by the peripheral light shielding layer through the polarizer is 50 or less.