TOUCH DEVICE AND DISPLAY DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME

• US 20160259487A1
• Filed: 10/30/2015
• Published: 09/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: HONG, Won-Ki, LEE, Jong Seo
• Granted Patent: US 10,175,826 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• 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 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 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0436 in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A touch device and a display device including the same are provided. The touch device includes: a first substrate; a second substrate facing the first substrate, and disposed to be spaced apart from the first substrate by a predetermined interval; a third substrate connecting first end portions of the first and second substrates to each other, and propagating an ultrasonic signal propagated along the first substrate to the second substrate; a plurality of first ultrasonic transducers connected to second portions facing the first end portions in the first substrate, and propagating an ultrasonic signal to the first substrate; and a plurality of second ultrasonic transducers connected to the second portions facing the first end portions in the second substrate, and receiving an ultrasonic signal propagated along the second substrate, wherein a touch point may be detected based on signal intensity variations of ultrasonic signals received by the second ultrasonic transducers.

Claims

1. A touch device comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate facing the first substrate, and disposed to be spaced apart from the first substrate;

a third substrate connecting first end portions of the first and second substrates to each other, and propagating an ultrasonic signal propagated along the first substrate to the second substrate;

a plurality of first ultrasonic transducers connected to second end portion of the first substrate, and propagating an ultrasonic signal to the first substrate; and

a plurality of second ultrasonic transducers connected to second end portion of the second substrate, and receiving an ultrasonic signal propagated along the second substrate,

wherein a touch point is detected based on signal intensity variations of ultrasonic signals received by the second ultrasonic transducers.

2. The touch device of claim 1, wherein

the first, second, and third substrates are waveguides guiding an ultrasonic signal generated by the first ultrasonic transducer, and have the same acoustic impedance.

3. The touch device of claim 2, wherein

ultrasonic signals generated by the first ultrasonic transducers are propagated along the first, third, and second substrates to be transmitted to the second ultrasonic transducers.

4. The touch device of claim 1, wherein

the first, second, and third substrates are disposed to cover a front surface, a back surface, and one lateral surface of a display panel.

5. The touch device of claim 4, wherein

a first assistant layer with different acoustic impedance from that of the first substrate is provided between the first substrate and the display panel, and

a second assistant layer with different acoustic impedance from that of the second substrate is provided between the second substrate and the display panel.

6. The touch device of claim 1, wherein

when one of the first, second, and third substrates is touched, an intensity variation of greater than or equal to a threshold value is detected at least one of the second ultrasonic transducers.

7. The touch device of claim 6, wherein

a touch coordinate of the touch point is calculated based on a position and the number of the at least one second ultrasonic transducers at which the intensity variation of greater than or equal to the threshold value is detected and a signal intensity variation in the at least one second ultrasonic transducer.

8. The touch device of claim 1, further comprising

a guide bar disposed between the first ultrasonic transducers in the second end portion of the first substrate, and propagating an ultrasonic signal generated by the first ultrasonic transducers to an overall area of the first substrate.

9. The touch device of claim 8, further comprising

at least one convex lens disposed between the guide bar and the second end portion of the first substrate, and focusing the ultrasonic signal generated by the first ultrasonic transducers in a thickness direction of the first substrate.

10. The touch device of claim 8, wherein

at least one convex portion with a convex lens shape focusing the ultrasonic signal generated by the first ultrasonic transducer in the thickness direction of the first substrate is formed at one surface of the guide bar contacting the second end portion of the first substrate.

11. The touch device of claim 1, further comprising

a fourth substrate connecting third end portions of the first substrate and the second substrate to each other, propagating the ultrasonic signal propagated along the first substrate to the second substrate;

a plurality of third ultrasonic transducers combined with fourth end portion of the first substrate, propagating an ultrasonic signal to the first substrate; and

a plurality of fourth ultrasonic transducers combined with fourth end portion of the second substrate, and receiving the ultrasonic signal propagated along the second substrate.

12. The touch device of claim 11, wherein

a first coordinate of the touch point is obtained based on a signal intensity variation of the ultrasonic signal received by the second ultrasonic transducers, and

a second coordinate of the touch point is obtained based on a signal intensity variation of the ultrasonic signal received by the fourth ultrasonic transducers.

13. The touch device of claim 12, wherein

the first coordinate is obtained from a position of the at least one second ultrasonic transducer at which the intensity variation of greater than or equal to the threshold value is detected, and

the second coordinate is obtained from a position of the at least one fourth ultrasonic transducer at which the intensity variation of greater than or equal to the threshold value is detected.

14. The touch device of claim 1, wherein

the first and second substrates are a substrate, a cover window, or a cover lens of the display panel.

15. The touch device of claim 1, wherein

the first, second, and third substrates are integrally formed, and bent to surround a front surface, a back surface and at least one side surface of a display panel.

16. A display device, comprising:

a touch device including;

a first substrate,

a second substrate facing the first substrate, and disposed to be spaced apart from the first substrate,

a third substrate connecting first end portions of the first and second substrates to each other, and propagating an ultrasonic signal propagated along the first substrate to the second substrate,

a plurality of first ultrasonic transducers connected to second end portion of the first substrate, and propagating an ultrasonic signal to the first substrate, and

a plurality of second ultrasonic transducers connected to second end portion of the second substrate, and receiving an ultrasonic signal propagated along the second substrate, wherein a touch point is detected based on signal intensity variations of ultrasonic signals received by the second ultrasonic transducers; and

a display panel,

wherein a front surface, a back surface, and one lateral surface of the display panel are covered by the first, second, and third substrates of the touch device.

17. The display device of claim 16, wherein

when the third substrate of the touch device is touched and dragged, an object being displayed on the display panel is scrolled.

18. The display device of claim 16, wherein

when the first substrate and the second substrate of the touch device are simultaneously touched and are dragged in different directions from each other, an object being displayed on the display panel is rotated.

19. The display device of claim 16, wherein

when the first substrate and the second substrate of the touch device are simultaneously touched and are dragged in a specific direction, an image being displayed on the display panel is transmitted to an external device presently connected to the display device.

20. The display device of claim 16, wherein

when the first substrate and the second substrate of the touch device are simultaneously touched and are dragged in a specific direction, an image being displayed on the display panel is captured or scanned.

21. The display device of claim 16, wherein

when the second substrate of the touch device is touched in more than a predetermined area and then dragged in a first direction, an object being displayed on the display panel is copied to a clipboard.

22. The display device of claim 21, wherein

when the second substrate of the touch device is touched more than a predetermined area and then dragged in a second direction, the object copied in the clipboard is pasted on the display panel.

23. The display device of claim 16, wherein

when the second substrate of the touch device is touched at more than a predetermined area and dragged in a zigzag direction, at least one part of information being displayed on the display panel is removed.

24. The display device of claim 16, wherein

when a plurality of points on the second substrate of the touch device are touched for more than a predetermined period of time, a ruler for measuring length is displayed between points.

25. A touch device, comprising:

a waveguide, as a medium for propagating an ultrasonic signal, disposed in a zigzag form to cover at least two surfaces connected to each other in a panel;

a first inter-digital transducer and a second inter-digital transducer respectively combined with a first end portion and a second end portion of the waveguide, and propagating the ultrasonic signal to the first end portion and the second end portion; and

a first ultrasonic receiving transducer and a second ultrasonic receiving transducer respectively combined with the first end portion and the second end portion, and receiving an ultrasonic signal propagated along the waveguide,

wherein a touch point is detected based on a time difference between a first time point at which a signal intensity variation of greater than or equal to a threshold value in an ultrasonic signal received by the first ultrasonic receiving transducer is detected and a second time point at which the signal intensity variation of greater than or equal to the threshold value in an ultrasonic signal received by the second ultrasonic receiving transducer is detected.

26. The touch device of claim 25, wherein

an ultrasonic signal generated by the first inter-digital transducer is propagated along the waveguide to be transmitted to the second ultrasonic receiving transducer, and

an ultrasonic signal generated by the second inter-digital transducer is propagated along the waveguide to be transmitted to the first ultrasonic receiving transducer.

27. The touch device of claim 25, wherein

the waveguide includes

a plurality of first sub-waveguides disposed on a first surface of the panel,

a plurality of second sub-waveguides respectively connected to the plurality of first sub-waveguides and disposed on a second surface connected to the first surface in the panel, and

a filler that is filled in an interval between the first and second sub-waveguides.

28. The touch device of claim 27, wherein

the waveguide further includes

a plurality of third sub-waveguides disposed to cover a third surface facing the first surface in the panel,

wherein the plurality of second sub-waveguides are respectively connected to the plurality of third sub-waveguides.