Capacitive Force Sensing Touch Panel

• US 20170045992A1
• Filed: 08/10/2016
• Published: 02/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Raydium Semiconductor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Raydium Semiconductor Corporation
• Inventors: Lee, Kun-Pei, Lin, Yi-Ying, Shieh, Hsin-Wei, Chiang, Chang-Ching, Hsu, Yu-Chin
• Application Number:
  US15/233,077
• Publication Number:
  US 20170045992A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells

Abstract

A capacitive force sensing touch panel is disclosed. The capacitive force sensing touch panel includes a plurality of pixels. A laminated structure of each pixel includes a first plane, a second plane, at least a first electrode and at least a second electrode. The second plane is disposed above the first plane and parallel to the first plane. The at least one first electrode is disposed on the first plane. The at least one second electrode is disposed on the second plane. The at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode are selectively driven as touch sensing electrodes or force sensing electrodes respectively.

Claims

1. A capacitive force sensing touch panel, comprising:

a plurality of pixels, and a laminated structure of each pixel comprising;

a first plane;

a second plane disposed above the first plane and parallel to the first plane;

at least a first electrode disposed on the first plane; and

at least a second electrode disposed on the second plane;

wherein the at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode are selectively driven as a touch sensing electrode or a force sensing electrode respectively.

2. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein only the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane or the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane is driven as the touch sensing electrode to form a self-capacitive structure.

3. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane and the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane are both driven as the touch sensing electrodes to form a mutual-capacitive structure.

4. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein only the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane or the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane is driven as the force sensing electrode.

5. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane and the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane are both driven as the force sensing electrodes.

6. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the first plane and the second plane are two different planes of the same substrate or planes of two different substrates respectively.

7. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane is driven as the force sensing electrode and the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane is driven as the touch sensing electrode, so that the touch sensing electrode is disposed above the force sensing electrode.

8. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein when the capacitive force sensing touch panel is pressed by a force, a distance between the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane and the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane is changed to sense a capacitance variation between the at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode.

9. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane is driven as a touch sensing electrode by a touch signal, but the at least one second electrode corresponding to a force sensing position receives a ground level or a floating level to be a shielding electrode of a part of the at least one first electrode;

when the capacitive force sensing touch panel is pressed by a force, a distance between the at least one second electrode corresponding to a force sensing position and the part of the at least one first electrode is changed to sense a capacitance variation between the at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode.

10. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 9, wherein touch sensing and force sensing are performed at the same time, but the force sensing position loses a touch sensing function.

11. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane is driven as a touch sensing electrode by a touch signal, but the a part of the at least one first electrode corresponding to a force sensing position receives a ground level, a floating level or a reference voltage and the at least one second electrode corresponding to the force sensing position receives the touch signal;

when the capacitive force sensing touch panel is pressed by a force, a distance between the at least one second electrode corresponding to the force sensing position and the part of the at least one first electrode is changed to sense a capacitance variation between the at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode.

12. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 11, wherein touch sensing and force sensing are performed at the same time, and the force sensing position still has a touch sensing function.

13. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane corresponds to a force sensing position and receives a ground level, a floating level or a reference voltage, the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane is driven as a touch sensing electrode by a touch signal;

when the capacitive force sensing touch panel is pressed by a force, a distance between the at least one first electrode corresponding to the force sensing position and the at least one second electrode is changed to sense a capacitance variation between the at least one first electrode and the at least one second electrode.

14. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 13, wherein touch sensing and force sensing are performed at the same time, and the force sensing position still has a touch sensing function.

15. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein touch sensing and force sensing are performed in a time-sharing way, during a touch sensing period, the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane corresponds to a force sensing position and receives a ground level, a floating level, a reference voltage or a touch signal, the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane corresponds to the force sensing position and the at least one second electrode is driven as a touch sensing electrode by a touch signal;

during a force sensing period, the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane corresponds to the force sensing position and receives the reference voltage or a force sensing signal, the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane corresponds to the force sensing position receives the ground level.

16. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the capacitive force sensing touch panel has an out-cell touch panel structure, the laminated structure further comprises a liquid crystal module and a cover lens, and the first plane and the second plane are disposed between the liquid crystal module and the cover lens.

17. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 16, wherein the laminated structure further comprises a first substrate and a second substrate, the first substrate is disposed on an upper surface of the liquid crystal module and the second substrate is disposed on a lower surface of the cover lens, the first plane and the second plane are located at an upper surface of the first substrate and a lower surface of the second substrate respectively.

18. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 16, wherein the laminated structure further comprises a first substrate disposed on an upper surface of the liquid crystal module, and the first plane and the second plane are located at an upper surface of the first substrate and a lower surface of the cover lens respectively.

19. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 16, wherein the laminated structure further comprises a first substrate disposed between the liquid crystal module and the cover lens, and the first plane and the second plane are located at a lower surface and an upper surface of the first substrate respectively.

20. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the capacitive force sensing touch panel has an on-cell touch panel structure, the laminated structure further comprises a liquid crystal module and a cover lens, and the first plane and the second plane are disposed between the liquid crystal module and the cover lens.

21. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 20, wherein the laminated structure further comprises a first substrate disposed on a lower surface of the cover lens, and the first plane and the second plane are located at an upper surface of the liquid crystal module and a lower surface of the first substrate respectively.

22. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 20, wherein the first plane and the second plane are located at an upper surface of the liquid crystal module and a lower surface of the cover lens respectively.

23. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the capacitive force sensing touch panel has an in-cell touch panel structure, the laminated structure further comprises a first transparent layer and a second transparent layer, and the second transparent layer is disposed above the first transparent layer.

24. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 23, wherein the first plane and the second plane are located at an upper surface of the first transparent layer and a lower surface of the second transparent layer respectively.

25. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 23, wherein the first plane and the second plane are located at an upper surface of the first transparent layer and an upper surface of the second transparent layer respectively.

26. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 23, wherein the first plane and the second plane are located at an upper surface and a lower surface of the second transparent layer respectively.

27. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 23, wherein the laminated structure further comprises a polarizer disposed on an upper surface of the second transparent layer, and the first plane and the second plane are located at a lower surface of the second transparent layer and an upper surface of the polarizer respectively.

28. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 23, wherein the laminated structure further comprises a polarizer and a cover lens, the polarizer is disposed on an upper surface of the second transparent layer and the cover lens is disposed above the polarizer, and the first plane and the second plane are located at a lower surface of the second transparent layer and a lower surface of the cover lens respectively.

29. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein a touch and force sensing mode of the capacitive force sensing touch panel and a display mode of the capacitive force sensing touch panel are driven in a time-sharing way, and the capacitive force sensing touch panel is operated in the touch and force sensing mode during a blanking interval of a display period and operated in the display mode during a display interval of the display period.

30. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 29, wherein the blanking interval comprises at least one of a vertical blanking interval (VBI), a horizontal blanking interval (HBI), and a long horizontal blanking interval (LHBI);

a time length of the LHBI is equal to or larger than a time length of the HBI;

the LHBI is obtained by redistributing a plurality of HBIs or the LHBI comprises the VBI.

31. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein a force sensing mode of the capacitive force sensing touch panel and a display mode of the capacitive force sensing touch panel are driven in a time-sharing way, and the capacitive force sensing touch panel is operated in the force sensing mode during a blanking interval of a display period and operated in the display mode and a touch sensing mode at the same time during a display interval of the display period.

32. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein when the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are driven as the touch sensing electrode, the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer comprise at least one driving electrode and at least one sensing electrode respectively to receive a driving signal and a sensing signal respectively.

33. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein when the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are driven as the force sensing electrode, the first conductive layer comprises at least one driving electrode and receives a force sensing signal, a driving signal or a reference voltage, and the second conductive layer comprises at least one sensing electrode and receives a ground level or a floating level.

34. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein when the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are driven as the touch sensing electrode, the first conductive layer comprises at least one driving electrode and receives a driving signal, and the second conductive layer comprises at least one sensing electrode and at least one dummy electrode interlaced to receive a sensing signal and a floating level respectively.

35. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein when the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are driven as the force sensing electrode, the first conductive layer comprises at least one driving electrode and receives a force sensing signal, a driving signal or a reference voltage, and the second conductive layer comprises at least one sensing electrode and at least one dummy electrode interlaced to receive a ground level or a floating level at the same time.

36. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane comprises a first direction first electrode and a second direction first electrode to form a self-capacitive structure or a mutual-capacitive structure;

the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane comprises a first direction second electrode and a second direction second electrode to form a mutual-capacitive structure.

37. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 36, wherein a pitch between the at least one first electrode disposed on the first plane is larger than or equal to a pitch between the at least one second electrode disposed on the second plane.

38. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 36, wherein when the capacitive force sensing touch panel is operated in a touch sensing mode, the first direction second electrode and the second direction second electrode receive a touch driving signal and a touch sensing signal respectively to perform mutual-capacitive sensing, and the first direction first electrode and the second direction first electrode receive a floating level, a ground level or a fixed level.

39. The capacitive force sensing touch panel of claim 36, wherein when the capacitive force sensing touch panel is operated in a force sensing mode, the first direction second electrode and the second direction second electrode receive a fixed reference voltage or a ground level to be a shielding electrode, and the first direction first electrode and the second direction first electrode receive the same force sensing voltage to sense a self-capacitance variation, or the first direction first electrode and the second direction first electrode receive different force sensing voltages respectively to sense a mutual-capacitance variation.