Touch screen apparatus

• US 8,427,435 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2008
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Seiki, Lee, Byoung-Jun, Lee, Jun-Pyo
• Primary Examiner(s): Moorad, Waseem
• Application Number:
  US12/266,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20090135158A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,628 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• 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

There is provided a touch screen apparatus capable of detecting the presence a touch action and a position in a touch region depending on a change in electrical energy of one node of a touch sensor. A touch screen apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of pixels for displaying images and a plurality of touch sensors. Each of the plurality of touch sensors includes a first node being provided an electrical energy; a sensor capacitor for changing the electric potential energy of the first node depending on presence a touch action; a first switch for providing a sensing signal to the touch line controlled by the electrical energy of the first node; and a second switch for providing the electrical energy to the first node.

Claims

1. A touch screen apparatus, comprising:

a touch line; and

a plurality of touch sensors coupled to the touch line,

wherein each of the plurality of touch sensors comprises;

a first node;

a sensor capacitor operatively coupled to the first node for changing an electrical state of the first node depending on a respective touch action;

a reference capacitor operatively coupled to the first node;

a first switch having at least two respective terminals, the first switch being interposed between and coupled by way of two of the respective terminals thereof respectively to the first node and to the touch line such that when the first switch is activated, it provides a sensing signal from the first node to the touch line; and

a second switch having at least two respective terminals, the second switch being interposed between and coupled by way of two of the respective terminals thereof to the first node and to a reference voltage providing node such that when the second switch is activated, it supplies a reference voltage to the sensor capacitor and it simultaneously discharges or charges the reference capacitor.

2. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a touch sensing unit coupled to the touch line and configured for outputting a sensing voltage according to a respective sensing signal coupled to the touch line by a respective one of the plurality of touch sensors.

3. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a plurality of display elements each having at least one of the touch sensors and further having at least one pixel configured for displaying an image, the plurality of display elements being arranged in a matrix;

a plurality of touch lines, including said first recited touch line, each of the plurality of touch lines extending in a first direction and being connected to respective ones of the touch sensors in the display elements that are correspondingly arranged in the first direction and adjacent to the respective touch line; and

a plurality of sensing readers in the touch sensing unit that are each connected to one of the plurality of touch lines.

4. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of sensing readers comprises:

an integration circuit configured for outputting an output voltage, wherein the voltage level of the output voltage depends on an amount of charge provided by a respective sensing signal conveyed by the corresponding touch line;

an amplifier for amplifying the output voltage of the integration circuit; and

an analog-to-digital converter configured for converting the amplified output voltage into a digital signal.

5. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pixel having a liquid crystal capacitor in which a pixel electrode is used as a first electrode and a common electrode is used as a second electrode of the liquid crystal capacitor,

wherein a first electrode of the sensor capacitor is formed on the same plane as the pixel electrode to be connected to the first node, and the common electrode is used as a second electrode of the sensor capacitor.

6. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a reference voltage supply line coupled so as to be supplied with a reference voltage and coupled to the reference capacitor.

7. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of gate lines each connected to one of the plurality of touch sensors, the plurality of gate lines being coupled for sequentially receiving a gate turn-on voltage,

wherein the first switch is controlled by a first gate line, the second switch is controlled by a second gate line that receives the gate turn-on voltage after the first gate line, and the first switch is connected to the first node and the touch line.

8. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein a first thin film transistor (TFT) is used as the first switch, a gate terminal of the first TFT is connected to the first gate line, a source terminal of the first TFT is connected to the first node, and a drain terminal of the first TFT is connected to the touch line, and

wherein a second TFT is used as the second switch, a gate terminal of the second TFT is connected to the second gate line, a source terminal of the second TFT is connected to a reference voltage supply line supplied with a reference voltage, and a drain terminal of the second TFT is connected to the first node.

9. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a sensing voltage supply line coupled so as to be supplied with a sensing voltage,

wherein the first switch is connected to the sensing voltage supply line and to the touch line, and the sensing voltage is applied as the sensing signal to the touch line when the first switch is activated by a sensing voltage signal supplied by the sensing voltage supply line.

10. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

a plurality of gate lines respectively connected to the plurality of touch sensors; and

wherein the reference capacitor is connected to the first gate line and the first node.

11. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first switch is is responsive to a signal level of the first node, and the second switch is controlled by the second gate line which receives the gate turn-on voltage after the first gate line.

12. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein a first TFT is used as the first switch, a gate terminal of the first TFT is connected to the first node, a source terminal of the first TFT is connected to the sensing voltage supply line, and a drain terminal of the first TFT is connected to the touch line, and

wherein a second TFT is used as the second switch, a gate terminal of the second TFT is connected to the second gate line, a source terminal of the second TFT is connected to the first gate line, and a drain terminal of the second TFT is connected to the first node,

the first TFT being larger in size than the second TFT.

13. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a reference voltage supply line supplied with a reference voltage,

wherein a second TFT is used as the second switch, a gate terminal of the second TFT is connected to the second gate line, a source terminal of the second TFT is connected to the reference voltage supply line, and a drain terminal of the second TFT is connected to the first node.

19. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, when the second switch is activated, it discharges the reference capacitor.

14. A touch screen apparatus, comprising:

a touch line;

first and second reference voltage providing lines respectively configured to supply respective first and second reference voltages;

first and second gate lines coupled so as to be sequentially supplied with a gate turn-on voltage followed by a gate turn-off voltage; and

a plurality of touch sensors,

wherein each of the plurality of touch sensors comprises;

a first node;

a sensor capacitor connected to the first node and the first reference voltage providing line;

a reference capacitor connected to the first node and the second reference voltage providing line;

a first switch configured for connecting the first node and the touch line, the first switch being controlled by a signal provided to the first gate line; and

a second switch configured for connecting the first node and the second reference voltage providing line, the second switch being controlled by a signal provided to the second gate line.

15. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a pixel including a liquid crystal capacitor having a pixel electrode, a liquid crystal layer and a common electrode,

wherein the common electrode is used as the first line.

16. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein a storage line or a reference voltage supply line is used as the second line, and the reference voltage supply line is supplied with a reference voltage that is lower than a voltage applied to the common electrode.

17. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein a charge amount of the first node depends on a capacitance of the sensor capacitor,

the touch screen apparatus further comprising a sensing reader connected to the touch line whereby an output voltage level of the sensing reader depends on the charge amount of the first node.

18. The touch screen apparatus as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:

a lower substrate having a first electrode of the sensor capacitor formed thereon; and

an upper substrate having a second electrode of the sensor capacitor formed thereon, wherein a distance between the first and the second electrodes of the sensor capacitor is changed by a touch action.