Display device with detection function

• US 8,947,371 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2010
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display West Incorporated (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: Noguchi, Kouji, Nakanishi, Takayuki, Ishizaki, Koji, Teranishi, Yasuyuki, Takeuchi, Takeya
• Primary Examiner(s): MISTRY, RAM A
• Application Number:
  US12/793,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20100328274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,706 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345173-178, 345/204
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136286 Wiring, e.g. gate line, drain line
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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: G09G 2310/02 Addressing, scanning or driving the display screen or processing steps related thereto
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0252 Improving the response speed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0435 Change or adaptation of the frame rate of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3674 Details of drivers for scan electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/18 Timing circuits for raster scan displays specially adapted for television H04N ; synchronisation between the display unit and other display units, videodisc player G09G5/12

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a display device, including: a display surface; a display functional layer adapted to control the display of a screen viewed from outside the display surface; a drive control section operable to perform display scanning and driving adapted to scan and drive, in the one direction, the plurality of drive electrodes, and also operable to perform, a plurality of times and for M display screens, detection scanning and driving adapted to continuously scan and drive all or part of the plurality of drive electrodes within the period of time; and a plurality of sensor lines arranged in a direction other than the one direction to be separate from each other, which produce an electrical change if an object to be detected comes in contact with or proximity to the display surface while the drive control section performs the detection scanning and driving.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising:

a display surface;

a display functional layer adapted to control the display of information that is viewable from outside the display surface;

a plurality of drive electrodes arranged in one direction separate from each other on a surface facing the display surface;

a drive control section operable to perform display scanning and driving adapted to scan and drive, in one direction, the plurality of drive electrodes, and, a detection drive section for detection scanning and driving adapted to scan and drive all or part of the plurality of drive electrodes, where N is a number of display screen display scan operations and M is a number of detection scan operations, N and M are arbitrary natural numbers which satisfy the condition N<

M; and

a plurality of sensor lines arranged in a direction other than the one direction separate from each other, which produce an electrical change if an object to be detected comes in contact with or proximity to the display surface while the detection drive section performs the detection scanning and driving, wherein when the display scanning and driving is performed starting from the first one of the plurality of drive electrodes on one side to the last one on the other side, the detection drive section begins its scan for the detection scanning and driving starting from a drive electrode next to the first one on one side, from where the display scanning and driving begins, in the scanning direction or beyond.

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein

when the drive electrode subjected to the detection scanning and driving approaches the drive electrode subjected to the display scanning and driving, the detection drive section skips the detection scanning and driving of one or more predetermined number of the drive electrodes so as to jump over the drive electrode subjected to the display scanning and driving to resume the detection scanning and driving starting from the next drive electrode in the scanning direction or beyond.

3. The display device of claim 1, wherein

the value M is twice the value N.

4. The display device of claim 1, wherein

the detection drive section performs the detection scanning and driving with a discretely reduced number of drive electrodes scanned once for every two cycles of the display scanning and driving i.e. two display periods, with the display scanning and driving and detection scanning and driving set to the same drive frequency.

5. The display device of claim 4, wherein

the display scanning and driving is performed a plurality of times within one screen display period using interlaced scan.

6. The display device of claim 4, wherein

the drive control section performs each of the plurality of cycles of the display scanning and driving starting from the first one of the plurality of drive electrodes on one side to the last one on the other side,

the detection drive section performs odd-numbered cycles of the plurality of cycles of the detection scanning and driving performed during one screen display period starting from the drive electrode next to the first one on one side, from where the display scanning and driving begins, in the scanning direction or beyond to the last one on the other side, and

the detection drive section performs even-numbered cycles starting from the first drive electrode on one side to the drive electrode previous to the last one on the other side or beyond.

7. The display device of claim 1, wherein

the detection drive section selects two or more predetermined number of drive electrodes from among the plurality thereof and simultaneously drives the selected drive electrodes for the detection scanning and driving to repeat the selection and simultaneous driving of the drive electrodes in the one direction.

8. The display device of claim 1, comprising:

a sensor section including a plurality of sensor lines and the plurality of drive electrodes, wherein

the sensor section is an electrostatic capacitance sensor section in which each of the plurality of sensor lines is coupled to one of the plurality of drive electrodes through electrostatic capacitance so that the electrostatic capacitance changes as a result of the approach of the object to be detected during driving by the detection drive section.

9. The display device of claim 1, wherein

the display functional layer is a liquid crystal layer.

10. The display device of claim 9, comprising:

a circuit substrate on which a display control circuit is formed; and

an opposed substrate that is arranged to be opposed to the circuit substrate, wherein

the plurality of drive electrodes are formed on the circuit substrate, and a plurality of pixel electrodes are stacked above the plurality of drive electrodes with an insulating layer provided therebetween, and

the display functional layer, in which liquid crystal is driven in transverse electric field mode when a voltage is applied between the pixel electrodes and drive electrodes, is arranged between the plurality of pixel electrodes formed on the circuit substrate and the opposed substrate.

11. A display device driving method, comprising a step of:

performing display scanning and driving adapted to scan and drive, in one direction, a plurality of drive electrodes arranged in the one direction separate from each other on a surface facing a display surface whose screen is viewed externally, and performing detection scanning and driving of the same plurality of drive electrodes for sensor detection adapted to detect the change in capacitive coupling as a result of the approach of an object to be detected from a plurality of sensor lines that are capacitively coupled to the plurality of drive electrodes, wherein

the step is performed a plurality of times, where N is a number of display screen display scan operations and M is a number of detection scan operations, and where N and M are arbitrary natural numbers which satisfy the condition N<

M, and wherein

when the display scanning and driving is performed starting from the first one of the plurality of drive electrodes on one side to the last one on the other side, a scan for the detection scanning and driving starts from a drive electrode next to the first one on one side, from where the display scanning and driving begins, in the scanning direction or beyond.