Display apparatus for sensing touch and providing an electro-tactile feeling and a method of driving the same

• US 9,075,439 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2012
• 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, Kangwon, Nam, Seungho
• Primary Examiner(s): OSORIO, RICARDO
• Application Number:
  US13/840,385
• Publication Number:
  US 20140146005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345173-175, 178 1801- 1807, 178 1901- 1905
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• 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 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

A touch tactile display apparatus includes a display panel and a tactile touch portion. The tactile touch portion is configured to sense a touch by a user and provide an electro-tactile feeling to an area in which the touch is sensed. The tactile touch portion includes a first electrode, a touch processor and a tactile processor. The touch processor applies a first signal to the first electrode to extract a touch coordinate. The tactile processor applies a second signal different from the first signal to the first electrode to provide the electro-tactile feeling. The first signal and the second signal are applied at different times.

Claims

1. A touch tactile display apparatus, comprising:

a display panel configured to display an image in a frame section; and

a tactile touch portion configured to sense a touch by a user and provide an electro-tactile feeling to an area in which the touch is sensed,

wherein the tactile touch portion comprises;

drive electrodes spaced apart from each other;

sensing electrodes spaced apart from the drive electrodes, wherein capacitors are formed between the sensing electrodes and each of their adjacent drive electrodes;

a touch processor configured to sense an amount of change of capacitance of the capacitors to obtain a touch coordinate; and

a tactile processor configured to receive the touch coordinate from the touch processor, provide a first tactile signal to a drive electrode corresponding to the touch coordinate and provide a second tactile signal different from the first tactile signal to the rest of the drive electrodes and the sensing electrodes while the first tactile signal is being provided,

wherein the rest of the drive electrodes do not correspond to a touch coordinate.

2. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the touch processor comprises:

a signal providing portion configured to provide a touch signal to the drive electrodes; and

a signal processing portion configured to provide a reference signal to the sensing electrodes and sense the amount of change of capacitance of the capacitors on the basis of the reference signal to obtain the touch coordinate.

3. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the touch signal and the reference signal are applied before the first and second tactile signals are applied.

4. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame section comprises:

a scanning section in which a frame image is sequentially output; and

a holding section in which the outputted frame image is held.

5. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 4, wherein the holding section comprises a first section and a second section in order, wherein the touch signal and the reference signal are applied during the first section and wherein the first and second tactile signals are applied during the second section.

6. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 4, wherein the touch signal and the reference signal are applied during the scanning section and wherein the first tactile signal and the second tactile signal are applied during the holding section.

7. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drive electrodes and the sensing electrodes are provided on the same layer.

8. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tactile touch portion further comprises an insulating substrate provided on the display panel and wherein the drive electrodes and the sensing electrodes are provided on the insulating substrate and are disposed between the insulating substrate and the display panel.

9. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display panel comprises:

a first substrate including a plurality of pixel areas;

a second substrate facing the first substrate; and

a black matrix which is disposed on the second substrate and overlaps the pixel areas,

wherein the drive electrodes and the sensing electrodes are disposed on the black matrix and are overlapped by the black matrix.

10. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display panel comprises:

a first substrate; and

a second substrate facing the first substrate,

wherein the drive electrodes and the sensing electrodes are provided on the second substrate and are disposed between the second substrate and the first substrate.

11. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drive electrodes are arranged in a matrix form of i×

j (i and j are natural numbers).

12. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the sensing electrodes are provided i in number, extend in a column direction and are alternately disposed with the drive electrodes in a row direction.

13. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a ground electrode to which a ground voltage is applied, wherein the ground electrode is disposed between drive electrodes of a drive electrode column and a sensing electrode that does not form a capacitor with each of the drive electrodes of the drive electrode column.

14. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a difference between the first tactile signal and the second tactile signal is more than 100V.

15. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first tactile signal has a positive voltage value and the second tactile signal has a voltage value of 0V.

16. The touch tactile display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first tactile signal has a positive voltage value and the second tactile signal has a negative voltage value.

17. A touch tactile display apparatus, comprising:

a display panel configured to display an image in a frame section; and

a tactile touch portion configured to sense a touch by a user and effectuate an electro-tactile feeling to an area in which the touch is sensed,

wherein the tactile touch portion comprises;

self sensing electrodes which are spaced apart from each other and form capacitors between neighboring electrodes;

a touch processor configured to sense an amount of change of capacitance of the capacitors to obtain a touch coordinate; and

a tactile processor configured to receive the touch coordinate from the touch processor, provide a first tactile signal to a self sensing electrode corresponding to the touch coordinate and provide a second tactile signal different from the first tactile signal to the rest of the self sensing electrodes while the first tactile signal is being provided,

wherein the rest of the self sensing electrodes do not correspond to a touch coordinate.

18. A method of driving a touch tactile display apparatus, comprising:

displaying an image in a display area;

determining whether a user has touched the display area;

obtaining a touch coordinate in response to the touch; and

providing an electro-tactile feeling which an image corresponding to the touch coordinate indicates to the user,

wherein the touch coordinate is obtained by applying a first signal to a first electrode and the electro-tactile feeling is provided to the user by applying a first tactile signal to the first electrode and a second tactile signal different from the first tactile signal to a second electrode, wherein the second electrode does not correspond to a touch coordinate.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein after the first signal is applied, the first and second tactile signals are applied.