Contact detecting device and display device for multi-touch sensing

• US 9,152,259 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2013
• Issued: 10/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: Noguchi, Koji, Takeuchi, Takeya
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, Wayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): FISCHER, MARK L
• Application Number:
  US13/754,316
• Publication Number:
  US 20130141379A1
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/16 Constructional details or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• 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 3/044 by capacitive means
• 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

Abstract

According to one aspect of the invention, a contact detecting device includes: a contact responding section configured to produce an electric change in response to an object to be detected coming into contact with or proximity to a detecting surface; and a contact driving scanning section configured to scan application of driving voltage to the contact responding section in one direction within the detecting surface, and control output of the electric change in time series, wherein the contact driving scanning section performs a plurality of scans of different regions of the contact responding section in parallel with each other, and outputs a plurality of the electric changes in parallel with each other.

Claims

1. A contact detecting device comprising:

a contact responding section configured to produce an electric change in response to an object to be detected coming into contact with or proximity to a detecting surface;

a plurality of first detecting lines arranged for a first region of said contact responding section to output said electric change in the first region;

a plurality of first driving lines arranged to intersect the first detecting lines in the first region;

a plurality of second detecting lines arranged for a second region of said contact responding section to output said electric change in the second region, the second region being different from the first region;

a plurality of second driving lines arranged to intersect the second detecting lines in the second region;

a contact driving scanning section shared with the first region and the second region, and configured to supply a scan driving voltage to the first region and the second region of the contact responding section via the plurality of first driving lines and the plurality of second driving lines, and control output of the electric change in time series; and

two detecting sections respectively disposed on both ends of the contact responding section in the longitudinal direction of the first and second detecting lines, each of the detecting sections being configured to detect occurrence of the electric change from a voltage change in the corresponding detecting lines, and identify a position of the occurrence,

wherein the plurality of regions are in parallel with each other in a direction of the driving lines,

the contact driving scanning section performs a plurality of scans of the first and second regions of the contact responding section in parallel with each other by identically supplying the scan driving voltage as a common driving signal that is an alternating-current pulse signal having a predetermined frequency to the first and second driving lines in parallel, so that the first and second driving lines of the contact detecting device are sequentially scanned simultaneously, and output a plurality of electric changes in parallel to the corresponding detecting sections, respectively.

2. The contact detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

said first region includes a plurality of first sub-regions, and

at least one of an intersection arrangement of said first driving lines with respect to said first detecting lines and a manner in which said contact driving scanning section applies said driving voltage to each of said first driving lines differs for at least one first sub-region;

and

said second region includes a plurality of second sub-regions, and

at least one of a manner in which said second driving lines intersect said second detecting lines and a manner in which said contact driving scanning section applies said driving voltage to each of said second driving lines differs for at least one second sub-region.

3. The contact detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the common driving signal is supplied to counter electrodes in pixels, of a display device as a common reference voltage for a signal voltage for gradation display in each pixel.

4. A display device comprising:

a display section configured to provide light modulation according to an input video signal, and output light after the modulation from a display surface;

a contact responding section configured to produce an electric change in response to an object to be detected coming into contact with or in proximity to a detecting surface;

a plurality of first detecting lines arranged for a first region of said contact responding section to output said electric change in the first region;

a plurality of first driving lines arranged to intersect the first detecting lines in the first region;

a plurality of second detecting lines arranged for a second region of said contact responding section to output said electric change in the second region, the second region being different from the first region;

a plurality of second driving lines arranged to intersect the second detecting lines in the second region;

a contact driving scanning section shared with the first region and the second region, and configured to supply a scan driving voltage to the first region and the second region of the contact responding section via the plurality of first driving lines and the plurality of second driving lines, and control output of the electric change in time series; and

two detecting sections respectively disposed on both ends of the contact responding section in the longitudinal direction of the first and second detecting lines, each of the detecting sections being configured to detect occurrence of the electric change from a voltage change in the corresponding detecting lines and identify a position of the occurrence,

wherein the plurality of regions are in parallel with each other in a direction of the driving lines,

the contact driving scanning section performs a plurality of scans of the first and second regions of the contact responding section in parallel with each other by identically supplying the scan driving voltage, as a common driving signal that is an alternating-current pulse signal having a predetermined frequency to the first driving line and second driving line in parallel so that the first and second driving lines of the contact detecting device are scanned simultaneously, and output a plurality of electric changes in parallel to the corresponding detecting sections, respectively.

5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein

said first-region includes a plurality of first sub-regions, and

at least one of an intersection arrangement of said first driving lines with respect to said first detecting lines and a manner in which said contact driving scanning section applies said driving voltage to each of said first driving lines differs for at least one first sub-region;

and

said second region includes a plurality of second sub-regions, and

at least one of a manner in which said second driving lines intersect said second detecting lines and a manner in which said contact driving scanning section applies said driving voltage to each of said second driving lines differs for at least one second sub-region.

6. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the common driving signal is supplied to counter electrodes in pixels of the display device as a common reference voltage for a signal voltage for gradation display in each pixel.