Touch panel, method for driving touch panel, and display apparatus having touch panel

• US 9,158,415 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2010
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation), LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation), LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Song, Byungsoo, Moon, Seonghak, Pushchin, Victor, Kim, Sungchul, Song, Munbong, Lee, Youngjoon, Yu, Byungchun, Ahn, Byeongkil, Volodkina, Svetlana
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFFNER, LINH NGUYEN
• Application Number:
  US13/143,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20110261020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421

Abstract

A touch panel includes: a substrate; a plurality of light emitting elements; and a plurality of light receiving elements, wherein the number of light receiving elements may be greater than the number of light emitting elements.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of light emitting elements disposed on the substrate; and

a plurality of light receiving elements disposed on the substrate,

wherein the number of light receiving elements is greater than the number of light emitting elements,

wherein the substrate comprises a first long side, a second long side opposite to the first long side, a first short side adjacent to the first and second long sides, and a second short side opposite to the first short side,

wherein the plurality of light emitting elements and the plurality of light receiving elements are disposed at the first and second long sides and the first and second short sides,

wherein the light receiving elements are disposed at both ends of the first and second long sides and the first and second short sides,

wherein at least two light receiving elements are continuously disposed at a corner of the substrate,

wherein a first light receiving element, a second light receiving element, a third light receiving element, and a fourth light receiving element are continuously disposed maintaining the same distance,

wherein a first light emitting element is disposed between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element, and a second light emitting element is disposed between the third light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element,

wherein a first distance between the first light receiving element and the first light emitting element is smaller than a second distance between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element,

wherein the second distance is smaller than a third distance between the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element, and

wherein at least one light receiving element is disposed between two adjacent light emitting elements.

2. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein an extending line perpendicular to the substrate among the plurality of light emitting elements corresponds to an area between two adjacent light receiving elements.

3. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements comprise a third light emitting element disposed at a first area of the substrate and a fourth light emitting element disposed at a second area that faces the first area of the substrate, and the third and fourth light emitting elements overlap in a direction perpendicular to the first and second areas.

4. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the light emitting element and the light receiving element are alternately disposed at the first and second long sides.

5. A touch panel comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of light emitting elements disposed on the substrate; and

a plurality of light receiving elements disposed on the substrate,

wherein a distance between an end of the substrate and the light receiving element and a distance between the end of the substrate and the light emitting element are different,

wherein, in a horizontal direction, a shortest distance between the end of a short side of the substrate and the light receiving element is smaller than a shortest distance between the end of the short side of the substrate and the light emitting element,

wherein, in a vertical direction, a shortest distance between the end of a long side of the substrate and the light receiving element is smaller than a shortest distance between the end of the long side of the substrate and the light emitting element,

wherein a first light receiving element, a second light receiving element, a third light receiving element, and a fourth light receiving element are continuously disposed maintaining the same distance,

wherein a first light emitting element is disposed between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element, and a second light emitting element is disposed between the third light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element,

wherein a first distance between the first light receiving element and the first light emitting element is smaller than a second distance between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element, and

wherein the second distance is smaller than a third distance between the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element, and

wherein at least one light receiving element is disposed between two adjacent light emitting elements.

6. A touch panel comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of light emitting elements disposed on the substrate; and

a plurality of light receiving elements disposed on the substrate,

wherein the plurality of light emitting elements comprises first and second light emitting elements,

wherein a first gap between the first light emitting element and a corner of the substrate is less than a second gap between the second light emitting element and the corner of the substrate,

wherein a radiation angle of the first light emitting element is greater than a radiation angle of the second light emitting element,

wherein the first light emitting element is disposed nearer to the corner of the substrate than to the second light emitting element, and

wherein at least one light receiving element is disposed between two adjacent light emitting elements.

7. A display device comprising:

a display panel;

a plurality of light emitting elements disposed at an edge of the display panel; and

a plurality of light receiving elements disposed at an edge of the display panel,

wherein the number of light receiving elements is larger than that of the light emitting elements,

wherein the display panel comprises a first long side, a second long side opposite to the first long side, a first short side adjacent to the first and second long sides, and a second short side opposite to the first short side,

wherein the plurality of light emitting elements and the plurality of light receiving elements are disposed at the first and second long sides and the first and second short sides,

wherein light receiving elements are disposed at both ends of the first and second long sides and the first and second short sides,

wherein a first light receiving element, a second light receiving element, a third light receiving element, and a fourth light receiving element are continuously disposed maintaining the same distance,

wherein a first light emitting element is disposed between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element, and a second light emitting element is disposed between the third light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element,

wherein a first distance between the first light receiving element and the first light emitting element is smaller than a second distance between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element, and

wherein the second distance is smaller than a third distance between the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element, and

wherein the light emitting elements and the light receiving elements are disposed at an outer edge of an active area of the display panel on which an image is displayed.

8. A display device including a touch panel, the device comprising:

a display panel;

a plurality of light emitting elements disposed at an edge of the display panel; and

a plurality of light receiving elements disposed at an edge of the display panel, and

wherein a distance between an end of the display panel and the light receiving element and a distance between the end of the substrate and the light emitting element are different,

wherein, in a horizontal direction, a shortest distance between the end of a short side of the display panel and the light receiving element is smaller than a shortest distance between the end of the short side of the display panel and the light emitting element,

wherein, in a vertical direction, a shortest distance between the end of a long side of the display panel and the light receiving element is smaller than a shortest distance between the end of the long side of the display panel and the light emitting element,

wherein a first distance between a first light emitting element and a first light receiving element is smaller than a second distance between the first light receiving element and a second light receiving element, and

wherein the first light emitting element, the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element are continuously disposed,

wherein a first light receiving element, a second light receiving element, a third light receiving element, and a fourth light receiving element are continuously disposed maintaining the same distance,

wherein a first light emitting element is disposed between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element, and a second light emitting element is disposed between the third light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element,

wherein a first distance between the first light receiving element and the first light emitting element is smaller than a second distance between the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element,

wherein the second distance is smaller than a third distance between the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element, and

wherein at least one light receiving element is disposed between two adjacent light emitting elements.

9. A display device comprising:

a display panel;

a plurality of light emitting elements disposed at an edge of the display panel; and

a plurality of light receiving elements disposed at an edge of the display panel,

wherein the plurality of light emitting elements comprise first and second light emitting elements,

wherein a first gap between the first light emitting element and a corner of the substrate is less than a second gap between the second light emitting element and the corner of the substrate,

wherein a radiation angle of the first light emitting element is greater than a radiation angle of the second light emitting element, and

wherein the first light emitting element is disposed nearer to the corner of the substrate than to the second light emitting element, and

wherein at least one light receiving element is disposed between two adjacent light emitting elements.