Touch sensor

• US 9,483,140 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2015
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DB HiTek Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Dongbu HiTek Co., Ltd. (DB HiTek Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hwang, Tae Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdulselam, Abbas
• Application Number:
  US14/662,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20160011711A1
• Time in Patent Office: 593 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• 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

Disclosed is a touch sensor including a touch panel including driving lines and sensing lines, a node capacitor being formed between the neighboring driving and sensing lines, and a sensing unit electrically connected to the sensing lines to sense variation in the capacitance of the node capacitor. The sensing unit includes an amplifier including a first input terminal configured to receive a signal from any one of the sensing lines, a second input terminal connected to a first power source, and an output terminal, a feedback capacitor connected between the first input terminal and the output terminal, and a current controller connected in parallel to the feedback capacitor between the first input terminal and the output terminal to control current flowing to the feedback capacitor.

Claims

1. A touch sensor comprising:

a touch panel including driving lines and sensing lines, wherein a node capacitor is formed between the neighboring driving and sensing lines; and

a sensing unit electrically connected to the sensing lines to sense variation in the capacitance of the node capacitor,

wherein the sensing unit comprises;

an amplifier including a first input terminal configured to receive a signal from any one of the sensing lines, a second input terminal connected to a first power source, and an output terminal;

a feedback capacitor connected between the first input terminal and the output terminal; and

a pass transistor connected in parallel to the feedback capacitor between the first input terminal and the output terminal and operated in response to a first control signal and a second control signal,

wherein an ON-resistance of the pass transistor is varied according to a magnitude of a signal input to the first input terminal and ON-resistance is a resistance value in an ON state of the pass transistor, and

wherein the ON-resistance based on a source voltage of the pass transistor is varied based on variation of an output of the amplifier.

2. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pass transistor is a constant current limiter configured to supply a predetermined current.

3. The touch sensor according to claim 2, wherein the pass transistor is a variable resistor operable to supply a variable resistance value.

4. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pass transistor further comprises a feedback resistor connected between the first input terminal and the output terminal, wherein the feedback resistor is connected in parallel to the pass transistor and the feedback capacitor.

5. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein current introduced to the first input terminal is divided into a first current flowing to the feedback capacitor and a second current flowing to the pass transistor.

6. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein an input and an output of the pass transistor have an nonlinear relationship.

7. The touch sensor according to claim 6, wherein when a value of the input of the pass transistor increases, the output of the pass transistor increases in a nonlinear manner and converges upon an upper limit.

8. The touch sensor according to claim 7, wherein the upper limit is a voltage of the second control signal.

9. The touch sensor according to claim 6, wherein when a value of the input of the pass transistor decreases, the output of the pass transistor decreases in a nonlinear manner and converges upon a lower limit.

10. The touch sensor according to claim 9, wherein the lower limit is a voltage of the first control signal.

11. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the signal input to the first input terminal is a signal received from one of the sensing lines.

12. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein when an output of the amplifier increases, the ON-resistance of the pass transistor decreases.

13. The touch sensor according to claim 12, wherein when the output of the amplifier decreases, the ON-resistance of the pass transistor increases.

14. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pass transistor includes a NMOS transistor and a PMOS transistor.

15. The touch sensor according to claim 1, further comprises a driving unit providing driving signals to at least one or more driving lines among the driving lines.