Method of operating a touch panel, touch panel and display device

• US 9,563,294 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lee, Ji-Gong
• Primary Examiner(s): Sasinowski, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILLS-BURNS, CHINEYERE D
• Application Number:
  US13/683,368
• Publication Number:
  US 20130215049A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,539 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/156, 178/18.06
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• 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

A method of operating a touch panel including a plurality of driving lines and a plurality of sensing lines includes performing a first limited scan by activating only a first portion of the plurality of driving lines and only a first portion of the plurality of sensing lines, such that a first coarse position of a first touch by a user is detected, and performing a first local scan by activating only driving lines and sensing lines adjacent to the detected first coarse position of the first touch, such that a first fine position of the first touch by the user is detected.

Claims

1. A method of operating a touch panel including a plurality of driving lines and a plurality of sensing lines, the method comprising:

performing a first limited scan by activating only a first portion of the plurality of driving lines and only a first portion of the plurality of sensing lines, such that a first coarse position of a first touch by a user is detected;

when the first coarse position of the first touch is detected by the first limited scan, performing a first local scan by activating only driving lines and sensing lines including ones adjacent to the detected first coarse position of the first touch, such that a first fine position of the first touch by the user is detected, wherein at least one of the driving lines and at least one of the sensing lines activated during the first local scan are activated during the first limited scan, wherein in performing the first limited scan;

the activated driving lines in the first portion are spaced at a same interval,

the activated sensing lines in the first portion are spaced at the same interval,

at least one non-activated driving line is between each pair of adjacent activated driving lines, and

at least one non-activated sensing line is between each pair of adjacent activated sensing lines; and

performing a second limited scan simultaneously with the first local scan to detect a second coarse position of a second touch simultaneously with the first fine position of the first touch by further activating a second portion of the driving lines and a second portion of the sensing lines.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating M driving lines of N driving lines among the plurality of driving lines, where N is an integer greater than 1, and M is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than N; and

activating K sensing lines of L sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines, where L is an integer greater than 1, and K is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than L.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating only odd-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating only odd-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating only even-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating only even-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating only odd-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines in an odd-numbered touch frame;

activating only odd-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines in the odd-numbered touch frame;

activating only even-numbered driving lines among the plurality of driving lines in an even-numbered touch frame; and

activating only even-numbered sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines in the even-numbered touch frame.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first local scan includes:

activating a first driving line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch and at least one second driving line adjacent to the first driving line among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating a first sensing line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch and at least one second sensing line adjacent to the first sensing line among the plurality of sensing lines.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising

performing a second local scan subsequent to the first local scan by activating driving lines and sensing lines adjacent to the first fine position of the first touch, such that a changed fine position of the first touch is detected.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein performing the second local scan detects a drag operation.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the first limited scan includes:

activating M driving lines of N driving lines among the plurality of driving lines, where N is an integer greater than 1, and M is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than N; and

activating K sensing lines of L sensing lines among the plurality of sensing lines, where L is an integer greater than 1, and K is an integer greater than 0 and smaller than L.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein performing the simultaneous limited and local scans includes:

activating the second portion of the plurality of driving lines, a first driving line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch, and at least one second driving line adjacent to the first driving line among the plurality of driving lines; and

activating the second portion of the plurality of sensing lines, a first sensing line corresponding to the first coarse position of the first touch, and at least one second sensing line adjacent to the first sensing line among the plurality of sensing lines.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising

performing a third limited scan simultaneously with a second local scan to detect a third coarse position simultaneously with a second fine position by further activating driving lines adjacent to the second coarse position, a third portion of the driving lines, sensing lines adjacent to the second coarse position, and a third portion of the sensing lines.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein performing the third limited scan simultaneously with the second local scan includes sensing a multi-touch of the first touch and the second touch.

13. A touch panel, comprising:

a plurality of driving lines extending in a first direction; and

a plurality of sensing lines extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the touch panel is to activate only a first portion of the plurality of driving lines and only a first portion of the plurality of sensing lines to perform a first limited scan to detect a first coarse position of a first touch by a user, wherein, when the first coarse position of the first touch is detected by the first limited scan, the touch panel is to activate only driving and sensing lines including ones adjacent to the first coarse position of the first touch to perform a first local scan to detect a first fine position of the first touch, wherein at least one of the driving lines and at least one of the sensing lines activated during the first local scan are activated during the first limited scan, and wherein in the first limited scan;

the activated driving lines in the first portion are spaced at a same interval,

the activated sensing lines in the first portion are spaced at the same interval,

at least one non-activated driving line is between each pair of adjacent activated driving lines, and

at least one non-activated sensing line is between each pair of adjacent activated sensing lines, wherein the touch panel is to perform a second limited scan simultaneously with the first local scan to detect a second coarse position of a second touch simultaneously with the first fine position of the first touch by further activating a second portion of the driving lines and a second portion of the sensing lines.

14. A display device, comprising:

a display panel to display an image;

a display driver to drive the display panel;

the touch panel as claimed in claim 13; and

a touch controller to drive the touch panel.

15. The display device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the display driver and the touch controller are separate chips.

16. The display device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the display driver and the touch controller are in a single chip.

17. The display device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the touch controller includes a transmitting block to apply a driving pulse to the plurality of driving lines, and a receiving block to receive outputs from the plurality of sensing lines, the transmitting block of the touch controller being within the display driver.

18. A method of operating a touch panel including a plurality of touch sensor cells arranged in a matrix form having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, the method comprising:

performing a first limited scan that detects a first coarse position of a first touch by a user by activating a first portion of the plurality of touch sensor cells;

when the first coarse position of the first touch is detected by the first limited scan, performing a first local scan that detects a first fine position of the first touch by activating touch sensor cells which include touch sensor cells adjacent to the first coarse position of the first touch among the plurality of touch sensor cells, wherein in the first limited scan;

the activated touch sensor cells in the first portion are spaced at a same interval along a first direction,

the activated touch sensor cells in the first portion are spaced at the same interval along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction,

at least one non-activated touch sensor cell is between each pair of adjacent activated touch sensor cells along the first direction, and

at least one non-activated touch sensor cell is between each pair of adjacent activated touch sensor cells along the second direction, and wherein at least one of the touch sensor cells activated during the first local scan are activated during the first limited scan; and

performing a second limited scan simultaneously with the first local scan, such that a second coarse position of a second touch by the user is detected simultaneously with the first fine position of the first touch, by further activating a second portion of the touch sensor cells with the touch sensor cells adjacent to the first coarse position of the first touch.