Touch screen liquid crystal display

• US 9,575,610 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2015
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steve Porter, Chen, Wei, Krah, Christoph Horst, Elias, John Greer, Yao, Wei Hsin, Zhong, John Z., Hodge, Andrew Bert, Land, Brian Richards, Den Boer, Willem
• Primary Examiner(s): MARINELLI, PATRICK
• Application Number:
  US14/985,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20160117023A1
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-184, 178 1801- 2004
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133528 Polarisers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134309 characterised by their geometrical arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134363 for applying an electric field parallel to the substrate, i.e. in-plane switching [IPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1362 Active matrix addressed cells G02F1/134336, G02F1/134363 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/124 interdigital
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• 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 2203/04111 Cross over in capacitive digitiser, i.e. details of structures for connecting electrodes of the sensing pattern where the connections cross each other, e.g. bridge structures comprising an insulating layer, or vias through substrate
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• 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 3/04184 Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0444 using a single conductive element covering the whole sensing surface, e.g. by sensing the electrical current flowing at the corners
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0439 : Pixel structures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0456 : with a reflective area and a transmissive area combined in one pixel, such as in transflectance pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0478 : related to liquid crystal pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0205 : Simultaneous scanning of several lines in flat panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3614 : Control of polarity reversal in general
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 : using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence

Abstract

Disclosed herein are liquid-crystal display (LCD) touch screens that integrate the touch sensing elements with the display circuitry. The integration may take a variety of forms. Touch sensing elements can be completely implemented within the LCD stackup but outside the not between the color filter plate and the array plate. Alternatively, some touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates with other touch sensing elements not between the plates. In another alternative, all touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates. The latter alternative can include both conventional and in-plane-switching (IPS) LCDs. In some forms, one or more display structures can also have a touch sensing function. Techniques for manufacturing and operating such displays, as well as various devices embodying such displays are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A touch screen display having a plurality of display pixels, the touch screen display comprising:

a display having a plurality of pixel electrodes and a counter electrode;

the counter electrode segmented into a plurality of touch drive electrodes, the counter electrode operating as a common voltage electrode during a display function and operating as the plurality of touch drive electrodes during a touch function;

a plurality of touch sense electrodes spaced apart from the plurality of touch drive electrodes and disposed transverse to the plurality of touch drive electrodes to form capacitance sensing nodes at each crossing of the plurality of touch drive electrodes and the plurality of touch sense electrodes resulting from mutual capacitive coupling between the crossing plurality of touch drive electrodes and plurality of touch sense electrodes;

at least one capacitance touch sensing circuit operatively coupled to the plurality of touch sense electrodes during the touch function for measuring a change in capacitance at the capacitance sensing nodes

wherein each of a plurality of storage capacitors corresponding to a plurality of display pixels is configured to receive a common voltage during the display function.

2. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the display has a color filter plate and wherein the plurality of touch sense electrodes are disposed on the color filter plate.

3. The touch screen of claim 2, wherein the plurality of touch drive electrodes comprise patterned ITO.

4. The touch screen of claim 2, wherein the plurality of touch sense electrodes comprise patterned ITO.

5. The touch screen of claim 2, wherein the plurality of touch drive electrodes are disposed on the color filter plate.

6. The touch screen of claim 5, wherein the display comprises a plurality of rows of display pixels and wherein each of the plurality of touch drive electrodes overlaps plural rows of display pixels.

7. The touch screen of claim 6, wherein a touch scanning rate is twice a display refresh rate.

8. The touch screen of claim 2, wherein the plurality of touch drive electrodes are disposed on the color filter plate on a side opposite the plurality of touch sense electrodes.

9. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the display further comprising:

a first polarizer;

a second polarizer;

an active matrix layer disposed on a first substrate, the first substrate disposed between the first and second polarizers;

the color filter plate disposed between the first and second polarizers and spaced apart from the active matrix layer; and

a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the color filter plate.

10. The touch screen of claim 9 wherein the display comprises a plurality of rows of display pixels and wherein each of the plurality of touch drive electrodes overlaps plural rows of display pixels.

11. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein a touch scanning rate is twice a display refresh rate.

12. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein a touch scanning rate is equal to a display refresh rate.

13. The touch screen of claim 1 wherein the display comprises a plurality of rows of display pixels;

and wherein;

each of a plurality of touch drive electrodes overlaps plural rows of display pixels to form a single touch drive segment for each overlapped plural rows.

14. The touch screen of claim 13, wherein each display pixel includes one of the plurality of storage capacitor and in the display function a common voltage is applied to each storage capacitor of the plural rows of display pixels overlapped by each of the touch drive segments.

15. The touch screen of claim 14, wherein in the display function, the common voltage is also applied to the touch drive segments.

16. The touch screen of claim 15, wherein in the touch function, a stimulation voltage is applied to the touch drive segments.

17. The touch screen of claim 16, wherein in the touch function, the stimulation voltage is also applied to each storage capacitor of the plural rows of display pixels overlapped by a given touch drive segment which receives the stimulation voltage.

18. The touch screen of claim 16, wherein in the touch function, each storage capacitor of the plural rows of display pixels overlapped by a given touch drive segment which is placed in an open state.

19. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein in the display function, a common voltage is also applied to the touch drive electrodes.

20. The touch screen of claim 19, wherein in the touch function, a stimulation voltage is applied to the touch drive electrodes.

21. The touch screen of claim 20, wherein in the touch function, each of the plurality of storage capacitors is placed in an open state.

22. The touch screen of claim 20, wherein in the touch function, each of the plurality of storage capacitors receives the stimulation voltage.

23. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the display further comprises:

a first polarizer;

a second polarizer;

an active matrix layer disposed on a first substrate, the first substrate disposed between the first and second polarizers;

a color filter plate disposed between the first and second polarizers and spaced apart from the active matrix layer; and

a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the color filter plate; and

wherein the plurality of touch drive electrodes and the plurality of touch sense electrodes are disposed on the color filter plate.

24. The touch screen of claim 23, wherein the plurality of touch drive electrodes and the plurality of touch sense electrodes are disposed on opposite sides of the color filter plate.

25. The touch screen of claim 24, wherein the plurality of touch drive electrodes are disposed on a side of the color filter plate facing the liquid crystal layer, and the plurality of touch sense electrodes are disposed on a side of the color filter plate facing the second polarizer.

26. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the display and touch functions are performed simultaneously, and an area of the display of the touch screen being updated in the display function does not overlap an area of the display being scanned for the touch function.

27. The touch screen of any of claim 26, wherein the capacitance touch sensing circuit includes a charge amplifier having an inverting input coupled to receive on output from the plurality of touch sense electrodes, a non-inverting input coupled to a reference potential and an output coupled to the inverting input.

28. The touch screen of claim 1 wherein the capacitance touch sensing circuit includes a charge amplifier having an inverting input coupled to receive on output from the plurality of touch sense electrodes, a non-inverting input coupled to a reference potential and an output coupled to the inverting input.