Position measuring apparatus and driving method thereof

• US 9,612,692 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2013
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Sung-Soo, Lee, Yu-Sheop
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zheng, Xuemei
• Application Number:
  US13/859,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20130265279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• 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

A method and a position measuring apparatus that measures a position of a touch by an object on a device including the position measuring apparatus using an electrode unit for sensing a capacitance or voltage variation caused by a touch of the object and a control circuit unit for exchanging electrical signals with the electrode unit are provided. The method includes sensing a touch signal of the object on an independent channel connected to the control circuit unit through an independent connector; selectively driving a multi-channel disposed adjacent to the independent channel and electrically connected to the control circuit through a common connector, in response to the touch signal applied on the independent channel; and sensing the touch signal of the object using the multi-channel.

Claims

1. An apparatus for measuring a position of a touch by an object on a device including the apparatus, comprising:

an electrode unit comprising an X-axis direction electrode unit and a Y-axis direction electrode unit for sensing a capacitance or voltage variation caused by a touch of the object;

sensing electrodes included in the electrode unit and formed in two crossing directions of the X-axis and the Y-axis for sensing a touch of the object on a plane;

connectors included in the electrode unit for electrically connecting the sensing electrodes to the control circuit unit;

independent channels connected to independent connectors among the connectors, which are included in the electrode unit for the sensing electrodes arranged in at least one of the two crossing directions, the independent connectors connecting a subset of the sensing electrodes independently to the control circuit unit via said independent channels; and

multi-channels included in the electrode unit and comprising connection ports connected to connection lines that feed to common connectors among the connectors, the common connectors connecting the remainder of the sensing electrodes commonly to the control circuit unit via said multi-channels,

wherein the position touched by the object is measured using the sensing electrodes arranged in the two crossing directions, the sensing electrodes arranged in one direction include independent channels and the multi-channels, and the sensing electrodes arranged in the other direction perpendicular to the one direction include only independent channels,

wherein the X-axis electrode unit having the sensing electrodes arranged in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis electrode unit having the sensing electrodes arranged in the Y-axis direction are layered on opposite surfaces with an insulation layer interposed in between, and

wherein insulation members are formed on the insulation layer to insulate intersection points of some of the connection ports that intersect one or more of the connection lines connected to others of the connection ports, and conductive patterns are formed on the X-axis electrode unit in order to electrically connect said some of the connection ports to their corresponding one or more connection lines at said intersection points and over said insulation members.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing electrodes of the multi-channels include sensing electrodes of first and second multi-channels connected to the common connectors, respectively, and the sensing electrodes of the first and second multi-channels are arranged alternately.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing electrodes of the multi-channels include sensing electrodes of first, second, and third multi-channels connected to the common connectors, respectively, and the sensing electrodes of the first, second and third multi-channels are arranged sequentially.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the independent channels arranged in the two crossing directions are connected to a transmission end of the control circuit unit for generating a signal to sense the touch of the object and the multi-channels arranged in the one direction are connected to a reception end of the control circuit unit for receiving a signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing electrodes are transparent electrodes.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing electrodes include a plurality of transparent electrodes and at least one of a metal electrode and a transparent electrode that connects the transparent electrodes.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an insulated intersection point is formed by insulating an intersection point between the connectors by using at least one of an electrode layer for forming the sensing electrodes of the electrode unit and an insulation layer.

8. A method for driving a position measuring apparatus that measures a position of a touch by an object, on a device including the position measuring apparatus, the position measuring apparatus using an electrode unit comprising an X-axis direction electrode unit and a Y-axis direction electrode unit for sensing a capacitance or voltage variation caused by a touch of the object and a control circuit unit for exchanging electrical signals with the electrode unit, wherein the position touched by the object is measured using sensing electrodes arranged in two crossing directions of the X-axis and the Y-axis, the sensing electrodes arranged in one direction include independent channels and multi-channels, and the sensing electrodes arranged in the other direction perpendicular to the one direction include only independent channels, wherein the independent channels connect a subset of the sensing electrodes independently using independent connectors to the control circuit unit, wherein the multi-channels connect the remainder of the sensing electrodes commonly using common connectors to the control circuit, and wherein the X-axis electrode unit having sensing electrodes arranged in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis electrode unit having sensing electrodes arranged in the Y-axis direction are layered on opposite surfaces with an insulation layer interposed in between, and the method comprising:

sensing a touch signal of the object on the independent channels connected to the control circuit unit through a corresponding one of the independent connectors;

selectively driving the multi-channels disposed adjacent to the independent channels and electrically connected to the control circuit through a corresponding one of the common connectors, in response to the touch signal applied on the independent channels; and

sensing the touch signal of the object using the multi-channels.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein if a length of the object touching the electrode unit is greater than the distance between a sensing electrode for one of the independent channels and a sensing electrode for another one of the independent channels immediately adjacent to the one of the independent channels, a position touched by the object is determined using only the independent channels, and if the length of the object is less than the distance between a sensing electrode for one of the independent channels and a sensing electrode for another independent channel immediately adjacent to the one of the independent channels, the position touched by the object is determined using both the independent channels and the multi-channels.