Smartphone

• US 9,619,068 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2015
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HiDeep Inc.
• Original Assignee: HiDeep Inc.
• Inventors: Kim, Seyeob, Yoon, Sangsic, Kwon, Sunyoung, Moon, Hojun, Kim, Taehoon
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US14/745,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20160085336A1
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• 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 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• 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 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/023 Display panel composed of stacked panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/36 using liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A smartphone includes a cover layer; an LCD panel which is located under the cover layer and includes a liquid crystal layer, and a first glass layer and a second glass layer between which the liquid crystal layer is placed, wherein at least a portion of a touch sensor which senses touch in a capacitive manner is located between the first glass layer and the second glass layer; a backlight unit which is located under the LCD panel; a pressure electrode which is located under the backlight unit; and a shielding member which is located under the pressure electrode.

Claims

1. A smartphone comprising:

a cover layer;

an LCD panel which is located under the cover layer and comprises a liquid crystal layer, and a first glass layer and a second glass layer between which the liquid crystal layer is placed, wherein a touch sensor which senses touch in a capacitive manner is at least partially located between the first glass layer and the second glass layer;

a backlight unit which is located under the LCD panel;

a pressure electrode which is located under the backlight unit; and

a substrate located under the pressure electrode to shield electrical noise,

wherein the touch sensor comprises a plurality of drive electrodes and a plurality of receiving electrodes,

wherein a drive signal is applied to the touch sensor and a touch position is detected by a sensing signal which is outputted from the touch sensor,

wherein a reference potential layer is located within a display module comprising the LCD panel and the backlight unit,

wherein a touch pressure bends the display module,

wherein a magnitude of the touch pressure is detected based on a change amount of capacitance outputted from the pressure electrode,

and wherein the change amount of the capacitance outputted from the pressure electrode changes according to a distance between the pressure electrode and the reference potential layer and changes as the display module bends.

2. The smartphone of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor includes at least one of the drive electrode and the receiving electrode located between the first glass layer and the second glass layer.

3. The smartphone of claim 1,

wherein the LCD panel further comprises a first polarizer layer and a second polarizer layer between which the first glass layer, the liquid crystal layer and the second glass layer are placed,

and wherein at least a portion of the touch sensor is located between the first glass layer and the first polarizer layer.

4. The smartphone of claim 1, further comprising a spacer layer which is located between the pressure electrode and the reference potential layer.

5. The smartphone of claim 1, wherein the pressure electrode comprises a plurality of electrodes constituting a plurality of channels.

6. The smartphone of claim 1, wherein the reference potential layer is one of a ground layer within the display module or a common electrode potential layer within the display module.

7. A smartphone comprising:

a cover layer;

an LCD panel which is located under the cover layer and comprises a liquid crystal layer, and a first glass layer and a second glass layer between which the liquid crystal layer is placed, wherein a touch sensor which senses touch in a capacitive manner is at least partially located between the first glass layer and the second glass layer;

a backlight unit which is located under the LCD panel and comprises a reflection plate;

a pressure electrode which is located under the backlight unit; and

a substrate located under the pressure electrode to shield electrical noise,

wherein the touch sensor comprises a plurality of drive electrodes and a plurality of receiving electrodes,

and further comprising;

a drive unit which applies a drive signal to the touch sensor;

a sensing unit which receives a sensing signal from the touch sensor and detects a touch position; and

wherein a reference potential layer is located within a display module comprising the LCD panel and the backlight unit,

wherein a touch pressure bends the display module,

a pressure detector which detects a magnitude of the touch pressure based on a change amount of capacitance outputted from the pressure electrode,

and wherein the change amount of the capacitance outputted from the pressure electrode changes according to a distance between the pressure electrode and the reference potential layer and changes as the display module bends.

8. The smartphone of claim 7, wherein the touch sensor includes at least one of the drive electrode and the receiving electrode located between the first glass layer and the second glass layer.

9. The smartphone of claim 7,

wherein the LCD panel further comprises a first polarizer layer and a second polarizer layer between which the first glass layer, the liquid crystal layer and the second glass layer are placed,

and wherein at least a portion of the touch sensor is located between the first glass layer and the first polarizer layer.

10. The smartphone of claim 7, further comprising a spacer layer which is located between the pressure electrode and the reference potential layer.

11. The smartphone of claim 7, wherein the pressure electrode comprises a plurality of electrodes constituting a plurality of channels.

12. The smartphone of claim 7, wherein the reference potential layer is one of a ground layer within the display module or a common electrode potential layer within the display module.

13. A smartphone comprising:

a cover layer;

an LCD panel which is located under the cover layer and comprises a liquid crystal layer, and a first glass layer and a second glass layer between which the liquid crystal layer is placed, wherein a touch sensor which senses touch in a capacitive manner is at least partially located between the first glass layer and the second glass layer;

a backlight unit which is located under the LCD panel;

a pressure electrode which is located under the backlight unit; and

a reference potential layer spaced from the pressure electrode,

wherein the touch sensor comprises a plurality of drive electrodes and a plurality of receiving electrodes,

wherein a drive signal is applied to the touch sensor and a touch position is detected by a sensing signal which is outputted from the touch sensor,

wherein the reference potential layer is located within a display module comprising the LCD panel and the backlight unit,

wherein a touch pressure bends the display module,

wherein a magnitude of the touch pressure is detected based on a change amount of capacitance outputted from the pressure electrode,

and wherein the change amount of the capacitance outputted from the pressure electrode changes according to a distance between the pressure electrode and the reference potential layer and changes as the display module bends.

14. The smartphone of claim 13, wherein the touch sensor includes at least one of the drive electrode and the receiving electrode located between the first glass layer and the second glass layer.

15. The smartphone of claim 13,

wherein the LCD panel further comprises a first polarizer layer and a second polarizer layer between which the first glass layer, the liquid crystal layer and the second glass layer are placed,

and wherein at least a portion of the touch sensor is located between the first glass layer and the first polarizer layer.

16. The smartphone of claim 13, further comprising a spacer layer which is located between the pressure electrode and the reference potential layer.

17. The smartphone of claim 13, wherein the pressure electrode comprises a plurality of electrodes constituting a plurality of channels.

18. The smartphone of claim 13, wherein the reference potential layer is one of a ground layer within the display module or a common electrode potential layer within the display module.

19. A smartphone comprising:

a cover layer;

a display module comprising;

an LCD panel located under the cover layer and comprising a liquid crystal layer, a first glass layer, and a second glass layer, the liquid crystal layer located between the first and second glass layers;

a backlight unit which is located under the LCD panel;

a reference potential layer; and

a spacer layer comprising an air gap located between the pressure electrode and the reference potential layer,

a touch sensor comprising a plurality of drive electrodes and a plurality of receiving electrodes configured to sense a touch on the cover layer through changes in capacitance, the touch sensor being at least partially located between the first and second glass layers of the LCD panel, wherein a drive signal is applied to the touch sensor, and in response to the touch at a touch position on the cover layer, a sensing signal representative of the touch and the touch position is output from the touch sensor;

a substrate located under the backlight unit; and

a pressure electrode located on the substrate between the substrate and the backlight unit, the substrate shielding the pressure electrode from electrical noise;

wherein in response to a touch pressure bending the display module and moving the reference potential layer closer to the pressure electrode, the pressure electrode outputs a change amount of capacitance;

wherein a magnitude of the touch pressure is detected based on the change amount of the capacitance; and

wherein the change amount of the capacitance output from the pressure electrode changes according to a distance between the reference potential layer and the pressure electrode as the touch pressure bends the display module.

20. The smartphone of claim 19, wherein one of the LCD panel or the backlight unit comprises the reference potential layer of the display module.

21. The smartphone of claim 19, wherein the pressure electrode is formed as a single layer on the substrate.