Sensor-equipped display device

• US 9,791,984 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2015
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: Kurasawa, Hayato, Ishizaki, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Michaud, Robert
• Application Number:
  US14/734,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20150355751A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• 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 2203/04112 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 3/0445 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 sensor-equipped display device is provided and includes a display panel and a detection electrode. The panel includes a display area in which unit pixels are arranged in a matrix, each of unit pixels including subpixels. The electrode includes conductive line fragments arranged on a detection surface, and is configured to detect a contact of an object to the surface. The detection electrode has an electrode pattern formed of the line fragments on a grid defined by first and second lines. Extending directions of the first and second lines are tilted based on a first and second unit length of the unit pixel in the first and second direction.

Claims

1. A sensor-equipped display device, comprising:

a display panel including a display area in which unit pixels are arranged in a matrix, each of the unit pixels including a plurality of subpixels corresponding to different colors; and

a detection electrode including conductive line fragments arranged on a detection surface which is parallel to the display area, the detection electrode configured to detect a contact or approach of an object to the detection surface, wherein

the detection electrode includes an electrode pattern formed of the line fragments on a grid defined by first lines extending parallel to each other within the detection surface and second lines extending parallel to each other within the detection surface, the first lines and the second lines crossing each other to form intersections, and the line fragments selectively arranged between intersections adjacent to each other in the grid,

a first extending direction of the first lines is tilted with respect to a first direction by an angle θ

1, a second extending direction of the second lines is tilted with respect to the first direction by an angle θ

2, a first diagonal line direction of the grid is tilted with respect to the first direction by an angle φ

1, and a second diagonal line direction of the grid is tilted with respect to the first direction by an angle φ

2,

the first direction is a direction in which, amongst the plurality of subpixels, subpixels having maximum luminosity for humans are aligned on the display area,

each unit pixel has a first unit length d1 in the first direction, and has a second unit length d2 in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction,

the angles θ

1 and θ

2 are different from each other, and satisfy following equations using integers M1, N1, M2 and N2 greater than or equal to two, where M1≠

N1, M2≠

N2, and M1;

N1≠

M2;

N2,

θ

1=a tan [(N1×

d2)/(M1×

d1)]

θ

2=a tan [(N2×

d2)/(M2×

d1)], and

the angles φ

1 and φ

2 are different from each other, and satisfy following equations using m1, n1, m2 and n2 greater than or equal to two, where m1≠

n1, m2≠

n2, and m1;

n1≠

m2;

n2,

φ

1=a tan [(n1×

d2)/(m1×

d1)]

φ

2=a tan [(n2×

d2)/(m2×

d1)].

2. The sensor-equipped display device according to claim 1, wherein

the absolute value of the difference between the integer M1 and the integer N1, the absolute value of the difference between the integer M2 and the integer N2, the absolute value of the difference between the integer m1 and the integer n1, and the absolute value of the difference between the integer m2 and the integer n2 are 1.

3. The sensor-equipped display device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode pattern is a pattern in which the line fragments are selectively arranged between intersections adjacent to each other in the first lines and intersections adjacent to each other in the second lines in the grid.

4. The sensor-equipped display device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode pattern is a pattern in which the line fragments are selectively arranged between intersections adjacent to each other in the first lines, intersections adjacent to each other in the second lines, and intersections adjacent to each other in the diagonal line direction in the grid.

5. The sensor-equipped display device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode pattern includes unit patterns of which outlines are closed by the line fragments, and the outlines of the unit patterns adjacent to each other share at least one of the line fragments.

6. The sensor-equipped display device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode pattern includes a plurality of types of unit patterns of which outlines are closed by the line fragments, and the outlines of the plurality of types of unit patterns are different in shape.

7. The sensor-equipped display device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode pattern is a pattern in which the line fragments are arranged alternately in the diagonal line direction such that the line fragments arranged between intersections adjacent to each other in the first lines and the line fragments arranged between intersections adjacent to each other in the second lines are connected at ends thereof.

8. The sensor-equipped display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a driving electrode configured to form a capacitance between the detection electrode and thereof; and

a detection circuit configured to detect a contact or approach of an object to the detection surface based on a change in the capacitance, wherein the line fragment includes a metal material, and the driving electrode includes a transmissive material and is disposed in a layer different from the detection electrode in a normal direction of the display area to be opposed to the detection electrode with a dielectric intervening therebetween.

9. The sensor equipped display device according to claim 1, wherein the display panel comprises a common electrode forming a capacitance between the detection electrode and thereof, and a pixel electrode provided with each sub pixel to be opposed to the common electrode with an insulating film intervening therebetween, and the display device further comprises a detection circuit configured to detect a contact and approach of an object to the detection surface based on a change in the capacitance, and a driving circuit configured to supply a first driving signal for driving the subpixels and a second driving signal for forming the capacitance used by the detection circuit to detect a contact or approach of an object to the detection surface, selectively, to the common electrode.