Driver integrated circuit and display apparatus including the same

• US 9,939,976 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2016
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kang, Seong Kyu, Lee, Sung Yub
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H
• Application Number:
  US15/169,276
• Publication Number:
  US 20170090621A1
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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: G09G 2300/0408 Integration of the drivers onto the display substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/027 Details of drivers for data electrodes, the drivers handling digital grey scale data, e.g. use of D/A converters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3688 suitable for active matrices only
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3696 Generation of voltages supplied to electrode drivers

Abstract

Disclosed are a driver IC and a display apparatus including the same, which supply a touch auxiliary signal, having the same phase and potential difference as those of a touch signal supplied to a touch electrode which is also used as a common electrode, to a plurality of supply lines disposed in a non-display area during a touch sensing period. The driver IC includes a common voltage supply element, a touch sensing unit, and a common voltage switching unit. The common voltage switching unit connects the common voltage supply element to a plurality of touch electrode lines connected to the plurality of touch electrodes during an image display period, and during a touch sensing period, the common voltage switching unit connects the plurality of touch electrode lines to the touch sensing unit.

Claims

1. A display apparatus comprising:

a panel including a plurality of touch electrodes disposed in a display area and one or more supply lines which are disposed in a non-display area outside the display area, the one or more supply lines configured to transfer at least a touch auxiliary signal that has a phase and a potential difference mimicking a phase and a potential difference, respectively, of a touch signal supplied to the plurality of touch electrodes, during a touch sensing period;

a driver integrated circuit (IC) configured to supply a common voltage to the plurality of touch electrodes during an image display period, and supply the touch signal to the plurality of touch electrodes during the touch sensing period; and

a touch auxiliary signal supply circuit configured to supply the touch auxiliary signal to the one or more supply lines during the touch sensing period.

2. The display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a panel driver circuit configured to drive a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines included in the panel, wherein the panel driver circuit comprises:

a gate driver circuit configured to receive the touch auxiliary signal from the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit to supply the received touch auxiliary signal to the plurality of gate lines during the touch sensing period; and

a data driver circuit configured to receive the touch auxiliary signal from the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit to supply the received touch auxiliary signal to the plurality of data lines during the touch sensing period.

3. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein

the one or more supply lines include a plurality of gate connection lines disposed in the non-display area and connected from outside the panel to the gate driver circuit, and

during the touch sensing period, the touch auxiliary signal supplied from the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit is supplied from outside the panel to the gate driver circuit through the plurality of gate connection lines.

4. The display apparatus of claim 3, wherein during the image display period, each of the plurality of gate connection lines is any one of a gate high voltage line through which a gate high voltage is supplied to the gate driver circuit, a gate low voltage line through which a gate low voltage is supplied to the gate driver circuit, a gate driving voltage line through which a voltage necessary to drive the gate driver circuit is supplied, a ground voltage line through which a ground voltage is supplied, and an antistatic line for preventing static electricity.

5. The display apparatus of claim 3, wherein the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit comprises:

a touch auxiliary signal generator circuit configured to generate the touch auxiliary signal; and

a touch auxiliary signal switching circuit configured to connect the plurality of gate connection lines to the touch auxiliary signal generator circuit during the touch sensing period, and connect the plurality of gate connection lines to a power supply circuit generating power necessary to drive the gate driver during the image display period.

6. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the data driver circuit comprises:

a data voltage generator circuit configured to generate data voltages respectively supplied to the plurality of data lines;

a touch auxiliary signal receiver circuit configured to receive the touch auxiliary signal; and

a data voltage switching circuit configured to connect the plurality of data lines to the data voltage generator circuit during the image display period, and connect the plurality of data lines to the touch auxiliary signal receiver circuit during the touch sensing period.

7. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the driver IC comprises:

a common voltage supply circuit configured to supply the common voltage;

a touch sensing circuit configured to receive the touch signal; and

a common voltage switching circuit configured to connect the common voltage supply circuit to a plurality of touch electrode lines connected to the plurality of touch electrodes during the image display period, and connect the plurality of touch electrode lines to the touch sensing circuit during the touch sensing period.

8. The display apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a touch determiner circuit configured to determine whether the panel is touched, based on a plurality of sensing signals received from the plurality of touch electrodes,

wherein the touch sensing circuit transfers the plurality of sensing signals to the touch determiner circuit.

9. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more supply lines transfer a voltage, a current, or a pulse necessary for operation of the panel during the image display period.

10. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more supply lines are configured to transfer at least another touch auxiliary signal that has a phase and a potential difference mimicking a phase and a potential difference, respectively, of the touch signal supplied to the plurality of touch electrodes, during the touch sensing period, and wherein the touch auxiliary signal and said another touch auxiliary signal have different high levels and different low levels.

11. A driver integrated circuit (IC) for a touch screen integrated display device, the driver IC comprising:

a common voltage supply circuit configured to supply a common voltage;

a touch sensing circuit configured to receive a touch signal to be supplied to a plurality of touch electrodes disposed in a panel of the touch screen integrated display device; and

a common voltage switching circuit configured to connect the common voltage supply circuit to a plurality of touch electrode lines connected to the plurality of touch electrodes during an image display period, and connect the plurality of touch electrode lines to the touch sensing circuit during a touch sensing period,

wherein a phase and a potential difference of the touch signal mimic a phase and a potential difference, respectively, of a touch auxiliary signal that is supplied to one or more supply lines during the touch sensing period, the one or more supply lines disposed in a non-display area outside a display area of the panel.

12. The driver IC of claim 11, wherein

the touch sensing circuit transfers a plurality of sensing signals, respectively received from the plurality of touch electrodes, to a touch determiner circuit that is provided separately from the driver IC, and

the touch determiner circuit determines whether the panel is touched, based on the plurality of sensing signals.

13. The driver IC of claim 11, further comprising a touch determiner circuit configured to determine whether the panel is touched, and

wherein:

the touch sensing circuit transfers a plurality of sensing signals, respectively received from the plurality of touch electrodes, to the touch determiner circuit, and

the touch determiner circuit determines whether the panel is touched, based on the plurality of sensing signals.

14. The driver IC of claim 11, further comprising a touch auxiliary signal supply circuit configured to supply the touch auxiliary signal to the touch sensing circuit,

wherein the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit transfers the touch auxiliary signal to the one or more supply lines during the touch sensing period.

15. The driver IC of claim 14, wherein

the one or more supply lines include the plurality of gate connection lines,

the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit transfers the touch auxiliary signal to the plurality of gate connection lines disposed in the non-display area of the panel, and

the plurality of gate connection lines comprise at least two of a gate high voltage line through which a gate high voltage is supplied to a gate driver of the touch screen integrated display device, a gate low voltage line through which a gate low voltage is supplied to the gate driver, a gate driving voltage line through which a voltage necessary to drive the gate driver is supplied, a ground voltage line through which a ground voltage is supplied, and an antistatic line for preventing static electricity, during the image display period.

16. The driver IC of claim 15, wherein the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit comprises:

a touch auxiliary signal generator circuit configured to generate the touch auxiliary signal; and

a touch auxiliary signal switching circuit configured to connect the plurality of gate connection lines to the touch auxiliary signal generator circuit during the touch sensing period,

and connect the plurality of gate connection lines to a power supply unit generating power necessary to drive the gate driver during the image display period.

17. The driver IC of claim 14, wherein the one or more supply lines transfer a voltage or a current necessary for operation of the panel during the image display period.

18. The driver IC of claim 11, further comprising:

a data driver circuit configured to receive the touch auxiliary signal from the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit to supply the received touch auxiliary signal to the plurality of data lines during the touch sensing period.

19. The driver IC of claim 18, wherein the data driver circuit comprises:

a data voltage generator circuit configured to generate data voltages respectively supplied to the plurality of data lines;

a touch auxiliary signal receiver circuit configured to receive the touch auxiliary signal; and

a data voltage switching circuit configured to connect the plurality of data lines to the data voltage generator circuit during the image display period, and connect the plurality of data lines to the touch auxiliary signal receiver during the touch sensing period.

20. The driver IC of claim 11, wherein

the one or more supply lines include a plurality of gate connection lines disposed in the non-display area and connected from outside the panel to a gate driver circuit of the display device, the gate driver circuit configured to drive gate lines of the display device, and

during the touch sensing period, the touch auxiliary signal supplied from the touch auxiliary signal supply circuit is supplied from outside the panel to the gate driver circuit through the plurality of gate connection lines.