Display device having touch sensor embedded in pixel array and method of driving the same

• US 9,606,655 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2011
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Seo, Jung-Hoon, Kim, Sun-Yeop, Choo, Kyo-Hyuck, Hwang, Sang-Soo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghebretinsae, Temesghen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Hang
• Application Number:
  US13/227,626
• Publication Number:
  US 20120056835A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,028 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-175
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G06F 3/04184 Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/08 Details of timing specific for flat panels, other than clock recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3266 Details of drivers for scan electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3275 Details of drivers for data electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3677 suitable for active matrices only
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3688 suitable for active matrices only

Abstract

A display device having touch sensors and a method of driving the same are disclosed. The display device includes a display panel including a pixel array including pixels and a touch sensor array including touch sensors formed in the pixel array, the pixel array being divided into blocks, a gate driver to sequentially drive a plurality of gate lines in the pixel array in a block unit, a data driver to drive a plurality of data lines in the pixel array when the gate lines are driven, a touch controller to sequentially drive the touch sensor arrays in the block unit, and a timing controller to divide one frame into at least one display mode at which the pixel array is driven and at least one touch sensing mode at which the touch sensor array is driven and to control the gate drive, the data driver and the touch controller so that the display mode and the touch sensing mode alternate.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a display panel comprising (i) a pixel array comprising a plurality of pixels and (ii) a touch sensor array comprising a plurality of touch sensors formed in the pixel array, the pixel array and the touch sensor array being divided into a plurality of blocks;

a gate driver to sequentially drive a plurality of gate lines in the pixel array in a block unit;

a data driver to drive a plurality of data lines in the pixel array when the gate lines are driven;

a touch controller to sequentially drive the touch sensor arrays in the block unit; and

a timing controller (i) to divide one frame into at least one display mode at which the pixel array is driven, and at least one touch sensing mode at which the touch sensor array is driven, and (ii) to control the gate drive, the data driver and the touch controller so that the display mode and the touch sensing mode alternate,

wherein;

the gate driver drives none of the gate lines in the plurality of blocks during the touch sensing mode of the block unit in response to a mode switching signal, and

the data driver drives none of the data lines in the plurality of blocks during the touch sensing mode of the block unit in response to the mode switching signal.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the timing controller time (i) divides one frame into a plurality of display modes and a plurality of touch sensing modes and (ii) generates and outputs the mode switching signal to alternate the display modes and the touch sensing modes.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein

the gate driver and the data driver drive the pixels in a corresponding block at each of the display modes in response to the mode switching signal, and

the touch controller drives the touch sensors in a corresponding block at each of the touch sensing modes in response to the mode switching signal.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the timing controller comprises a memory to store and output data in the block unit and supplies data stored in the memory to the data driver at a more rapid frequency than a frequency at which data is stored in the memory, and

the timing controller converts a plurality of input synchronizing signals into a frequency more rapid than an input frequency and generates a plurality of control signals to control driving timing of the gate driver, the data driver and the touch controller.

5. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the pixels in one block are driven at each of the display modes, and the touch sensors in a plurality of blocks are sequentially driven at each of the touch sensing modes.

6. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display panel comprises a liquid crystal panel or an organic light emitting diode display panel.

7. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the touch controller drives none of the touch sensors in the plurality of the blocks during the display mode of the block unit in response to the mode switching signal.

8. The display device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of touch sensors is provided for each space between one group of pixels and another group of pixels in the pixel array, the touch sensor detecting a touch by forming a touch capacitor with a touch object for touching the display panel.

9. The display device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of the touch sensors comprises:

a readout line separated from each of the data lines and outputting a sensing signal from the each of the plurality of the touch sensors,

a sensing electrode forming the sensing capacitor with the touch object,

a first sensor gate line and a second sensor gate line separated from each of the gate lines,

a first sensor thin film transistor forming a current path between the sensing electrode and a power line or a common line in response to a control of the first sensor gate line, and

a second sensor thin film transistor forming a current path between the sensing electrode and the readout line in response to a control of the second sensor gate line.

10. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the pixels in one block are driven at each of the display modes, and the touch sensors in more than two blocks are sequentially driven at each of the touch sensing modes.

11. A method of driving a display device comprising (i) a pixel array comprising a plurality of pixels and (ii) a touch sensor array comprising a plurality of touch sensors formed in the pixel array, the method comprising

dividing the pixel array and the touch sensor array into a plurality of blocks;

time dividing and driving one frame into at least one display mode at which a pixel array in at least one block is driven and at least one touch sensing mode at which a touch sensor array in the at least one block is driven,

wherein;

the gate driver drives none of the gate lines in the plurality of blocks during the touch sensing mode of the block unit in response to a mode switching signal, and

the data driver drives none of the data lines in the plurality of blocks during the touch sensing mode of the block unit in response to the mode switching signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the frame is time divided into a plurality of display modes and a plurality of touch sensing modes, and the display modes and the touch sensing modes alternate in response to the mode switching signal.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the pixels in one block are driven at each of the display modes, and the touch sensors in a plurality of blocks are sequentially driven at each of the touch sensing modes.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the touch controller drives none of the touch sensors in the plurality of the blocks during the display mode of the block unit in response to the mode switching signal.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of touch sensors is provided for each space between one group of pixels and another group of pixels in the pixel array, the touch sensor detecting a touch by forming a touch capacitor with a touch object for touching the display panel.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of the touch sensors comprises:

a readout line separated from each of the data lines and outputting a sensing signal from the each of the plurality of the touch sensors,

a sensing electrode forming the sensing capacitor with the touch object,

a first sensor gate line and a second sensor gate line separated from each of the gate lines,

a first sensor thin film transistor forming a current path between the sensing electrode and a power line or a common line in response to a control of the first sensor gate line, and

a second sensor thin film transistor forming a current path between the sensing electrode and the readout line in response to a control of the second sensor gate line.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein the pixels in one block are driven at each of the display modes, and the touch sensors in more than two blocks are sequentially driven at each of the touch sensing modes.