KR101983561B1 - Display device and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device supporting a touch position sensing function. A display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application may include a touch panel including a plurality of transmission electrodes extending in a first direction and a plurality of reception electrodes extending in a second direction different from the first direction; A touch sensing unit including at least one sensing unit electrically connected to the plurality of receiving electrodes; And a multiplexer unit configured to select at least one receiving electrode to be provided to the at least one sensing unit among the plurality of receiving electrodes, based on a result of measuring the self capacitance of the plurality of receiving electrodes. The sensing unit measures self capacitance for each of the plurality of receive electrodes, and measures mutual capacitance for the at least one receive electrode selected based on a result of the self capacitance measurement. The display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application may detect an accurate touch position using a small number of sensing units. Therefore, not only the cost for manufacturing the display device but also the area to be implemented can be reduced.

Description

Display device and its operation method {DISPLAY DEVICE AND OPERATION METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device supporting a touch position sensing function.

As the information society develops, the demand for a display device for displaying an image is increasing in various forms. Recently, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display device, and an organic light emitting display device are being developed. Various display devices such as Light Emitting Display Device) are utilized.

These days, the display device may provide a touch-based input method that allows the user to input information or commands easily and intuitively, deviating from the usual input method such as a button, a keyboard, and a mouse.

The touch-based touch position sensing method is a method of detecting a change in capacitance generated in the sensing electrode by touch, a method of detecting self-capacitance, and mutual-capacitance. How to do it.

Among them, the self capacitance detection method is difficult to detect the exact location of the multi touch due to the ghost phenomenon during the multi touch, and the method of detecting the mutual capacitance increases the number of touch channels when the touch panel size is increased. Accordingly, there is a problem that the channel scan time is dramatically increased and the processing speed is slowed.

The present application relates to a display device capable of detecting an accurate touch position and capable of measuring capacitance using a small number of sensing units.

A display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application may include a touch panel including a plurality of transmission electrodes extending in a first direction and a plurality of reception electrodes extending in a second direction different from the first direction; A touch sensing unit including at least one sensing unit electrically connected to the plurality of receiving electrodes; And a multiplexer unit configured to select at least one receiving electrode to be provided to the at least one sensing unit among the plurality of receiving electrodes, based on a result of measuring the self capacitance of the plurality of receiving electrodes. The sensing unit measures self capacitance for each of the plurality of receive electrodes, and measures mutual capacitance for the at least one receive electrode selected based on a result of the self capacitance measurement.

In example embodiments, when the number of the at least one receiving electrode selected based on the result of the self capacitance measurement is greater than the number of the at least one touch sensing unit of the touch sensing unit, the at least one sensing unit may be different from each other. Perform a mutual capacitance measurement operation at least twice.

In example embodiments, when the number of the at least one touch sensing unit of the touch sensing unit is greater than the number of the at least one receiving electrode selected based on a result of the self capacitance measurement, the at least one sensing unit simultaneously performs mutual capacitance. Perform the measurement operation.

The method may further include: a coordinate calculator configured to receive a self capacitance measurement value from the touch sensing unit, wherein the coordinate calculator is based on a comparison result of the self capacitance measurement value and the capacitance threshold value, among the plurality of receiving electrodes; At least two receiving electrodes are selected as coarse touch sensing positions.

The plurality of multiplexers may include a plurality of multiplexers connected to corresponding receive electrodes of the plurality of receive electrodes, and the touch sensing unit may include a plurality of multiplexers corresponding to each of the plurality of multiplexers. And sensing units.

In example embodiments, the number of sensing units may be smaller than the number of receiving electrodes.

In an embodiment, the switch unit includes a plurality of switches connected to each of the plurality of transmission electrodes; And a second multiplexer unit connected to each of the plurality of switches and providing capacitance information with respect to each of the plurality of transmission electrodes received through the plurality of switches to the touch sensing units.

The second multiplexer may include at least one transmit electrode to be provided to the at least one sensing unit of the plurality of transmit electrodes based on a result of measuring self capacitance of the plurality of transmit electrodes. Choose.

An operating method of a display device that supports a touch sensing operation according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application includes sequentially measuring self capacitances of a plurality of receiving electrodes; And selecting receiving electrodes to be subjected to a mutual capacitance measurement operation from among the plurality of receiving electrodes based on the measured value of the self capacitance.

The method may further include comparing the number of receiving electrodes on which the mutual capacitance measuring operation is performed with the number of sensing units of the epithelial display device, wherein the number of receiving electrodes on which the mutual capacitance measuring operation is to be performed is sensed. If more than the number of units, the mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed at least twice at different times.

The display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application may detect an accurate touch position using a small number of sensing units. Therefore, not only the cost for manufacturing the display device but also the area to be implemented can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration and operation of the touch panel 120 and the second controller 180 of FIG. 1 in more detail.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sensing unit of FIG. 2.
4 to 6 are diagrams for describing an operation of the display apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment.
7 to 9 are diagrams for describing an operation of the display apparatus 100 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present application.
10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.
11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display device 200 according to an exemplary embodiment.
12A and 12B illustrate an example of a display device 200 ′ according to an exemplary embodiment.
13 is a block diagram illustrating a display device 300 according to an exemplary embodiment.
14 is a diagram illustrating a Tx electrode and an Rx electrode preselected by a self capacitance measurement operation of the display device 300 of FIG. 13.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart for describing an operation of the display device 300 of FIGS. 13 and 14.
16 is a diagram illustrating a display device 400 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present application.

As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Referring to FIG. 1, the display device 100 includes display units 110 and 120, a first driver 130, a second driver 160, and a controller 190. The first driver 130 includes a scan driver 140 and a first touch controller 150, and the second driver 160 includes a data driver 170 and a second touch controller 180.

The display units 110 and 120 are display devices having a touch input function, and include a display panel 110 and a touch panel 120 disposed above the display panel.

The display panel 110 includes a plurality of data lines DL, a plurality of scan lines SL, and a plurality of pixels PXLs formed at intersections of the data lines DL and the scan lines SL.

The plurality of pixels PXL is provided in the display panel 110. Each pixel PXL displays an image and may be, for example, a light emitting device. In this case, the pixel PXL may include a pixel thin film transistor connected to the scan line SL, the data line DL, and the driving voltage line DVL, a light emitting device connected to the pixel thin film transistor, and a capacitor.

The scan line SL extends in the row direction, and the data line DL extends in the column direction crossing the scan line SL. The scan line SL transmits a scan signal to the pixel thin film transistor, and the data line DL transmits a data signal to the pixel thin film transistor. In FIG. 1, the wires are shown to be parallel or intersect, but this is for convenience of description and an extension direction of each wire may be set differently.

The scan driver 140 and the data driver 170 drive the display panel 110 under the control of the controller 190.

For example, the scan driver 140 may sequentially output the scan signals in response to the gate control signal G-CS provided from the controller 190. Therefore, the plurality of pixels PXL may be sequentially scanned in units of rows by a scan signal.

For example, the data driver 170 may convert the image signals R'G'B 'into data signals in response to the data control signal D-CS provided from the controller 190 and output the data signals. Can be. The output data signals are applied to the pixels PXL. Accordingly, each pixel PXL is turned on by the scan signal, and the turned-on pixel PXL receives a corresponding data voltage from the data driver 131 to display an image of a desired gray scale.

1, the touch panel 120 may be disposed on, for example, an upper portion of the display panel 110. It may be expressed in terms such as a touch screen panel and a touch screen. The touch panel 120 includes a plurality of touch cells TC. Each touch cell TC detects a user's touch event and is connected to the first touch controller 150 and the second touch controller 180.

The touch area TA, which is an area where the touch cells TC are provided, may overlap the display area DA where the pixel PXL is provided. For example, the number of touch cells TC may be provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the pixels PXL. However, the touch cell TC is not limited thereto and may be provided in one ratio for each of the plurality of pixels PXL. That is, the touch touch area TA that is in charge of one touch cell TC may correspond to the image display area DA displayed by the plurality of pixels PXL.

The touch panel 120 employs a capacitive touch method for detecting the presence or absence of touch and touch coordinates based on a change in capacitance through a plurality of touch cells TC. For example, such a capacitance touch method may be divided into a mutual capacitance touch method and a self capacitance touch method.

In the mutual capacitance touch method, each touch cell TC has a Tx line (also called a Tx electrode or a transmitting electrode) to which a driving voltage is applied, and an Rx line (Rx electrode or a receiving electrode to which a driving voltage is sensed and forms capacitance with the Tx line). Also referred to as). The mutual capacitance touch method detects the presence or absence of touch and touch coordinates based on a change in capacitance between touch electrodes (Tx electrode and Rx electrode) according to the presence or absence of a pointer such as a finger or a pen.

In the self-capacitance touch method, each of the plurality of touch electrodes TE forms a capacitance (self capacitance) with a pointer such as a finger or a pen. That is, in the self-capacitance method, the capacitance value between each touch cell TC and a point according to the presence or absence of a pointer such as a finger or a pen is measured, and the presence or absence of touch and the touch coordinate are detected based on the capacitance value.

In the exemplary embodiment according to the technical spirit of the present application, the display device 100 employs both a mutual capacitance touch method and a self capacitance touch method. For example, the display device 100 may roughly select Rx electrodes that are likely to be touched among the plurality of Rx electrodes by measuring self capacitances of the plurality of Rx electrodes. Thereafter, the display device 100 can accurately and quickly calculate touch coordinates by measuring the mutual capacitance of only selected Rx electrodes among the plurality of Rx electrodes.

As such, by employing both a mutual capacitance touch method and a self capacitance touch method, the display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application can not only detect an accurate touch position, but also mutually affect the plurality of Rx electrodes. Operating time can be reduced compared to the way of measuring capacitance.

1, the first touch controller 150 and the second touch controller 180 drive the touch electrode TE of the touch cell TC and detect a user's touch event. .

For example, the first touch controller 150 is connected to the plurality of Tx electrodes, and drives the Tx electrode in response to the timing signal TS provided from the timing controller 150. In addition, the second touch controller 180 is connected to the plurality of Rx electrodes, and detects a mutual capacitance formed between the Tx electrode and the Rx electrode in response to the timing signal TS ′ provided from the timing controller 150. Alternatively, the self capacitance of the Rx electrode is sensed.

The second touch controller 180 includes a sensing unit for sensing the mutual capacitance or the self capacitance. In particular, in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of sensing units included in the second touch controller 180 of the display device 100 will be smaller than that of a general display device. That is, while all of the sensing units are connected to one end of the Rx electrodes of the general display device, the display device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application performs a capacitance measurement operation using the number of sensing units smaller than the total number of Rx electrodes. Will perform.

As such, by using a smaller number of sensing units than in the general case, the display device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application may not only reduce costs but also have an advantage of miniaturization. In this regard, the configuration and operation of the second touch controller 180 will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG. 2.

The controller 190 receives a plurality of image signals RGB and a plurality of control signals CS from the outside of the display device 100. The controller 190 converts the data format of the image signals RGB in accordance with the interface specification with the data driver 170, and provides the converted image signals R'G'B 'to the data driver 170. do. In addition, the controller 150 may control the data control signal D-CS (eg, an output start signal, a horizontal start signal, etc.) and the gate control signal G-CS (eg, based on a plurality of control signals CS). , A vertical start signal, a vertical clock signal, and a vertical clock bar signal. The data control signal D-CS is provided to the data driver 170, and the gate control signal G-CS is provided to the scan driver 140.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration and operation of the touch panel 120 and the second controller 180 of FIG. 1 in more detail.

2, the second controller 180 includes a multiplexer unit 181, a touch sensing unit 182, and a coordinate calculator 183.

The multiplexer unit 181 includes a plurality of multiplexers 181_1 to 181_k. The multiplexer unit 181 is electrically connected to the plurality of Rx electrodes. The multiplexer 181 performs an operation of providing the Rx electrode selected from the plurality of Rx electrodes to the touch sensing unit 182 in response to the column selection control signal CSS of the controller 190.

When the self capacitance measurement operation is performed, the multiplexer unit 181 forms an electrical connection path between the plurality of Rx electrodes and the touch sensing unit 182 to perform a self capacitance measurement operation on each of the plurality of Rx electrodes. . For example, the multiplexer unit 181 may electrically connect each of the plurality of Rx electrodes to the touch sensing unit 182 sequentially.

In the case where the mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed, the multiplexer unit 181 may perform the mutual capacitance measurement operation on the Rx electrodes preselected by the self capacitance measurement operation among the plurality of Rx electrodes. And an electrical connection passage between the touch sensing unit 182.

In this case, for example, when the number of the pre-selected Rx electrodes is less than the number of sensing units of the touch sensing unit 182, the multiplexer unit 181 may be configured for the pre-selected Rx electrodes. An electrical connection path between the pre-selected Rx electrodes and the touch sensing unit 182 will be formed so that the mutual capacitance measurement operation can be performed at the same time.

On the other hand, when the number of the pre-selected Rx electrodes is greater than the number of sensing units of the touch sensing unit 182, the multiplexer unit 181 may include some Rx electrodes of the pre-selected Rx electrodes. Electrical capacitance between the Rx electrodes and the touch sensing unit 182 will be formed so that the mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed first. Thereafter, the multiplexer unit 181 may form an electrical connection path between the remaining Rx electrodes and the touch sensing unit 182 to perform a mutual capacitance measurement operation on the remaining Rx electrodes.

The touch sensing unit 182 includes a plurality of sensing units 182_1 to 182_k. Each of the sensing units 182_1 to 182_K of the touch sensing unit 182 is electrically connected to an output terminal of a corresponding multiplexer among the multiplexers 181_1 to 181_k of the multiplexer 181. The touch sensing unit 182 performs capacitance measurement on the Rx electrode provided through the multiplexer 181 under the control of the controller 190.

For example, when the self capacitance measurement operation is performed, the touch sensing unit 182 may sequentially measure the self capacitance of each of the plurality of Rx electrodes.

As another example, when the mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed, the touch sensing unit 182 may perform a mutual capacitance measurement operation on the Rx electrodes preselected by the self capacitance measurement operation among the plurality of Rx electrodes. In this case, if the number of the pre-selected Rx electrodes is larger than the number of sensing units 182_1 to 182_k, at least one of the sensing units 182_1 to 182_k measures mutual capacitance of at least two different Rx electrodes. Will perform the action.

The coordinate calculator 183 receives data on the result of measuring the judder capacitance to the touch sensing unit 182. Based on the received data, the coordinate calculator 183 calculates a position where the touch is detected.

For example, when the measurement value for the self capacitance is received from the touch sensing unit 182, the coordinate calculator 183 may coarse touch detection the Rx electrode having a capacitance larger than the threshold capacitance Cth. position). In this case, since the accuracy of the self capacitance method is lower than that of the mutual capacitance method, the coordinate calculator 183 may select at least two Rx electrodes belonging to a coarse touch sensing position.

For example, when the measurement value for the mutual capacitance is received from the touch sensing unit 182, the coordinate calculator 183 fine-finks the touch detection position of the Rx electrode having a capacitance larger than the threshold capacitance Cth. position). As the mutual capacitance is measured, the coordinate calculator 183 may calculate an accurate touch sensing position.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sensing unit of FIG. 2. For convenience of description, the first sensing unit 182_1 is illustrated in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, the sensing unit 182_1 may include an amplifying circuit 11, an analog-digital converting circuit 12, and a digital filter circuit 13. Can be.

The amplifying circuit 11 amplifies and outputs an amount of change in capacitance generated by a user's touch event. For example, the amplifier circuit 11 may include at least one charge amplifier (CA), the charge amplifier (CA) amplifies the input voltage (Vs) variable by a touch event, and the amplified The voltage Vout can be output.

The analog-digital conversion circuit 12 converts the output voltage Vout provided from the amplifying circuit 11 into raw data, which is a digital signal.

The digital filter circuit 13 may receive a raw data signal from the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 12 and digitally filter it to generate data. The coordinate calculator 183 (see FIG. 2) may process the data to determine whether a touch operation and a touch position on the touch panel are performed.

As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application performs a self capacitance measurement operation on a plurality of Rx electrodes and then belongs to a coarse touch sensing position. The mutual capacitance is measured only for the selected Rx electrodes. Thus, the touch coordinates can be calculated accurately and quickly. In addition, the display device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application is implemented using a number of sensing units smaller than the total number of Rx electrodes, thereby reducing the production cost and is advantageous in miniaturization.

4 to 9, the operation of the display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application will be described in more detail.

4 to 6 are diagrams for describing an operation of the display apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. Specifically, in FIGS. 4 to 6, an operation of the display apparatus 100 when the number of Rx electrodes selected by the self capacitance measurement operation is smaller than the number of sensing units will be described.

Referring to FIG. 4, for convenience of description, it is assumed that the touch panel 120 is an 8 × 8 matrix. In addition, it is assumed that the touch object is positioned at a position where the Tx4 electrode and the Rx3 electrode intersect.

Referring to FIG. 5, first, a self capacitance measurement operation is performed. For example, the multiplexer 181 sequentially selects Rx1 to Rx8 in response to the control of the controller 190, and the touch sensing unit 182 measures capacitances of the sequentially selected Rx1 to Rx8. The coordinate calculator 183 determines the coarse touch sensing position by comparing the capacitance measurement values of Rx1 to Rx8 with the capacitance threshold value Cth.

For example, when the touch object is touched around the Rx3 electrode, the capacitance measurement value C for the Rx3 electrode forms the maximum value. In this case, for example, the capacitance measurement of the Rx2 electrode and the Rx4 electrode around the Rx3 electrode will be larger than the capacitance threshold value Cth. Thus, the Rx2, Rx3, Rx4 electrodes will be selected to belong to the coarse touch detection position. However, this is exemplary and it will be understood that the capacitance threshold Cth may be set at various levels according to the designer.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, a mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed. For example, the first touch controller 150 (refer to FIG. 1) may input a driving signal for measuring mutual capacitance to each of the eight Tx electrodes in response to the control of the controller 190. For convenience of description, it will be assumed in FIG. 6 that a driving signal is input to the Tx4 electrode. In addition, the multiplexers 181_1 to 181_4 of the multiplexer unit 181 may be assumed to be “2: 1” multiplexers, and thus four multiplexers 181_1 to 181_4 and four sensings. It will be assumed that units 182_1 to 182_4 are provided.

In this case, since the Rx2, Rx3, and Rx4 electrodes are preselected as belonging to the coarse touch sensing position by the self capacitance measurement operation, the multiplexer unit 181 responds to the control of the controller 190 to the Rx2, Rx3, Rx4 electrodes. Will choose.

For example, the second multiplexer 181_2 will select the Rx2 electrode such that the Rx2 electrode is connected to the second sensing unit 182_2. The third multiplexer 181_3 will select the Rx3 electrode so that the Rx3 electrode is connected to the third sensing unit 182_3. The fourth multiplexer 181_4 may select the Rx4 electrode such that the Rx4 electrode is connected to the fourth sensing unit 182_4.

In this case, the second sensing unit 182_2, the third sensing unit 182_3, and the fourth sensing unit 182_4 may simultaneously perform a mutual capacitance measurement operation. And, based on the mutual capacitance measurement value, the coordinate calculator 183 will determine that the touch object is located at Rx3.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application measures a coarse touch detection position through a self capacitance measurement operation, and thereafter, measures mutual capacitance. The fine touch detection position is measured through the operation. Thus, the touch coordinates can be calculated accurately and quickly.

In addition, since the mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed only for the selected coarse touch sensing position, the display device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application does not need to include a sensing unit for each of the Rx electrodes. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the display device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application may include only a sensing unit 1/2 of the number of Rx electrodes. Accordingly, the display device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application has an advantage of reducing production cost and miniaturization.

7 to 9 are diagrams for describing an operation of the display apparatus 100 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present application. Specifically, in FIGS. 7 to 9, an operation of the display apparatus 100 when the number of Rx electrodes selected by the self capacitance measurement operation is larger than the number of sensing units will be described.

The display device 100 of FIGS. 7 to 9 is similar to the display device 100 of FIGS. 4 to 6. Accordingly, the same or similar elements will be described using the same or similar reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted below for the sake of brevity.

Referring to FIG. 7, it is assumed that a touch object is positioned at a position where a Tx4 electrode and an Rx2 electrode intersect and a position where the Tx4 electrode and an Rx6 electrode intersect.

Referring to FIG. 8, first, a self capacitance measurement operation is performed. For example, when the touch object is touched around the Rx2 and Rx6 electrodes, the capacitance measurement C for the Rx2 and Rx6 electrodes forms the maximum value. In this case, for example, the capacitance measurement of the Rx1 electrode and the Rx3 electrode around the Rx2 electrode will be larger than the capacitance threshold value Cth. Also, the capacitance measurement of the Rx5 electrode and the Rx7 electrode around the Rx6 electrode will be larger than the capacitance threshold value Cth.

Thus, the Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7 electrodes will be selected to belong to the coarse touch sensing position.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, a mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed. For example, the first touch controller 150 (refer to FIG. 1) may input a driving signal for measuring mutual capacitance to each of the eight Tx electrodes in response to the control of the controller 190. For convenience of description, it will be assumed in FIG. 6 that a driving signal is input to the Tx4 electrode.

In this case, since the Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, and Rx7 electrodes belong to the coarse touch sensing position, the multiplexer unit 181 responds to the control of the controller 190 to Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7. Will select the electrode.

At this time, the number of pre-selected Rx electrodes is six, more than four, which is the number of sensing units. In this case, at least one multiplexer of the multiplexers 181_1 to 181_4 may have all of the Rx electrodes connected to the input terminal belonging to a coarse touch sensing position.

For example, in FIG. 9, all of the Rx electrodes connected to the input terminals of the first multiplexer 181_1, the second multiplexer 181_2, and the third multiplexer 181_3 may belong to a coarse touch sensing position. .

In this case, the multiplexer unit 181 first performs a mutual capacitance measurement operation on the Rx electrode (ie, the first group) of some of the first selected Rx electrodes under the control of the controller 190, and then performs the rest. A mutual capacitance measurement operation will be performed on the Rx electrode (ie, the second group).

For example, at the first time t1, the first to third multiplexers 182_1 to 182_3 will select the Rx1 to Rx3 electrodes, respectively. In this case, the first to third sensing units 182_1 to 182_3 may simultaneously perform a mutual capacitance measurement operation on the Rx1 to Rx3 electrodes.

Thereafter, at the second time t2, the first to third multiplexers 182_1 to 182_3 will select the Rx5 to Rx7 electrodes, respectively. In this case, the first to third sensing units 182_1 to 182_3 may simultaneously perform a mutual capacitance measurement operation on the Rx5 to Rx7 electrodes.

As described above, when the number of Rx electrodes to perform the mutual capacitance operation is larger than the number of the sensing units, the display device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application performs the mutual capacitance measurement operation at least twice, thereby making it accurate. The touch position can be detected.

10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the display device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

In step S110, self capacitances of each of the plurality of Rx electrodes are sequentially measured.

In step S120, based on the result of the self capacitance measurement, Rx electrodes on which the mutual capacitance measurement operation is to be performed are selected.

In step S130, it is determined whether the number of Rx electrodes selected to perform the mutual capacitance measurement operation is greater than the number of sensing units.

If the number of sensing units is greater than the number of selected Rx electrodes, each of the selected Rx electrodes is electrically connected to the sensing unit (step S141). Thereafter, a mutual capacitance measurement operation on the selected Rx electrodes is simultaneously performed (step S142).

If the number of selected Rx electrodes is larger than the number of sensing units, a time-multiplexing operation for performing a mutual capacitance measurement operation at least twice at different time points is performed. That is, Rx electrodes of a predetermined group are selected among the selected Rx electrodes (step S151), and a mutual capacitance measurement operation is simultaneously performed on the Rx electrodes of a predetermined group (step S152). For example, referring to FIG. 9, Rx1, Rx2, and Rx3 may be referred to as a first group, and a mutual capacitance measurement operation may be performed on Rx electrodes belonging to the first group. Thereafter, an Rx electrode of the next group is selected (step S153), and a mutual capacitance measurement operation on the Rx electrodes of another group is simultaneously performed (step S154). For example, referring to FIG. 9, Rx5, Rx6, and Rx7 may be referred to as a second group, and a mutual capacitance measurement operation for the second group may be performed.

Thereafter, in step S160, it is determined whether there is an Rx electrode in which the mutual capacitance measurement operation is not performed among the selected Rx electrodes. If there is an Rx electrode in which the mutual capacitance measurement operation has not been performed, the mutual capacitance measurement operation for the group to which the corresponding Rx electrode belongs will be performed.

Then, in step S170, the touch coordinates will be calculated.

On the other hand, the above description is illustrative, and the technical idea of the present application is not limited thereto. For example, it will be appreciated that the wiring connection between the multiplexer unit 181 and the Rx electrodes, the type of multiplexer used, and the like can be variously changed and applied according to the designer.

Hereinafter, various modifications and applications according to the spirit of the present application will be described in more detail.

11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display device 200 according to an exemplary embodiment. The display device 200 of FIG. 11 is similar to the display device 100 described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. Accordingly, the same or similar elements have been marked using the same or similar reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted below for the sake of brevity.

The multiplexer portion 181 of FIG. 4 to FIG. 11 is implemented using a “4: 1” multiplexer, whereas the multiplexer portion 181 of FIGS. 4 to 6 uses a “2: 1” multiplexer. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the display device 200 includes a first multiplexer 281_1 and a second multiplexer 281_2 that are 4: 1 multiplexers. In addition, since only two multiplexers are used, only two sensing units 282_1 and 282_2 may also be used, unlike FIG. 11.

Meanwhile, in this case, since the number of sensing units 282_1 and 282_2 is smaller than the number of selected Rx electrodes (ie, three), at least one of the sensing units 282_1 and 282_2 is different. Burn mutual capacitance measurement operation can be performed. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the first sensing unit 282_1 may perform a mutual capacitance measurement operation three times.

12A and 12B illustrate an example of a display device 200 ′ according to an exemplary embodiment. The display device 200 ′ of FIG. 12 is similar to the display devices 100 and 200 of FIGS. 4 and 11. Accordingly, the same or similar elements have been marked using the same or similar reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted below for the sake of brevity. In addition, for clarity, it will be assumed in FIG. 12 that Rx2, Rx3 and Rx4 electrodes are selected as coarse touch sensing positions by a self capacitance measurement operation as shown in FIG. 11.

Unlike the display device of FIGS. 4 and 11, where one Rx electrode corresponds to one multiplexer, the display device 200 ′ of FIG. 12 may have one Rx electrode corresponding to at least two multiplexers. In other words, a predetermined Rx electrode is overlapped to correspond to different multiplexers.

In this case, unlike the display device 200 of FIG. 11, the number of times of performing the mutual capacitance measurement operation may be reduced.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12A, a predetermined Rx electrode overlaps a different multiplexer to correspond to each other, and each of the multiplexers may be implemented such that adjacent Rx electrodes correspond to each other. For example, the Rx3 and Rx4 electrodes overlap and correspond to both the first and second multiplexers 281_1 and 281_2, and the Rx5 and Rx6 electrodes overlap to both the second and third multiplexers 281_2 and 281_3. The first to fourth Rx electrodes correspond to the first multiplexer 281_1, the third to sixth Rx electrodes correspond to the second multiplexer 281_2, and the third multiplexer ( 281_3 may correspond to the fifth to eighth Rx electrodes.

In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 12A, the mutual capacitance measurement operation may be performed twice, and as a result, the number of measurement operations may be reduced as compared with the display device 200 of FIG. 11.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 12B, a predetermined Rx electrode is overlapped to correspond to different multiplexers, and at least one of the multiplexers has Rx electrodes not adjacent to each other. It may be implemented to correspond. That is, the Rx electrodes may be distributed to correspond to the multiplexers.

For example, Rx2 and Rx8 electrodes overlap and correspond to both the second and third multiplexers 281_2 and 281_3, and Rx3 and Rx5 electrodes overlap to both the first and third multiplexers 281_1 and 281_3. Rx1, Rx3, Rx5, and Rx7 electrodes corresponding to each other but not adjacent to each other in the first multiplexer 281_1, and Rx2, Rx4, Rx6, and Rx8 electrodes not adjacent to each other in the second multiplexer 281_2. Can respond.

In this case, since the adjacent Rx electrodes are distributed in different multiplexers, the number of mutual capacitance measurement operations can be reduced. For example, as shown in FIG. 12B, only one mutual capacitance measurement operation may be performed, and as a result, the number of measurement operations may be reduced as compared with the display device 200 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a display device 300 according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a Tx electrode and an Rx electrode preselected by a self capacitance measurement operation of the display device 300 of FIG. 13. to be.

The display device 300 of FIGS. 13 and 14 is similar to the display device 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Accordingly, the same or similar elements have been marked using the same or similar reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted below for the sake of brevity.

While the display device 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 supports the self capacitance measurement operation on the Rx electrode, the display device 300 of FIGS. 13 and 14 further supports the self capacitance measurement operation on the Tx electrode. . To this end, the display device 300 further includes a switch unit 391 and a second multiplexer unit 392.

The switch 391 may selectively connect the second multiplexer 392 or the first touch controller 330 to the Tx electrode in response to the switch control signal SC from the controller 390.

The second multiplexer unit 392 selects one of the n Tx electrodes in response to the control of the controller 390. The self capacitance measurement value for the selected Tx electrode may be output through the touch sensing unit 382.

In response to the control of the controller 390, the first touch controller 330 may input a driving signal for measuring mutual capacitance only with respect to the Tx electrodes that are previously selected by the self capacitance measurement operation.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the Tx3 to Tx5 electrodes may be selected as the coarse touch sensing position by a self capacitance measurement operation on the Tx electrode. In this case, only the Tx3 to Tx5 electrodes may be selected during the mutual capacitance measurement operation, and thus the sensing time may be saved as compared with the case where the scan operation for all the Tx electrodes should be performed. In particular, in the case of a general display device, since the sensing sensitivity is sacrificed to compensate for the sensing time due to the scan operation on all the Tx electrodes, the display device 300 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present application sacrifices the sensing sensitivity. The advantage is that the touch position can be detected quickly and accurately.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for describing an operation of the display device 300 of FIGS. 13 and 14.

In step S210, the self capacitance measurement operation on the Tx electrode is sequentially performed.

In step S220, the Tx electrode for the mutual capacitance measurement is selected based on the self capacitance measurement operation.

In operation S230, the self capacitance measurement operation on the Rx electrode corresponding to the selected Tx electrode is sequentially performed.

In step S240, based on the self capacitance measurement operation, the Rx electrode for the mutual capacitance measurement is selected.

In operation S250, a mutual capacitance measurement and a time multiplexing operation on the selected Rx electrode is performed. For example, steps S130, S141, S142, S151, S152, S153, S154, and S160 of FIG. 10 are sequentially performed.

Thereafter, in step S260, it is determined whether there is a Tx electrode in which the mutual capacitance measurement operation is not performed among the Tx electrodes selected by the self capacitance measurement operation. If there is a remaining Tx electrode, the next Tx electrode is selected (step S270), and steps S230 to S260 are repeated. If there is no remaining Tx electrode, the touch coordinates are derived (step S280).

16 is a diagram illustrating a display device 400 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present application. The display device 400 of FIG. 16 is similar to the display devices 100 and 300 of FIGS. 2 and 13. Accordingly, the same or similar elements have been indicated using the same or similar reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions will be omitted below for the sake of brevity.

Unlike the display devices of FIGS. 2 and 13, the display device 400 of FIG. 16 provides an integrated controller 480 in which the first and second touch controllers are integrated into one. That is, the display device 400 of FIG. 16 may include row electrodes arranged in a row direction and column electrodes arranged in a column direction without distinguishing the Tx electrode and the Rx electrode.

In this case, the multiplexers 481_1 to 481_k and the sensing units 482_1 to 482_k included in the integrated controller 480 may be used to measure the self capacitance and the mutual capacitance of the row electrode and the column electrode.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and drawings disclosed herein, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. It is obvious that modifications can be made. In addition, even if the above described embodiments of the present invention while not explicitly described and described the operation and effect according to the configuration of the present invention, it is obvious that the effect predictable by the configuration is also to be recognized.

110: display panel
120: touch panel
130: first driving unit
140: scan driver
150: first touch controller
160: second drive unit
170: data driver
180: second touch controller
181: multiplexer section
182: touch sensing unit
183: coordinate calculation unit
190: controller

Claims (10)

A touch panel including a plurality of transmission electrodes extending in a first direction and a plurality of receiving electrodes extending in a second direction different from the first direction;
A touch sensing unit including at least one sensing unit electrically connected to the plurality of receiving electrodes; And
A multiplexer unit configured to select at least one receiving electrode to be provided to the at least one sensing unit among the plurality of receiving electrodes based on a result of measuring self capacitance of the plurality of receiving electrodes,
The touch sensing unit measures self capacitance for each of the plurality of receiving electrodes.
When the number of the at least one sensing unit is greater than the number of the at least one receiving electrode selected based on the result of the self capacitance measurement, the at least one sensing unit simultaneously performs mutual capacitance measurement on the at least one receiving electrode. To perform, display device. According to claim 1,
When the number of the at least one receiving electrode selected based on the self capacitance measurement result is greater than the number of the at least one touch sensing unit of the touch sensing unit, the at least one sensing unit is mutually at least twice mutually different. A display device for performing a capacitance measurement operation. delete According to claim 1,
Further comprising a coordinate calculation unit for receiving a self capacitance measurement value from the touch sensing unit,
And the coordinate calculator selects at least two of the plurality of receiving electrodes as a coarse touch sensing position based on a result of comparing the self capacitance measurement value and the capacitance threshold value. According to claim 1,
The multiplexer unit includes a plurality of multiplexers connected to corresponding receiving electrodes of the plurality of receiving electrodes,
The touch sensing unit includes a plurality of sensing units corresponding to each of the plurality of multiplexers. The method of claim 5,
The number of sensing units is less than the number of receiving electrodes. According to claim 1,
A switch unit including a plurality of switches connected to each of the plurality of transmission electrodes; And
And a second multiplexer unit connected to each of the plurality of switches and providing capacitance information for each of the plurality of transmission electrodes received through the plurality of switches to each of the touch sensing units. . The method of claim 7, wherein
The second multiplexer unit selects at least one transmit electrode to be provided to the at least one sensing unit among the plurality of transmit electrodes based on a result of measuring self capacitance of the plurality of transmit electrodes. . According to claim 1,
The touch sensing unit measures self capacitance for each of the plurality of transmission electrodes, and selects at least one transmission electrode on which the mutual capacitance measurement operation is to be performed based on the self capacitance measurement result. In the operating method of the display device supporting the touch sensing operation,
Sequentially measuring self capacitances for the plurality of receive electrodes;
Selecting reception electrodes to be subjected to a mutual capacitance measurement operation from among the plurality of reception electrodes based on the measurement value of the self capacitance; And
And comparing the number of receiving electrodes on which the mutual capacitance measurement operation is to be performed with the number of sensing units of the display device.
When the number of receiving electrodes on which the mutual capacitance measurement operation is to be performed is greater than the number of the sensing units, the mutual capacitance measurement operation is performed at least twice at different times,
When the number of the at least one sensing unit is greater than the number of the at least one receiving electrode selected based on the result of the self capacitance measurement, the at least one sensing unit simultaneously performs mutual capacitance measurement on the at least one receiving electrode. A method of operating a display device.

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