JP2015075998A - Capacitance touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a touch panel which is large sized and yet can be inexpensively manufactured and which can be scanned at high speed over the entirety thereof.SOLUTION: A capacitance touch panel comprises a plurality of panel units 10, a drive circuit 20, a detection circuit 30, connection units 40, and a control unit 50. The drive circuit 20 drives drive lines 11 of the panel units 10 by feeding a preset drive voltage thereto. The detection circuit 30 detects signals from detection lines 12 of the panel units 10. When the plurality of panel units 10 is arranged like tiles, each of the connection units 40 connects one ends of the drive lines 11 and/or detection lines 12 of a corresponding panel units 10 to the drive circuit 20 and/or detection circuit 30. The control unit 50 controls the drive circuit 20 and detection circuit 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a capacitive touch panel, and more particularly to a capacitive touch panel having a large panel.

  Coordinate input devices that perform input detection with a hand or a finger are now mainly in the capacitive type, which allows easy detection of simultaneous input by a plurality of indicators, so-called multi-touch detection. An electrostatic capacity type coordinate input device detects an input position by utilizing a minute change in electrostatic capacity. In general, a predetermined drive voltage is input to a drive line by a drive circuit, and a signal from a detection line orthogonal to the drive line is detected by a detection circuit.

  Here, for example, a large touch panel disclosed in Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet in which a longitudinal pattern sheet and a lateral pattern sheet are bonded together.

JP 2010-61502 A

  However, in the case of a capacitive touch panel, it is necessary to drive all of the plurality of drive lines in order from the end, and to detect all detection signals at that time in order from the ends of the plurality of detection lines. In the case of a large panel, the number of drive lines and detection lines increases, and there is a problem that the detection speed becomes slow.

  Moreover, when manufacturing a large panel, a large-sized sheet for the panel is required, but the size of a sheet that can be generally produced depends on the sheet manufacturing apparatus. Therefore, as the size of the sheet increases, a large manufacturing apparatus is required, which is expensive. Furthermore, since the yield decreases when the size of the sheet is increased, the cost is further increased.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention is intended to provide a capacitive touch panel that can be manufactured at low cost even for a large panel and can scan the entire panel at high speed.

  In order to achieve the above-described object of the present invention, a capacitive touch panel according to the present invention includes a plurality of drive lines arranged in parallel along one of the XY coordinate axes and a plurality of parallel arranged along the other of the XY coordinate axes. Panel unit having a plurality of detection lines, a drive circuit that drives a drive line by inputting a predetermined drive voltage to the drive line of the panel unit, and a detection circuit that detects a signal from the detection line of the panel unit And a connection unit for connecting one end of the corresponding drive line and / or detection line of each panel unit to the drive circuit and / or the detection circuit when the plurality of panel units are arranged in a tile shape, and the drive circuit And a control unit for controlling the detection circuit.

  The capacitive touch panel according to the present invention includes a plurality of drive lines arranged in parallel along one of the XY coordinate axes and a plurality of detection lines arranged in parallel along the other of the XY coordinate axes. A panel unit; a drive circuit that is provided for each panel unit and that drives the drive line by inputting a predetermined drive voltage to the drive line; and a detection circuit that is provided for each panel unit and detects a signal from the detection line A control unit that controls the drive circuit and the detection circuit, and a transfer unit provided for each panel unit, each of which includes a transfer unit for connecting the drive circuit and the detection circuit to the control unit. Also good.

  Here, the transfer unit may be a daisy chain connection or a star connection centered on the control unit.

  Further, a shift register may be provided, and a drive line and / or a detection line may be selected by the shift register.

  The capacitive touch panel of the present invention is advantageous in that even a large panel can be manufactured at low cost and the entire panel can be scanned at high speed.

FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the panel unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram for explaining a connection example of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram for explaining another connection example of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining another configuration of the panel unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram for explaining still another connection example of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the panel unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram for explaining the configuration of the transfer unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described together with illustrated examples. . FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the panel unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram for explaining a connection example of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the capacitive touch panel of the present invention mainly includes a plurality of panel units 10, a drive circuit 20, a detection circuit 30, a connection unit 40, and a control unit 50.

  In the illustrated example, the panel unit 10 shows an example in which two panel units are arranged side by side. The panel unit 10 has a drive line 11 and a detection line 12. A plurality of drive lines 11 are arranged in parallel along one of the XY coordinate axes. A plurality of detection lines 12 are arranged in parallel along the other of the XY coordinate axes. In the illustrated example, the drive line 11 is disposed along the Y axis, and the detection line 12 is disposed along the X axis. For example, the drive line 11 and the detection line 12 may be made of a conductive member such as a copper wire or a line pattern. Moreover, the drive line 11 and the detection line 12 should just be arrange | positioned in the state insulated on the board | substrate, respectively. Moreover, you may arrange | position on flexible sheet base materials, such as a flexible substrate.

  The drive circuit 20 drives the drive line 11 by inputting a predetermined drive voltage to the drive line 11 of the panel unit 10. Here, the predetermined drive voltage is, for example, an output signal having a predetermined frequency from an oscillator. The drive circuit 20 includes a drive amplifier, for example, and amplifies the signal from the oscillator and applies the amplified signal to the drive line 11.

  The detection circuit 30 detects a signal from the detection line 12 of the panel unit 10. Here, the signal from the detection line 12 is a current that flows based on electrostatic coupling. The detection circuit 30 has an amplifier circuit such as an operational amplifier, and measures the current or potential difference flowing through the detection line 12.

  When the plurality of panel units 10 are arranged in a tile shape, the connection unit 40 connects one end of the corresponding drive line 11 and / or detection line 12 of each panel unit 10 to the drive circuit 20 and / or the detection circuit 30. To connect to. As illustrated, in the example of the capacitive touch panel of the first embodiment, two panel units 10 are arranged side by side. Each panel unit 10 is provided with a connection portion 40, and the connection portion 40 is for connecting the drive line 11 to the drive circuit 20 and for connecting the detection line 12 to the detection circuit 30. It has become. The connection part at this time will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the drive line 11 and the detection line 12 are shown as a wiring group including a plurality of wirings for each panel unit for the sake of explanation. On the drive circuit 20 side, one end X1 and X2 of each drive line 11 is directly connected to the drive circuit 20 as X1 and X2 through the connection unit 40. Note that the other end of each drive line 11 is open. Further, the detection circuit 30 side is configured to connect to the detection circuit 30 as Y after connecting one ends AY1 and BY1 of the corresponding detection lines 12 respectively. Specifically, the detection lines 12 arranged in a straight line on the panel unit 10 are connected to each other and connected to the detection circuit 30. Thereby, the detection lines 12 arranged in a straight line on the panel unit 10 arranged side by side are connected to each other.

  The control unit 50 controls the drive circuit 20 and the detection circuit 30. The control method of the control unit 50 may be a general control method for a capacitive touch panel. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the predetermined drive line 11 may be controlled to be sequentially connected to the drive circuit 20 and the detection line 12 may be controlled to be sequentially connected to the detection circuit 30. That is, each detection line 12 may be sequentially switched to the detection circuit 30 in a state where one drive line 11 is connected to the drive circuit 20 and driven. Note that the drive line 11 and the detection line 12 that are not connected are appropriately fixed to the GND potential. By connecting the drive line 11 and the detection line 12 sequentially, it is possible to determine from which intersection the signal is detected by the combination of the selected drive line and the detection line, and this is used to detect the touch position coordinates. Is done. At this time, since the detection lines 12 in a state where corresponding detection lines are connected to each other are sequentially connected to the detection circuit 30, as compared to simply connecting all the detection lines 12 to the detection circuit 30. Half the number of switches is enough.

  Thus, since the capacitive touch panel of the first embodiment of the present invention can arrange a plurality of panel units side by side, if a large touch panel is desired, a plurality of panel units may be used. Individual panel units do not need to be large and can be manufactured at low cost. In addition to simply arranging a plurality of panel units, the corresponding detection lines are connected to each other and sequentially connected to the detection circuit, so that high-speed scanning is possible.

  Here, in the illustrated example described above, an example in which one end of the corresponding detection line 12 is connected is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram for explaining another connection example of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. In FIG. 3, the drive line 11 and the detection line 12 are shown as a wiring group including a plurality of wirings for each panel unit for the sake of explanation. As shown in the figure, in this example, one end X1 and X2 of the corresponding drive line 11 are connected to each other and then connected to the drive circuit 20. Further, once AY1 and BY1 of each detection line 11 are directly connected to the detection circuit 30 as Y1 and Y2. In this case, since the two panel units can be simultaneously operated in parallel, the scanning time can be halved as compared with the case where one panel unit equivalent to the size of two panel units is used. Further, both the drive line 11 and the detection line 12 may be connected to one end of the corresponding line and connected to the drive circuit 20 and the detection circuit 30, respectively. In addition, although two panel units are arranged side by side, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of panel units may be arranged in a tile shape. Here, the tile shape includes a plurality of tiles arranged in the X-axis direction and a plurality of tiles arranged in the XY-axis direction. There is no limit to the number of sheets. Even if the number of panel units is increased, one end of the corresponding drive line and / or detection line may be connected to the drive circuit and / or detection circuit.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining another configuration of the panel unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram for explaining still another connection example of the capacitive touch panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1 and 2 show examples in which one end of the corresponding detection line is connected to the detection circuit, but in the examples in FIGS. 4 and 5, not only the detection line but also the drive line is shown. 1 also shows one in which one end of the corresponding drive line is connected to the drive circuit.

  As illustrated, in this example, four panel units 10 arranged vertically and horizontally are shown. Then, one end AX1, BX1 and AX2, BX2 of the corresponding drive line 11 of each panel unit 10 is connected, and connected to the drive circuit 20 as X1, X2, and one end AY1, BY1, and AY2 of the corresponding detection line 12 , BY2 are respectively connected to the detection circuit 30 as Y1, Y2. Thereby, the drive lines 11 arranged in a straight line on the panel unit 10 arranged vertically and the detection lines 12 arranged in a line on the panel unit 10 arranged horizontally are connected to each other. Become. And by arranging such a panel unit 10 up and down, a touch panel having a huge panel for four sheets can be realized.

  For example, when each panel unit 10 has 14 drive lines and 10 detection lines, respectively, as in the illustrated example, the intersections of the lines are 14 × 10 = 140 intersections. And when the panel unit 10 is four, it will have the intersection of 140 * 4 = 560. Here, in the case of a conventional touch panel having a panel unit equivalent to the size of four panel units, it is necessary to scan all 560 intersections as it is. However, in the capacitive touch panel according to the present invention, each panel unit can be driven and detected simultaneously in parallel, so that it is sufficient to scan 1/4 intersection points, that is, 140 intersection points. Further, since one end of the corresponding drive line is connected and one end of the corresponding detection line is connected, the number of wirings is further reduced to 1/4, so that the drive circuit and the detection circuit are sequentially connected. The number of switches etc. is also 1/4.

  In the illustrated example described above, a common drive circuit and detection circuit are used, and the wiring from the panel unit is bundled at the connection portion and then connected to the common drive circuit and detection circuit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a drive circuit and a detection circuit may be provided for each panel unit.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the panel unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. In this example, the drive circuit 20 and the detection circuit 30 are provided for each panel unit 10. A transfer unit 60 for connecting the drive circuit 20 and the detection circuit 30 is provided for each panel unit 10. The transfer unit 60 is for connecting the drive circuit 20 and the detection circuit 30 to the control unit 50, respectively. In the illustrated example, the transfer unit 60 is indirectly connected to the control unit 50 via the transfer unit 60 of another panel unit. The control unit 50 controls the drive circuit 20 and the detection circuit 30 that are connected via the transfer unit 60. That is, the capacitive touch panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a sub-board in each panel unit, and the driving circuit 20, the detection circuit 30, and the transfer unit 60 are provided on the sub-board. In addition, a controller 50 to which the transfer unit 60 is connected is provided on the main board that is connected in a daisy chain and is finally connected. The detection signal is amplified by the detection circuit 30 of the sub-board provided in each panel unit, and is sent to the control unit 50 of the main board using the transfer unit 60. The transfer unit 60 can also send timing signals from the main board to each sub board. Note that the present invention is not limited to one in which the transfer unit is daisy chain connected. For example, a star connection may be used around the control unit so that each transfer unit is directly connected to the control unit. That is, the transfer unit may be indirectly connected to the control unit via another transfer unit, or each transfer unit may be directly connected to the control unit.

  The transfer unit will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram for explaining the configuration of the transfer unit of the capacitive touch panel according to the present invention. As shown, the transfer unit 60 includes a shift register 61, which is controlled by a control unit 50 connected via a connector 62. The shift register 61 is used for controlling the drive switch 22 so that the drive amplifiers 21 of the drive circuit 20 are sequentially connected, and for controlling the detection switch 32 so that the amplifier circuits 31 of the detection circuit 30 are sequentially connected. Used for. A shift clock signal for synchronizing the transfer units 60 and a selection signal for selecting a detection line / drive line are input from the control unit 50 to the shift register 61.

  With this configuration, each panel can be simultaneously detected in parallel, so that touch detection can be performed at high speed. Further, there are no problems such as interference between the drive line and the detection line, mixing of external noise, and cost increase due to the use of the multi-core connection cable.

  Note that the capacitive touch panel of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples described above, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Panel unit 11 Drive line 12 Detection line 20 Drive circuit 21 Drive amplifier 22 Drive switch 30 Detection circuit 31 Amplifier circuit 32 Detection switch 40 Connection part 50 Control part 60 Transfer part 61 Shift register

Claims (4)

A capacitive touch panel, the capacitive touch panel,
A plurality of panel units having a plurality of drive lines arranged in parallel along one of the XY coordinate axes and a plurality of detection lines arranged in parallel along the other of the XY coordinate axes;
A drive circuit for driving the drive line by inputting a predetermined drive voltage to the drive line of the panel unit;
A detection circuit for detecting a signal from a detection line of the panel unit;
A connection unit that connects one end of the corresponding drive line and / or detection line of each panel unit to the drive circuit and / or detection circuit when the plurality of panel units are arranged in a tile;
A control unit for controlling the drive circuit and the detection circuit;
A capacitive touch panel characterized by comprising: A capacitive touch panel, the capacitive touch panel,
A plurality of panel units having a plurality of drive lines arranged in parallel along one of the XY coordinate axes and a plurality of detection lines arranged in parallel along the other of the XY coordinate axes;
A drive circuit that is provided for each panel unit and that drives a drive line by inputting a predetermined drive voltage to the drive line;
A detection circuit that is provided for each panel unit and detects a signal from a detection line;
A control unit for controlling the drive circuit and the detection circuit;
A transfer unit provided for each panel unit, the transfer unit for connecting the drive circuit and the detection circuit to the control unit, and
A capacitive touch panel characterized by comprising:   3. The capacitive touch panel according to claim 2, wherein the transfer unit is daisy chain connected or star-connected with a control unit as a center.   4. The capacitive touch panel according to claim 1, further comprising a shift register, wherein a drive line and / or a detection line is selected by the shift register. Capacitive touch panel.