KR100480160B1 - Apparatus and Method of Driving Touch Panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for driving a touch panel to prevent an error due to a double touch when driving the touch panel.

A touch panel driving apparatus according to the present invention includes: a touch panel mounted on a display device to generate a coordinate signal for a user's touch point; A touch controller which controls driving of the touch panel, detects a coordinate value of the coordinate signal, compares a current coordinate value with a previous coordinate value, and generates a double touch detection signal when the difference value exceeds a reference value; And a system body configured to perform a double touch prevention function when it is determined as a double touch according to the double touch detection signal from the touch controller. The system main body causes a menu corresponding to a right button function of a mouse to be displayed on the display device or a dual touch warning message to be displayed on the display device in response to the dual touch detection signal.

With this configuration, the present invention generates a double touch flag when a double touch occurs in the touch panel, and displays a menu or a warning message for the right mouse function on the screen using the double touch flag to perform an error operation according to the double touch. It can be prevented.

Description

Apparatus and Method of Driving Touch Panel}

The present invention relates to a touch panel, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for driving a touch panel to prevent an error due to a double touch when driving the touch panel.

The touch panel, which is a display device-integrated input device, generates a voltage or current signal corresponding to a position where the stylus pen or finger is pressed to input a command or graphic information designated by a user. Display devices include Liquid Crystal Display (hereinafter referred to as "LCD"), Field Emission Display (hereinafter referred to as "FED"), Plasma Display Panel (hereinafter referred to as "PDP"). And an electroluminescent device (hereinafter referred to as "ELD"). Recently, a resistive touch panel integrated with a liquid crystal panel is mainly used among flat panel displays.

A typical liquid crystal panel displays an image by controlling the light transmittance of liquid crystal cells injected between two glass substrates. Each of the liquid crystal cells adjusts an amount of light transmitted in response to a video signal, that is, a corresponding pixel signal. Such liquid crystal panels may also include a touch panel used as an input device. The touch panel generates a voltage or current signal corresponding to the position where the stylus pen or finger is pressed to input a command or graphic information designated by the user.

In general, the liquid crystal display device in which the touch panel is mounted is configured such that the touch panel 1, the liquid crystal panel 2, and the backlight 3 are sequentially stacked as shown in FIG. 1. In order to operate this, the touch panel 1 must be connected to the touch controller 4 by the signal line 7 (FPC), and the touch controller 4 must be electrically connected to the computer main body 5 again. When the image signal displayed through the liquid crystal panel 2 is displayed through the touch panel 1, the user presses the same using a stylus pen or a finger. The voltage or current signal corresponding to the pressed position flows through the signal line 7. The signal applied to the signal line 7 is supplied to the touch controller 4 via the connector, and the touch signal is recognized by the computer main body.

2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a touch panel integrated with a liquid crystal panel.

Referring to FIG. 2, the touch panel 1 is placed on the liquid crystal panel 2. The touch panel 1 includes a lower sheet 12 and an upper sheet 14; Lower and upper transparent conductive layers 16a and 16b formed on the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 14, respectively; A spacer 22 is uniformly spread between the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 14 to which the lower and upper transparent conductive layers 16a and 16b are applied.

In the touch panel 1, as shown in FIG. 2, a first electrode layer 18a is formed at a first direction edge of the surface of the lower sheet 12 to which the lower transparent conductive layer 16a is applied, and the upper transparent conductive layer 16b is formed. The second electrode layer 18b is formed at the edge in the second direction on the top sheet 14 surface. The second electrode layer 18b causes the upper sheet 14 to be shorted with the first electrode layer 18a when the upper sheet 14 is pressed by a stylus pen or finger to generate a signal having a current amount or voltage level that varies depending on the pressed position. In this case, the first and second electrode layers 18a and 18b may be formed of indium-tin-oxide (hereinafter referred to as "ITO") or indium-zinc oxide (Indium-Zinc), which is a transparent conductive material having high resistance. -Oxide (hereinafter referred to as "IZO") and indium-tin-zinc-oxide (hereinafter referred to as "ITZO") formed on the transparent conductive layers 16a and 16b. It is formed by printing (Ag). In addition, the upper and lower sheets are composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

In addition, the touch panel 1 includes an adhesive layer 20 for bonding the lower and upper sheets 12 and 14 to which the transparent conductive layers 16a and 16b and the electrode layers 18a and 18b are sequentially applied. The adhesive layer 20 serves to insulate the lower and upper sheets 12 and 14 as well as to insulate the first and second electrode layers 18a and 18b from each other.

The four-wire resistive touch panel 1 is composed of two resistive layers facing each other and separated by a predetermined gap. One resistance layer is constituted by a pair of second electrode layers 18b provided on edges facing in the X direction, and the other resistance layer is paired first electrode layers 18a provided on edges opposite in the Y direction. It is configured by The X and Y directions of the respective resistance layers may be compatible with each other. These resistive layers measure the voltage induced in the resistive layer through which current flows alternately through its electrodes. By the induced voltage, the coordinate positions (X, Y) of the contact points on the touch panel are detected.

When using the four-wire and each resistive touch panel, users find some problems. First, when the touch panel draws with the pen 9 as shown in FIG. 3, when a double touch is performed with a hand or another object, an error A that protrudes toward the middle portion occurs. That is, a first disadvantage arises in that the user cannot display a point to be instructed by the pen 9 on the touch panel.

Secondly, in the touch panel according to the prior art, the following functions are performed to function as a right mouse on a window. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the right function button (Right Button) B displayed at the bottom of the screen is pressed. Next comes the Icon and the user points to the displayed icon. As described above, when the user instructs the icon, the screen (C) of the icon, which is the right button function of the mouse, can be viewed on the screen. However, when the instruction icon is far from the right mouse function, the user may draw a drawing and press the right function button (1), move it again, and press an icon to feel an inconvenience. .

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for driving a touch panel to prevent an error due to a double touch when driving the touch panel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for driving a touch panel to simplify the operation of a right mouse function when driving the touch panel.

In order to achieve the above object, a touch panel driving device according to the present invention includes a touch panel mounted on the display device for generating a coordinate signal for the user's touch point; A touch controller which controls driving of the touch panel, detects a coordinate value of the coordinate signal, compares a current coordinate value with a previous coordinate value, and generates a double touch detection signal when the difference value exceeds a reference value; And a system body configured to perform a double touch prevention function when it is determined as a double touch according to the double touch detection signal from the touch controller. The system main body causes a menu corresponding to a right button function of a mouse to be displayed on the display device or a dual touch warning message to be displayed on the display device in response to the dual touch detection signal. The touch controller generates a dual touch flag having a specific value as the dual touch detection signal. The touch controller generates the dual touch detection signal when a difference between the current coordinate value and the previous coordinate value is at least 100 or more. The system body discards the current coordinate value input together with the dual touch detection signal in response to the dual touch detection signal and causes the display device to display an indication point corresponding to the previous coordinate value. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of driving a touch panel, the method including: detecting a current coordinate value of a user touch point in a touch panel mounted on a display device; Comparing the current coordinate value with a previous coordinate value to determine whether the difference exceeds a reference value; Generating a double touch detection signal when the difference value exceeds a reference value in the step; And in response to the dual touch detection signal, displaying a menu corresponding to a right button function of a mouse on the display device or displaying a dual touch warning message on the display device in response to the dual touch detection signal. The driving method of the touch panel further includes generating a dual touch flag having a specific value as the dual touch detection signal. The generating of the double touch detection signal may include generating the double touch detection signal when a difference value between the current coordinate value and the previous coordinate value is at least 100 or more. The driving method of the touch panel further includes displaying an indication point corresponding to a previous coordinate value on the display device in response to the dual touch detection signal.

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Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above objects will become apparent from the detailed description of the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10.

5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the liquid crystal display device in which the touch panel according to the present invention is mounted is configured such that the touch panel 51, the liquid crystal panel 52, and the backlight 53 are sequentially stacked. To operate this, the touch panel 51 should be connected to the touch controller 54 by the signal line 57 (FPC), and the touch controller 54 should be electrically connected to the computer main body 55 again. When the image signal displayed through the liquid crystal panel 52 is displayed through the touch panel 51, the user presses it using a stylus pen or a finger, and a voltage or current signal corresponding to the pressed position flows through the signal line 57. do. The signal applied to this signal line 57 is supplied to the touch controller 54 through a connector (not shown), and the signal is recognized by the computer main body.

6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal panel 52 and the touch panel 51 illustrated in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the touch panel 51 is placed on a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal panel 52. The touch panel 51 includes a lower sheet 62 and an upper sheet 64; Conductive lower and upper transparent conductive layers 66a and 66b formed on the lower sheet 62 and the upper sheet 64, respectively; And a spacer 72 uniformly spread between the lower sheet 62 and the upper sheet 64 to which the lower and upper transparent conductive layers 66a and 66b are applied.

In the touch panel 51, as shown in FIG. 6, a first electrode layer 68a is formed at a first direction edge of the surface of the lower sheet 62 to which the lower transparent conductive layer 66a is applied, and the upper transparent conductive layer 66b. The second electrode layer 68b is formed at the edge in the second direction of the top sheet 64 to which the) is applied. The second electrode layer 68b is shorted with the first electrode layer 68a when the upper sheet 64 is pressed by a stylus pen or finger, thereby generating a signal having a current amount or voltage level that varies depending on the pressed position. In this case, the first and second electrode layers 68a and 68b may be formed of indium-tin-oxide (ITO), indium-zinc-oxide (IZO), indium-tin-zinc-oxide (ITZO), which are transparent conductive materials having high resistance. It is formed by printing silver (Ag) on the transparent conductive layers 66a and 66b which are formed as one of them. The upper and lower sheets are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

In addition, the touch panel 51 includes an adhesive layer 70 for bonding the lower and upper sheets 62 and 64 to which the transparent conductive layers 66a and 66b and the electrode layers 68a and 68b are sequentially applied. The adhesive layer 70 not only bonds the lower and upper sheets 62 and 64 but also insulates the first and second electrode layers 68a and 68b from each other.

The four-wire resistive touch panel 51 is composed of two resistive layers facing each other and separated by a predetermined gap. One resistance layer is constituted by a pair of second electrode layers 68b provided on the edges opposite in the X direction, and the other resistance layer is provided on a pair of first electrode layers 68a provided on the edges opposite in the Y direction. It is configured by The X and Y directions of the respective resistance layers may be compatible with each other. These resistive layers measure the voltage induced in the resistive layer through which current flows alternately through its electrodes. By the induced voltage, the coordinate positions (X, Y) of the contact points on the touch panel are detected. The detection of this coordinate position is explained through the drive of the touch panel shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a driving device of the resistive touch panel illustrated in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 7, the resistive touch panel driving apparatus according to the present invention includes a touch panel driver for supplying power to the touch panel 51, a touch controller 54 for controlling the touch panel driver, An analog-to-digital (hereinafter referred to as "A / D") converter 56 connected between the touch panel driver and the touch controller 54 is provided.

The touch panel driver includes transistors Tx and Ty and variable resistors (not shown) for supplying power sources VDD and GND to the touch panel 51. Each of the first X and Y electrodes X1 and Y1 included in the first and second electrode layers 68a and 68b has a fixed voltage via the transistors Tx1 and Ty1 and a variable resistor (not shown), respectively. It is connected to the power supply VDD. Each of the second X and Y electrodes X2 and Y2 is also grounded to the ground voltage source GND via the transistors Tx2 and Ty2, respectively. The position detection signal Vx in the X direction and the position detection signal Vy in the Y direction are detected by the voltage variation applied between the electrodes.

The transistors Tx and Ty are driven by switching control from the touch controller 54, and each of the points touched by the corresponding inter-electrode voltage difference when the power supply voltage VDD is applied by the switching control. The voltage signal is detected. In this case, a 5V voltage is generally applied as the power supply voltage VDD. That is, the voltage is first applied to the first electrode layer 68a to detect the X-axis position voltage signal, and then the voltage is applied to the second electrode layer 68b to detect the Y-axis position voltage signal. Thereby, the position detection signal Vx in the X direction and the position detection signal Vy in the Y direction are input to the A / D converter 56 in the drive device for the touch panel according to the present invention.

The A / D converter 56 converts the position detection signal Vx in the X direction and the position detection signal Vy in the Y direction from the touch panel 51 into digital data, that is, the X-axis coordinate data and the Y-axis coordinate data. To be supplied. At this time, the digital data has a 2n bit value. Currently, 10-bit digital data values are mainly used.

The touch controller 54 provides a switching control signal SCS and an inverted switching control signal / SCS for controlling the transistors Tx and Ty in the touch panel driver. In addition, the touch controller 54 calculates touch point coordinates of the touch panel 51 using the X-axis coordinate data and the Y-axis coordinate data from the A / D converter 56. In addition, the touch controller 54 compares the currently calculated coordinate value with the previously calculated coordinate value and determines that the difference value exceeds the reference value as dual touch, and converts the dual touch flag to 1 to calculate the currently calculated coordinate value. Together with the main body 55. On the other hand, when the difference value between the previous coordinate value and the current coordinate value does not exceed the reference value, the detected current calculated coordinate value is transmitted to the main body 55.

When the dual touch flag input from the touch controller 54 is 1, the main body 55 performs the double touch prevention function. The main body 55 may display the right button function of the mouse on the screen of the liquid crystal display or display the double touch warning message as a double touch prevention function. On the other hand, when the dual touch flag input from the touch controller 54 is 0, the main body 55 displays an instruction point corresponding to the coordinate value inputted on the screen of the liquid crystal display, or a command corresponding to the instruction point. Will be performed.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a touch panel driving method using the resistive touch panel driving device of FIG. 7.

First, in step 1 (S1), the touch controller 54 illustrated in FIG. 7 detects X and Y coordinate values input from the touch panel 51 through the A / D converter 56, and detects the coordinate values accordingly. As described with reference to FIG. 7, the touch controller 54 controls the transistors Tx and Ty so that the power supply voltage VDD and the ground voltage GND are sequentially controlled. By applying it to the 68a and Y electrodes 68b, the X-axis coordinate signal and the Y-axis coordinate signal corresponding to the touch point of the user are generated. In this way, the X- and Y-axis coordinate signals generated from the touch panel 51 are converted into digital data through the A / D converter 56 and supplied to the touch controller 54, and the touch controller 54 is supplied with X. Coordinate values for touch points are calculated by combining the axis and Y-axis coordinate data.

Next, in step 2 (S2), the touch controller 54 compares the currently calculated coordinate value with the previous coordinate value to determine whether the difference is a reference value, for example, about 100 or more. This is because when the user makes a double touch when drawing a picture or instructing a location, a significant difference appears between the current coordinate and the previous coordinate, and thus it may be recognized as a double touch. Here, when the difference (absolute value) between the current coordinate value and the previous coordinate value exceeds the reference value, it is determined as a dual touch, and the process proceeds to the next step 3 (S3) to set the dual touch flag to 1. On the other hand, when the difference value (absolute value) between the current coordinate value and the previous coordinate value is equal to or less than the reference value, the dual touch flag is set to 0 in the next step 3 (S3).

Subsequently, in step 4 (S4), the touch controller 54 transmits the currently detected coordinate value together with the dual touch flag to the main body 55.

Next, in step 5 (S5), the main body 55 inputs a dual touch flag and a coordinate value transmitted from the touch controller 54 to determine whether the dual touch flag is “1”. Here, when the dual touch flag is "1", the main body 55 determines that the currently inputted coordinate value is the coordinate value by the double touch, and proceeds to the next step 61 (S61) to perform the double touch prevention function.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, when the dual touch flag is “1”, the main body 55 corresponds to a right mouse button function while maintaining the previous touch point A by the stylus pen 59. The menu 1 is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display. In addition, when the dual touch flag is “1”, the main body 55 displays the warning message ll while maintaining the previous touch point A by the stylus pen 59 as shown in FIG. 10. Display on the screen of the display device. Accordingly, an error operation of the touch panel 51 can be prevented when the user makes a double touch unknowingly.

On the other hand, when the dual touch flag is "0", the process proceeds to the next step 62 (S62) and the main body 55 displays an instruction point corresponding to the currently input coordinate value or performs a command corresponding to the instruction point. do.

As described above, the apparatus and method for driving the touch panel according to the present invention detects the dual touch generated in the touch panel and generates a dual touch flag having a specific value. In addition, the apparatus and method for driving a touch panel according to the present invention cause a menu or a dual touch warning message corresponding to a right function of a mouse to be displayed on a screen according to a flag of dual touch of a specific value. As a result, according to the apparatus and method for driving a touch panel according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an error operation due to a double touch and to perform a right mouse button function.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

1 is a diagram illustrating a display device in which a resistive touch panel is mounted.

2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a touch panel integrated with a liquid crystal panel.

3 is a view showing a first disadvantage that occurs when driving the touch panel according to the prior art.

4 is a view showing a second disadvantage that occurs when driving the touch panel according to the prior art.

5 is a diagram illustrating a display device in which a resistive touch panel according to the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch panel integrated with a liquid crystal panel in FIG. 5.

7 is a view showing a driving device of a resistive touch panel according to the present invention.

8 is a view illustrating a method of driving a resistive touch panel according to the present invention.

9 is a diagram illustrating a method of driving a touch panel according to the first method of the present invention when double-touching a touch panel.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a method of driving a touch panel according to a second method of the present invention when double touching a touch panel.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1,51 touch panel 2,52 liquid crystal panel

3,53: Backlight 4,54: Touch Controller

5,55 computer main body 7,57 signal line

9: pen 12,62: lower sheet

14,64: upper sheet 16,66: transparent conductive layer

18,68: electrode layer 20,70: adhesive layer

22,72: spacer 56: A / D converter

Claims (12)

A touch panel mounted on the display device to generate a coordinate signal for a user's touch point; A touch controller which controls driving of the touch panel, detects a coordinate value of the coordinate signal, compares a current coordinate value with a previous coordinate value, and generates a double touch detection signal when the difference value exceeds a reference value; A system body configured to perform a double touch prevention function when it is determined as a double touch according to the double touch detection signal from the touch controller; The system main body drives the touch panel to display a menu corresponding to a right button function of a mouse on the display device in response to the dual touch detection signal, or to display a dual touch warning message on the display device. Device. The method of claim 1, And the touch controller generates a dual touch flag having a specific value as the dual touch detection signal. The method of claim 1, And wherein the touch controller generates the dual touch detection signal when a difference value between the current coordinate value and the previous coordinate value is at least 100 or more. delete delete The method of claim 1, The system body And in response to the dual touch detection signal, discard the current coordinate value inputted with the dual touch detection signal and display an indication point corresponding to the previous coordinate value on the display device. Detecting a current coordinate value of a user touch point of the touch panel mounted on the display device; Comparing the current coordinate value with a previous coordinate value to determine whether the difference exceeds a reference value; Generating a double touch detection signal when the difference value exceeds a reference value in the step; And displaying a menu corresponding to a right button function of a mouse on the display device or displaying a double touch warning message on the display device in response to the dual touch detection signal. A method of driving a touch panel, characterized in that. The method of claim 7, wherein And generating a dual touch flag having a specific value as the dual touch detection signal. The method of claim 7, wherein Generating the dual touch detection signal, And when the difference between the current coordinate value and the previous coordinate value is at least 100, generating the dual touch detection signal. delete delete The method of claim 7, wherein And displaying an indication point corresponding to a previous coordinate value on the display device in response to the dual touch detection signal.