KR101756663B1 - Apparatus and method for driving display panel with built-in touch sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for driving a display panel in which a touch sensor capable of reducing power consumption by selectively time-dividing an in-cell touch sensor array and a pixel array to reduce a driving frequency, The driving apparatus of the display panel with the built-in sensor generates a time division enable signal for controlling whether the pixel array is driven in accordance with the driving mode and whether or not it is time-division driven in the touch sensing mode period in which the touch sensor array is driven A host system for generating and outputting a time division timing control signal for controlling time division timing in response to user option setting or touch information; Divisionally activating the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time division enable signal and for adjusting the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time- A controller; A panel driver for driving the pixel array in the display mode period in response to the control of the timing controller; And a touch controller that drives the touch sensor array in the touch sensing mode period in response to the control of the timing controller and calculates the touch information from the output signal of the touch sensor array and outputs the calculated touch information to the host system.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a driving apparatus and method for a display panel having a touch sensor,

The present invention relates to a driving system for a display panel having a touch sensor, and in particular, to a touch panel device having a touch sensor array built in a display panel and a driving method of a display panel having a touch sensor capable of reducing power consumption by selectively time- Apparatus and method.

2. Description of the Related Art Today, a touch sensor (touch screen, touch panel) capable of inputting information by touching on the screen of various display devices is widely applied as an information input device of a computer system. The touch sensor allows the user to easily use the display information by simply touching the screen with a finger or a stylus to select or move the display information.

The touch sensor senses a touch and a touch position generated on the screen of the display device and outputs the touch information, and the computer system analyzes the touch information and executes an instruction. As a display device, a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display panel, and an organic light emitting diode display device is mainly used.

As the touch sensor technology, there are resistance film type, capacitive type, optical type, infrared type, ultrasonic type, and electromagnetic type depending on the sensing principle. Generally, the touch sensor is manufactured in a panel form and attached to the upper part of the display device to perform a touch input function. However, the display device to which the touch sensor is attached requires the touch panel to be manufactured separately from the display device and attached to the display device. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is increased, the thickness and weight of the whole system are increased, There are following problems.

In order to solve this problem, an in-cell touch sensor incorporating a touch sensor in a pixel array such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic light emitting diode display device has been developed. As the in-cell touch sensor, a photo-touch sensor that recognizes a touch according to the light intensity using a phototransistor and a capacitive touch sensor that recognizes a touch according to a capacitive variable are mainly used.

The photo-touch sensor recognizes the touch through the light leakage current of the phototransistor generated from incident light or reflected light by the touch object. The capacitive touch sensor recognizes a touch by a change in capacitance caused by a small amount of charge moving to a touch point when a conductor such as a human body or a stylus touches.

The touch sensor attached to the conventional display device is driven independently of the other devices such as the display device and the touch sensor, so that the display device and the touch sensor can be driven at the same time. However, since the touch sensor incorporated in the pixel array of the display device in the in-cell manner can not drive the display device and the touch sensor at the same time, it is necessary to operate the in-cell touch sensor array and the pixel array in a time- .

In addition, when the in-cell touch sensor array and the pixel array are time-division-driven, a driving frequency of the in-cell touch sensor array and the pixel array is increased and power consumption is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a touch sensor array and a pixel array, And to provide a driving apparatus and method for a display panel having a built-in touch sensor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a display panel having a touch sensor capable of optimizing a display period and a touch sensing mode period by adaptively adjusting a driving frequency of an in-cell touch sensor array and a pixel array to a user's use condition And to provide a driving apparatus and method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display panel driving apparatus including a touch sensor including a pixel array including a plurality of pixels, a touch sensor array including a plurality of touch sensors formed in the pixel array, A display mode period in which the pixel array is driven in accordance with a drive mode and a time division enable signal for controlling whether the device is driven in a time division manner in a touch sensing mode period in which the touch sensor array is driven A host system for generating and outputting a time division timing control signal for controlling time division timing in response to user option setting or touch information; Divisionally activating the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time division enable signal and for adjusting the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time- A controller; A panel driver for driving the pixel array in the display mode period in response to the control of the timing controller; And a touch controller that drives the touch sensor array in the touch sensing mode period in response to the control of the timing controller and calculates the touch information from the output signal of the touch sensor array and outputs the calculated touch information to the host system.

The host system includes a time division control unit for generating the time division enable signal and the time division timing control signal.

Wherein the time division control unit enables the time enable driving mode of the timing controller by enabling the touch enable signal when the host system is in the normal mode and disables the touch enable signal when the host system is in the standby mode, And turns off the time-division drive mode of the timing controller.

The timing controller outputs a mode switching signal for switching the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in each frame in response to the enabled touch enable signal; The output of the mode switching signal is blocked in response to the disabled touch enable signal so that each frame is driven only in the display mode period.

The touch information includes at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration together with the touch coordinates.

The host system sets the time division timing control signal in a plurality of steps in response to the touch information; Division timing control signal is relatively low, the timing controller secures the touch sensing mode period at a maximum in each frame, and if the step of the time-divisional timing control signal is relatively high, the touch sensing mode period Ensure minimum.

Wherein the timing controller selects one of a plurality of driving frequencies of the display mode period in response to the time division timing control signal, adjusts the frequency of the internal clock according to the selected driving frequency, A plurality of control signals for controlling the driving timing of the panel driving unit and a mode switching signal for switching the mode between the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period.

Wherein the host system sets the time-division timing step to a minimum when at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is less than a preset first reference value; Division timing is set to a maximum when at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is greater than a preset second reference value.

A method of driving a display panel having a touch sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes driving a display panel including a pixel array including a plurality of pixels and a touch sensor array including a plurality of touch sensors formed in the pixel array Generating a time division enable signal for controlling whether a display mode period in which the pixel array is driven according to a driving mode and a time division driving period in a touch sensing mode period in which the touch sensor array is driven; Generating and outputting a time division timing control signal for controlling the time division timing in response to user option setting or touch information; Divisionally driving the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time division enable signal; Adjusting the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time division timing control signal; Driving the pixel array in the display mode period; Driving the touch sensor array in the touch sensing mode period and calculating the touch information from the output signal of the touch sensor array.

An apparatus and method for driving a display panel in which a touch sensor is incorporated according to the present invention selectively performs time division driving in a display mode period and a touch sensing mode period according to a driving mode of a host system. Accordingly, the driving frequency of the pixel array can be reduced by driving each frame only in the display mode period without switching the mode from the standby mode to the touch sensing mode, thereby reducing power consumption.

The apparatus and method for driving a display panel including a touch sensor according to the present invention may be configured to respond to an option setting of a user or to set a time division timing in response to touch information (the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, (Mode switching timing) is adjusted so that the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period are adaptively adjusted. Accordingly, when the touch point or touch frequency of the user is relatively small or the touch duration is relatively short such as menu selection, the display mode period is maximized to reduce the driving frequency of the pixel array, . In addition, when the touch point or touch frequency of the user is relatively large or the touch duration is relatively long, such as lighting or drawing of the user, the touch sensing mode period can be maximized to improve the touch sensing power.

1 is a circuit block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a driving apparatus for a display panel in which a touch sensor is incorporated according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing an example of a vertical structure of a display panel having the touch sensor shown in FIG.
3 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing an example of a display panel having the touch sensor shown in Fig.
4 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing another example of a display panel in which the touch sensor shown in Fig. 1 is incorporated.
5 is a circuit block diagram showing an internal configuration of the host system and the timing controller shown in Fig.
6 is a driving waveform diagram of a display panel having the touch sensor shown in Fig.
7 is another drive waveform diagram of the display panel in which the touch sensor shown in Fig. 1 is incorporated.

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram schematically showing a driving apparatus for a display panel in which a touch sensor is incorporated, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a vertical structure of a display panel 10 incorporating the touch sensor shown in FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the first embodiment.

1 includes a display panel 10 in which a touch sensor TS is incorporated, a data driver 22 and a gate driver 24 for driving a pixel array in the display panel 10 A timing controller 30 for controlling the panel driving unit 20, a touch controller 40 for driving the touch sensor array in the display panel 10, a timing controller 30, (50) for controlling the host computer (40).

1, the timing controller 30 and the data driver 22 may be integrated into respective ICs (Integrated Circuits), or the timing controller 30 may be embedded in the data driver 22 and integrated into one IC. The touch controller 40 and the timing controller 30 may be integrated into respective ICs or the touch controller 40 may be embedded in the timing controller 30 and integrated into one IC.

The display panel 10 includes a pixel array in which a plurality of pixels PX are arranged and a touch sensor array in which a plurality of touch sensors TS are arranged in the pixel array. The pixel array displays a graphical user interface (GUI) and other information including pointers or cursors. The touch sensor array senses a user touch and allows the user to interact with the GUI displayed on the pixel array. As the display panel 10, a flat panel display panel such as a liquid crystal display panel (hereinafter referred to as a liquid crystal panel), a plasma display panel, and an organic light emitting diode display panel can be mainly used. Hereinafter, a liquid crystal panel will be described as an example.

2, the display panel 10 includes a thin film transistor array 8 including a touch sensor TS, a thin film transistor (not shown) and a pixel electrode 6, An upper substrate 14 on which a color filter array 13 including a black matrix 11 and a color filter 12 is formed and a lower substrate 4 on which a lower matrix 4 and an upper substrate 14 are formed, A lower polarizer plate 2 and an upper polarizer plate 16 respectively attached to the outer surfaces of the lower substrate 4 and the upper substrate 14 and a liquid crystal layer LC between the upper polarizer 16 and the upper polarizer 16, And a substrate (18). A common electrode (not shown) is formed on the lower substrate 4 or the upper substrate 14. The liquid crystal layer LC is driven by a vertical electric field such as a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode or a VA (Vertical Alignment) mode, or by a horizontal electric field such as an IPS (In-Plane Switching) mode or an FFS (Fringe Field Switching) . As the touch sensor (TS), a photo touch sensor or a capacitive touch sensor is used. When the capacitive touch sensor TS is used, the capacitance of the touch sensor TS can be changed by forming the capacitor Cf between the touch object and the touch sensor TS as shown in FIG. 2, so that the touch can be recognized.

In the display panel 10 shown in Fig. 1, each pixel of the pixel array implements color by a combination of red, green, and blue subpixels PX that adjust the light transmittance by varying the liquid crystal array according to the data signal. Each sub-pixel PX includes a thin film transistor connected to the gate line GL and the data line DL, a liquid crystal capacitor connected in parallel with the thin film transistor, and a storage capacitor. The liquid crystal capacitor charges the difference voltage between the data signal supplied to the pixel electrode through the thin film transistor and the common voltage supplied to the common electrode, and drives the liquid crystal according to the charged voltage to adjust the light transmittance. The storage capacitor stably maintains the voltage charged in the liquid crystal capacitor.

In the display panel 10 shown in FIG. 1, the touch sensor array includes a plurality of touch sensors TS connected to a sensor drive line SL and a lead-out line ROL. Each touch sensor (TS) can mainly use a photo-touch sensor that recognizes a touch according to light intensity using a phototransistor and a capacitive touch sensor that recognizes a touch according to a capacitive variable. The photo-touch sensor recognizes the touch through the light leakage current of the phototransistor generated from incident light or reflected light by the touch object. The capacitive touch sensor recognizes a touch by a change in capacitance caused by a small amount of charge moving to a touch point when a conductor such as a human body or a stylus touches. For example, the capacitive touch sensor TS forms a touch object and a touch capacitor Cf as shown in FIG. 2 to vary the capacitance of the touch point, thereby recognizing the touch. The touch sensor TS is formed by a plurality of pixels in consideration of the size of the touch point of about 3 to 5 mm. For example, when the line width of the touch point is about 4 mm, the touch sensor TS can be formed in about 50 sub-pixel units.

As described above, the display panel 10 including the pixel array and the touch sensor array is driven by time division in a display mode period in which data is written in the pixel array in each frame and a touch sensing mode period in which the touch sensor array is driven. Here, in response to the control of the host system 50, the time division driving of the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in each frame can be selectively performed. Also, in response to the control of the host system 50, the mode switching timing between the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in each frame can be adjusted.

The host system 50 supplies image data and a plurality of synchronizing signals to the timing controller 30 and analyzes the touch information (touch coordinates, number of touches, touch duration, etc.) input from the touch controller 40, Lt; / RTI >

In addition, the host system 50 generates a time division enable signal in accordance with a driving mode such as a normal mode and a standby mode, and outputs the signal to the timing controller 30. Accordingly, the timing controller 30 selectively performs time division driving in the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time division enable signal from the host system 50.

In addition, the host system 50 responds to the user's option setting or sets the time-sharing timing (mode switching timing) in response to the touch information (the number of touch points, the number of touches within the unit time, And outputs it to the timing controller 30. The timing controller 30 outputs the timing control signal to the timing controller 30. [ Accordingly, the timing controller 30 adaptively adjusts the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period by varying the mode switching timing in each frame in response to the time division timing control signal from the host system 50.

The timing controller 30 processes the video data input from the host system 50 and supplies the video data to the data driver 22. [ For example, in order to improve the response speed of the liquid crystal, the timing controller 11 corrects the data by overdriving driving to add an overshoot value or an undershoot value according to the data difference between adjacent frames, can do. The timing controller 30 controls the driving timing of the data driver 22 by using a plurality of synchronizing signals input from the host system 50, that is, a vertical synchronizing signal, a horizontal synchronizing signal, a data enable signal, And a gate control signal for controlling the driving timing of the gate driver 24. [ The timing controller 30 outputs the generated data control signal and gate control signal to the data driver 22 and the gate driver 24, respectively. The data control signal includes a source start pulse and a source sampling clock for controlling the latch of the data signal, a polarity control signal for controlling the polarity of the data signal, and a source output enable signal for controlling the output period of the data signal. The gate control signal includes a gate start pulse and gate shift clock for controlling the scanning of the gate signal, a gate output enable signal for controlling the output period of the gate signal, and the like.

In addition, the timing controller 30 selectively performs time division driving in the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time division enable signal from the host system 50. In other words, in response to the time division enable signal from the host system 50, the timing controller 30 generates and outputs a mode switching signal for mode switching between the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period. For example, when the time division enable signal from the host system 50 is enabled in the normal mode, the timing controller 30 turns on the time division driving mode to generate and output a mode switching signal for each frame, Period and the touch sensing mode period. On the other hand, if the time division enable signal from the host system 50 is disabled in the standby mode, the timing controller 30 turns off the time division driving mode so as not to generate the mode switching signal so that the frame in which the mode switching signal is not supplied So that it is driven only in the display mode period without switching to the touch sensing mode.

The timing controller 30 adaptively adjusts the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period by varying the time division timing (mode switching timing) in each frame in response to the time division timing control signal from the host system 50. [ In response to the time division timing control signal, the timing controller 30 selects one of a plurality of drive frequencies in a preset display mode period in the register, and adjusts the frequency of the internal clock in accordance with the drive frequency in the selected display mode period, And the touch sensing mode period can be adjusted. At this time, the timing controller 30 generates a data control signal, a gate control signal, and a mode switching signal using the adjusted internal clock, and outputs data stored in the internal memory.

The timing controller 30 outputs data to the data driver 22 together with the data control signal and outputs the gate control signal to the gate driver 24 so that the data driver 22 and gate driver 24 So as to drive the pixel array of the display panel 10. The timing controller 30 outputs a mode switching signal to the touch controller 40 to control the touch controller 40 to drive the touch sensor array of the display panel 10 in the touch sensing mode.

The gate driver 24 sequentially drives the plurality of gate lines GL formed in the pixel array of the display panel 10 in the display mode period in response to the gate control signal from the timing controller 30. [ The gate driver 24 supplies the scan-on voltage of the gate-on voltage for each scan period of each gate line GL and supplies the gate-off voltage for the remaining period. The gate driver 24 includes at least one gate IC and is mounted on a circuit film such as a tape carrier package (TCP), a chip on film (COF), or a flexible printed circuit (FPC) Automatic bonding, or may be mounted on the display panel 10 in a COG (Chip On Glass) manner. In addition, the gate driver 24 may be formed on the thin film transistor substrate together with the pixel array and the touch sensor array by being embedded in the display panel 10 in a GIP (Gate In Panel) manner.

The data driver 22 supplies data signals to the plurality of data lines DL formed in the pixel array of the display panel 10 in the display mode period in response to the data control signal from the timing controller 30. [ The data driver 22 converts the digital data input from the timing controller 30 into a positive / negative analog data signal by using a gamma voltage and outputs a data signal to the data line DL). The data driver 22 includes at least one data IC and is mounted on a circuit film such as TCP, COF, FPC or the like to be attached to the display panel 10 by TAB (Tape Automatic Bonding) On the display panel 10 as shown in Fig.

The touch controller 40 drives the touch sensor array in the touch sensing mode period in response to the mode switching signal from the timing controller 30 and transmits the read out signal from the touch sensor array through the lead out line ROL Detects the touch, calculates touch information, and outputs it to the host system (50). The touch controller 40 senses a lead-out signal from the touch sensor array to calculate touch coordinates, calculates the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, the touch duration, and outputs the calculated touch points to the host system 50. To this end, the touch controller 40 includes: a lead-out circuit that generates sensing data using a lead-out signal output through a lead-out line of the touch sensor array; And a microprocessor for sequentially driving the sensor drive lines of the readout circuit and calculating touch information using the sensing data from the readout circuit. The lead-out circuit includes an amplifier for generating a sensing signal indicating whether the lead-out signal is touched by comparing the read-out signal with a predetermined reference voltage, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for converting the analog sensing signal into digital sensing data, Converter (ADC). The microprocessor calculates the touch coordinate value (XY coordinate) based on the position information (X coordinate) of the lead-out line ROL and the position information (Y coordinate) of the driven sensor driving line SL. Further, the microprocessor calculates the number of touch points from the calculated touch coordinate values, counts the number of touch point calculations in a unit time, or calculates a touch duration time per unit time. In response to the mode switching signal, the touch controller 40 drives the touch sensor array and does not sense the touch in the display mode period.

Fig. 3 shows an equivalent circuit diagram of the display panel 10 according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, specifically showing an equivalent circuit of a liquid crystal panel incorporating a photo-touch sensor (PTS).

The photo-touch sensor (PTS) shown in Fig. 3 is built in the pixel array of the liquid crystal panel. Each sub-pixel includes a pixel thin film transistor Tpx formed in each pixel region defined by intersecting the gate line GL and the data line DL, a liquid crystal capacitor Clc connected in parallel with the pixel thin film transistor Tpx, And a capacitor Cst. The liquid crystal capacitor Clc is composed of a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor Tpx, a common electrode for supplying a common voltage, and a liquid crystal layer to which a vertical electric field or a horizontal electric field is applied by the pixel electrode and the common electrode. The pixel thin film transistor Tpx stores a data signal from the data line DL in the liquid crystal capacitor Clc and the storage capacitor Cst in response to a gate signal from the corresponding gate line GL. The liquid crystal is driven according to the data signal stored in the liquid crystal capacitor Clc, and the storage capacitor Cst maintains the data signal stably by the liquid crystal capacitor Clc.

The photoelectric touch sensor PTS includes a sensor thin film transistor Tss for sensing a touch in accordance with light intensity and a bias line BL for supplying a bias voltage to the sensor thin film transistor Tss A switch thin film transistor Tsw for outputting a signal stored in the storage capacitor Cst2 and a switch thin film transistor Tsw connected to the switch thin film transistor Tsw And a lead-out line ROL.

The gate electrode and the first electrode of the sensor thin film transistor Tss are connected to the bias line BL, and the second electrode is connected to the storage capacitor Cst2. The first and second electrodes may be a source electrode and a drain electrode depending on a current direction. The storage capacitor Cst2 is connected between the second electrode of the sensor thin film transistor Tss and the gate electrode. In the switch thin film transistor Tsw, the gate electrode is connected to the gate line GL, and the first and second electrodes are connected to the storage capacitor Cst2 and the lead-out line ROL, respectively.

The sensor thin film transistor Tss generates a light leakage current in response to the light intensity of the incident light or the reflected light by the touch, and stores the light leakage current in the storage capacitor Cst2. The switch thin film transistor Tsw outputs the voltage stored in the storage capacitor Cst2 to the readout line ROL in response to the gate signal of the gate line GL. Therefore, the photo-touch sensor PTS outputs a signal indicating whether the touch is on or off according to the intensity of the incident light or the reflected light to the lead-out line ROL

FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the display panel 10 according to another embodiment shown in FIG. 1, specifically showing an equivalent circuit of a liquid crystal panel incorporating a capacitive touch sensor (CTS).

The capacitive touch sensor (CTS) shown in Fig. 4 is embedded in the pixel array of the liquid crystal panel. Each sub-pixel includes a pixel thin film transistor Tpx connected to the gate line GL and the data line DL and a liquid crystal capacitor Clc and a storage capacitor Cst connected in parallel to the pixel thin film transistor Tpx, .

The capacitive touch sensor CTS includes a sensing electrode 20 for forming a sensing object and a sensing capacitor Cf, a pair of sensor gate lines SGLa and SGLb (sensor driving line SL in FIG. 1) A first switch thin film transistor Tsw1 for forming a current path between the power line PL and one end of the sensing electrode 20 in response to the control of the sensor gate line SGLa and a second switch thin film transistor Tsw2 for controlling the second sensor gate line SGLb And a second switch thin film transistor Tsw2 which forms a current path between the lead out line ROL and the other end of the sensing electrode 20 in response to the control signal. Here, the power line PL may be omitted by replacing it with a common line connected to the common electrode of the storage capacitor Cst.

The first switch thin film transistor Tsw1 has a gate electrode connected to the first sensor gate line SGLa and a first electrode connected to the power line PL and a second electrode connected to one end of the sensing electrode 20 do. Each of the first and second electrodes is a source electrode and a drain electrode in accordance with the current direction. The gate electrode of the second switch thin film transistor Tsw2 is connected to the second sensor gate line SGLb and the first electrode thereof is connected to the lead-out line ROL. The first electrode is connected to the other end of the sensing electrode 20 Respectively. Each of the first and second electrodes is a source electrode and a drain electrode in accordance with the current direction.

The first switch thin film transistor Tsw1 responds by the gate signal of the first sensor gate line SGLa and supplies the drive voltage Vd from the power line PL to the sensing electrode 20. At this time, when the touch object touches the surface of the liquid crystal display device, a sensing capacitor (Cf) is formed between the touch object and the sensing electrode (20). The second switch thin film transistor Tsw2 responds to the gate signal of the second sensor gate line SGLb and supplies a signal corresponding to the amount of charge induced to the sensing electrode 20 through the touch capacitor Cf to the lead out line ROL.

5 is a circuit block diagram showing an internal configuration related to the present invention in the timing controller 30 and the host system 50 shown in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 5, the host system 50 includes a time-division control unit 52. The time- The time division control unit 52 generates a time division enable signal in response to the drive mode of the host system 50 such as a normal mode and a standby mode and outputs the generated signal to the timing controller 30. In addition, the time-division control unit 52 may be configured to respond to the option setting of the user or to adjust the time-division timing in response to the touch information (the number of touch points, the number of touches within the unit time, Division timing control signal and outputs it to the timing controller 30.

5, the timing controller 30 includes a data input unit 31, a memory 32, a data output unit 33, a frequency adjusting unit 34, a register 35, and a control signal generating unit 36 do. The timing controller 30 selectively performs time division driving of the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period in response to the time division enable signal from the host system 50. [ The timing controller 30 adaptively adjusts the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period by varying the mode switching timing in each frame in response to the time division timing control signal from the host system 50. [

The data input unit 31 stores data input from the host system 50 in the memory 32 in accordance with a dot clock input from the host system 50. [ The data output unit 33 reads the data stored in the memory 32 according to the adjustment clock output from the frequency adjustment unit 34 and outputs the data to the data driver 22. [

A plurality of drive frequencies of the display mode period for the time division timing control signal are preset and stored in the register 35 by the designer.

The frequency adjusting unit 34 selects one of the plurality of driving frequencies stored in the register 35 in response to the time division timing control signal from the host system 50 and adjusts the frequency of the internal clock in response to the selected driving frequency.

The control signal generating unit 36 generates a control signal by using a plurality of synchronizing signals (vertical synchronizing signal, horizontal synchronizing signal and data enable signal) input from the host system 50 and a clock output from the frequency adjusting unit 34, And a gate control signal and a mode switching signal. In addition, the control signal generator 36 outputs the mode switching signal or the output of the mode switching signal in response to the time division enable signal from the host system 50. The control signal generator 36 generates the data control signal, the gate control signal, and the mode switching signal by using the internal clock whose frequency is adjusted in response to the time division timing control signal in the frequency adjusting unit 34, The frequency of the control signal and the mode switching signal is adjusted according to the frequency of the internal clock. The control signal generator 36 outputs a data control signal to the data driver 22, a gate control signal to the gate driver 24, and a mode switching signal to the touch controller 40.

Hereinafter, a method of driving the timing controller 30 and the host system 50 shown in Fig. 5 will be described in detail.

The host system 50 enables the time division enable signal to turn on the time division driving mode of the timing controller 30 when the touch sensor array of the display panel 10 is normally operated. On the other hand, the host system 50 disables the time division enable signal when the touch non-input time elapses for a certain period of time or is in a sleep mode according to the user setting, thereby turning off the time division driving mode of the timing controller 30. [ In response to the time division enable signal from the host system 50, the timing controller 30 generates and outputs a mode switching signal for switching the mode between the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period.

For example, when the time division enable signal from the host system 50 is enabled in the normal mode, the timing controller 30 turns on the time division driving mode to generate and output a mode switching signal for each frame, A), each frame is time-divisionally driven to be in a display mode period and a touch sensing mode period.

On the other hand, when the time division enable signal from the host system 50 is disabled in the standby mode, the timing controller 30 turns off the time division driving mode to interrupt the output of the mode switching signal, The frame in which the mode switching signal is not supplied is driven only in the display mode period without switching to the touch sensing mode.

In addition, the host system 50 generates a time division timing control signal indicating a plurality of time division timing steps in response to user option setting or touch information, and outputs the time division timing control signal to the timing controller 30. [

For example, the host system 50 may be included in the touch information from the touch controller 40, such as when the user performs writing or drawing on the display panel 10, (Mode switching timing) is set to a minimum when at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is greater than a preset first reference value, The timing controller 30 can maximize the touch sensing mode period and secure the display mode period in the same manner as the touch sensing mode period.

On the other hand, the host system 50 analyzes the number of touch points included in the touch information from the touch controller 40, the number of touches within the unit time, or the touch duration, thereby selecting a menu displayed on the display panel 10 (Mode switching timing) is set to the maximum when at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is smaller than a preset second reference value, as shown in FIG. 7C The timing controller 30 can maximize the display mode period instead of securing the touch sensing mode period to the minimum.

7 (B), the host system 50 sets the time division timing to an intermediate level, and the timing controller 30 sets the touch sensing mode period to A (A) (C), and the display mode period can be increased by decreasing the touch sensing mode period.

As described above, the apparatus and method for driving the display panel with the touch sensor according to the present invention selectively perform time division driving in the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period according to the driving mode of the host system. Accordingly, the driving frequency of the pixel array can be reduced by driving each frame only in the display mode period without switching the mode from the standby mode to the touch sensing mode, thereby reducing power consumption.

The apparatus and method for driving a display panel including a touch sensor according to the present invention may be configured to respond to an option setting of a user or to set a time division timing in response to touch information (the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, (Mode switching timing) is adjusted so that the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period are adaptively adjusted. Accordingly, when the touch point or touch frequency of the user is relatively small or the touch duration is relatively short such as menu selection, the display mode period is maximized to reduce the driving frequency of the pixel array, . In addition, when the touch point or touch frequency of the user is relatively large or the touch duration is relatively long, such as lighting or drawing of the user, the touch sensing mode period can be maximized to improve the touch sensing power.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. .

2: lower polarizer plate 4: lower substrate
6: pixel electrode TS: touch sensor
8: thin film transistor array 11: black matrix
12: color filter 13: color filter array
14: upper substrate 16: upper polarizer
18: reinforced substrate 10: display panel
20: panel driver 22: data driver
24: gate driver 30: timing controller
31: data input unit 32: memory
33: Data output section 34: Frequency adjustment section
35: register 36: control signal generating section
40: touch controller 50: host system
52: Time-

Claims (15)

delete delete delete delete delete delete A driving apparatus for a display panel including a pixel array including a plurality of pixels and a touch sensor array including a plurality of touch sensors formed in the pixel array,
A host system for generating and outputting a time division timing control signal indicating a plurality of time division timing steps for controlling the time division timing in response to user option setting or touch information;
A panel driver for driving the pixel array in a display mode period;
Wherein the control unit selects one of a plurality of driving frequencies in a preset display mode period in response to the time division timing control signal, adjusts the frequency of the internal clock according to the selected driving frequency, A timing controller for generating a plurality of control signals for controlling the touch sensing mode and a mode switching signal for switching the mode between the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period;
And a touch controller that drives the touch sensor array in the touch sensing mode period in response to the control of the timing controller and calculates the touch information from the output signal of the touch sensor array and outputs the calculated touch information to the host system A display panel driving device having a built-in touch sensor. The method of claim 7,
The host system
Division timing step is set to a maximum when at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is less than a preset first reference value;
Wherein when the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is greater than a preset second reference value, the time-division timing step is set to a minimum. delete delete delete A method of driving a display panel including a pixel array including a plurality of pixels and a touch sensor array including a plurality of touch sensors formed in the pixel array,
Division timing control for controlling the time division timing in response to the touch information including at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within the unit time, and the touch duration together with the user's option setting or touch coordinates Generating and outputting a signal;
Adjusting a display mode period and a touch sensing mode period in response to the time division timing control signal; driving the pixel array in the display mode period;
And driving the touch sensor array in the touch sensing mode period and calculating the touch information from the output signal of the touch sensor array. The method of claim 12,
Dividing the time-division timing control signal into a plurality of steps in response to the touch information;
If the step of the time division timing control signal is relatively low, the touch sensing mode period is maximized in each frame, and if the step of the time division timing control signal is relatively high, the touch sensing mode period is ensured at least in each frame Wherein the touch panel is mounted on the display panel. 14. The method of claim 13,
And a timing controller for selecting one of a plurality of driving frequencies in the display mode period in response to the time division timing control signal and adjusting the frequency of the internal clock in accordance with the selected driving frequency and driving the pixel array And a mode switching signal for switching the mode between the display mode period and the touch sensing mode period is generated in accordance with the driving method of the display panel . 14. The method of claim 13,
Setting the time-division timing step to a maximum when at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is less than a preset first reference value;
Wherein the time-division timing step is set to a minimum when at least one of the number of touch points, the number of touches within a unit time, and the touch duration is greater than a preset second reference value.

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