KR101874786B1 - Pressure sensingn unit detecting a plurality of elctrical caracteristics and touch input device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch input device capable of detecting touch pressure according to an embodiment includes a display panel; And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor detects a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor and a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor, and detects the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor, The magnitude of the pressure can be calculated on the basis of

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a pressure sensing unit for sensing a plurality of electrical characteristics, and a touch input device including the touch sensing unit. [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pressure sensing unit for sensing a plurality of electrical characteristics and a touch input device including the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pressure sensing unit for sensing at least two electrical characteristics to calculate a magnitude of pressure, To a touch input device.

Various types of input devices are used for the operation of the computing system. For example, an input device such as a button, a key, a joystick, and a touch screen is used. Due to the easy and simple operation of the touch screen, the use of the touch screen in the operation of the computing system is increasing.

The touch screen may include a transparent panel having a touch-sensitive surface and a touch sensor as a touch input means. Such a touch sensor may be attached to the front of the display screen such that the touch-sensitive surface covers the visible side of the display screen. The user simply touches the touch screen with a finger or the like so that the user can operate the computing system. Generally, a computing system is able to recognize touch and touch locations on a touch screen and interpret the touch to perform operations accordingly.

The pressure sensing unit for detecting the touch pressure in the touch input device detects one kind of electrical characteristic. If the pressure sensing sensitivity of the corresponding electrical characteristic is deteriorated according to various conditions, or the accurate pressure can not be detected by using one electrical characteristic there is a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure sensing part and a touch input device capable of detecting a plurality of electrical characteristics and detecting an accurate pressure.

A touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a display panel; And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor detects a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor and a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor, and detects the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor, The magnitude of the pressure can be calculated on the basis of

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure, including: a display panel; And a pressure sensing unit, wherein the pressure sensing unit includes a first pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor, and the first pressure sensing unit includes: Wherein the second pressure sensor detects a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor, the second pressure sensor detects a second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor, and detects a magnitude of the pressure based on the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic, Can be calculated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure, including: a display panel; And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor is capable of detecting a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor and a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor, A first mode for detecting only the first electrical characteristic and calculating a magnitude of the pressure, a second mode for detecting only the second electrical characteristic and calculating the magnitude of the pressure without detecting the first electrical characteristic, And a third mode for detecting the second electrical characteristic and calculating the magnitude of the pressure may be selectively driven.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure, including: a display panel; And a pressure sensing part including a pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensing part includes a first pressure sensing part including a first pressure sensing part including a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensing part including a second pressure sensor, Wherein the first pressure sensing portion is capable of detecting a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensing portion is capable of detecting a second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor, A first mode for detecting only the first electrical characteristic and calculating a magnitude of a pressure, a second mode for detecting only the second electrical characteristic without calculating the first electrical characteristic and calculating the magnitude of the pressure, And a third mode for detecting the second electrical characteristic and calculating the magnitude of the pressure may be selectively driven.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a touch input device capable of detecting N touch presses includes: a display panel; And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor detects a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor and a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor, and detects the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor, The magnitude of each of the N pressures can be calculated.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a touch input device capable of detecting N touch presses includes: a display panel; And a pressure sensing unit, wherein the pressure sensing unit includes a first pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor, and the first pressure sensing unit includes: Wherein the first pressure sensor detects a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor detects a second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor and detects the second electrical characteristic of the N pressure sensors based on the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic, The magnitude of each pressure can be calculated.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a pressure sensing unit and a touch input device capable of detecting a plurality of electrical characteristics and detecting an accurate pressure.

1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of a capacitive touch sensor included in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a configuration thereof for operation thereof.
2A to 2E illustrate a control block for controlling a touch position, a touch pressure, and a display operation in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A and 3B are conceptual diagrams for explaining a configuration of a display module in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4A is a cross-sectional view of a touch input device configured to detect a touch position and a touch pressure according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4B to 4H illustrate an example in which a pressure sensor is formed in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 illustrates a cross section of a sensor sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention
6A to 6C are cross-sectional views illustrating an embodiment of a pressure sensor formed directly on various display panels of a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7A to 7F are plan views of an exemplary pressure sensor capable of sensing a pressure used in the touch input device according to the present invention.
7B and 7C illustrate an exemplary pressure sensor that can be applied to a touch input device according to the present invention.
8A to 8C are plan views of an electrode sheet type pressure sensing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8D to 8G are sectional views of a pressure sensing unit in the form of an electrode sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9A to 9D are views illustrating a form of a sensor included in the touch input device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain features, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in connection with an embodiment. It is also to be understood that the position or arrangement of the individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, a capacitive touch sensor 10 is exemplified, but a touch sensor 10 capable of detecting a touch position in an arbitrary manner can be applied.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a touch sensor 10 of a capacitive type included in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a configuration thereof for operation thereof. 1A, the touch sensor 10 includes a plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and a plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm. The touch sensor 10 includes a plurality of driving electrodes And a plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm for receiving a sensing signal including information on a capacitance change amount that changes in accordance with a touch on a touch surface, And a sensing unit 11 for sensing a touch position.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the touch sensor 10 may include a plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and a plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm. 1A, a plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and a plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm of the touch sensor 10 are shown as an orthogonal array. However, the present invention is not limited to this, The electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm can have any number of dimensions including the diagonal, concentric and three-dimensional random arrangement, and the like and their application arrangements. Here, n and m are positive integers and may be the same or different from each other, and the size may be changed according to the embodiment.

The plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be arranged to cross each other. The driving electrode TX includes a plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn extending in a first axis direction and a receiving electrode RX includes a plurality of receiving electrodes extending in a second axis direction intersecting the first axis direction RX1 to RXm).

9A and 9B, in the touch sensor 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm are formed in the same layer . For example, the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be formed on a top surface of a display panel 200A to be described later.

Also, as shown in FIG. 9C, the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be formed in different layers. For example, one of the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be formed on the upper surface of the display panel 200A and the other may be formed on the lower surface of the cover, (200A).

A plurality of drive electrodes (TX1 to TXn) and a plurality of receiving electrodes (RX1 to RXm) is a transparent conductive material (e.g., tin oxide (SnO ₂₎ and indium oxide _{(In 2 O 3) ITO (} Indium Tin made of such Oxide) or ATO (antimony tin oxide)). However, this is merely an example, and the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX may be formed of another transparent conductive material or an opaque conductive material. For example, the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX may include at least one of silver ink, copper, nano silver, and carbon nanotube (CNT) . In addition, the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX may be realized by a metal mesh.

The driving unit 12 according to the embodiment of the present invention can apply a driving signal to the driving electrodes TX1 to TXn. In an embodiment of the present invention, the driving signal may be sequentially applied to one driving electrode at a time from the first driving electrode TX1 to the nth driving electrode TXn. This application of the driving signal can be repeated again. This is merely an example, and driving signals may be simultaneously applied to a plurality of driving electrodes according to an embodiment.

The sensing unit 11 acquires information on the electrostatic capacitance Cm generated between the driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm to which the driving signal is applied through the receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm And the touch position and the touch position can be detected by receiving the sensing signal. For example, the sensing signal may be a signal in which a driving signal applied to the driving electrode TX is coupled by a capacitance Cm: 14 generated between the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX. The process of sensing the driving signal applied from the first driving electrode TX1 to the nth driving electrode TXn through the receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be referred to as scanning the touch sensor 10 .

For example, the sensing unit 11 may include a receiver (not shown) connected to each of the reception electrodes RX1 to RXm through a switch. The switch is turned on during a period of sensing the signal of the corresponding receiving electrode RX so that a sensing signal can be sensed from the receiving electrode RX at the receiver. The receiver may be comprised of an amplifier (not shown) and a feedback capacitor coupled between the negative input of the amplifier and the output of the amplifier, i. E., The feedback path. At this time, the positive input terminal of the amplifier may be connected to the ground. In addition, the receiver may further include a reset switch connected in parallel with the feedback capacitor. The reset switch can reset the conversion from current to voltage performed by the receiver. A negative input terminal of the amplifier may be connected to the corresponding receiving electrode RX to receive a current signal including information on the capacitance Cm, and integrate the current signal to convert the voltage into a voltage. The sensing unit 11 may further include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for converting the integrated data to digital data through the receiver. The digital data may then be input to a processor (not shown) and processed to obtain touch information for the touch sensor 10. The sensing unit 11 may be configured to include an ADC and a processor together with a receiver.

The control unit 13 may perform a function of controlling the operation of the driving unit 12 and the sensing unit 11. For example, the controller 13 may generate a driving control signal and transmit the driving control signal to the driving unit 12 so that the driving signal is applied to the driving electrode TX predetermined at a predetermined time. The control unit 13 generates a sensing control signal and transmits the sensing control signal to the sensing unit 11 so that the sensing unit 11 receives a sensing signal from the sensing electrode RX previously set at a predetermined time to perform a predetermined function can do.

In FIG. 1A, the driving unit 12 and the sensing unit 11 may constitute a touch detection device (not shown) capable of detecting whether or not to touch the touch sensor 10 and a touch position. The touch detection apparatus may further include a control section (13). The touch detection device may be integrated on a touch sensing integrated circuit (IC) corresponding to the touch sensor controller 1100 to be described later in the touch input device including the touch sensor 10. The driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX included in the touch sensor 10 are included in the touch sensing IC through a conductive trace and / or a conductive pattern printed on a circuit board And may be connected to the driving unit 12 and the sensing unit 11. The touch sensing IC may be placed on a circuit board on which a conductive pattern is printed, for example, a touch circuit board (hereinafter referred to as a touch PCB) in Figs. 7A to 6I. According to the embodiment, the touch sensing IC may be mounted on a main board for operating the touch input device.

As described above, a capacitance Cm of a predetermined value is generated at each intersection of the driving electrode TX and the reception electrode RX. When an object such as a finger is close to the touch sensor 10, Can be changed. In FIG. 1A, the capacitance may represent mutual capacitance (Cm). The sensing unit 11 senses such electrical characteristics and can detect whether the touch sensor 10 is touched and / or touched. For example, it is possible to detect the touch and / or the position of the touch on the surface of the touch sensor 10 having the two-dimensional plane including the first axis and the second axis.

More specifically, the position of the touch in the second axial direction can be detected by detecting the drive electrode TX to which the drive signal is applied when a touch to the touch sensor 10 occurs. Likewise, the position of the touch in the first axis direction can be detected by detecting the capacitance change from the received signal received through the receiving electrode RX when touching the touch sensor 10.

In the above description, the operation of the touch sensor 10 for sensing the touch position has been described based on the amount of mutual capacitance change between the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, as shown in FIG. 1B, it is also possible to sense the touch position based on the amount of change in self capacitance.

FIG. 1B is a schematic view for explaining still another capacitive touch sensor 10 included in the touch input device according to another embodiment of the present invention and its operation. A plurality of touch electrodes 30 are provided in the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. The plurality of touch electrodes 30 may be arranged in a lattice pattern at regular intervals as shown in FIG. 9D, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The drive control signal generated by the control unit 13 is transmitted to the drive unit 12 and the drive unit 12 applies a drive signal to the touch electrode 30 preset at a predetermined time based on the drive control signal. The sensing control signal generated by the control unit 13 is transmitted to the sensing unit 11. The sensing unit 11 senses the sensing signal from the touch electrode 30 preset at a predetermined time Receive input. At this time, the sensing signal may be a signal for the amount of change in self-capacitance formed on the touch electrode 30.

At this time, whether or not the touch sensor 10 is touched and / or the touch position is detected by the sensing signal sensed by the sensing unit 11. For example, since the coordinates of the touch electrode 30 are known in advance, it is possible to detect the touch of the object with respect to the surface of the touch sensor 10 and / or its position.

Although the driving unit 12 and the sensing unit 11 are divided into separate blocks for the sake of convenience, the operation of applying the driving signal to the touch electrode 30 and the sensing signal from the touch electrode 30 May be performed by one driving and sensing unit.

Although the capacitive touch sensor panel as the touch sensor 10 has been described in detail above, the touch sensor 10 for detecting whether or not the touch input device 1000 touches the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention A surface acoustic wave (SAW), an infrared (IR) system, an optical imaging system, a dispersion signal system, A dispersive signal technology, and an acoustic pulse recognition method.

2A to 2E illustrate a control block for controlling a touch position, a touch pressure, and a display operation in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A, in a touch input device 1000 configured to detect a touch pressure in addition to a display function and a touch position detection, the control block includes a touch sensor controller 1100 for detecting the touch position, A display controller 1200 for driving the panel, and a pressure sensor controller 1300 for detecting pressure. The display controller 1200 receives input from a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (CPU), which is a central processing unit on the main board for operating the touch input apparatus 1000, And a control circuit for displaying desired contents. Such a control circuit can be mounted on a display circuit board (hereinafter referred to as a display PCB). Such a control circuit may include a display panel control IC, a graphic controller IC, and other circuits necessary for operation of the display panel 200A.

The pressure sensor controller 1300 for detecting the pressure through the pressure sensing unit may be configured similar to the touch sensor controller 1100 to operate similar to the touch sensor controller 1100. [ Specifically, the pressure sensor controller 1300 includes a driving unit, a sensing unit, and a control unit, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and can detect the magnitude of the pressure based on the sensing signal sensed by the sensing unit. More specifically, a signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400 to be described later may be input to the pressure sensor controller 1300, and the magnitude of the pressure may be detected from the input signal. At this time, the pressure sensor controller 1300 calculates a normalized value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure from the signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400, and outputs the calculated value to the processor 1500.

At this time, the pressure sensor controller 1300 may be mounted on the touch PCB on which the touch sensor controller 1100 is mounted or on the display PCB on which the display controller 1200 is mounted.

According to an embodiment, the touch sensor controller 1100, the display controller 1200, and the pressure sensor controller 1300 may be included in the touch input device 1000 as different components. For example, the touch sensor controller 1100, the display controller 1200, and the pressure sensor controller 1300 may be formed of different chips. At this time, the processor 1500 of the touch input apparatus 1000 may function as a host processor for the touch sensor controller 1100, the display controller 1200, and the pressure sensor controller 1300.

The touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be applied to various devices such as a cell phone, a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a smartphone, a tablet PC, an MP3 player, a notebook, An electronic device including the same display screen and / or a touch screen.

The touch sensor controller 1100, the display controller 1200, and the pressure sensor controller 1300, which are separately configured as described above, to make the touch input apparatus 1000 thin and light weight, May be integrated into one or more configurations in accordance with an embodiment. In addition, it is also possible that these respective controllers are integrated in the processor 1500. In addition, according to the embodiment, the touch sensor 10 and / or the pressure sensing unit may be incorporated in the display panel 200A.

2B, the first signal and the second signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400 may be input to the pressure sensor controller 1300, and the pressure Can be detected. At this time, the first signal may be a signal including information on a first electrical characteristic of a pressure sensor to be described later, and the second signal may include information on a second electrical characteristic different from the first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor Signal. At this time, the pressure sensor controller 1300 calculates a normalized value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure from the first signal and the second signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400, and outputs the calculated value to the processor 1500 .

2C, the first signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400 is input to the first pressure sensor controller 1301, the second signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400 is input to the second pressure sensor 1301, Can be input to the sensor controller 1302, and the magnitude of the pressure can be detected from the input first signal and the second signal. At this time, the first pressure sensor controller 1301 calculates a normalized value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure from the first signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400, and outputs the calculated value to the processor 1500 The second pressure sensor controller 1302 calculates a normalized value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure from the second signal sensed by the pressure sensing unit 400 and outputs the calculated value to the processor 1500 Output.

2d, the first signal detected by the first pressure sensing unit 401 and the second signal sensed by the second pressure sensing unit 402 may be input to the pressure sensor controller 1300 And the magnitude of the pressure can be detected from the input first signal and the second signal. At this time, the pressure sensor controller 1300 receives the first signal detected from the first pressure sensing unit 401 and the second signal sensed from the second pressure sensing unit 402, and outputs a normalized ), And outputs the calculated value to the processor 1500. [

2E, the first signal sensed by the first pressure sensing unit 401 is input to the first pressure sensor controller 1301 and the second signal sensed by the second pressure sensing unit 402, Can be input to the second pressure sensor controller 1302, and the magnitude of the pressure can be detected from the input first signal and the second signal. At this time, the first pressure sensor controller 1301 calculates a normalized value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure from the first signal sensed by the first pressure sensing unit 401, and outputs the calculated value to the processor 1500 The second pressure sensor controller 1302 calculates a normalized value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure from the second signal sensed by the second pressure sensing unit 402, (1500).

The touch sensor 10 for detecting a touch position in the touch input apparatus 1000 according to the embodiment may be located outside or inside the display panel 200A. The display panel 200A of the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment may be a display device including a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) Display panel. Accordingly, the user can perform an input action by touching the touch surface while visually checking the screen displayed on the display panel.

3A and 3B are conceptual diagrams for explaining the configuration of the display module 200 in the touch input device 1000 according to the present invention. 3A, a configuration of a display module 200 including a display panel 200A using an LCD panel will be described.

3A, the display module 200 includes a display panel 200A as an LCD panel, a first polarizing layer 271 disposed on the display panel 200A, and a first polarizing layer 271 disposed below the display panel 200A. 2 polarizing layer 272 as shown in FIG. The display panel 200A as an LCD panel includes a liquid crystal layer 250 including a liquid crystal cell, a first substrate layer 261 disposed above the liquid crystal layer 250, and a liquid crystal layer 250, And a second substrate layer 262 disposed under the first substrate layer 262. In this case, the first substrate layer 261 may be a color filter glass, and the second substrate layer 262 may be a TFT glass. Also, at least one of the first substrate layer 261 and the second substrate layer 262 may be formed of a bendable material such as a plastic according to an embodiment. 3A, the second substrate layer 262 may include various layers including a data line, a gate line, a TFT, a common electrode (Vcom), and a pixel electrode. Lt; / RTI > These electrical components can operate to generate a controlled electric field to orient the liquid crystals located in the liquid crystal layer 250.

Next, the configuration of the display module 200 including the display panel 200A using the OLED panel will be described with reference to FIG. 3B.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the display module 200 may include a display panel 200A, which is an OLED panel, and a first polarizing layer 282, which is disposed on the display panel 200A. The display panel 200A as an OLED panel includes an organic layer 280 including an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a first substrate layer 281 disposed over the organic layer 280, And a second substrate layer 283 disposed thereon. At this time, the first substrate layer 281 may be an encapsulation glass, and the second substrate layer 283 may be a TFT glass. In addition, at least one of the first substrate layer 281 and the second substrate layer 283 may be formed of a bendable material such as a plastic. In the case of the OLED panel shown in FIGS. 3D to 3F, an electrode used for driving a display panel 200A such as a gate line, a data line, a first power supply line (ELVDD), a second power supply line (ELVSS) . OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) panel is a self-luminous display panel that uses the principle that light is generated when electrons and holes are combined in an organic layer when current is applied to a fluorescent or phosphorescent organic thin film. Determine the color.

Specifically, OLEDs use the principle that an organic material emits light when an organic material is applied to glass or plastic and electricity is supplied. That is, when holes and electrons are injected into the anode and the cathode of the organic material, respectively, and then recombined with the light emitting layer, excitons having a high energy state are formed. When excitons fall into a state of low energy, energy is emitted, And to use the generated principle. At this time, the color of the light changes depending on the organic material of the light emitting layer.

In OLED, a line-driven PM-OLED (Passive-matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) and an AM-OLED (Active-matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) are used depending on the operation characteristics of the pixels constituting the pixel matrix exist. Since both of them do not require a backlight, the display module can be made very thin, the contrast ratio is constant according to the angle, and color reproducibility according to temperature is good. In addition, un-driven pixels are very economical in that they do not consume power.

In operation, the PM-OLED emits light only for a scanning time with a high current, and the AM-OLED maintains a light emission state for a frame time with a low current. Therefore, AM-OLED has better resolution than PM-OLED, it is advantageous to drive a large-area display panel and has low power consumption. In addition, since each element can be individually controlled by incorporating a thin film transistor (TFT), it is easy to realize a sophisticated screen.

The organic material layer 280 may include a hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), an emission layer (EIL), an electron transfer layer (ETL) (Electron Injection Layer, light emitting layer).

Briefly describing each layer, the HIL injects holes, and uses a material such as CuPc. The HTL functions to transfer injected holes, and mainly uses materials having good hole mobility. HTL may be arylamine, TPD, or the like. EIL and ETL are layers for electron injection and transport, and injected electrons and holes are combined in EML to emit light. EML is a material that expresses the emitted color, and is composed of a host that determines the lifetime of the organic material, and a dopant that determines color and efficiency. This is only a description of the basic structure of the organic material layer 280 included in the OLED panel, and the present invention is not limited to the layer structure or material of the organic material layer 280. [

The organic layer 280 is inserted between an anode (not shown) and a cathode (not shown). When the TFT is turned on, a driving current is applied to the anode to inject holes, Electrons are injected, and holes and electrons move to the organic material layer 280 to emit light.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that an LCD panel or an OLED panel may further include other configurations for performing the display function and may be modified.

The display module 200 of the touch input apparatus 1000 according to the present invention may include a structure for driving the display panel 200A and the display panel 200A. In detail, when the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, the display module 200 may include a backlight unit (not shown) disposed under the second polarizing layer 272, A display panel control IC, a graphic control IC, and other circuits for operation of the display panel.

The display module 200 of the touch input apparatus 1000 according to the present invention may include a structure for driving the display panel 200A and the display panel 200A. In detail, when the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, the display module 200 may include a backlight unit (not shown) disposed under the second polarizing layer 272, A display panel control IC, a graphic control IC, and other circuits for operation of the display panel.

The touch sensor 10 for detecting the touch position in the touch input apparatus 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be located outside or inside the display module 200. [

In the case where the touch sensor 10 is disposed outside the display module 200 in the touch input device 1000, a touch sensor panel may be disposed above the display module 200, . The touch surface to the touch input device 1000 may be the surface of the touch sensor panel.

When the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display module 200 in the touch input device 1000, the touch sensor 10 may be configured to be located outside the display panel 200A. Specifically, the touch sensor 10 may be formed on the upper surfaces of the first substrate layers 261 and 281. At this time, the touch surface for the touch input device 1000 may be the upper surface or the lower surface in FIGS. 3A and 3B as an outer surface of the display module 200. [

In the case where the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display module 200 in the touch input device 1000, at least some of the touch sensors 10 are configured to be positioned in the display panel 200A, At least a remaining part of the display panel 10 may be configured to be located outside the display panel 200A. For example, any one of the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX constituting the touch sensor 10 may be configured to be located outside the display panel 200A, and the remaining electrodes may be disposed inside the display panel 200A As shown in FIG. Specifically, any one of the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX constituting the touch sensor 10 may be formed on the upper surface of the first substrate layers 261 and 281, and the remaining electrodes may be formed on the first substrate layer 261, 281) or on the upper surface of the second substrate layer 262, 283.

When the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display module 200 in the touch input device 1000, the touch sensor 10 may be positioned inside the display panel 200A. Specifically, the touch sensor 10 may be formed on the lower surface of the first substrate layers 261 and 281 or on the upper surfaces of the second substrate layers 262 and 283.

In the case where the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display panel 200A, an electrode for the touch sensor operation may be additionally arranged. However, various configurations and / or electrodes disposed inside the display panel 200A may perform touch sensing The touch sensor 10 may be used as a touch sensor. More specifically, when the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, at least one of the electrodes included in the touch sensor 10 is a data line, a gate line, a TFT, a common electrode (Vcom: common electrode and a pixel electrode. When the display panel 200A is an OLED panel, at least one of the electrodes included in the touch sensor 10 may include a data line, A gate line, a first power supply line ELVDD, and a second power supply line ELVSS.

At this time, the touch sensor 10 operates as the driving electrode and the receiving electrode described in FIG. 1A, and can detect the touch position according to the mutual capacitance between the driving electrode and the receiving electrode. Also, the touch sensor 10 may operate as the single electrode 30 described with reference to FIG. 1B to detect the touch position according to the self-capacitance of each of the single electrodes 30. In this case, when the electrode included in the touch sensor 10 is an electrode used for driving the display panel 200A, the display panel 200A is driven in the first time period, and the second time The touch position can be detected in the section.

Hereinafter, a configuration of a pressure sensing unit for sensing a touch pressure in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

4A is a cross-sectional view of a touch input device configured to detect a touch position and a touch pressure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A cover layer 100 including a touch sensor for detecting a touch position and a pressure sensing unit in the touch input device 1000 including the display module 200 may be attached to the front surface of the display module 200. [ Accordingly, it is possible to protect the display screen of the display module 200 and increase the touch detection sensitivity of the touch sensor.

Generally, the electrostatic capacitance 14 (Cm) between the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX of the touch sensor changes even if the touch surface is touched without warping of the cover layer 100. That is, the mutual capacitance Cm (14) can be reduced compared to the basic mutual capacitance when the touch sensor is touched. This is because when the object such as a finger is close to the touch sensor, the object functions as a ground (GND), and the fringing capacitance of the mutual capacitance (Cm: 14) is absorbed by the object. The basic reciprocal capacitance is the value of the mutual capacitance between the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX when there is no touch to the touch sensor.

In this case, the pressure sensing unit may operate separately from the touch sensor for detecting the touch position. For example, the pressure sensing unit may be configured to detect only the pressure independently of the touch sensor for detecting the touch position. Further, the pressure sensing unit may be configured to detect the touch pressure by being combined with a touch sensor for detecting the touch position. For example, at least one of the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX included in the touch sensor for detecting the touch position may be used to detect the touch pressure.

4A illustrates a case in which the pressure sensing unit can detect the touch pressure by being coupled with the cover layer 100. FIG. 4A, the pressure sensing unit may include a spacer layer 420 for separating the cover layer 100 from the display module 200 in order to detect the first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing unit. . The pressure sensing portion may include a reference potential layer spaced apart from the cover layer 100 through the spacer layer 420. At this time, the display module 200 can function as a reference potential layer.

The reference potential layer may have any potential that can cause a change in the capacitance detected from the pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing portion. For example, the reference potential layer may be a ground layer having a ground potential. The reference potential layer may be a ground layer of the display module 200. At this time, the reference potential layer may have a plane parallel to the two-dimensional plane of the cover layer 100.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the cover layer 100 including the pressure sensing portion and the display module 200 serving as the reference potential layer are spaced apart from each other. At this time, the spacer layer 420 between the cover layer 100 and the display module 200 may be realized as an air gap according to a difference in the bonding method between the cover layer 100 and the display module 200 . The spacer layer 420 may be made of a shock-absorbing material according to an embodiment. The spacer layer 420 may be filled with a dielectric material according to embodiments.

At this time, a frame 430 having a predetermined height along the rim of the upper portion of the display module 200 may be formed to hold the spacer layer 420. At this time, the frame 430 may be adhered to the cover layer 100 with an adhesive tape (not shown). In addition, a double adhesive tape (DAT) itself for fixing the cover layer 100 and the display module 200 can be used as a frame without a separate frame 430. For example, the cover layer 100 and the display module 200 are overlapped with each other, and two layers are bonded through the double-sided adhesive tape in the edge regions of the cover layer 100 and the display module 200 The cover layer 100 and the display module 200 may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance d.

The cover layer 100 may be bent when a pressure is applied when the upper surface, which is the touch surface of the cover layer 100 including the pressure sensing portion, is touched with an object. At this time, the value of the capacitance detected from the pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing unit may be changed. This is because the cover layer 100 is bent and the distance between the pressure sensing portion and the reference potential layer decreases from d to d ', so that the capacitance of the pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing portion is absorbed into the reference potential layer.

In addition, the cover layer 100 may be bent when a pressure is applied when the upper surface, which is the touch surface of the cover layer 100 including the pressure sensing portion, is touched with an object. At this time, the value of the resistance, which is the second electrical characteristic detected from the pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing unit, may be changed. This is because the resistance of the pressure sensor changes as the length of the pressure sensor of the pressure sensing part included in the cover layer 100 changes as the cover layer 100 is warped.

As described above, the touch position and the touch pressure can be detected by configuring the touch input apparatus 1000 including the touch sensor and the pressure sensing unit on the display module 200.

However, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the touch sensor is disposed above the display module 200 up to the pressure sensing unit, the display characteristic of the display module is degraded. Particularly, when the air gap 420 is included in the upper part of the display module 200, the visibility and light transmittance of the display module may be lowered.

The cover layer 100 formed with the touch sensor for detecting the touch position in the touch input device 1000 of the present invention and the display module 200 including the display panel 200A are bonded with an adhesive such as OCA (Optically Clear Adhesive) Lt; / RTI > Accordingly, display color clarity, visibility, and light transmittance of the display module 200 that can be confirmed through the touch surface of the touch sensor can be improved.

4B to 4H illustrate an example in which a pressure sensor is formed in the touch input device according to the present invention.

Although the display panel 200A is illustrated as being directly laminated and attached to the cover layer 100 in Figure 4b and some of the following figures, this is for illustrative convenience only, and the first polarizing layer 271, The display module 200 located on the upper side may be laminated to the cover layer 100 and the second polarizing layer 272 and the backlight unit are omitted when the LCD panel is the display panel 200A.

The cover layer 100 formed with the touch sensor as the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the display module 200 shown in Figs. The touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a case where the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display module 200 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B . 4B to 4D illustrate that the cover layer 100 formed with the touch sensor 10 covers the display module 200 including the display panel 200A, A touch input device 1000 that is located inside the display device 200 and in which the display module 200 is covered with a cover layer 100 such as glass can be used as an embodiment of the present invention.

The touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be applied to various devices such as a cell phone, a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a smartphone, a tablet PC, an MP3 player, a notebook, And electronic devices including the same touch screen.

The substrate 300 in the touch input apparatus 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a housing 320 as an outermost structure of the touch input apparatus 1000 and a circuit board 300 for operating the touch input apparatus 1000, And / or a mounting space 310 where the battery can be placed, and the like. A central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (CPU), or the like may be mounted on the circuit board for operating the touch input device 1000 as a main board. The circuit board and / or the battery for the operation of the display module 200 and the touch input device 1000 are separated through the substrate 300 and the electrical noise generated in the display module 200 and the noise generated in the circuit board Can be blocked.

The touch sensor 10 or the cover layer 100 may be formed wider than the display module 200, the substrate 300 and the mounting space 310 in the touch input device 1000, The housing 320 may be formed to enclose the display module 200, the substrate 300, and the circuit board together with the touch sensor 10.

The touch input apparatus 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention detects a touch position through the touch sensor 10 and detects an electrode used for detecting the touch position and a separate sensor So that the touch pressure can be detected. At this time, the touch sensor 10 may be located inside or outside the display module 200.

The configuration for pressure detection is collectively referred to as a pressure sensing portion. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, the pressure sensing portion may include a sensor sheet 440, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4C, the pressure sensing portion may include pressure sensors 450 and 460.

The touch input device according to the present invention may be arranged such that a sensor sheet 440 including pressure sensors 450 and 460 is disposed between the display module 200 and the substrate 300 as shown in FIG. The pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed directly on the lower surface of the display panel 200A.

The pressure sensing unit includes a spacer layer 420 formed of, for example, an air gap, and will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4B to 4H.

Depending on the embodiment, the spacer layer 420 may be implemented with an air gap. The spacer layer may be made of a shock-absorbing material according to an embodiment. The spacer layer 420 may be filled with a dielectric material according to embodiments. Depending on the embodiment, the spacer layer 420 may be formed of a material having a resilient force that contracts upon application of pressure and returns to its original shape upon release of pressure. According to an embodiment, the spacer layer 420 may be formed of an elastic foam. Further, since the spacer layer is disposed under the display module 200, it may be a transparent material or an opaque material.

In addition, the reference potential layer may be disposed under the display module 200. Specifically, the reference potential layer may be formed on the substrate 300 disposed under the display module 200, or the substrate 300 itself may serve as a reference potential layer. The reference potential layer may be formed on a cover (not shown) that is disposed on the substrate 300 and disposed under the display module 200 and functions to protect the display module 200, It can serve as a dislocation layer. The display panel 200A may be bent when the pressure is applied to the touch input device 1000 and the distance between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may vary as the display panel 200A is warped. Further, a spacer layer may be disposed between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensors 450 and 460. Specifically, a spacer layer may be disposed between the display module 200 and the substrate 300 on which the reference potential layer is disposed, or between the display module 200 and the cover on which the reference potential layer is disposed.

In addition, the reference potential layer may be disposed inside the display module 200. Specifically, the reference potential layer may be disposed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the first substrate layer 261, 281 of the display panel 200A, or on the upper surface or the lower surface of the second substrate layer 262, 283. The display panel 200A may be bent when the pressure is applied to the touch input device 1000 and the distance between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may vary as the display panel 200A is warped. Further, a spacer layer may be disposed between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensors 450 and 460. In the case of the touch input device 1000 shown in Figs. 3A and 3B, the spacer layer may be disposed on the top or inside of the display panel 200A.

Likewise, according to embodiments, the spacer layer may be implemented with an air gap. The spacer layer may be made of a shock-absorbing material according to an embodiment. The spacer layer may be filled with a dielectric material according to an embodiment. Depending on the embodiment, the spacer layer may be formed of a material having a resilience that contracts upon application of pressure and returns to its original shape upon release of pressure. According to an embodiment, the spacer layer may be formed of an elastic foam. Further, since the spacer layer is disposed on or inside the display panel 200A, it may be a transparent material.

 According to the embodiment, when the spacer layer is disposed inside the display module 200, the spacer layer may be an air gap included in manufacturing the display panel 200A and / or the backlight unit. When the display panel 200A and / or the backlight unit include one air gap, the one air gap can perform the function of the spacer layer. In the case where the display panel 200A and / or the backlight unit include a plurality of air gaps, As a spacer layer.

4D is a perspective view of the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B of the present invention. 4D, the sensor sheet 440 may be disposed between the display module 200 and the substrate 300 in the touch input device 1000 in the first example of the present invention. The touch input apparatus 1000 may include a spacer layer disposed between the display module 200 of the touch input apparatus 1000 and the substrate 300 to dispose the sensor sheet 440.

Hereinafter, the sensors 450 and 460 for detecting the pressure are referred to as the pressure sensors 450 and 460 so as to be clearly distinguished from the electrodes included in the touch sensor 10. Since the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are disposed on the rear surface of the display panel 200A, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed of an opaque material as well as a transparent material. When the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, light must be transmitted through the backlight unit, so that the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be made of a transparent material such as ITO.

At this time, a frame 330 having a predetermined height along the rim of the upper portion of the substrate 300 may be formed to hold the spacer layer 420 on which the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are disposed. At this time, the frame 330 may be adhered to the cover layer 100 with an adhesive tape (not shown). 4D, the frame 330 is shown to be formed on all the edges of the substrate 300 (e.g., four sides of a square), but the frame 330 may include at least some of the edges of the substrate 300 Three surfaces). According to an embodiment, the frame 330 may be integrally formed with the substrate 300 on the upper surface of the substrate 300. In an embodiment of the present invention, the frame 330 may be constructed of a material that is not elastic. In the embodiment of the present invention, when the display panel 200A is applied with pressure through the cover layer 100, the display panel 200A may be bent together with the cover layer 100, The magnitude of the touch pressure can be detected even if there is no deformation of the mold.

Hereinafter, a method of detecting the electrostatic capacitance, which is the first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention, will be described. In this case, the pressure sensor may be an electrode.

4E is a cross-sectional view of a touch input device including a pressure sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4E, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be disposed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A as the spacer layer 420. As shown in FIG.

The pressure sensor for pressure detection may include a first sensor 450 and a second sensor 460. At this time, one of the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 may be a driving sensor and the other may be a receiving sensor. A drive signal may be applied to the drive sensor and a sense signal may be obtained that includes information about the electrical characteristics that change as pressure is applied through the receive sensor. For example, when a voltage is applied, mutual capacitance may be generated between the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460.

4F is a cross-sectional view of the touch input device 1000 shown in FIG. 4E when pressure is applied. The top surface of the substrate 300 may have a ground potential for noise shielding. When the pressure is applied to the surface of the cover layer 100 through the object 500, the cover layer 100 and the display panel 200A may be warped or pressed. The distance d between the ground potential plane and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 can be reduced to d '. In this case, as the distance d decreases, the fringing capacitance is absorbed to the upper surface of the substrate 300, so that the mutual capacitance between the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 can be reduced . Accordingly, it is possible to calculate the magnitude of the touch pressure by obtaining a reduction amount of mutual capacitance in the sensing signal obtained through the reception sensor.

In FIG. 4F, the upper surface of the substrate 300 is the ground potential, that is, the reference potential layer. However, the reference potential layer may be disposed inside the display module 200. At this time, when the pressure is applied to the surface of the cover layer 100 through the object 500, the cover layer 100 and the display panel 200A can be bent or pressed. Accordingly, the distance between the reference potential layer disposed inside the display module 200 and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 varies, and thus, the capacitance change amount is obtained from the sensing signal obtained through the reception sensor, and the magnitude of the touch pressure is calculated .

In the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display panel 200A can be bent or pressed according to a touch to apply pressure. According to the embodiment, the position where the display panel 200A is deformed when the display panel 200A is bent or pressed may not coincide with the touch position, but the display panel 200A may exhibit warping at least at the touch position. For example, when the touch position is close to the edge and the edge of the display panel 200A, the position where the display panel 200A is warped or pressed most greatly may be different from the touch position, It is possible to indicate warping or pressing.

In a form in which the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 are formed in the same layer, the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 shown in Figs. 4E and 4F, respectively, And may be constituted by a plurality of sensors in the form of a rhombus. Here, the plurality of first sensors 450 are mutually connected in the first axis direction, the plurality of second sensors 460 are mutually connected in the second axis direction orthogonal to the first axis direction, At least one of the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 may be in the form of a plurality of diamond-shaped sensors connected through a bridge so that the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 are insulated from each other. At this time, the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 shown in FIG. 6 may be configured as a sensor of the type shown in FIG. 9B.

It is exemplified that the touch pressure is detected from the mutual capacitance change between the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460. However, the pressure sensing unit may be configured to include only the pressure sensor of either the first sensor 450 or the second sensor 460. In this case, one pressure sensor and the ground layer (the substrate 300 or the display module The magnitude of the touch pressure can be detected by detecting the change in the electrostatic capacitance, that is, the magnitude of the electrostatic capacitance, between the reference potential layer disposed within the semiconductor substrate 200 and the reference potential layer. At this time, a drive signal is applied to the one pressure sensor, and a change in magnetic capacitance between the pressure sensor and the ground layer can be sensed by the pressure sensor.

4E, the pressure sensor may be configured to include only the first sensor 450, wherein the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 450, which are caused by the distance change between the substrate 300 and the first sensor 450, It is possible to detect the magnitude of the touch pressure from the change in capacitance between the electrodes 300. The capacitance d between the substrate 300 and the first sensor 450 may increase as the touch pressure increases because the distance d decreases as the touch pressure increases. At this time, the pressure sensor does not need to have a comb-like shape or a triangular shape necessary for increasing the mutual capacitance change amount detection accuracy, and may have a single plate (for example, a rectangular plate shape) A plurality of first sensors 450 may be arranged in a lattice pattern at regular intervals.

4E and 4F, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are disposed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A. However, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are not disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 300 And the reference potential layer may be disposed on the display module 200 or inside thereof.

4G illustrates a case where the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate 300 and the lower surface of the display module 200 in the spacer layer 420. 4B, when the pressure sensing unit is configured as a sensor sheet, the sensor sheet includes a first sensor sheet 440-1 including a first sensor 450 and a second sensor 460 And the second sensor sheet 440-2. At this time, either one of the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 may be formed on the substrate 300, and the other one may be formed on the lower surface of the display module 200. 4H illustrates that the first sensor 450 is formed on the substrate 300 and the second sensor 460 is formed on the lower surface of the display module 200. [

4H illustrates a case in which the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate 300 and the lower surface of the display panel 200A in the spacer layer 420. [ The first sensor 450 is formed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A and the second sensor 460 is formed on the first insulating layer 470 such that the second sensor 460 is formed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A, 2 insulating layer 471 may be disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 300 in the form of a sensor sheet on which the second sensor 460 is formed.

When the pressure is applied to the surface of the cover layer 100 through the object 500, the cover layer 100 and the display panel 200A may be warped or pressed. Accordingly, the distance d between the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 can be reduced. In this case, the mutual capacitance between the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 may increase as the distance d decreases. Accordingly, it is possible to calculate the magnitude of the touch pressure by acquiring an increase amount of mutual capacitance in the sensing signal obtained through the reception sensor. In this case, since the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 are formed on different layers in FIG. 4H, the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 need not have a comb-like shape or a trident shape One of the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 may have a single plate (for example, a rectangular plate), and the other may be a plurality of sensors And may be arranged in a lattice pattern.

4C, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed directly on the lower surface of the display panel 200A. However, as shown in FIG. 4B, the sensor sheets 450 and 460, including the pressure sensors 450 and 460, The present invention is also applicable to the embodiment in which the display module 440 is disposed between the display module 200 and the substrate 300.

In this case, the top surface of the substrate 300 may also have a ground potential for noise shielding. 5 illustrates a cross section of a sensor sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5A, a cross section of a case where a sensor sheet 440 including pressure sensors 450 and 460 is attached on a substrate 300 or a display module 200 is illustrated. Since the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are located between the first insulating layer 470 and the second insulating layer 471 in the sensor sheet 440, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are disposed between the substrate 300 and the display module 200, Can be prevented from being short-circuited. Also, depending on the type and / or implementation of the touch input device 1000, the substrate 300 or the display module 200 to which the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are attached may not exhibit the ground potential or may exhibit a weak ground potential. In this case, the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a ground electrode (not shown) between the substrate 300 or the display module 200 and the insulating layer 470 . According to an embodiment, another insulating layer (not shown) may further be provided between the ground electrode and the substrate 300 or the display module 200. At this time, the ground electrode (not shown) can prevent the magnitude of the electrostatic capacitance generated between the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460, which are pressure sensors, from becoming too large.

The first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 may be implemented in different layers according to the embodiment to constitute a sensor layer. 5B illustrates a cross-section of the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 in different layers. The first sensor 450 is formed on the first insulating layer 470 and the second sensor 460 is formed on the first sensor 450 as shown in Figure 5 (b) Layer 471 as shown in FIG. According to an embodiment, the second sensor 460 may be covered with a third insulating layer 472. That is, the sensor sheet 440 may include a first insulating layer 470 to a third insulating layer 472, a first sensor 450, and a second sensor 460. At this time, since the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 are located on different layers, they may be overlapped with each other. For example, the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 may be formed similar to the pattern of the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX arranged in the structure of MXN, as shown in FIG. 9C . At this time, M and N may be natural numbers of 1 or more. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9A, the first sensor 450 and the second sensor 460 in the rhombic shape may be located on different layers, respectively.

5C illustrates a cross-sectional view of the sensor sheet 440 when only the first sensor 450 is implemented. The sensor sheet 440 including the first sensor 450 may be disposed on the substrate 300 or the display module 200, as illustrated in FIG. 5 (c).

5D illustrates a first sensor sheet 440-1 including a first sensor 450 and a second sensor sheet 440-1 attached to the substrate 300 and including a second sensor 460. [ 2) is attached to the display module 200. FIG. The first sensor sheet 440-1 including the first sensor 450 may be disposed on the substrate 300, as illustrated in FIG. 5 (d). In addition, the second sensor sheet 440-2 including the second sensor 460 may be disposed on the lower surface of the display module 200.

5 (a), when the substrate 300 or the display module 200 to which the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are attached does not exhibit the ground potential or exhibits a weak ground potential, The sensor sheet 440 further includes a ground electrode (not shown) between the substrate 300 or the display module 200 and the first insulation layers 470, 470-1 and 470-2 . At this time, the sensor sheet 440 may further include an additional insulation layer (not shown) between the ground electrode (not shown) and the substrate 300 or the display module 200.

In the touch input device 1000 according to the present invention, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed directly on the display panel 200A. 6A to 6C are cross-sectional views illustrating an embodiment of a pressure sensor formed directly on various display panels in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6A shows pressure sensors 450 and 460 formed on a display panel 200A using an LCD panel. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed on the bottom surface of the second substrate layer 262. At this time, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed on the lower surface of the second polarizing layer 272. When a touch pressure is detected based on the amount of mutual capacitance change when pressure is applied to the touch input apparatus 1000, a drive signal is applied to the drive sensor 450, and a reference potential layer From the reception sensor 460, an electrical signal including information on a capacitance that changes in accordance with a change in distance between the pressure sensor 450 and the pressure sensors 450 and 460. A drive signal is applied to the pressure sensors 450 and 460. When a touch signal is detected based on the change in the distance between the reference potential layer spaced apart from the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 And receives an electrical signal from the pressure sensors 450 and 460 that includes information on the changing capacitance. Here, the reference potential layer may be a substrate 300, a cover disposed between the display panel 200A and the substrate 300, and a function of protecting the display panel 200A.

Next, FIG. 6B shows pressure sensors 450 and 460 formed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A using an OLED panel (particularly, an AM-OLED panel). Specifically, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed on the bottom surface of the second substrate layer 283. At this time, the method of detecting the pressure is the same as that described in Fig. 6A.

In the case of the OLED panel, since the light is emitted from the organic material layer 280, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 formed on the lower surface of the second substrate layer 283 disposed under the organic material layer 280 may be made of an opaque material. In this case, since the patterns of the pressure sensors 450 and 460 formed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A can be seen by the user, in order to directly form the pressure sensors 450 and 460 on the lower surface of the second substrate layer 283, After the light shielding layer such as black ink is applied to the bottom surface of the layer 283, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 can be formed on the light shielding layer.

6B, pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed on the lower surface of the second substrate layer 283, but a third substrate layer (not shown) is disposed below the second substrate layer 283, 3 pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed on the lower surface of the substrate layer. Particularly, when the display panel 200A is a flexible OLED panel, since the display panel 200A composed of the first substrate layer 281, the organic layer 280 and the second substrate layer 283 is very thin and well warped, It is possible to dispose a third substrate layer that does not bend relatively well below the substrate layer 283.

Next, Fig. 6C shows the pressure sensors 450 and 460 formed in the display panel 200A using the OLED panel. Specifically, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed on the upper surface of the second substrate layer 283. At this time, the method of detecting the pressure is the same as that described in Fig. 6A.

6C, the display panel 200A using the OLED panel is described as an example. However, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be formed on the upper surface of the second substrate layer 272 of the display panel 200A using the LCD panel It is possible.

6A to 6C, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the second substrate layers 272 and 283. However, when the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the first substrate layers 261 and 281, As shown in FIG.

6A to 6C, the pressure sensing unit including the pressure sensors 450 and 460 is directly formed on the display panel 200A. Alternatively, the pressure sensing unit may be formed directly on the substrate 300, Or may be a cover that is disposed between the display panel 200A and the substrate 300 and functions to protect the display panel 200A.

6A to 6C, the reference potential layer is disposed below the pressure sensing portion. However, the reference potential layer may be disposed inside the display panel 200A. Specifically, the reference potential layer may be disposed on the upper or lower surface of the first substrate layer 261, 281 of the display panel 200A, or on the upper surface or the lower surface of the second substrate layer 262, 283.

The electrode sheet 440 in which the first insulating layer 470 is absent from the electrode sheet 440 shown in FIG. 5, that is, the pressure sensor 450, 460 is formed on one surface of the second insulating layer 471, It is also possible to directly form the pressure sensors 450 and 460 on the display panel 200A by attaching a surface opposite to the second insulating layer 471 to the display panel 200A on which the insulating layer is not disposed . Specifically, the pressure sensors 450 and 60 can be directly formed on the display panel 200A by attaching the film on which the electrode composed of ITO is formed to the display panel 200A.

4H, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 for sensing the amount of capacitance change in the touch input device 1000 according to the present invention include a first sensor 450 formed directly on the display panel 200A, And a second sensor 460 configured in the form of a sensor. Specifically, the first sensor 450 is formed directly on the display panel 200A as illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C, and the second sensor 460 is formed in the form of a sensor sheet as described in FIG. And may be attached to the input device 1000.

Hereinafter, a method of detecting a resistance, which is a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention, will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4E, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be disposed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A.

4F, when the pressure is applied to the surface of the cover layer 100 through the object 500, the cover layer 100 and the display panel 200A may be warped or pressed. As the display panel 200A is warped, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 disposed on the display panel 200A are deformed, and accordingly, the resistance values of the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be changed. The magnitude of the touch pressure can be calculated from the change of the resistance value.

7A to 7F are plan views of an exemplary pressure sensor capable of sensing a pressure applied to the touch input device according to the present invention. In this case, the pressure sensor may be a strain gauge. A strain gauge is a device whose electrical resistance varies in proportion to the amount of strain, and generally a metal-bonded strain gauge can be used.

Materials that can be used for the strain gage include transparent conductive materials such as conductive polymers (PEDOT), indium tin oxide (ITO), antimony tin oxide (ATO), carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene ), Gallium zinc oxide, indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), indium oxide (In ₂ O ₃ ), zinc oxide (ZnO) ₂ O ₃ ), and cadmium oxide (CdO), other doped metal oxides, piezoresistive elements, piezoresistive semiconductor materials, piezoresistive metal materials, silver nanowires, platinum nanowires, nickel nanowires, and other metallic nanowires may be used. Examples of opaque materials include silver ink, copper, nano silver, carbon nanotube (CNT), Constantan alloy, Karma alloys, doped Polycrystalline silicon, doped amorphous silicon, doped single crystal silicon, doped other semiconductor material, and the like can be used.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the metal pressure sensor may be composed of a metal foil arranged in a lattice-like manner. The lattice type method can maximize the deformation amount of the metal wire or foil which is likely to be deformed in the parallel direction. At this time, the vertical lattice cross-section of the pressure sensor 450 shown in Fig. 7A can be minimized to reduce the effects of shear strain and Poisson strain.

In the example of FIG. 7A, the pressure sensor 450 may include traces 451 that are not in contact but are disposed close to each other while in an at rest state, i.e., not strained or otherwise untransformed. have. The pressure sensor may have a nominal resistance such as 1.8 K? 0.1% in the absence of strain or force. As a basic parameter of the pressure sensor, the sensitivity to the strain can be expressed by the gauge coefficient (GF). At this time, the gauge coefficient can be defined as a ratio of the electrical resistance change to the change in length (strain) and can be expressed as a function of the strain epsilon as follows.

Where R is the variation of the pressure sensor resistance, R is the resistance of the undeformed pressure sensor, and GF is the gauge coefficient.

At this time, in order to measure a small change in resistance, the pressure sensor is used in a bridge configuration with a voltage driven source in most cases. 7B and 7C illustrate an exemplary pressure sensor that can be applied to a touch input device according to the present invention. As shown in the example of Fig. 7b, the pressure sensor is included in a Wheatstone bridge 3000 having four different resistances (shown as R1, R2, R3, R4) The resistance of the gauge can be sensed (for other resistors). The bridge 3000 is coupled to a pressure sensor interface (not shown) to receive a drive signal (voltage V _EX ) from a touch controller (not shown) to drive the pressure sensor and to generate a sense signal V _O ) to the touch controller. At this time, the output voltage V _O of the bridge 3000 can be expressed as follows.

When R1 / R2 = R4 / R3 in the above equation, the output voltage (V _O ) becomes zero. Under this condition, the bridge 3000 is in a balanced state. At this time, when any one of the resistances included in the bridge 3000 is changed, a non-zero output voltage V _O is output.

7C, when the pressure sensor 450 is R _G , and R _G changes, a change in the resistance of the pressure sensor 450 causes an imbalance in the bridge and a non-zero output voltage V _O ). When the nominal resistance of the pressure sensor 450 is R _G , the change ΔR of the resistance induced by the deformation can be expressed as ΔR = R _G × GF × ε through the above-mentioned gage coefficient equation. Assuming that R1 = R2 and R3 = R _G , the bridge equation is rewritten as a function of the strain ε of V _O / V _EX as follows.

Although the bridge of Fig. 7c includes only one pressure sensor 450, up to four pressure sensors may be used at the positions shown as R1, R2, R3, R4 included in the bridge of Fig. 7b, It will be appreciated that the resistance change can be used to sense the applied pressure.

5C and 5D, when pressure is applied to the display panel 200A on which the pressure sensor 450 is formed, the display panel 200A is bent and the traces 451 And the traces 451 become longer and narrower, thereby increasing the resistance of the pressure sensor 450. [0064] As the applied pressure increases, the resistance of the pressure sensor 450 may correspondingly increase. Therefore, when the pressure sensor controller 1300 detects an increase in the resistance value of the pressure sensor 450, the rise can be interpreted as a pressure applied to the display panel 200A.

In yet another embodiment, the bridge 3000 may be integrated with the pressure sensor controller 1300, in which case at least one of the resistors R1, R2, R3 may be replaced by a resistor in the pressure sensor controller 1300 have. For example, the resistors R2 and R3 may be replaced by resistors in the pressure sensor controller 1300, and the bridge 3000 may be formed by the pressure sensor 450 and the resistor Rl. Thus, the space occupied by the bridge 3000 can be reduced.

7A, since the trace 451 is largely changed in the horizontal direction due to the horizontal alignment of the traces 451, the sensitivity to the deformation in the horizontal direction is high, As for the deformation in the direction, the change in the length of the trace 451 is relatively small, so that the sensitivity to deformation in the vertical direction is low. As shown in FIG. 7D, the pressure sensor 450 includes a plurality of detailed areas, and the alignment directions of the traces 451 included in the respective detailed areas can be configured differently. By configuring the pressure sensor 450 including the traces 451 having different alignment directions, the sensitivity difference of the pressure sensor 450 with respect to the deformation direction can be reduced.

The touch input apparatus 1000 according to the present invention may include a single pressure sensor formed by forming a single pressure sensor 450 under the display panel 200A as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7D. The touch input apparatus 1000 according to the present invention may include a plurality of pressure sensors 450 formed in a lower portion of the display panel 200A as shown in FIG. 7E. It is also possible to simultaneously measure the magnitude of each of the plurality of pressures with respect to the plurality of touches by using the pressure sensor composed of the plurality of channels.

The temperature increase may adversely affect the pressure sensor 450 because the display panel 200A is expanded without the applied pressure and as a result the pressure sensor 450 formed on the display panel 200A may increase . As a result, the resistance of the pressure sensor 450 increases and can be misinterpreted as the pressure applied to the pressure sensor 450.

To compensate for the temperature change, at least one of the resistances R1, R2, R3 of the bridge 3000 shown in FIG. 7C may be replaced by a thermistor. The resistance change due to the temperature of the thermistor can correspond to the resistance change due to the temperature of the pressure sensor 450 due to thermal expansion of the display panel 200A in which the pressure sensor 450 is formed, _O ) can be reduced.

In addition, two gauges can be used to minimize the effect of temperature changes. 7F, when the deformation in the horizontal direction occurs, the traces 451 of the pressure sensor 450 can be aligned in the horizontal direction parallel to the deformation direction, and the dummy pressure sensor 460 May be aligned in a direction perpendicular to the direction of deformation. At this time, the deformation affects the pressure sensor 450 and hardly affects the dummy pressure sensor 460, but the temperature affects both the pressure sensor 450 and the dummy pressure sensor 460 in the same way. Thus, since the temperature change is equally applied to the two gauges, the ratio of the nominal resistance R _G of the two gauges does not change. At this time, when these two gauges share the output node of the Wheatstone bridge, that is, when the two gauges are R1 and R2 in Fig. 7B, or R3 and R4, the output voltage (V _O ) The influence of the temperature change can be minimized.

In the case where the pressure sensors 450 and 460 in the touch input apparatus 1000 according to the present invention are strain gauges, they may be formed directly on the display panel 200A as shown in Figs. 6A to 6C.

8A to 8C are plan views of an electrode sheet type pressure sensing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 8A to 8C, the insulating layer disposed on the pressure sensor is not shown for the purpose of illustrating the pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing portion. 8D to 8G are sectional views of a pressure sensing unit in the form of an electrode sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 8D to 8G, the pressure sensing part in the form of an electrode sheet includes both the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any one of the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer It is possible. In this case, the surface on which the insulating layer is not disposed can be directly attached to the touch input device. For example, a surface on which the insulating layer is not disposed can be attached to the lower surface of the display panel.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the pressure sensor 450 included in the pressure sensing unit may be configured in a rectangular shape having a high sensitivity of the first electrical characteristic, and as shown in FIG. 8B, The included pressure sensor 450 may be configured in a thin and long shape having a high sensitivity of the second electrical characteristic.

At this time, the pressure sensing part includes a plurality of pressure sensors 450, and a plurality of pressure sensors 450 may be disposed in one layer, as shown in FIG. 5 (a) A plurality of pressure sensors 450 are disposed on both sides of the first insulation layer 470 and a second insulation layer 470 is provided on a surface of the pressure sensor 450 opposite to the first insulation layer 470, The first insulating layer 471 and the third insulating layer 472 may be disposed. At this time, the shape of the pressure sensor 450 disposed on both sides of the first insulating layer 470 may be the same as the shape shown in FIG. 8A or 8B.

The pressure sensing unit may be disposed on the upper portion of the display panel 200A, as shown in FIG. 4A, or may be disposed on the lower portion of the display panel 200A, as shown in FIGS. 4B to 4H. Specifically, the pressure sensing part may be included in the cover layer 100 as shown in FIG. 4A, the pressure sensor may be disposed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A as shown in FIG. 4E, 450 or the pressure sensor 460 of Figure 4h. Further, as shown in Figs. 6A to 6C, it may be formed directly on the display panel 200A.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2B, a first signal including information on a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor 450 and a second signal including information on a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor 450 May be input to the pressure sensor controller 1300 from the pressure sensing unit. 2C, a first signal including information on a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor 450 is input from the pressure sensing unit to the first pressure sensor controller 1301, and the pressure sensor 450 May be input to the second pressure sensor controller 1302 from the pressure sensing unit.

8C, 8E to 8G, the pressure sensing unit may include a second pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensing unit including the first pressure sensor 452 and a second pressure sensor 453, . At this time, as shown in Fig. 8C, the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 may be disposed on the same layer. In addition, the shape of the first pressure sensor 452 and the shape of the second pressure sensor 453 may be different. Specifically, the first pressure sensor 452 included in the first pressure sensing unit may be configured to have a rectangular shape having a high sensitivity of the first electrical characteristic, and the second pressure sensor 452 included in the second pressure sensing unit 453 may be of a thin and long shape with a high sensitivity of the second electrical characteristic. The material constituting the first pressure sensor 452 and the material constituting the second pressure sensor 453 may be different. Specifically, the material constituting the first pressure sensor 452 may be composed of a metal such as copper having a high sensitivity of a capacitance, which is the first electrical characteristic detected by the first pressure sensor 452, The material constituting the first pressure sensor 453 may be composed of silicon or the like having a high sensitivity of resistance, which is the second electrical characteristic detected by the second pressure sensor 453. [ 8C, the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 are arranged so that the first pressure sensors 452 are not adjacent to each other and the second pressure sensors 453 are not adjacent to each other, (453) may be arranged alternately. By arranging the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 alternately in this manner, the first electrical characteristic detected from the first pressure sensor 452 and the first electrical characteristic detected from the second pressure sensor 453 2 It is advantageous that uniform electrical sensitivity can be maintained irrespective of the pressure application position.

8E to 8G, the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 are disposed on both sides with the first insulating layer 470 interposed therebetween, and the first pressure sensor 452 The second insulating layer 471 and the third insulating layer 472 may be disposed on a surface opposite to the first insulating layer 470 of the second pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453. [

8E, a first pressure sensor 452 is disposed on one side of the first insulating layer 470 and a second pressure sensor 453 is disposed on the other side of the first insulating layer 470. [ . In this case, the shape of the first pressure sensor 452 disposed on one side of the first insulating layer 470 may be the same as the shape shown in FIG. 8A, and the shape of the second pressure sensor 452 disposed on the other side of the first insulating layer 470 may be the same as the shape shown in FIG. The shape of the pressure sensor 453 may be the same as the shape shown in Fig. 8B.

In FIG. 8E, one electrode sheet includes the first pressure sensing unit and the second pressure sensing unit. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Specifically, the first pressure sensing part and the second pressure sensing part may be disposed in the touch input device in a separate configuration. More specifically, one of the first pressure sensing portion and the second pressure sensing portion is disposed on the upper portion of the display panel 200A, as shown in Fig. 4A, and the other is disposed on the upper side of the display panel 200A as shown in Figs. 4B to 4H Similarly, it may be disposed under the display panel 200A. At this time, the pressure sensing part disposed on the upper part of the display panel 200A may be included in the cover layer 100 as shown in FIG. 4A. The pressure sensing unit disposed under the display panel 200A may be disposed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A as shown in FIG. 4E or may be disposed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A, 460). ≪ / RTI > In addition, the pressure sensing unit disposed under the display panel 200A may be formed directly on the display panel 200A as shown in Figs. 6A to 6C. Also, as in the case of the pressure electrodes 450 and 460 shown in FIGS. 4G, 4H and 5D, any one of the first pressure sensing part and the second pressure sensing part may be formed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A And the other one may be disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 300. [

8F and 8G, the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 may be disposed on both sides of the first insulating layer 470. In addition,

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8F, the first pressure sensor 452 may be disposed on the opposite side of the first insulating layer 470 at the same position as the position where the first pressure sensor 452 is disposed, The second pressure sensor 453 may be disposed on the opposite side of the first insulating layer 470 at the same position as the position where the second pressure sensor 453 is disposed. At this time, the shapes of the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 disposed on both sides of the first insulating layer 470 may be the same as those shown in FIG. 8C. That is, the shapes of the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 may be different from each other or may be different from each other, and they may be arranged alternately.

8G, the second pressure sensor 453 may be disposed on the opposite side of the first insulating layer 470 at the same position as the position where the first pressure sensor 452 is disposed, The first pressure sensor 452 may be disposed on the opposite side of the first insulating layer 470 at the same position as the position where the second pressure sensor 453 is disposed. That is, the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 are arranged so that the first pressure sensors 452 are not adjacent to each other with the first insulating layer 470 therebetween, and the second pressure sensors 453 are not adjacent to each other. 2 pressure sensor 453 may be alternately arranged with respect to the first insulating layer 470. [ At this time, the shapes of the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 disposed on both sides of the first insulating layer 470 may be the same as those shown in FIG. 8C. That is, the shapes of the first pressure sensor 452 and the second pressure sensor 453 may be different from each other or may be different from each other, and they may be arranged alternately.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2D, a first signal including information on a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor 452 is input from the first pressure sensing unit to the pressure sensor controller 1300, A second signal including information on the second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor 453 may be input from the second pressure sensing unit to the pressure sensor controller 1300. [ 2E, a first signal including information on a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor 452 is input to the first pressure sensor controller 1301 from the first pressure sensor, A second signal including information on a second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor 453 may be input to the second pressure sensor controller 1302 from the second pressure sensor.

As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, when the first signal and the second signal are input from the same pressure sensing unit, the pressure sensor controller performs a time division operation and a first driving operation for detecting the first electrical characteristic in the first time period A second driving signal for detecting a second electrical characteristic may be applied to the pressure sensing unit in a second time period different from the first time period. 2D and 2E, when the first signal is received from the first pressure sensing unit and the second signal is received from the second pressure sensing unit, the pressure sensor controller detects the first electrical characteristic A second driving signal for detecting a second electrical characteristic may be applied to the second pressure sensing unit in the same time period as the first driving signal for applying the first driving signal to the first pressure sensing unit, A first driving signal for detecting a first electrical characteristic is applied to the first pressure sensing unit in a first time period, and a second driving signal for detecting a second electrical characteristic is detected in a second time period different from the first time period, 2 drive signal to the second pressure sensing unit.

In this case, when the first electrical characteristic is the capacitance and the second electrical characteristic is the resistance, when the second pressure sensing portion is disposed between the first pressure sensing portion for detecting the first electrical characteristic and the reference potential layer, Since the pressure sensing part may affect the change in the distance between the first pressure sensing part and the reference potential layer, it is preferable that a first time for applying the first driving signal for detecting the first electrification characteristic to the first pressure sensing part The second pressure sensor included in the second pressure sensing unit can be floated.

Hereinafter, a method of calculating the magnitude of the pressure using the first signal and the second signal will be described.

First, a normalized first value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure is calculated from the first signal, a normalized second value corresponding to the magnitude of the pressure is calculated from the second signal, and then a function of the first value and the second value Can be determined by the magnitude of the applied pressure. Specifically, the first value and the second value may be weighted to determine the magnitude of the applied pressure. For example, a weight of 0.8 may be given to the first value, a weight of 0.2 may be assigned to the second value, and then the magnitude of the applied pressure may be calculated by adding the weighted first and second values. In summary, when a pressure value to be calculated is V, a first value is V1, and a second value is V2, the pressure calculation using the weight can be expressed as follows.

 (0??? 1)

At this time, the weight may vary depending on the position where the pressure is applied. For example, the closer the pressure application position is to the center of the touch input device, the larger the weight value assigned to the first value, and the closer the pressure application position is to the edge of the touch input device, . Such a weight can be stored as a preset value for the pressure application position.

In addition, the weight may vary depending on various conditions of the touch input device such as the temperature of the touch input device. For example, the higher the temperature of the touch input device, the larger the weight value given to the first value, and the lower the temperature of the touch input device, the larger the weight value given to the second value. The state of the touch input device such as this temperature can be sensed through various sensors, and the corresponding weight can be stored as a preset value for each state.

Alternatively, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the first value is determined as the magnitude of the applied pressure, and when the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the second value may be determined as the magnitude of the applied pressure.

Specifically, the predetermined condition may be a condition in which the touch area is equal to or larger than a predetermined area. For example, if the area touched by the touch sensor is calculated and the first value is determined as the magnitude of the applied pressure when the touched area is larger than the predetermined area, otherwise, the second value is determined as the magnitude of the applied pressure . At this time, in the case of the capacitance, the value changes in accordance with the distance change between the pressure sensor and the reference potential layer. Therefore, when the touch input device is gently bent with respect to a large area, In the case of resistance, the value changes with the change of the length of the pressure sensor. Therefore, when the touch input device is bent rapidly against a narrow area, the resistance may be suitable as an electrical characteristic for detecting the pressure.

Likewise, the predetermined condition may be a condition in which the profile type of the first signal or the second signal matches the predetermined type. As a result, when the profile of the first signal or the second signal is gently formed with respect to a large area by comparing the profile shape of the first signal or the second signal with the predetermined shape, The electrostatic capacity is suitable as the electrical characteristic for detecting the pressure and the profile of the first signal or the second signal is formed abruptly with respect to the narrow area. The resistance may be suitable for the electrical characteristic for detecting the pressure.

Likewise, the predetermined condition may be a condition in which the touch input is multi-input. In the case of a single input, since it is only necessary to detect the pressure for one input, the electrostatic capacity is suitable for the electrical characteristic for detecting the pressure. In the case of the multi-input, A resistance that is an electrical characteristic that makes it easy to detect the pressure of each of a plurality of deflected portions can be suitable.

The predetermined condition may be a condition in which the SNR value of the first signal is equal to or greater than the SNR value of the second signal. When the SNR value is small, the detected signal is more affected by the change due to other factors such as noise than the change due to the applied pressure. Therefore, a signal having a larger SNR value than a signal having a smaller SNR value Size can be indicated. Therefore, a signal having a large SNR value can be selected to determine the magnitude of the applied pressure.

2B and 2C, since the pressure sensor controller 1300 receives the first signal and the second signal, the pressure sensor controller 1300 calculates the first value from the first signal, The signal may be used to calculate a second value, determine the magnitude of the applied pressure using the first and second values as described above, and output the calculated value to the processor 1500. 2D and FIG. 2E, since the processor 1500 receives the first value calculated from the first signal and the second value calculated from the second signal, the processor 1500 receives the first value calculated from the first signal and the second value calculated from the second signal, The magnitude of the applied pressure may be determined using the 1 value and the second value.

Hereinafter, a method of driving the touch input device for detecting the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic will be described.

First, in accordance with the user's selection, a first mode that does not detect the second electrical characteristic but detects only the first electrical characteristic to calculate the magnitude of the pressure, detects only the second electrical characteristic without detecting the first electrical characteristic, The touch input device can be operated by the user such that any one of the second mode for calculating the magnitude of the pressure and the third mode for detecting the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic and calculating the magnitude of the pressure can be operated.

In addition, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the touch input device may be set such that any one of the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode is driven.

Specifically, the predetermined condition may be a condition that the temperature of the touch input device is included in a predetermined range. For example, among the first and second electrical characteristics, the touch input device can be set to be detected only when the temperature of the touch input device is lower than a predetermined temperature.

In addition, the predetermined condition may be a condition in which the size of the noise affecting the touch input device is included in the predetermined range. For example, among the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic, a characteristic of being highly influenced by ambient noise such as display noise can be set so that the touch input apparatus is detected only when the noise affecting the touch input apparatus is smaller than a predetermined size .

Hereinafter, a method of detecting the magnitude of each of a plurality of pressures using the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic will be described.

When N touch pressures are applied to the touch input device and a first electrical characteristic and a second electrical characteristic are detected from a pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing section, N is calculated based on the detected first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic, It is possible to calculate the size of each of the four pressures. Specifically, the pressure sensing unit includes a plurality of pressure sensors, and detects a first signal including information on a first electrical characteristic from at least one of the plurality of pressure sensors, And may detect M second signals from the sensors, each of which contains information on a second electrical characteristic. Thereafter, the first value is calculated from the first signal, the N second values are calculated from the M second signals, and the size of each of the N pressure is calculated on the basis of the calculated first value and N second values Can be calculated.

Similarly, when N touch pressures are applied to the touch input device, the first electrical characteristic is detected from the first pressure sensor included in the pressure sensing part, and the second electrical characteristic is detected from the second pressure sensor, The magnitude of each of the N pressures can be calculated based on the one electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic. Specifically, a first signal including information on a first electrical characteristic is detected from a first pressure sensor, and the pressure sensing unit includes a plurality of second pressure sensors, and M of the plurality of second pressure sensors 2 < / RTI > signals that contain information about a second electrical characteristic from the two pressure sensors, respectively. Thereafter, the first value is calculated from the first signal, the N second values are calculated from the M second signals, and the size of each of the N pressure is calculated on the basis of the calculated first value and N second values Can be calculated.

At this time, it is possible to calculate the total magnitude of the N pressures from the first value and to calculate the ratio of each of the N pressures to the total magnitude of the N pressures from the N second values. Thereafter, the magnitude of each of the N pressures can be calculated from the ratio of the total magnitude of the N pressures and the ratio of each of the N pressures. Specifically, when the i-th pressure value to be obtained is Vi and the first value is V1 and the i-th second value is V2i, the first pressure value and the N second pressure value are used to calculate N pressure values The following equation can be obtained.

For example, if N = 3, the first value is 2, and the three second values are 2, 3, and 5, then the first pressure value is 2 x (2 / (2 + 3 + 5)) = 0.4 , The second pressure value may be 2 x (3 / (2 + 3 + 5)) = 0.6 and the third pressure value may be 2 x (2 / (2 + 3 + 5)) = 1.0.

In the above, N and M are natural numbers, and M may be equal to or greater than N.

At this time, the first electrical characteristic may be a capacitance, and the second electrical characteristic may be a resistance. When a plurality of pressures are applied, in the case of the capacitance, as the display module is warped, not only the capacitance of the pressure sensor corresponding to the position at which the pressure is applied, but also the capacitance of the pressure sensor located around the pressure sensor, do. On the other hand, in the case of the resistance, as the display module is warped, the resistance of the pressure sensor corresponding to the position at which the pressure is applied is largely changed, but the resistance of the pressure sensor located in the vicinity thereof is relatively unchanged. Therefore, the first electrical characteristic used to calculate the magnitude of the total pressure is a capacitance having a high pressure detection sensitivity, and the second electrical characteristic used to calculate the ratio of each of the N pressure is a difference A resistance that is relatively clearly distinguished may be suitable.

In the above description, the first electric characteristic is described as a capacitance and the second electric characteristic is described as a resistance. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to calculate the magnitude of pressure by detecting electrical characteristics other than capacitance and resistance.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of illustration, It can be seen that various modifications and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments can be modified and implemented. It is to be understood that all changes and modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

10: Touch sensor
11: sensing part 12: driving part
13: control section 100: cover layer
200: display module 300: substrate
450, 460: Pressure sensor

Claims (46)

A touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure,
A display panel; And
And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit is the same pressure sensing unit that detects the first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor and the second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor,
Calculating a magnitude of the pressure based on the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic different from the first electrical characteristic,
Wherein the first electrical characteristic is a capacitance and the second electrical characteristic is a resistance,
Touch input device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit includes a plurality of pressure sensors,
Wherein the plurality of pressure sensors are disposed in one layer,
Touch input device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the pressure sensing part includes a plurality of pressure sensors and a first insulating layer,
Wherein the plurality of pressure sensors are disposed on both sides of the first insulating layer,
Touch input device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit is disposed above the display panel,
Touch input device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit is disposed under the display panel,
Touch input device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the pressure sensing part is formed directly on a lower surface of the display panel,
Touch input device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A first driving signal for detecting the first electrical characteristic is applied to the pressure sensing unit in a first time period,
And a second driving signal for detecting the second electrical characteristic is applied to the pressure sensing unit during a second time period different from the first time period.
Touch input device. A touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure,
A display panel; And
And a pressure sensing unit,
The pressure sensing unit may include a second pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor,
Wherein the first pressure sensing unit detects a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor,
Wherein the second pressure sensing unit detects a second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor,
Calculating a magnitude of the pressure based on the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic different from the first electrical characteristic,
Wherein the first electrical characteristic is a capacitance and the second electrical characteristic is a resistance,
Touch input device. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor are disposed on the same layer,
Touch input device. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor are alternately arranged,
Touch input device. 9. The method of claim 8,
The pressure sensing unit may further include a first insulating layer,
Wherein the first pressure sensor is disposed on one side of the first insulating layer,
Wherein the second pressure sensor is disposed on the other side of the first insulating layer,
Touch input device. 9. The method of claim 8,
The pressure sensing unit may further include a first insulating layer,
Wherein the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor are disposed on both sides of the first insulating layer,
The first pressure sensor disposed on one side of the first insulating layer and the second pressure sensor disposed on one side of the first insulating layer are alternately arranged,
The first pressure sensor disposed on the other side of the first insulating layer and the second pressure sensor disposed on the other side of the first insulating layer are alternately arranged,
Touch input device. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor are alternately arranged with respect to the first insulating layer,
Touch input device. 14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit is disposed above the display panel,
Touch input device. 14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit is disposed under the display panel,
Touch input device. 14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13,
Wherein the pressure sensing part is formed directly on a lower surface of the display panel,
Touch input device. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein one of the first pressure sensing portion and the second pressure sensing portion is disposed on the upper portion of the display panel,
And the other of the first pressure sensing unit and the second pressure sensing unit is disposed below the display panel,
Touch input device. 18. The method of claim 17,
And the other of the first pressure sensing part and the second pressure sensing part is disposed on a lower surface of the display panel,
Touch input device. 18. The method of claim 17,
And a substrate disposed on a lower portion of the display panel,
And the other of the first pressure sensing part and the second pressure sensing part is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate,
Touch input device. 18. The method of claim 17,
And the other of the first pressure sensing part and the second pressure sensing part is formed directly on the lower surface of the display panel,
Touch input device. 9. The method of claim 8,
And a substrate disposed on a lower portion of the display panel,
Wherein one of the first pressure sensing portion and the second pressure sensing portion is disposed on a lower surface of the display panel,
And the other of the first pressure sensing part and the second pressure sensing part is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate,
Touch input device. 22. The method of claim 21,
Wherein one of the first pressure sensing portion and the second pressure sensing portion is formed directly on a lower surface of the display panel,
Touch input device. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13 and 17 to 22,
Wherein the shape of the first pressure sensor and the shape of the second pressure sensor are different from each other,
Touch input device. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13 and 17 to 22,
Wherein a material constituting the first pressure sensor and a material constituting the second pressure sensor are different from each other,
Touch input device. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13 and 17 to 22,
A first driving signal for detecting the first electrical characteristic is applied to the first pressure sensing unit in a first time period,
And a driving signal for detecting the second electrical characteristic is applied to the first pressure sensing unit during a second time period different from the first time period.
Touch input device. 26. The method of claim 25,
Wherein the second pressure sensor is floated in the first time period,
Touch input device. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13 and 17 to 22,
A first driving signal for detecting the first electrical characteristic is applied to the first pressure sensing unit in a first time period,
And a second driving signal for detecting the second electrical characteristic is applied to the second pressure sensing unit in the first time period.
Touch input device. The method according to claim 1 or 8,
Calculating a first value from a first signal including information on the first electrical characteristic,
Calculating a second value from a second signal including information on the second electrical characteristic,
Determining a magnitude of pressure applied as a function of the first value and the second value,
Touch input device. 29. The method of claim 28,
Determining a magnitude of the applied pressure by applying a predetermined weight to each of the first value and the second value,
Touch input device. 30. The method of claim 29,
Wherein the weight is varied depending on a position where the pressure is applied,
Touch input device. The method according to claim 1 or 8,
Calculating a first value from a first signal including information on the first electrical characteristic,
Calculating a second value from a second signal including information on the second electrical characteristic,
Determining the first value as the magnitude of the applied pressure when the predetermined condition is satisfied and determining the second value as the magnitude of the applied pressure when the predetermined condition is not satisfied,
Touch input device. 32. The method of claim 31,
The predetermined condition is a condition that a touch area is equal to or larger than a predetermined area,
Touch input device. 32. The method of claim 31,
Wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that the profile type of the first signal conforms to a predetermined form,
Touch input device. 32. The method of claim 31,
The predetermined condition is that the touch input is a multi-input condition,
Touch input device. 32. The method of claim 31,
Wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that an SNR value of the first signal is equal to or greater than an SNR value of the second signal,
Touch input device. A touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure,
A display panel; And
And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit is capable of detecting a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor and a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor,
A first mode in which the first electrical characteristic is not detected but the magnitude of the pressure is detected by detecting only the first electrical characteristic and the magnitude of the pressure is detected by detecting only the second electrical characteristic without detecting the first electrical characteristic A second mode, a third mode for detecting the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic and calculating a magnitude of the pressure,
Touch input device. A touch input device capable of detecting a touch pressure,
A display panel; And
And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor,
The pressure sensing unit may include a second pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor,
Wherein the first pressure sensing unit is capable of detecting a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor,
Wherein the second pressure sensing part is capable of detecting a second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor,
A first mode in which the first electrical characteristic is not detected but the magnitude of the pressure is detected by detecting only the first electrical characteristic and the magnitude of the pressure is detected by detecting only the second electrical characteristic without detecting the first electrical characteristic A second mode, a third mode for detecting the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic and calculating a magnitude of the pressure,
Touch input device. 37. The method of claim 36 or 37,
Wherein one of the first mode, the second mode and the third mode is driven according to a user's selection,
Touch input device. 37. The method of claim 36 or 37,
Wherein when any one of the first mode, the second mode and the third mode is driven,
Touch input device. 40. The method of claim 39,
Wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that the temperature of the touch input device is included in a predetermined range,
Touch input device. 40. The method of claim 39,
Wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that a size of a noise affecting the touch input device is included in a predetermined range,
Touch input device. A touch input device capable of detecting N touch pressures,
A display panel; And
And a pressure sensor including a pressure sensor,
Wherein the pressure sensor detects a first electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor and a second electrical characteristic of the pressure sensor,
Calculating a magnitude of each of the N pressures based on the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic,
Touch input device. 43. The method of claim 42,
Wherein the pressure sensing unit includes a plurality of pressure sensors,
Detecting a first signal including information on the first electrical characteristic from at least one of the plurality of pressure sensors,
Calculating a first value from the first signal,
Detecting M second signals each including information on the second electrical characteristic from M different pressure sensors among the plurality of pressure sensors,
Calculating N second values from the M second signals,
Calculating a magnitude of each of the N pressures based on the first value and the N second values,
Touch input device. A touch input device capable of detecting N touch pressures,
A display panel; And
And a pressure sensing unit,
The pressure sensing unit may include a second pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensing unit including a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor,
Wherein the first pressure sensing unit detects a first electrical characteristic of the first pressure sensor,
Wherein the second pressure sensing unit detects a second electrical characteristic of the second pressure sensor,
Calculating a magnitude of each of the N pressures based on the first electrical characteristic and the second electrical characteristic,
Touch input device. 45. The method of claim 44,
Calculating a first value from a first signal detected from the first pressure sensor and including information on the first electrical characteristic,
Wherein the second pressure sensing unit includes a plurality of the second pressure sensors,
Detecting M second signals including information on the second electrical characteristics from M different second pressure sensors among the plurality of second pressure sensors,
Calculating N second values from the M second signals,
Calculating a magnitude of each of the N pressures based on the first value and the N second values,
Touch input device. 46. The method of claim 43 or 45,
Calculating a total size of the N pressures from the first value,
Calculating a ratio of each of the N pressures to a total magnitude of the N pressures from the N second values,
Calculating a magnitude of each of the N pressures from a ratio of the total magnitude of the N pressures and the ratio of each of the N pressures,
Touch input device.

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