KR102057567B1 - Touch pressure sensitivity compensation method of touch input device and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

In the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device according to the present invention, the probe presses the surface of the cover layer of the touch input device at a predetermined constant pressure and moves along a preset reference pattern while being touched to the surface of the cover layer. A probe movement step of applying a constant and continuous pressure to the surface of the cover layer; In response to the movement of the probe, generating reference data for capacitance change amounts or electrical characteristic values at a plurality of reference points overlapping the reference pattern; And a touch pressure sensitivity correction step of correcting the touch pressure sensitivity of the touch input device based on the generated reference data.

Description

TOUCH PRESSURE SENSITIVITY COMPENSATION METHOD OF TOUCH INPUT DEVICE AND COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM}

The present invention relates to a touch pressure sensitivity correction method of a touch input device and a computer readable recording medium.

Various types of input devices for operating computing systems, such as buttons, keys, joysticks, and touch screens, have been developed and used. Among them, the touch screen has various advantages such as ease of operation, miniaturization of a product, and simplification of a manufacturing process.

The touch screen may constitute a touch surface of a touch input device that includes a touch sensor panel, which may be a transparent panel having a touch-sensitive surface. Such a touch sensor panel can be attached to the front of the touch screen so that the touch-sensitive surface can cover the touch screen. The user may operate the computing system by touching the touch screen with a finger or the like. Accordingly, the computing system recognizes whether the user touches the touch screen and the touch position and performs an operation according to the intention of the user.

On the other hand, there is a need for a device that detects touch pressure to increase the convenience of operation, and research on this has been conducted. However, when detecting touch pressure, the touch pressure can be sensed with a uniform sensitivity on the display surface. There is no problem. Furthermore, due to differences in the manufacturing process or the manufacturing environment, since different sensitivity may be displayed for each manufactured product, it is necessary to correct the sensitivity of the touch input device to compensate for this.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is a touch input device that senses touch pressure, and the touch pressure sensitivity of the touch input device to sense the touch pressure with a uniform sensitivity on the front of the display. A method of correcting a touch pressure sensitivity of a touch input device and a computer-readable recording medium capable of significantly reducing a correction time of a correction method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch pressure sensitivity correction method and a computer-readable recording medium that can simplify the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of a touch input device.

In the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device according to the present invention, a plurality of reference points overlapping the reference pattern in response to the constant pressure is continuously input along the preset reference pattern to the surface of the cover layer of the touch input device. Generating reference data for a capacitance change amount or an electrical characteristic value in the reference data generating step; And a touch pressure sensitivity correction step of correcting the touch pressure sensitivity of the touch input device based on the generated reference data.

The computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention for achieving the above object can record a program for executing the above-described touch pressure sensitivity correction method.

According to the touch pressure sensitivity correction method and the computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention, the correction time of the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device can be remarkably and significantly reduced.

In addition, the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device can be simplified.

1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of a capacitive touch sensor included in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied, and a configuration for its operation.
2 illustrates a control block for controlling touch position, touch pressure, and display operation in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
3A to 3B are conceptual views illustrating the configuration of a display module in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
4A to 4F illustrate an example in which a pressure sensor is formed in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
5A-5E illustrate a pattern of a pressure sensor included in a pressure sensor according to an embodiment.
6A and 6B illustrate the attachment position of the pressure sensor to the touch input device according to the embodiment.
7A-7F illustrate a structural cross section of a pressure sensor according to an embodiment.
8A and 8B illustrate the case where the pressure sensor according to the embodiment is attached to the substrate opposite the display module.
9A and 9B illustrate a case where the pressure sensor according to the embodiment is attached to the display module.
10A and 10B illustrate a method of attaching a pressure sensor according to an embodiment.
11A-11C illustrate a method of connecting a pressure sensor to a touch sensing circuit according to an embodiment.
12A-12C illustrate the case where the pressure sensor according to the embodiment includes a plurality of channels.
FIG. 13A is a graph illustrating a difference in normalized capacitance change according to pressure touch weight for a touch input device including a pressure sensor according to an embodiment.
FIG. 13B is a graph showing a difference in normalized capacitance change according to a pressure touch before and after a predetermined number of pressure touches for a touch input device including a pressure sensor according to an embodiment, and a deviation therebetween.
FIG. 13C is a graph illustrating a change in a normalized pressure difference detected after releasing a pressure applied to a touch input device including a pressure sensor according to an embodiment. FIG.
14A to 14D are views illustrating shapes of electrodes included in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
15A to 15B are cross-sectional views illustrating an embodiment of a strain gauge directly formed on various display panels in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
16A to 16D illustrate an example in which a strain gauge is applied to a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
17A, 17D, and 17F are plan views of exemplary pressure sensors (or force sensors) capable of sensing pressure used in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
17B and 17C show exemplary strain gauges that can be applied to a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.
17G to 17I are rear views of a display panel in which a pressure sensor (or force sensor) of a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied is formed.
18A is a graph illustrating the amount of change in capacitance detected when the same pressure is applied to each position of the cover layer 100.
18B is a graph showing that the amount of change in capacitance detected at all positions of the cover layer 100 is uniform.
19 is a flowchart illustrating a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention.
20A to 20E are diagrams for describing various structures of a reference pattern.
21 is a view showing a reference point on the surface of a cover layer of a touch input device.
22 is a diagram for describing a method of generating reference data.
FIG. 23 is a diagram for describing linear interpolation as an embodiment of generating interpolation data of a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention.
FIG. 24 is a diagram for describing bicubic interpolation as an embodiment of generating interpolation data of a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention.
FIG. 25 is a diagram for describing a profile-based estimation method as an embodiment for generating interpolation data of a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention.
FIG. 26 is a diagram for describing a method of calculating a deviation value by comparing a capacitance change amount of a reference point with a capacitance change amount value of a base profile.
27 is a graph comparing interpolation data generated by each method with actual data.
28 is a flowchart illustrating a first correction step (preliminary correction step) applied to the touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
29A and 29B are graphs and data showing the sensitivity of the touch input device subjected to the first correction.
30A and 30B show the amount of change in capacitance at each reference point when the first correction is made and then subjected to the substantial correction steps (S1910 to S1950 in FIG. 19) once more.
31A and 31B show an amount of change in capacitance at each position point (reference point and arbitrary point on the reference pattern) when the first correction is performed once more after the substantial correction step (S1910 to S1950 in FIG. 19). Indicates.
32 is a flowchart illustrating a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to another embodiment of the present invention.
33 is a diagram for describing a method of generating modeling profile data.
FIG. 34 is a flowchart for describing a method of generating set profile data illustrated in FIG. 32.
FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of generating set profile data for each region illustrated in FIG. 34.
FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating an example of dividing a display surface of a touch input device into a plurality of predefined areas.
FIG. 37 is a diagram for describing a method of generating set profile data of the center area 910 illustrated in FIG. 36.
FIG. 38 is a view for explaining a linear interpolation method for calculating the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of arbitrary points Pc1, Pc2, and Pc3 shown in FIG.
FIG. 39 is a diagram for describing a method of generating set profile data of the edge area 930 illustrated in FIG. 36.
40 is a diagram for describing a method of generating set profile data of the corner area 950 illustrated in FIG. 36.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings that show, 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 shapes, structures, and characteristics described herein may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention with respect to one embodiment. In addition, it is to be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention, if properly described, is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several aspects.

1A is a schematic diagram of a capacitive touch sensor 10 included in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied, and a configuration for its operation. Referring to FIG. 1A, the touch sensor 10 includes a plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and a plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm, and a plurality of driving electrodes for operation of the touch sensor 10. Touch by receiving a detection signal including information on the capacitance change according to the touch on the touch surface from the driving unit 12 for applying a driving signal to the TX1 to TXn, and the plurality of receiving electrodes (RX1 to RXm) And a detector 11 for detecting 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. In FIG. 1A, although the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm of the touch sensor 10 form an orthogonal array, the present invention is not limited thereto. The electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may have any number of dimensions and application arrangements thereof, including diagonal, concentric circles, and three-dimensional random arrangements. Here, n and m are positive integers and may have the same or different values, and may vary in size according to embodiments.

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 the first axis direction, and the receiving electrode RX includes a plurality of receiving electrodes extending in the second axis direction crossing the first axis direction. RX1 to RXm).

As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to the touch sensor 10 of the touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied. RXm) may be formed in the same layer with each other. For example, the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be formed on an upper surface of the display panel 200A, which will be described later.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 14C, the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be formed on different layers. For example, any one of the plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm is formed on the upper surface of the display panel 200A, and the other one is formed on the lower surface of the cover to be described later or the display panel. It may be formed inside the 200A.

The plurality of driving electrodes TX1 to TXn and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm may be formed of transparent conductive materials (for example, indium tin oxide (ITO) or ATO made of tin oxide (SnO 2) and indium oxide (In 2 O 3)). (Antimony Tin Oxide)) and the like. However, this is only 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, silver silver, and carbon nanotubes (CNT). Can be. In addition, the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX may be implemented with a metal mesh.

The driving unit 12 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may apply a driving signal to the driving electrodes TX1 to TXn. In an embodiment of the present invention, the driving signal may be applied to one driving electrode at a time from the first driving electrode TX1 to the nth driving electrode TXn in sequence. The driving signal may be repeatedly applied again. This is merely an example, and a driving signal may be simultaneously applied to a plurality of driving electrodes in some embodiments.

The sensing unit 11 provides information about the capacitance Cm 14 generated between the driving electrodes TX1 to TXn to which the driving signal is applied and the receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm through the receiving electrodes RX1 to RXm. By receiving a sensing signal that includes a touch can detect whether the touch position. For example, the sensing signal may be a signal in which the driving signal applied to the driving electrode TX is coupled by the capacitance Cm 14 generated between the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX. As described above, a process of sensing the driving signals 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. Can be.

For example, the detector 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 in a time interval for detecting the signal of the corresponding receiving electrode RX, so that the detection signal from the receiving electrode RX can be detected at the receiver. The receiver may comprise an amplifier (not shown) and a feedback capacitor coupled between the negative input terminal of the amplifier and the output terminal of the amplifier, i.e., in the feedback path. At this time, the positive input terminal of the amplifier may be connected to ground. In addition, the receiver may further include a reset switch connected in parallel with the feedback capacitor. The reset switch may reset the conversion from current to voltage performed by the receiver. The 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 14, and then integrate and convert the current signal into a voltage. The sensor 11 may further include an analog to digital converter (ADC) for converting data integrated through a receiver into digital data. Subsequently, the digital data may be input to a processor (not shown) and processed to obtain touch information about the touch sensor 10. In addition to the receiver, the detector 11 may include an ADC and a processor.

The controller 13 may perform a function of controlling the operations of the driver 12 and the detector 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 predetermined driving electrode TX at a predetermined time. In addition, the control unit 13 generates a detection control signal and transmits the detection control signal to the detection unit 11 so that the detection unit 11 receives a detection signal from a predetermined reception electrode RX at a predetermined time to perform a preset function. can do.

In FIG. 1A, the driver 12 and the detector 11 may configure a touch detection device (not shown) capable of detecting whether the touch sensor 10 is touched and the touch position. The touch detection apparatus may further include a controller 13. The touch detection apparatus may be integrated and implemented 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, for example, conductive traces and / or conductive patterns printed on a circuit board. It may be connected to the driving unit 12 and the sensing unit 11. The touch sensing IC may be located on a circuit board on which a conductive pattern is printed, for example, a touch circuit board (hereinafter referred to as touch PCB) in FIGS. 6A to 6I. According to an embodiment, the touch sensing IC may be mounted on a main board for operating the touch input device.

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

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

In the above, the operation method of the touch sensor 10 that detects the touch position has been described based on the mutual capacitance change amount between the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, as shown in FIG. 1B, the touch position may be sensed based on the amount of change in self capacitance.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating another capacitive touch sensor 10 included in a touch input device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and an operation thereof. The touch sensor 10 illustrated in FIG. 1B includes a plurality of touch electrodes 30. As illustrated in FIG. 7D, the plurality of touch electrodes 30 may be disposed in a lattice shape at regular intervals, but is not limited thereto.

The driving control signal generated by the control unit 13 is transmitted to the driving unit 12, and the driving unit 12 applies the driving signal to the preset touch electrode 30 at a predetermined time based on the driving control signal. In addition, the sensing control signal generated by the controller 13 is transmitted to the sensing unit 11, and the sensing unit 11 receives the sensing signal from the touch electrode 30 preset at a predetermined time based on the sensing control signal. Receive input. In this case, the detection signal may be a signal for the change amount of the magnetic capacitance formed in the touch electrode 30.

At this time, whether the touch on the touch sensor 10 and / or the touch position is detected by the sensing signal detected by the sensing unit 11. For example, since the coordinates of the touch electrode 30 are known in advance, it is possible to detect whether the object touches the surface of the touch sensor 10 and / or its position.

In the above description, for convenience, the driving unit 12 and the sensing unit 11 are described as being divided into separate blocks, but the driving signal is applied to the touch electrode 30 and the sensing signal is input from the touch electrode 30. It is also possible to perform in one driving and sensing unit.

Although the capacitive touch sensor panel has been described in detail as the touch sensor 10, the touch sensor 10 for detecting whether or not a touch is detected in the touch input device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention Surface capacitive, projected capacitive, resistive, SAW (surface acoustic wave), infrared, optical imaging, and distributed signals other than those described above It can be implemented using any touch sensing scheme such as dispersive signal technology and acoustic pulse recognition scheme.

2 illustrates a control block for controlling touch position, touch pressure, and display operation in a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition to the display function and the touch position detection, in the touch input device 1000 configured to detect the touch pressure, the control block includes a touch sensor controller 1100 for detecting the aforementioned touch position and a display controller for driving the display panel. 1200 and pressure sensor controller 1300 for detecting force (or pressure).

The display controller 1200 receives input from a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, which is a central processing unit on a main board for operating the touch input device 1000, to the display panel 200A. It may include a control circuit to display the desired content. Such a control circuit may be mounted on a display circuit board (hereinafter referred to as display PCB). Such control circuits may include display panel control ICs, graphic controller ICs, and other circuits necessary for operating the display panel 200A.

The pressure sensor controller 1300 for detecting pressure through the pressure sensor may be configured similar to the configuration of the touch sensor controller 1100 to operate similarly to the touch sensor controller 1100. In detail, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the pressure sensor controller 1300 may include a driving unit, a sensing unit, and a control unit, and detect the magnitude of the pressure by a sensing signal detected by the sensing unit. In this case, the pressure sensor controller 1300 may be mounted on a touch PCB on which the touch sensor controller 1100 is mounted, or may be mounted on a 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 configured with different chips. In this case, the processor 1500 of the touch input device 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 a cell phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a tablet PC, an MP3 player, a notebook, or the like. It may include an electronic device including the same display screen and / or a touch screen.

In order to manufacture such a touch input device 1000 in a slim and light weight, the touch sensor controller 1100, the display controller 1200, and the pressure sensor controller 1300, which are separately configured as described above, are manufactured. Can be integrated into one or more configurations, depending on the embodiment. In addition, each of these controllers may be integrated into the processor 1500. In addition, the touch sensor 10 and / or the pressure sensor may be integrated in the display panel 200A according to an exemplary embodiment.

In the touch input device 1000 according to the exemplary embodiment, the touch sensor 10 for detecting a touch position may be located outside or inside the display panel 200A. The display panel 200A of the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment is included in a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), and the like. It may be a display panel. Accordingly, the user may perform an input operation by performing a touch on the touch surface while visually confirming the screen displayed on the display panel.

3A and 3B are conceptual views illustrating the configuration of the display module 200 in the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention may be applied. First, referring to FIG. 3A, a configuration of a display module 200 including a display panel 200A using an LCD panel will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the display module 200 includes a display panel 200A, which is an LCD panel, a first polarization layer 271 disposed on the display panel 200A, and a lower portion of the display panel 200A. The polarizing layer 272 may be included. In addition, the display panel 200A, which is an LCD panel, includes a liquid crystal layer 250 including a liquid crystal cell, a first substrate layer 261 and a liquid crystal layer 250 disposed on the liquid crystal layer 250. It may include a second substrate layer 262 disposed under the. 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. In some embodiments, at least one of the first substrate layer 261 and the second substrate layer 262 may be formed of a bendable material such as plastic. In FIG. 3A, the second substrate layer 262 is formed of various layers including a data line, a gate line, a TFT, a common electrode (Vcom), a pixel electrode, and the like. Can be done. These electrical components can operate to produce a controlled electric field to orient the liquid crystals located in the liquid crystal layer 250.

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

As shown in FIG. 3B, the display module 200 may include a display panel 200A, which is an OLED panel, and a first polarization layer 282 disposed on the display panel 200A. In addition, the display panel 200A, which is an OLED panel, has an organic layer 280 including an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a first substrate layer 281 disposed above the organic layer 280, and a lower portion of the organic layer 280. The second substrate layer 283 may be disposed. In this case, the first substrate layer 281 may be encapsulation glass, and the second substrate layer 283 may be TFT glass. In some embodiments, at least one of the first substrate layer 281 and the second substrate layer 283 may be formed of a bendable material such as plastic. In the OLED panel illustrated in FIGS. 3D to 3F, an electrode used to drive the display panel 200A, such as a gate line, a data line, a first power line ELVDD, and a second power line ELVSS, may be included. Can be. OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) panel is a self-luminous display panel using the principle that light is generated when electrons and holes combine in the organic material layer when electric current flows through the fluorescent or phosphorescent organic thin film. Determine the color

Specifically, OLED uses a principle that the organic material emits light when the organic material is applied to glass or plastic to flow electricity. In other words, when holes and electrons are injected into the anode and cathode of the organic material and recombined in the light emitting layer, excitons are formed in a high energy state. Is to use the generated principle. At this time, the color of light varies according to the organic material of the light emitting layer.

OLED is composed of line-driven passive-matrix organic light-emitting diode (PM-OLED) and individual-driven active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) depending on the operating characteristics of the pixels constituting the pixel matrix. exist. Since both require no backlight, the display module can be made very thin, the contrast ratio is constant according to the angle, and color reproducibility with temperature is good. In addition, undriven pixels are very economical in that they do not consume power.

In operation, the PM-OLED emits light only during a scanning time at a high current, and the AM-OLED maintains light emission during a frame time at a low current. Therefore, the AM-OLED has the advantages of better resolution, greater area display panel driving, and lower power consumption than PM-OLED. In addition, each device can be individually controlled by embedding a thin film transistor (TFT), so it is easy to realize a sophisticated screen.

In addition, the organic material layer 280 may include a HIL (Hole Injection Layer), a HTL (Hole Transfer Layer), an EIL (Emission Material Layer), an ETL (Electron Transfer Layer), and an EML. (Electron Injection Layer, light emitting layer) may be included.

Briefly described for each layer, HIL injects holes, using a material such as CuPc. HTL functions to move the injected holes, and mainly uses materials having good hole mobility. As the HTL, arylamine, TPD and the like can be used. EIL and ETL are layers for the injection and transport of electrons, and the injected electrons and holes combine and emit light in the EML. EML is a material expressing the color emitted, and is composed of a host that determines the lifetime of the organic material and a dopant that determines the color and efficiency. This is merely to describe the basic configuration of the organic material layer 280 included in the OLED panel, 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, and the cathode is injected into the cathode. Electrons are injected, and holes and electrons move to the organic layer 280 to emit light.

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

The display module 200 of the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention may be applied may include a configuration for driving the display panel 200A and the display panel 200A. Specifically, when the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, the display module 200 may include a backlight unit (not shown) disposed below the second polarization layer 272, and may include an LCD panel. It may further include a display panel control IC, a graphic control IC and other circuitry for the operation of.

The display module 200 of the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention may be applied may include a configuration for driving the display panel 200A and the display panel 200A. Specifically, when the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, the display module 200 may include a backlight unit (not shown) disposed below the second polarization layer 272, and may include an LCD panel. It may further include a display panel control IC, a graphic control IC and other circuitry for the operation of.

In the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention is applied, the touch sensor 10 for detecting a touch position may be located outside or inside the display module 200.

When the touch sensor 10 is disposed outside the display module 200 in the touch input device 1000, a touch sensor panel may be disposed on the display module 200, and the touch sensor 10 may be a touch sensor panel. Can be included. The touch surface for the touch input device 1000 may be a 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 positioned outside the display panel 200A. In detail, the touch sensor 10 may be formed on upper surfaces of the first substrate layers 261 and 281. In this case, the touch surface of the touch input device 1000 may be an upper surface or a lower surface of FIGS. 3A and 3B as an outer surface of the display module 200.

When 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 may be configured to be positioned in the display panel 200A according to an embodiment, and the touch sensor At least some of the other portions 10 may be configured to be positioned 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 positioned outside the display panel 200A, and the remaining electrodes are inside the display panel 200A. It may be configured to be located at. Specifically, any one of the driving electrode TX and the receiving electrode RX constituting the touch sensor 10 may be formed on upper surfaces of the first substrate layers 261 and 281, and the remaining electrodes are formed on the first substrate layer ( 261 and 281 may be formed on the bottom surface or the top surface of the second substrate layers 262 and 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 configured to be positioned inside the display panel 200A. In detail, the touch sensor 10 may be formed on the bottom surface of the first substrate layers 261 and 281 or the top surface of the second substrate layers 262 and 283.

When the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display panel 200A, an electrode for operating the touch sensor may be additionally disposed, but various configurations and / or electrodes positioned inside the display panel 200A may perform touch sensing. It may be used as a touch sensor 10 for. Specifically, when the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, at least one of the electrodes included in the touch sensor 10 may include a data line, a gate line, a TFT, and a common electrode (Vcom: common). at least one of an electrode and a pixel electrode, and when the display panel 200A is an OLED panel, at least one of the electrodes included in the touch sensor 10 is a data line. The gate line may include at least one of a gate line, a first power line ELVDD, and a second power line ELVSS.

In this case, the touch sensor 10 may operate as the driving electrode and the receiving electrode described with reference to FIG. 1A to detect the touch position according to the mutual capacitance between the driving electrode and the receiving electrode. In addition, the touch sensor 10 may operate as the single electrode 30 described in 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 to drive the display panel 200A, the display panel 200A is driven in the first time interval, and the second time is different from the first time interval. The touch position may be detected in the section.

In the touch input device 1000 of the present invention, an adhesive such as OCA (Optically Clear Adhesive) is formed between the cover layer 100 on which a touch sensor for detecting a touch position is formed and the display module 200 including the display panel 200A. It may be laminated. Accordingly, display color clarity, visibility, and light transmittance of the display module 200 which can be checked through the touch surface of the touch sensor may be improved.

In the above, the touch input device 1000 including the touch sensor panel 100 capable of detecting the touch and / or the touch position has been described. By applying the pressure detection module according to the embodiment to the above-described touch input device 1000, it is possible to easily detect not only the touch and / or the touch position but also the magnitude of the touch pressure. In particular, the touch input device 1000 is inserted by inserting a pressure sensor and an elastic material between the substrate 300 and the display module 200 in order to alleviate the impact on the display module 200 and maintain the image quality of the display panel 200A. Can be prepared. In the embodiment, such an elastic material is coupled to a pressure sensor, thereby ensuring stability of the gap for pressure detection while ensuring shock reduction for the display module 200 and quality of the display module. Hereinafter, a case of detecting the touch pressure by applying the pressure sensor according to the embodiment to the touch input device 1000 will be described in detail.

4A to 4F illustrate an example in which a pressure sensor is formed in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.

Although the display panel 200A is directly attached and laminated to the cover layer 100 in FIGS. 4A and some drawings below, this is merely for convenience of description and the first polarization layers 271 and 282 are the display panel 200A. The upper display module 200 may be laminated and attached to the cover layer 100. When the LCD panel is the display panel 200A, the second polarizing layer 272 and the backlight unit are omitted.

In the description with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4F, as the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied, the cover layer 100 having the touch sensor is formed as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Laminate is attached with an adhesive on the 200, but the touch input device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display module 200 shown in Figures 3a and 3b It may also include the case. More specifically, in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, the cover layer 100 on which the touch sensor 10 is formed covers the display module 200 including the display panel 200A, but the touch sensor 10 may be a display module. The touch input device 1000 disposed inside the 200 and covered with the cover layer 100 such as glass may be used as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a cell phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a tablet PC, an MP3 player, a notebook, or the like. It may include an electronic device including the same touch screen.

In the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention may be applied, the substrate 300 may be formed together with the housing 320, which is the outermost mechanism of the touch input device 1000, of the touch input device 1000. It may perform a function of enclosing a mounting space 310, etc. in which a circuit board and / or a battery for operation may be located. In this case, a circuit board for operating the touch input device 1000 may be mounted with a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP) 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 from the display module 200 and the noise generated from the circuit board Can be blocked.

In the touch input device 1000, 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, and thus the housing 320 may be formed. The housing 320 may be formed to surround the display module 200, the substrate 300, and the circuit board together with the touch sensor 10. The touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a touch sensor. Through 10, the touch position can be detected and a separate electrode, which is different from the electrode used to detect the touch position and the electrode used to drive the display, can be disposed and used as a pressure sensor to detect the touch pressure. In this case, the touch sensor 10 may be located inside or outside the display module 200.

Hereinafter, a configuration for pressure sensing or detection is collectively referred to as a pressure sensing unit 400. The pressure detector 400 may be a pressure detection module.

In an embodiment, the pressure detector 400 may include pressure sensors 450 and 460 and / or a spacer layer 420. Here, the pressure detector 400 in FIG. 4A may include pressure sensors 450 and 460 and / or a spacer layer 420, and may further include an electrode sheet 440. The pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be disposed inside the electrode sheet 440, and the electrode sheet 440 may be attached to the display module 200. Here, the pressure sensing unit 400 in FIG. 4B may include pressure sensors 450 and 460 and / or a spacer layer 420, and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be directly formed in the display module 200.

The pressure sensing unit 400 includes, for example, a spacer layer 420 formed of an air gap, which will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4F.

In some embodiments, the spacer layer 420 may be embodied as an air gap. The spacer layer may be made of an impact absorbing material according to an embodiment. The spacer layer 420 may be filled with a dielectric material in some embodiments. According to an embodiment, the spacer layer 420 may be formed of a material having a recovery force that contracts upon application of pressure and returns to its original shape upon release of pressure. In some embodiments, the spacer layer 420 may be formed of an elastic foam. In addition, since the spacer layer is disposed under the display module 200, the spacer layer may be a transparent material or an opaque material.

In addition, the reference potential layer may be disposed under the display module 200. In detail, the reference potential layer may be formed on the substrate 300 disposed under the display module 200 or the substrate 300 may serve as the reference potential layer. In addition, the reference potential layer is disposed on the substrate 300 and disposed below the display module 200, and formed on a cover (not shown) that functions to protect the display module 200, or the cover itself is a reference. It can serve as a dislocation layer. As the display panel 200A is bent when the pressure is applied to the touch input device 1000 and the display panel 200A is bent, the distance between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensing unit 400 may be changed. In addition, a spacer layer may be disposed between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensing unit 400. In detail, 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 cover on which the display module 200 and the reference potential layer are disposed.

In addition, the reference potential layer may be disposed in the display module 200. In detail, the reference potential layer may be disposed on the top or bottom surface of the first substrate layers 261 and 281 of the display panel 200A or the top or bottom surface of the second substrate layers 262 and 283. As the display panel 200A is bent when the pressure is applied to the touch input device 1000 and the display panel 200A is bent, the distance between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensing unit 400 may be changed. In addition, a spacer layer may be disposed between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensing unit 400. In the touch input device 1000 illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a spacer layer may be disposed on or inside the display panel 200A.

Similarly, in some embodiments, the spacer layer 420 may be implemented with an air gap. The spacer layer may be made of an impact absorbing material according to an embodiment. The spacer layer may be filled with a dielectric material in accordance with an embodiment. According to an embodiment, the spacer layer may be formed of a material having a recovery force that contracts upon application of pressure and returns to its original form upon release of pressure. In some embodiments, the spacer layer may be formed of an elastic foam. In addition, since the spacer layer is disposed on or inside the display panel 200A, the spacer layer may be a transparent material.

 In some embodiments, 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 includes one air gap, the air gap may function as a spacer layer, and when the display panel 200A and / or the backlight unit includes the air gap, the plurality of air gaps may be integrated. As a result, the spacer layer may function.

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

In this case, in order to maintain the spacer layer 420 on which the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are disposed, a frame 330 having a predetermined height may be formed along the edge of the upper portion of the substrate 300. In this case, the frame 330 may be attached to the cover layer 100 with an adhesive tape (not shown). In FIG. 4B, the frame 330 is formed on all edges of the substrate 300 (eg, four sides of a quadrilateral), but the frame 330 is formed of at least a portion of the edges of the substrate 300 (eg, a quadrilateral). Only on three sides). 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 made of a material having no elasticity. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when pressure is applied to the display panel 200A through the cover layer 100, the display panel 200A may be bent together with the cover layer 100. Even if there is no deformation of the body, the magnitude of the touch pressure can be detected.

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

The pressure sensor for detecting pressure may include a first pressure sensor 450 and a second pressure sensor 460. In this case, any one of the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be a driving electrode and the other may be a receiving electrode. The driving signal may be applied to the driving electrode and the sensing signal may be obtained through the receiving electrode. When a voltage is applied, mutual capacitance may be generated between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460.

4E is a cross-sectional view when pressure is applied to the touch input device 1000 shown in FIG. 4D. The upper surface of the substrate 300 may have a ground potential for noise shielding. When 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 bent or pressed. Accordingly, the distance d between the ground potential surface and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be reduced to d ′. In this case, since the fringing capacitance is absorbed to the upper surface of the substrate 300 as the distance d decreases, the mutual capacitance between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may decrease. Can be. Therefore, the magnitude of the touch pressure may be calculated by obtaining a reduction amount of mutual capacitance from the sensing signal obtained through the receiving electrode.

In FIG. 4E, the case in which the upper surface of the substrate 300 is the ground potential, that is, the reference potential layer, has been described. However, the reference potential layer may be disposed in the display module 200. In this case, when 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 bent or pressed. Accordingly, the distance between the reference potential layer disposed inside the display module 200 and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 is changed, and thus the magnitude of the touch pressure can be calculated by acquiring a change in capacitance from a sensing signal acquired through the receiving electrode. Can be.

In the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention may be applied, the display panel 200A may be bent or pressed in response to a touch applying a pressure. According to an exemplary embodiment, the position showing the largest deformation when the display panel 200A is bent or pressed may not coincide with the touch position, but the display panel 200A may indicate bending 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 bent or pressed the greatest may be different from the touch position. It may indicate bending or pressing at.

The first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 are formed on the same layer. Each of the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 illustrated in FIGS. 4D and 4E is illustrated in FIG. As shown in 14a, it may be composed of a plurality of electrodes having a rhombic shape. Here, the plurality of first pressure sensors 450 are connected to each other in the first axis direction, and the plurality of second pressure sensors 460 are connected to each other in the second axis direction perpendicular to the first axis direction. At least one of the pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 has a plurality of diamond-shaped electrodes connected to each other through a bridge so that the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 are insulated from each other. It may be in the form. In addition, at this time, the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be composed of an electrode of the type shown in Figure 14b.

In the above, it is illustrated that the touch pressure is detected from a change in mutual capacitance between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460. However, the pressure sensing unit 400 may be configured to include only one pressure sensor of the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460, in which case one pressure sensor and a ground layer (substrate ( The magnitude of the touch pressure may be detected by detecting a change in capacitance, that is, a self capacitance between the reference potential layer 300 disposed inside the display module 200. In this case, a driving signal may be applied to the one pressure sensor, and a change in magnetic capacitance between the pressure sensor and the ground layer may be detected from the pressure sensor.

For example, in FIG. 4D, the pressure sensor may include only the first pressure sensor 450. In this case, the first pressure sensor 450 may be caused by a change in distance between the substrate 300 and the first pressure sensor 450. ) And the magnitude of the touch pressure can be detected from the capacitance change between the substrate 300 and the substrate 300. Since the distance d decreases as the touch pressure increases, the capacitance between the substrate 300 and the first pressure sensor 450 may increase as the touch pressure increases. At this time, the pressure sensor does not have to have a comb-tooth shape or trident shape, which is necessary to increase the mutual capacitance variation detection accuracy, and may have a single plate (eg, square plate) shape, as shown in FIG. 14D. The plurality of first pressure sensors 450 may be arranged in a grid shape at regular intervals.

4F illustrates the case where the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed in the spacer layer 420 on the upper surface of the substrate 300 and the lower surface of the display panel 200A. In this case, the first pressure sensor 450 is formed on the lower surface of the display panel 200A, and the second pressure sensor 460 has the second pressure sensor 460 on the first insulating layer 470. The second insulating layer 471 is formed on the second pressure sensor 460, and may be disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 300 in the form of an electrode sheet. The first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be configured as shown in FIG. 14C.

When 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 bent or pressed. Accordingly, the distance d between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be reduced. In this case, as the distance d decreases, the mutual capacitance between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may increase. Accordingly, the magnitude of the touch pressure may be calculated by acquiring an increase amount of mutual capacitance from the sensing signal acquired through the receiving electrode. In this case, since the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 are formed in different layers in FIG. 4F, the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 have a comb-shaped or trident shape. It is not necessary to have any one of the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may have one plate (eg, rectangular plate) shape, the other is a plurality of as shown in Figure 14d The electrodes may be arranged in a grid at regular intervals.

5A-5E illustrate a pattern of a pressure sensor included in a pressure sensor according to an embodiment.

5A to 5C illustrate pressure sensor patterns that can be applied to the first and second embodiments. When detecting the magnitude of the touch pressure as the mutual capacitance between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 changes, the first pressure sensor may be configured to generate a capacitance range necessary to increase the detection accuracy. It is necessary to form a pattern of the 450 and the second pressure sensor 460. As the area where the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 face each other or the length of the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 face each other, the magnitude of the generated capacitance may increase. Therefore, the size, length and shape of the facing area between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be adjusted according to the required capacitance range. 5B and 5C, when the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 are formed on the same layer, the length of the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 facing each other is shown. Illustrates the case where the pressure sensor is formed such that is relatively long. When the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 are located on different floors, the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be implemented to overlap each other. .

In the first and second embodiments it is illustrated that the touch pressure is detected from the change in mutual capacitance between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460. However, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be configured to include only one pressure sensor of the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460, in which case one pressure sensor and a ground layer (display The magnitude of the touch pressure may be detected by detecting a change in capacitance between the module 200 or the substrate 300.

For example, in FIGS. 4A to 4E, the pressure sensor may include only the first pressure sensor 450. In this case, the first pressure caused by a change in distance between the display module 200 and the first pressure sensor 450 may be generated. The magnitude of the touch pressure may be detected from the change in magnetic capacitance between the sensor 450 and the reference potential layer. Since the distance d decreases as the touch pressure increases, the capacitance between the reference potential layer and the first pressure sensor 450 may increase as the touch pressure increases. In this case, the pressure sensor does not have to have a comb-tooth shape or trident shape, which is necessary to increase the mutual capacitance variation detection accuracy, and may have a plate (eg, rectangular plate) shape as illustrated in FIG. 5D.

5E illustrates a pressure sensor pattern that can be applied to the third embodiment. Since the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 are located on different layers, they may be implemented to overlap each other. As shown in FIG. 5E, the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be disposed to be orthogonal to each other, so that sensitivity of change in capacitance may be improved. In the third embodiment, the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be implemented to have a plate shape as illustrated in FIG. 5D.

As described above, the pressure detector 400 for detecting pressure in the touch input device 1000 may include pressure sensors 450 and 460 and a spacer layer 420. Although the spacer layer 420 is illustrated as a space between the substrate 300 and the display module 200, the spacer layer 420 may include the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the reference potential layer (eg, the substrate 300 or Located between the display module 200, it may refer to a configuration that can be pressed according to the touch having a pressure.

In this case, when detecting the magnitude of the touch pressure with respect to the touch input device 1000 through the pressure sensors 450 and 460, the bending degree of the spacer layer 420 and the recovery force thereof need to be uniform in order to have a uniform sensing performance. There is. For example, when the touch input device 1000 is touched a plurality of times with the same pressure level, in order to detect the same pressure level every time, the spacer layer 420 should be pressed by the pressure. For example, when the spacer layer 420 is deformed through repeated touches, and the gap of the spacer layer 420 is reduced, uniform performance of the pressure sensing unit 400 may not be guaranteed. Therefore, in order to ensure the pressure detection performance of the pressure sensing unit 400, it is important to stably secure the gap of the spacer layer 420.

Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiment, an elastic foam having a fast recovery force may be used as the spacer layer 420. The pressure sensing unit 400 having the elastic foam according to the embodiment may be disposed between the substrate 300 of the touch input device 1000 and the display module 200. By configuring the pressure sensing unit 400 to include such an elastic foam, the shock to the display module 200 is alleviated without inserting an additional elastic material between the display module 200 and the substrate 300 and the display panel ( 200A) can be maintained.

At this time, the elastic foam included in the pressure sensing unit 400 according to the embodiment has the flexibility to change the shape, such as pressed when the impact is applied, thereby having a resilience while performing the role of shock absorption, uniformity in performance for pressure detection Should be able to provide

In addition, the elastic foam needs to be formed to have a sufficient thickness to mitigate the impact applied to the display module 200 and at the same time between the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the reference potential layer to increase the sensitivity of the pressure detection. It needs to be formed to a thickness so that the distance is not too far. For example, the elastic foam according to the embodiment may be formed to a thickness of 10μm to 1mm. If the elastic foam is formed thinner than 10 μm, the shock cannot be sufficiently absorbed, and if it is thicker than 1 mm, the distance between the reference potential layer and the pressure sensors 450 and 460 or the distance between the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor is too high. Can be lowered.

For example, the elastic foam according to the embodiment may include at least one of polyurethane (polyurethane), polyester (Polyester), polypropylene (Polypropylene) and acrylic (Acrylic).

6A and 6B illustrate an attachment position of the pressure sensing unit 400 to the touch input device according to the embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the pressure sensing unit 400 may be configured to be attached to an upper surface of the substrate 300. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, the pressure sensing unit 400 may be configured to be attached to the lower surface of the display module 200. Hereinafter, the case in which the pressure sensing unit 400 is attached to the upper surface of the substrate 300 will be described first.

7A-7F illustrate a structural cross section of a pressure sensor according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in the pressure sensor module 400 according to the embodiment, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are positioned between the first insulating layer 410 and the second insulating layer 411. For example, after forming the pressure sensors 450 and 460 on the first insulating layer 410, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be covered by the second insulating layer 411. In this case, the first insulating layer 410 and the second insulating layer 411 may be an insulating material such as polyimide. The first insulating layer 410 may be polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the second insulating layer 411 may be a cover layer made of ink. The pressure sensors 450 and 460 may include materials such as copper and aluminum. In some embodiments, an adhesive, such as a liquid bond, may be formed between the first insulating layer 410 and the second insulating layer 411 and between the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the first insulating layer 410. Not shown). In some embodiments, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed by disposing a mask having a through hole corresponding to the pressure sensor pattern on the first insulating layer 410 and then spraying a conductive spray. Can be.

In FIG. 7A, the pressure sensing unit 400 further includes an elastic foam 440, and the elastic foam 440 may be formed in a direction opposite to the first insulating layer 410 as one surface of the second insulating layer 411. have. Subsequently, when the pressure sensing unit 400 is attached to the substrate 300, the elastic foam 440 may be disposed on the substrate 300 side based on the second insulating layer 411.

In this case, in order to attach the pressure sensing unit 400 to the substrate 300, an adhesive tape 430 having a predetermined thickness may be formed on the outer side of the elastic foam 430. According to an embodiment, the adhesive tape 430 may be a double-sided adhesive tape. In this case, the adhesive tape 430 may also serve to adhere the elastic foam 430 to the second insulating layer 411. In this case, the thickness of the pressure sensing unit 400 may be effectively reduced by disposing the adhesive tape 430 outside the elastic foam 430.

When the pressure sensing unit 400 illustrated in FIG. 7A is attached to the substrate 300 positioned in the lower direction of FIG. 7A, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may detect pressure as described with reference to FIG. 4C. It can work. For example, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are disposed on the display module 200 side, and the reference potential layer is a surface of the substrate 300 and the elastic foam 440 may perform an operation corresponding to the spacer layer 420. . For example, when the touch input device 1000 is touched from above, the elastic foam 440 is pressed to reduce the distance between the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the substrate 300, which is the reference potential layer, and thus the first pressure sensor. Mutual capacitance between the 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 may be reduced. This change in capacitance can detect the magnitude of the touch pressure.

FIG. 7B is similar to the pressure sensing unit 400 with reference to FIG. 7A, and the following description will focus on the difference. In FIG. 7B, unlike FIG. 7A, the pressure sensing unit 400 is not attached to the substrate 300 through the adhesive tape 430 positioned outside the elastic foam 440. In FIG. 7B, the first adhesive tape 431 and the pressure sensing unit 400 are adhered to the substrate 300 to adhere the elastic foam 440 to the second insulating layer 411. The second adhesive tape 432 may be included in the. In this manner, the elastic foam 440 is firmly attached to the second insulating layer 411 by disposing the first and second adhesive tapes 431 and 432, and the pressure sensing unit 400 is firmly attached to the substrate 300. Can be attached. In some embodiments, the pressure detector 400 illustrated in FIG. 7B may not include the second insulating layer 411. For example, while the first adhesive tape 431 serves as a cover layer directly covering the pressure sensors 450 and 460, the elastic foam 440 is attached to the first insulating layer 410 and the pressure sensors 450 and 460. It can play a role. This may also apply to the following cases of FIGS. 7C to 7F.

FIG. 7C is a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 7A. In FIG. 7C, a hole (H: hole) penetrating the height of the elastic foam 440 may be formed in the elastic foam 440 so that the elastic foam 440 may be pressed well when the touch input device 1000 is touched. . The hole H may be filled with air. When the elastic foam 440 is pressed well, the degree of sensitivity of the pressure detection may be improved. In addition, by forming the hole (H) in the elastic foam 400, it is possible to eliminate the phenomenon that the surface of the elastic foam 400 protrudes due to air when the pressure sensing unit 400 is attached to the substrate 300. In FIG. 7C, a first adhesive tape 431 may be further included in addition to the adhesive tape 430 to firmly adhere the elastic foam 400 to the second insulating layer 411.

FIG. 7D is a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 7B, and the hole H penetrating the height of the elastic foam 440 is formed in the elastic foam 440 as in FIG. 7C.

FIG. 7E is a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 7B, and further includes a second elastic foam 441 on one surface of the first insulating layer 410 in a direction different from that of the elastic foam 440. The second elastic foam 441 may be further formed to minimize the shock transmitted to the display module 200 when the pressure sensing unit 400 is attached to the touch input device 1000 later. In this case, a third adhesive layer 433 may be further included to adhere the second elastic foam 441 to the first insulating layer 410.

FIG. 7F illustrates the structure of a pressure sensing unit 400 that may be operable to detect pressure as described with reference to FIG. 4D. In FIG. 7F, the structure of the pressure sensing unit 400 in which the first pressure sensors 450 and 451 and the second pressure sensors 460 and 461 are disposed with the elastic foam 440 therebetween is illustrated. Similar to the structure described with reference to FIG. 7B, the first pressure sensors 450 and 451 are formed between the first insulating layer 410 and the second insulating layer 411, and the first adhesive tape 431 and the elastic foam. 440 and the second adhesive tape 432 may be formed. The second pressure sensors 460 and 461 are formed between the third insulating layer 412 and the fourth insulating layer 413, and the fourth insulating layer 413 is formed of the elastic foam 440 through the second adhesive tape 432. It may be attached to one side of the). In this case, a third adhesive tape 433 may be formed on one surface of the third insulating layer 412 on the substrate side, and the pressure sensing unit 400 may be attached to the substrate 300 through the third adhesive tape 433. Can be. As described with reference to FIG. 7B, in some embodiments, the pressure sensing unit 400 illustrated in FIG. 7F may not include the second insulating layer 411 and / or the fourth insulating layer 413. For example, while the first adhesive tape 431 serves as a cover layer directly covering the first pressure sensors 450 and 451, the elastic foam 440 may be formed into the first insulating layer 410 and the first pressure sensor 450. 451). In addition, while the second adhesive tape 432 serves as a cover layer directly covering the second pressure sensors 460 and 461, the elastic foam 440 may be formed on the third insulating layer 412 and the second pressure sensor 460. 461).

In this case, the elastic foam 440 is pressed through the touch on the touch input device 1000, and thus mutual capacitance between the first pressure sensors 450 and 451 and the second pressure sensors 460 and 461 may increase. have. This change in capacitance can detect the touch pressure. In addition, according to the exemplary embodiment, one of the first pressure sensors 450 and 451 and the second pressure sensors 460 and 461 may be set as a ground to detect the magnetic capacitance through the other electrode.

In the case of FIG. 7F, the thickness and manufacturing cost of the pressure sensing unit 400 are increased, but the pressure detection does not change according to the characteristics of the reference potential layer located outside the pressure sensing unit 400, compared to the case of forming the electrode in a single layer. Performance can be guaranteed. That is, by configuring the pressure sensing unit 400 as shown in Figure 7f it can minimize the influence of the external potential (ground) environment during the pressure detection. Therefore, the same pressure sensing unit 400 may be used regardless of the type of the touch input apparatus 1000 to which the pressure sensing unit 400 is applied.

8A and 8B illustrate the case where the pressure sensor according to the embodiment is attached to the substrate opposite the display module. FIG. 8A illustrates the case where the pressure sensing unit 400 of the structure illustrated in FIG. 7B is attached on the upper surface of the substrate 300. 8B illustrates a case where the pressure sensing unit 400 of the structure illustrated in FIG. 7E is attached on the upper surface of the substrate 300. In this case, an air gap may be located between the pressure sensing unit 400 and the display module 200 according to the manufacturing process of the touch input device 1000. Even if the air gap is pressed according to the touch, the distance between the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the substrate 300 is close, so that the influence on the pressure detection performance may not be large.

In FIG. 8A, the substrate 300 functions as a reference potential layer, and in some embodiments, the modified form of FIGS. 7A to 7D may be attached to the substrate 300. In FIG. 8A, the elastic foam 440 is formed closer to the substrate 300 side with respect to the pressure sensors 450 and 460 in the pressure sensing unit 400, but the elastic foam 440 is formed of the pressure sensors 450 and 460. The pressure sensing unit 400, which is formed closer to the display module 200, may be attached to the substrate 300. That is, the elastic foam 440 may be formed on the first insulating layer 410. In this case, the reference potential layer may be the display module 200.

9A and 9B illustrate a case where the pressure sensor according to the embodiment is attached to the display module.

The pressure sensing unit 400 of the structure illustrated in FIGS. 7A to 7E may be attached to the display module 200 by inverting up and down. 9A illustrates a case in which the pressure sensing unit 400 of the structure illustrated in FIG. 7B is inverted up and down and attached to the display module 200. At this time, the elastic foam 440 is pressed in accordance with the touch to reduce the distance between the pressure sensor (450, 460) and the display module 200, which is the reference potential layer, the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor ( The mutual capacitance between 460 can be reduced. This change in capacitance can detect the touch pressure.

According to an embodiment, the structure of the modified pressure sensing unit 400 may be used. FIG. 9B illustrates a case in which the modified structure of the pressure sensing unit 400 illustrated in FIG. 7B is inverted up and down and attached to the display module 200. In FIG. 9B, the pressure sensing unit 400 is positioned such that the elastic foam 400 is positioned between the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the substrate 300 rather than between the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the display module 200. Can be configured. In this case, the reference potential layer for pressure detection may be the substrate 300. Accordingly, the elastic foam 440 is pressed according to the touch and the distance between the pressure sensors 450 and 460 and the substrate 300 which is the reference potential layer is reduced, so that the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 are reduced. The mutual capacitance between them can be reduced. The touch pressure can be detected from this change in capacitance. In this case, an air gap, which may be located between the substrate 300 and the pressure sensing unit 400, may also be used to induce capacitance change according to the touch together with the elastic foam 440.

The pressure sensing unit 400 described above assumes a case where the touch is made on the upper surface side of the display module, but the pressure sensing unit 400 according to the embodiment applies pressure from the lower surface side of the touch input device 1000. Even if it can be modified to detect the touch pressure.

As described above, in order to detect pressure through the touch input device 1000 to which the pressure sensing unit 400 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied, changes in capacitance generated by the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are measured. It needs to be sensed. Therefore, a driving signal needs to be applied to a driving electrode among the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460, and a touch pressure must be calculated from the change amount of capacitance by acquiring a detection signal from the receiving electrode. According to an embodiment, it is also possible to further include a pressure detection device in the form of a pressure sensing IC for the operation of pressure detection. The pressure sensing unit 400 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include such a pressure detecting apparatus as well as the structure illustrated in FIG. 7 and the like including the pressure sensors 450 and 460 for detecting the pressure.

In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 1, since the configuration similar to that of the driving unit 120, the sensing unit 110, and the control unit 130 is overlapped, the problem that the area and the volume of the touch input device 1000 become large may occur. Can be.

According to an embodiment, the touch input device 1000 applies a driving signal for pressure detection to the pressure sensors 450 and 460 by using the touch detection device for operating the touch sensor panel 100 and the pressure sensor 450. 460 may detect the touch pressure by receiving the detection signal. In the following description, it is assumed that the first pressure sensor 450 is a driving electrode and the second pressure sensor 460 is a receiving electrode.

To this end, in the touch input device 1000 to which the pressure sensing unit 400 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied, the first pressure sensor 450 receives a driving signal from the driving unit 120 and receives the second pressure sensor 460. ) May transmit the detection signal to the detection unit 110. The control unit 130 performs scanning of the pressure sensor simultaneously with the scanning of the touch sensor panel 100, or the control unit 130 performs time division to perform scanning of the touch sensor panel 100 in a first time section. The control signal may be generated to perform the scanning of the pressure detection in the second time interval different from the first time interval.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 should be electrically connected to the driving unit 120 and / or the sensing unit 110. In this case, the touch detection device for the touch sensor panel 100 is generally formed as one of the touch sensing ICs 150 on one end of the touch sensor panel 100 or on the same plane as the touch sensor panel 100. The pressure sensors 450 and 460 included in the pressure sensing unit 400 may be electrically connected to the touch detection apparatus of the touch sensor panel 100 by any method. For example, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be connected to the touch detection device through a connector using the second PCB 210 included in the display module 200.

10A and 10B illustrate a case in which the pressure sensing unit 400 including the pressure sensors 450 and 460 is attached to the lower surface of the display module 200. 10A and 10B, the display module 200 shows a second PCB 210 in which a circuit for operating a display panel is mounted on a portion of a lower surface of the display module 200.

10A illustrates a bottom surface of the display module 200 such that the pressure detector 400 is connected to one end of the second PCB 210 of the display module 200 by the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460. The case where it attaches to is illustrated. A conductive pattern may be printed on the second PCB 210 to electrically connect the pressure sensors 450 and 460 to a required configuration such as the touch sensing IC 150. Detailed description thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11C. The attachment method of the pressure sensing unit 400 including the pressure sensors 450 and 460 illustrated in FIG. 10A may be similarly applied to the substrate 300.

FIG. 10B illustrates a case in which the pressure detecting unit 400 including the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 is integrally formed with the second PCB 210 of the display module 200. For example, when manufacturing the second PCB 210 of the display module 200, a predetermined area 211 is allocated to the second PCB so that the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor (not only a circuit for operating the display panel in advance). Up to a pattern corresponding to 460 may be printed. The second PCB 210 may be printed with a conductive pattern for electrically connecting the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 to a required configuration such as a touch sensing IC 150.

11A-11C illustrate a method of connecting pressure sensors 450, 460 to touch sensing IC 150. 11A to 11C, when the touch sensor panel 100 is included outside the display module 200, the touch detection device of the touch sensor panel 100 may include a first PCB 160 for the touch sensor panel 100. A case in which the integrated circuit is integrated in the touch sensing IC 150 mounted in FIG.

In FIG. 11A, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 attached to the display module 200 are connected to the touch sensing IC 150 through the first connector 121. As illustrated in FIG. 11A, in the mobile communication device such as a smartphone, the touch sensing IC 150 is connected to the second PCB 210 for the display module 200 through the first connector 121. The second PCB 210 may be electrically connected to the main board through the second connector 224. Accordingly, the touch sensing IC 150 may exchange a signal with a CPU or an AP for operating the touch input device 1000 through the first connector 121 and the second connector 224.

In this case, in FIG. 11A, the pressure sensing unit 400 is attached to the display module 200 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 10B, but may be applied to the case in which the pressure sensing unit 400 is attached in the manner illustrated in FIG. 10A. A conductive pattern may be printed on the second PCB 210 such that the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be electrically connected to the touch sensing IC 150 through the first connector 121.

In FIG. 11B, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 attached to the display module 200 are connected to the touch sensing IC 150 through the third connector 473. In FIG. 11B, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are connected to the main board for the operation of the touch input device 1000 through the third connector 473 and later connect the second connector 224 and the first connector 121. It may be connected to the touch sensing IC 150 through. At this time, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be printed on an additional PCB separated from the second PCB 210. Alternatively, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be attached to the touch input device 1000 in a structure as illustrated in FIG. 7 to extend the conductive traces from the pressure sensors 450 and 460 to connect the connector 473. It can also be connected to the motherboard.

Even when the pressure electrodes 450 and 460 are printed on the second PCB 210 or on an additional PCB separated from the second PCB, the pressure electrodes 450 and 460 are printed on the PCB portion and the pressure electrodes 450 and 460. 460 may be collectively referred to as a pressure sensing unit 400.

In FIG. 11C, a case in which the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are directly connected to the touch sensing IC 150 through the fourth connector 474 is illustrated. In FIG. 11C, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be connected to the first PCB 160 through the fourth connector 474. A conductive pattern may be printed on the first PCB 160 to electrically connect the fourth connector 474 to the touch sensing IC 150. Accordingly, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be connected to the touch sensing IC 150 through the fourth connector 474. At this time, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be printed on an additional PCB separated from the second PCB 210. The second PCB 210 and the additional PCB may be insulated so as not to short-circuit each other. Alternatively, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be attached to the touch input device 1000 in a structure as illustrated in FIG. 7 to extend the conductive traces from the pressure sensors 450 and 460 to connect the connector 474. It may be connected to the first PCB 160 through. Here, unlike the FIG. 11C, the fourth connector 474 may be directly connected to the second PCB 210.

The connection method of FIGS. 11B and 11C may be applied to the case where the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are formed on the substrate 300 as well as the lower surface of the display module 200.

11A to 11C, the touch sensing IC 150 has been described assuming a chip on film (COF) structure formed on the first PCB 160. However, this is merely an example and the present invention may be applied to a case of a chip on board (COB) structure in which the touch sensing IC 150 is mounted on a main board in the mounting space 310 of the touch input device 1000. From the description of FIGS. 11A-11C to those skilled in the art, the connection via the connectors of the pressure sensors 450 and 460 will be apparent to other embodiments.

In the above, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 in which the first pressure sensor 450 constitutes one channel as the driving electrode and the second pressure sensor 460 constitutes one channel as the receiving electrode have been described. However, this is only an example, and according to the exemplary embodiment, the driving electrode and the receiving electrode may each constitute a plurality of channels, and thus, multiple pressure detection may be performed according to multi touch.

12A to 12C illustrate the case where the pressure sensor of the present invention constitutes a plurality of channels. In FIG. 12A, the first pressure sensors 450-1 and 450-2 and the second pressure sensors 460-1 and 460-2 each constitute two channels. In FIG. 12A, a first pressure sensor 450-1 and a second pressure sensor 460-1 constituting the first channel are included in the first pressure sensing unit 400 and the first pressure sensor constituting the second channel. The second pressure sensor 460-2 and the second pressure sensor 460-2 are included in the second pressure sensing unit 400, but the first pressure sensors 450-1 and 450-2 forming two channels are provided. And second pressure sensors 460-1 and 460-2 may be configured to be included in one pressure sensing unit 400. In FIG. 12B, the first pressure sensor 450 constitutes two channels 450-1 and 450-2, but the second pressure sensor 460 configures one channel. In FIG. 12C, the first pressure sensors 450-1 to 450-5 and the second pressure sensors 460-1 and 460-5 each form five channels. In this case, the electrodes constituting the five channels may be configured to be included in one pressure sensing unit 400.

12A to 12C illustrate a case in which the pressure sensor constitutes a singular or plural channels, and the pressure sensor may be configured in the singular or plural channels in various ways. Although the case in which the pressure sensors 450 and 460 are electrically connected to the touch sensing IC 150 is not illustrated in FIGS. 12A to 12C, the pressure sensors 450 and 460 may be touched in FIGS. 11A to 11C and other methods. It may be connected to the sensing IC 150.

As described above, by applying the pressure sensing unit 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention to the touch input device 1000 including a touch sensor panel to detect whether the existing touch and the touch position, the corresponding touch. The touch pressure may be easily detected through the input device 1000. After the minimum change is made to the existing touch input device 1000, the pressure sensing unit 400 of the present invention is disposed, so that the touch pressure can be detected using the existing touch input device 1000.

In the experiments of FIGS. 13A to 13C, the touch input device 1000 having the structure as illustrated in FIG. 8A is performed. In the following experiment, the elastic foam 440 included in the pressure sensing unit 400 was manufactured including polypropylene.

13A is a graph illustrating a difference in normalized capacitance change according to a weight of a pressure touch for a touch input device including a pressure sensor according to an embodiment. In FIG. 13A, 0gf (gram force), 100gf,... , A graph normalizing the difference in capacitance change occurring between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460, calculated by the pressure detection device when the touch surface is pressed at 1000 gf. Here, the difference in capacitance change represents a difference in capacitance change when the touch input device 1000 is pressure-touched at 0 gf and when the pressure is touched at gf of the corresponding weight. Although the difference in capacitance change does not change in direct proportion to the size of the touch weight with respect to the touch input device 1000, the change in the form of monotone increases, so that the pressure at the time of touching the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment may vary. It is possible to detect the size.

FIG. 13B is a graph illustrating a difference in normalized capacitance change according to a pressure touch and a deviation thereof before and after a predetermined number of pressure touches of the touch input device including the pressure sensor according to the embodiment. The experiment of FIG. 13B was performed on four sets of touch input devices 1000, respectively. In the upper graph of FIG. 13B, A and B indicate before and after performing 100,000 pressure touches on the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment at a weight of 800 gf. A and B are 800 gf, respectively, and the difference in capacitance change generated between the first pressure sensor 450 and the second pressure sensor 460 calculated by the pressure detecting device when the touch surface of the touch input device 1000 is pressed. Is a normalized value. It can be seen that the difference value of the capacitance change occurring before (A) and after (B) of 100,000 touches is not the same, but the deviation is very small.

At the bottom of Fig. 13B, the deviation between the difference value of the capacitance change of Graph A and Graph B is displayed. It can be seen that the deviation between the difference value of the capacitance change occurring before and after the touch input device 1000 is touched 100,000 times according to the embodiment is within 5%. 13B, it can be seen that even when the pressure sensing unit 400 using the elastic foam according to the embodiment is used for a long time, the pressure detection performance can be maintained uniformly.

FIG. 13C is a graph illustrating a change in a normalized pressure difference detected after releasing a pressure applied to a touch input device including a pressure sensor according to an embodiment. FIG. In FIG. 13C, when the touch surface of the touch input device 1000 is pressed at 800 gf, the magnitude of the pressure calculated by the pressure detection device is indicated as 1, and the magnitude change of the calculated pressure after the application of the pressure is released. Referring to FIG. 13C, the time taken until the pressure application is released to reach 10% to 90% of the maximum pressure level 1 may correspond to approximately 0.7 seconds. As such, in the case of using the pressure sensing unit 400 including the elastic foam according to the embodiment, since the restoring force is high after the release of the pressure touch, the accuracy of pressure detection may be prevented from being lowered even in the continuous pressure touch. In this case, the required recovery speed may vary. Depending on the embodiment, the time to reach 90% to 10% of the maximum pressure magnitude may be within 1 second.

Meanwhile, in the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention may be applied, the strain gauge 450 may be directly formed on the display panel 200A. 15A to 15B are cross-sectional views illustrating an embodiment of a strain gauge directly formed on various display panels in the touch input device according to the present invention.

First, Fig. 15A shows a strain gauge 450 formed in the display panel 200A using the LCD panel. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15A, a strain gauge 450 may be formed on the bottom surface of the second substrate layer 262. In this case, the strain gauge 450 may be formed on the lower surface of the second polarization layer 272. Next, Fig. 15B shows a strain gauge 450 formed on the bottom surface of the display panel 200A using an OLED panel (especially an AM-OLED panel). In detail, the strain gauge 450 may be formed on the bottom surface of the second substrate layer 283.

In the case of the OLED panel, since light is emitted from the organic layer 280, the strain gauge 450 formed on the bottom surface of the second substrate layer 283 disposed under the organic layer 280 may be made of an opaque material. However, in this case, since the pattern of the strain gauge 450 formed on the bottom surface of the display panel 200A may be visible to the user, in order to directly form the strain gauge 450 on the bottom surface of the second substrate layer 283, the second substrate may be formed. After applying a light shielding layer such as black ink to the lower surface of the layer 283, a strain gauge 450 may be formed on the light shielding layer. In addition, in FIG. 15B, a strain gauge (a lower surface of the second substrate layer 283 is formed). Although 450 is shown to be formed, a third substrate layer (not shown) may be disposed below the second substrate layer 283, and a strain gauge 450 may be formed on the bottom surface of the third substrate layer. In particular, when the display panel 200A is a flexible OLED panel, since the display panel 200A composed of the first substrate layer 281, the organic material layer 280, and the second substrate layer 283 is very thin and well bent, A third substrate layer that is relatively hard to be bent may be disposed below the substrate layer 283.

16A to 16D illustrate an example in which a strain gauge is applied to a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied.

In the touch input device 1000 of the present invention, an adhesive such as OCA (Optically Clear Adhesive) is formed between the cover layer 100 on which a touch sensor for detecting a touch position is formed and the display module 200 including the display panel 200A. It may be laminated. Accordingly, display color clarity, visibility, and light transmittance of the display module 200 which can be checked through the touch surface of the touch sensor may be improved.

In FIG. 16A and in some views below, the display panel 200A is shown attached directly to the cover layer 100, but this is merely for convenience of description and the first polarization layers 271 and 282 are the display panel 200A. The upper display module 200 may be laminated and attached to the cover layer 100. When the LCD panel is the display panel 200A, the second polarizing layer 272 and the backlight unit are omitted.

In the description with reference to FIGS. 16A to 16D, a cover layer 100 having a touch sensor as a touch input device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed on the display module 200 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. An example of lamination with an adhesive is illustrated, but the touch input device 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a case in which the touch sensor 10 is disposed inside the display module 200 illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. can do. More specifically, in FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B, the cover layer 100 having the touch sensor formed thereon covers the display module 200 including the display panel 200A, but the touch sensor 10 may include the display module 200. The touch input device 1000 disposed inside and covered with the cover layer 100 such as glass may be used as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a cell phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a tablet PC, an MP3 player, a notebook, or the like. It may include an electronic device including the same touch screen.

In the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the substrate 300 may be, for example, a circuit board for operating the touch input device 1000 together with the housing 320 which is the outermost mechanism of the touch input device 1000. And / or wrap the mounting space 310 in which the battery may be located. In this case, a circuit board for operating the touch input device 1000 may be mounted with a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP) 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 from the display module 200 and the noise generated from the circuit board Can be blocked.

In the touch input device 1000, 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, and thus the housing 320 may be formed. The housing 320 may be formed to surround the display module 200, the substrate 300, and the circuit board together with the touch sensor 10.

Hereinafter, the pressure sensor 450 for detecting the pressure or the force may be a strain gauge so as to be clearly distinguished from the electrodes included in the touch sensor 10.

The touch input device 1000 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may detect a touch position through the touch sensor 10 and detect a touch pressure (or force) from the strain gauge 450 formed in the display module 200. have. In this case, the touch sensor 10 may be located inside or outside the display module 200.

The touch input device 1000 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a spacer layer 420 formed of an air gap. At this time, the spacer layer 420 may be made of an impact absorbing material according to an embodiment. The spacer layer 420 may be filled with a dielectric material in some embodiments.

In this case, since the strain gauge 450 is disposed on the rear surface of the display panel 200A instead of the front surface of the display panel 200A, the strain gauge 450 may be formed of an opaque material as well as a transparent material. When the display panel 200A is an LCD panel, since light must be transmitted from the backlight unit, the strain gauge 450 may be made of a transparent material such as ITO.

In this case, in order to maintain the spacer layer 420, a frame 330 having a predetermined height may be formed along the edge of the upper portion of the substrate 300. In this case, the frame 330 may be attached to the cover layer 100 with an adhesive tape (not shown). In FIG. 5B, the frame 330 is formed on all the edges of the substrate 300 (eg, four sides of a quadrilateral), but the frame 330 is formed of at least a portion of the edge of the substrate 300 (eg, a quadrilateral). Only on three sides). 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 made of a material having no elasticity. In an embodiment of the present invention, when pressure (or force) is applied to the display panel 200A through the cover layer 100, the display panel 200A may be bent together with the cover layer 100, so that the frame 330 may be bent. According to this pressure (or force), even if there is no deformation | transformation of a shape, the magnitude | size of a touch pressure (or force) can be detected.

16C is a cross-sectional view of a touch input device including a strain gauge according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 16C, the strain gauge 450 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be formed on the bottom surface of the display panel 200A.

FIG. 16D is a cross-sectional view when a pressure (or force) is applied to the touch input device 1000 illustrated in FIG. 16C. The upper surface of the substrate 300 may have a ground potential for noise shielding. When pressure (or force) 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 bent or pressed. As the display panel 200A is bent, the strain gauge 450 formed on the display panel 200A may be deformed, and thus the resistance value of the strain gauge 450 may change. The magnitude of the touch pressure (or force) can be calculated from this change in resistance value.

In the touch input device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display panel 200A may be bent or pressed in response to a touch applying a pressure (or force). The display panel 200A may be bent or pressed to indicate deformation according to a touch. According to an exemplary embodiment, the position showing the largest deformation when the display panel 200A is bent or pressed may not coincide with the touch position, but the display panel 200A may indicate bending 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 bent or pressed the greatest may be different from the touch position. It may indicate bending or pressing at.

17A, 17D, and 17F are plan views of exemplary pressure (or force) sensors capable of sensing pressure (or force) used in a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention can be applied. In this case, the pressure (or force) sensor may be a strain gauge. Strain gauges are devices in which the electrical resistance varies in proportion to the amount of strain. Generally, a metal bonded strain gauge may be used.

Materials that can be used for strain gauges are transparent materials, conductive polymers (PEDOT: polyethyleneioxythiophene), ITO (indium tin oxide), ATO (antimony tin oxide), carbon nanotubes (CNT), and graphene ), Gallium zinc oxide, indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), tin oxide (SnO2), indium oxide (In2O3), zinc oxide (ZnO), gallium oxide (Ga2O3), and oxidation Cadmium (CdO), other doped metal oxides, piezoresistive elements, piezoresistive semiconductor materials, piezoresistive metal materials, silver nanowires, platinum nanowires (platinum nanowire), nickel nanowire, other metallic nanowires, and the like may be used. Opaque materials include silver ink, copper, nano silver, carbon nanotubes, constantan alloys, karma alloys, doped Polycrystalline silicon, doped amorphous silicon, doped single crystal silicon, doped other semiconductor materials, and the like can be used.

As shown in Fig. 17A, the metal strain gauge may be composed of metal foils arranged in a lattice manner. The lattice approach can maximize the amount of deformation of the metal wire or foil that is susceptible to deformation in the parallel direction. At this time, the vertical lattice cross section of the strain gauge 450 shown in FIG. 17A can be minimized to reduce the effects of shear strain and Poisson strain.

In the example of FIG. 17A, strain gauge 450 may include traces 451 that do not contact but are placed close to each other while in an at rest state, that is, while not being strained or otherwise deformed. have. Strain gauges can have a nominal resistance such as 1.8 KΩ ± 0.1% in the absence of strain or force. As a basic parameter of a strain gauge, the sensitivity to strain may be expressed as a gauge coefficient (GF). At this time, the gauge coefficient can be defined as the ratio of the change in electrical resistance to the change in strain (strain), and can be expressed as a function of strain ε as follows.

ΔR is the amount of change in the strain gauge resistance, R is the resistance of the undeformed strain gauge, and GF is the gauge coefficient.

At this point, in order to measure small changes in resistance, strain gauges are used in most cases in bridge configurations with voltage driven sources.

17B and 17C show exemplary strain gauges that may be applied to a touch input device in accordance with the present invention. As shown in the example of FIG. 17B, a strain gauge is included in a Wheatstone bridge 3000 with four different resistors (shown as R1, R2, R3, R4), indicating the applied force ( Change the resistance of the gauge relative to other resistors. The bridge 3000 is coupled to a force sensor interface (not shown), receives a drive signal (voltage VEX) from a touch controller (not shown) to drive the strain gauge, and sense signal (voltage VO) representing the force applied for processing. ) Can be sent to the touch controller. In this case, the output voltage VO of the bridge 3000 may be expressed as follows.

In the above equation, when R1 / R2 = R4 / R3, the output voltage VO becomes zero. Under this condition, the bridge 3000 is in a balanced state. At this time, if the resistance value of any one of the resistors included in the bridge 3000 is changed, a non-zero output voltage VO is output.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 17C, when the strain gauge 450 is RG and RG changes, a change in the strain gauge 450 resistance causes an unbalance in the bridge and results in a non-zero output voltage VO. Create When the nominal resistance of the strain gauge 450 is RG, the change ΔR of the resistance induced by the deformation may be expressed as ΔR = RG × GF × ε through the gauge coefficient equation. At this time, assuming that R1 = R2 and R3 = RG, the bridge equation is rewritten as a function of strain? Of VO / VEX.

Although the bridge of FIG. 17C includes only one strain gauge 450, up to four strain gauges may be used in the locations shown by R1, R2, R3, R4 included in the bridge of FIG. 17B, in which case It will be appreciated that the resistance change can be used to sense the applied force.

As shown in FIGS. 17C and 17D, when a force is applied to the display panel 200A on which the strain gauge 450 is formed, the display panel 200A is bent and the trace 451 as the display panel 200A is bent. ) And the trace 451 becomes longer and narrower, which increases the resistance of the strain gauge 450. As the force applied increases, the resistance of the strain gauge 450 may increase correspondingly. Therefore, when the pressure sensor controller 1300 detects an increase in the resistance value of the strain gauge 450, the increase may be interpreted as a force applied to the display panel 200A.

In another embodiment, the bridge 3000 may be integrated with the pressure sensor controller 1300, in which case at least one or more of the resistors R1, R2, R3 may be replaced by a resistance in the pressure sensor controller 1300. have. For example, resistors R2 and R3 may be replaced with resistors in pressure sensor controller 1300 and form bridge 3000 with strain gauge 450 and resistor R1. As a result, the space occupied by the bridge 3000 may be reduced.

In the strain gauge 450 shown in Fig. 17A, since the traces 451 are aligned in the horizontal direction, since the length variation of the traces 451 is large with respect to the horizontal deformation, the sensitivity of the horizontal gauge is high but vertical. Since the change in the length of the trace 451 is relatively small with respect to the deformation in the direction, the sensitivity to the deformation in the vertical direction is low. As shown in FIG. 6D, the strain gauge 450 may include a plurality of subregions, and may configure a different alignment direction of the trace 451 included in each subregion. By configuring the strain gauge 450 including the traces 451 having different alignment directions, the sensitivity difference of the strain gauge 450 with respect to the deformation direction may be reduced.

The touch input device 1000 according to the present invention may include a force sensor configured as a single channel by forming one strain gauge 450 as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17D under the display panel 200A. In addition, the touch input device 1000 according to the present invention may include a force sensor including a plurality of channels by forming a plurality of strain gauges 450 as shown in FIG. 17E under the display panel 200A. By using the force sensor composed of a plurality of channels may be sensed at the same time the magnitude of each of the plurality of force for a plurality of touch.

The temperature change may adversely affect the strain gauge 450 because the increase in temperature may inflate the display panel 200A without the applied force, and as a result, the strain gauge 450 formed in the display panel 200A may increase. . As a result, the resistance of the strain gauge 450 increases and may be misinterpreted as a force applied to the strain gauge 450.

To compensate for the temperature change, at least one or more of the resistors R1, R2, R3 of the bridge 3000 shown in FIG. 17C may be replaced by a thermistor. The change in resistance due to the temperature of the thermistor may correspond to the change in resistance due to the temperature of the strain gauge 450 due to the thermal expansion of the display panel 200A in which the strain gauge 450 is formed, and thus the output voltage (VO) due to the temperature. ) Can be reduced.

In addition, two gauges can be used to minimize the effects of temperature variations. For example, as shown in FIG. 17F, when deformation in the horizontal direction occurs, the trace 451 of the strain gauge 450 may be aligned in the horizontal direction parallel to the deformation direction, and the dummy gauge 460. Traces 461 may be aligned in a vertical direction orthogonal to the deformation direction. At this time, the deformation affects the strain gauge 450 and hardly affects the dummy gauge 460, but the temperature has the same effect on both the strain gauge 450 and the dummy gauge 460. Thus, since the temperature change applies equally to the two gauges, the ratio of the nominal resistance RG of the two gauges does not change. In this case, when these two gauges share the output node of the Wheatstone bridge, that is, when the two gauges are R1 and R2 in FIG. 6B, or R3 and R4, the output voltage VO of the bridge 3000 is also increased. Since it does not change, the influence of temperature change can be minimized.

17G to 17I are rear views of a display panel in which a force sensor of a touch input device to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the present invention is applied is formed.

Since the trace 451 of the strain gauge 450 is preferably aligned in a direction parallel to the deformation direction, as shown in FIG. 17G, in the edge area of the display panel 200A, the trace 451 is perpendicular to the edge of the display panel 200A. The trace 451 of the strain gauge 450 may be arranged in one direction. More specifically, since the edges of the display panel 200A are fixed, when the force is applied to the display panel 200A, the display panel 200A is in a direction parallel to the straight line connecting the center of the display panel 200A and the position where the force is applied. The deformation can be the largest. Therefore, it is preferable to arrange the trace 451 of the strain gauge 450 in a direction parallel to the position where the strain gauge 450 is disposed and a straight line connecting the center of the display panel 200A.

On the other hand, since the trace 461 of the dummy gauge 460 is preferably aligned in a direction perpendicular to the deformation direction, as shown in FIG. 17G, the edge of the display panel 200A is shown in the edge area of the display panel 200A. The traces 461 of the dummy gauge 460 may be arranged to align in a direction parallel to. More specifically, since the edge of the display panel 200A is fixed, when a force is applied to the display panel 200A, the display panel 200A is perpendicular to a straight line connecting the center of the display panel 200A with the position where the force is applied. The deformation may be the smallest. Therefore, it is preferable to arrange the trace 461 of the dummy gauge 460 in a direction perpendicular to a position where the dummy gauge 460 is disposed and a straight line connecting the center of the display panel 200A.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 17G, the strain gauge 450 and the dummy gauge 460 may be disposed in a pair adjacent to each other. In this case, since the temperature difference between the positions adjacent to each other may not be large, the influence of the temperature change can be further minimized.

Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 17H, a plurality of dummy gauges 460 having traces 461 aligned in a direction parallel to the edges of the display panel 200A, along the edges of the display panel 200A. ) Can also be placed. In this case, since the deformation amount due to the force of the edge region of the display panel 200A is very small, the dummy gauge 460 disposed at the edge region of the display panel 200A may be more effective in compensating for the effect of temperature change. have. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 17I, the dummy gauge 460 may be disposed in four corner regions of the display panel 200A having the smallest deformation amount, and the trace of the dummy gauge 460 may have the most deformation amount. It may be arranged to align in a direction perpendicular to the large direction.

In the above description with reference to FIGS. 1A through 17I, in order to explain the touch position and the touch pressure detection principle, the configuration of the touch input device 1000 to which the touch pressure sensitivity correction method is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention may be described. Although described, the touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention can be applied to a touch input device having a structure different from that of FIGS. 1A to 17I as long as the touch input device is capable of touch pressure.

As described above, the pressure detection in the touch input device 1000 is based on the change in distance between the pressure sensors due to the bending as the predetermined pressure is applied to the cover layer 100 and the change in capacitance between them or the pressure sensor. It can be made based on the change in electrical properties according to the physical change of. However, the degree of bending of the cover layer 100 may not be the same at all positions. In particular, the edge portion of the cover layer 100 is a portion that is fixed to the case, even if the same pressure is applied than the central portion of the cover layer 100 is characterized by less bending.

18A is a graph illustrating the amount of change in capacitance detected when the same pressure is applied to each position of the cover layer 100. In the graph of FIG. 18A, the x-axis and the y-axis represent the horizontal axis position and the vertical axis position, respectively, and the z-axis represents the detected capacitance change amount. As can be seen from the graph of FIG. 18A, when the same pressure is applied, the capacitance change amount varies depending on the position, and the capacitance change amount in the center portion of the cover layer 100 is large, and the capacitance change amount decreases toward the edge portion. do. This means that the edge of the cover layer 100 has a lower sensitivity than the center portion, which is an inevitable problem in the manufacturing process and structure of the touch input device 1000. Ideally, it is desirable to have the same sensitivity in all regions of the cover layer 100 as shown in FIG. 18B. Thus, the present invention provides a touch pressure sensitivity correction method that can be made uniformly as shown in Figure 18b through the touch pressure sensitivity correction, the amount of capacitance change detected at all positions of the cover layer (100).

19 is a flowchart illustrating a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention.

First, a reference pattern is set on the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000 (S1910). The reference pattern includes one or a plurality of patterns. The reference pattern may have various structures. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 20A to 20E.

As shown in FIG. 20A, the reference pattern may include a plurality of virtual horizontal patterns drawn on the surface of the cover layer 100 based on the surface of the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000.

As shown in FIG. 20B, the reference pattern may include a plurality of virtual vertical patterns drawn on the surface of the cover layer 100 based on the surface of the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000.

20C to 20D, the reference pattern may be one virtual zigzag pattern drawn on the surface of the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000. Although not illustrated in the drawing, the zigzag pattern also includes a zigzag pattern in an oblique direction with respect to the surface of the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000.

As shown in FIG. 20E, the reference pattern may be a spiral pattern that faces from the outer side of the surface of the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000 to the center. Although not shown in the figure, the spiral pattern may be from the center outward.

Here, the reference pattern may be set to pass through a plurality of reference points predefined in the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000. That is, as shown in FIG. 21, the reference patterns illustrated in FIGS. 20A to 20E may be set to pass through a plurality of reference points.

Referring back to FIG. 19, when the reference pattern is set (S1910), the touch input device generates reference data (S1920). S1920 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 22.

Referring to FIG. 22, the touch input device 1000 detects a capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic) caused by a constant and continuous pressure input along a preset reference pattern to the surface of the cover layer 100, and is detected. The reference data corresponding to the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value (or the variation amount of the electrical characteristic value) is generated.

For example, when a predetermined pressure is applied as the reference pattern, the touch input device 1000 detects an amount of change in capacitance with respect to the applied pressure. Since the detection of the capacitance change amount is as described above, the description thereof will be omitted here.

The amount of capacitance change detected along the reference pattern is used to generate the reference data. For example, the capacitance change amount for each of the plurality of reference points overlapping the reference pattern is recorded in the reference data. The reference data includes the position of each reference point and the amount of change in capacitance.

Here, the constant and continuous pressure input along the preset reference pattern to the surface of the cover layer 100 is applied by the movement of the probe 2200. The probe 2200 moves on the surface of the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000 with a predetermined constant force and moves according to the reference pattern set in FIG. 19 at a preset speed.

In the touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention, according to the step (S1910) of setting the reference pattern shown in Figures 19 to 22 and the step of generating the reference data (S1920), the touch input device 1000 is a reference The time to generate data can be significantly reduced.

Conventionally, in order to generate reference data for correcting the touch pressure sensitivity of the touch input device 1000, the probe 2200 as illustrated in FIG. 22 may include a cover layer of the touch input device 1000 illustrated in FIG. 21. Each ref point of 100 was applied at a constant pressure for a predetermined time and then separated from the surface of the cover layer 100. In this method, since the probe 2200 moves after pressing and separating all reference points, the time required for the touch input device 1000 to generate reference data is not limited.

However, according to step S1910 of setting the reference pattern shown in FIGS. 19 to 22 and generating reference data (S1920), the probe 2200 may be configured to cover the cover layer 100 of the touch input device 1000. Since the method moves along the preset reference pattern at a constant speed while pressing the surface at a constant pressure, the time for generating the reference data by the touch input device 1000 is significantly shorter than that of the conventional method. Theoretically, you can shorten the time up to a tenth. Therefore, when such a method is used, the overall sensitivity correction time in the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device of the present invention can also be significantly reduced.

Referring back to FIG. 19, in the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device of the present invention, generating interpolation data (S1930), calculating a correction coefficient (S1940), and correcting sensitivity (S1950). It may include. It demonstrates concretely below.

When the reference data is generated by S1920, the cover layer 100 generates interpolation data for an arbitrary point that does not overlap with the reference pattern (S1930).

The interpolation data can be calculated by interpolation using the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the generated reference data. Therefore, the generated reference data and the calculated interpolation data may have information on the amount of change in capacitance with respect to the entire position of the surface of the cover layer 100.

The reference data is generated by directly applying pressure to the set reference pattern and directly detecting the amount of change in capacitance with respect to the applied pressure, but the interpolation data is calculated based on the amount of change in capacitance detected in the set reference pattern.

In this case, the interpolation data calculates interpolation data corresponding to an amount of change in capacitance for an arbitrary point, based on the distance between the reference pattern and the plurality of reference points overlapped with each other and the reference data generated in operation S1920. Hereinafter, various embodiments of the interpolation data generation step S1930 will be described.

First, the touch pressure correction method according to the present invention may generate interpolation data by linear interpolation. As linear interpolation, one-dimensional linear interpolation and two-dimensional linear interpolation may be used.

One-dimensional linear interpolation linearizes the capacitance change for any point according to the linear distance to the two reference points when estimating the capacitance change for any point between the reference pattern and the two overlapping reference points. This is how you decide.

The two-dimensional linear interpolation method is a method of estimating the amount of change in capacitance at the sides of a rectangle and an arbitrary point inside the rectangle when the amount of change in capacitance at four reference points of the rectangle overlapping the reference pattern is known.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for describing linear interpolation as an embodiment of generating interpolation data of a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention. In FIG. 23, Q12, Q22, Q11, and Q21 correspond to four reference points placed on the vertex of the rectangle among the plurality of reference points. And arbitrary points R2, P, and R1 are shown.

First, the capacitance change amounts of arbitrary points R2 and R1 can be calculated by one-dimensional linear interpolation. The values of R2 (x, y1) and R1 (x, y2) may be defined by Equation 1 below.

(Equation 1)

Here, x and y represent coordinate values, and f (Qx) represents the value of the capacitance change amount detected at the reference point Qx.

On the other hand, if linear interpolation is again applied to any point P, the value of any point P (x, y) may be defined by Equation 2 below.

(Equation 2)

Here, x and y represent coordinate values for each axis, and f (Qx) represents the value of the capacitance change amount detected at the reference point Qx.

That is, when the distance from the reference point and the value of the reference data are defined, the amount of change in capacitance for any point existing between the reference points can be calculated by Equation 2, and the power failure for a predetermined number of points By calculating the capacity change amount from the above formula, interpolation data can be generated.

In addition, the touch pressure correction method according to the present invention may generate interpolation data by bicubic interpolation. FIG. 24 is a diagram for describing bicubic interpolation as an embodiment of generating interpolation data of a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention.

Unlike the linear interpolation method, the graph of FIG. 24 has a cubic function graph, which is represented by Equation 3 below.

(Equation 3)

In the above equation, substituting coordinates and values of P0, P1, P2, and P3 to obtain each coefficient (a, b, c, d) is given by Equation 4 below.

(Equation 4)

Substituting Equation 4 into Equation 3, the value of each coefficient is calculated as follows.

 Substituting the calculated coefficients into equation (3) yields the following equation (6) for the x-coordinate.

(Equation 6)

Based on Equation 6, a formula for calculating the capacitance change amount at any point (x, y) can be generalized as shown in Equation 7 below.

(Equation 7)

As described above, when the distance from the reference point and the value of the reference data are defined, the amount of capacitance change for any point existing between the reference points can be calculated by Equation 7, and for a predetermined number of points By calculating the capacitance change amount from the above formula, interpolation data can be generated.

Meanwhile, the touch pressure correction method according to the present invention may generate interpolation data by profile based estimation.

First, as shown in the left figure of FIG. 25, a profile for two or more capacitance change amounts is generated. In the graph of FIG. 25, the x-axis and the y-axis of the lower surface mean each axis of the surface of the cover layer of the touch input device, and the z-axis indicates the amount of capacitance change detected by applying the same pressure to a predetermined number of coordinates. Profiles generated for the plurality of touch input devices may be used to generate interpolation data that is closer to actual data.

In FIG. 25, four profiles of capacitance variation, that is, profiles obtained from four touch input devices are illustrated, but more or fewer profiles may be used. As shown in FIG. 25, the average value may be calculated based on the plurality of profiles to generate the base profile shown on the right.

Regarding the base profile generation, available profile extraction methods include low level feature extraction methods such as curvature detection and edge detection algorithms, template matching, and huff. Shape matching such as a Hough transform algorithm, deformable templates, and flexible shape extraction such as a Snake algorithm. However, this is merely an example, and various other profile extraction methods may be used.

When the base profile is generated, delta data is generated by calculating a deviation between the reference data and the data of the base profile. Referring to FIG. 26, by comparing the capacitance change amounts of the reference points a, the reference points b, the reference points c and the reference points d, and the capacitance change values of the base profile corresponding to the coordinates of the reference points a, the reference points b, the reference points c and the reference points d, The deviation values Δa, Δb, Δc, Δd are calculated.

Then, to generate interpolation data, the linear interpolation or bicubic interpolation described above is performed based on the coordinate values (or distances from the reference point) of the arbitrary points x, y, and z and the deviation values generated for the reference points. In this way, deviation values of x, y, and z can be calculated.

Computing the deviation value for all arbitrary points can result in delta data being generated. Subsequently, interpolation data may be generated by calculating an amount of change in capacitance for the arbitrary point based on the distance between the plurality of reference points overlapping the reference pattern and the delta data. That is, a function is calculated based on the coordinates and delta data of a plurality of reference points overlapping the reference pattern, and the amount of capacitance change is calculated by substituting the coordinates of an arbitrary point into the function to generate interpolation data.

27 is a graph comparing interpolation data generated by each method with actual data. In FIG. 27, points a, b, and c represent a plurality of reference points overlapping with the reference pattern, and points x, y, z, and k are arbitrary points, and the capacitance change amount values are calculated by the above-described methods.

The solid line connecting the points a, b, c represents the actual data, and the dotted line connecting the arbitrary points (x, y, z, k) and the reference points (a, b, c) is based on the interpolation data generated by the linear interpolation method. The dashed line connecting the arbitrary points (x, y, z, k) and the reference points (a, b, c) is a graph based on interpolation data generated by bicubic interpolation, and the arbitrary points (x, y) The dashed dashed line connecting, z, k) and the reference points (a, b, c) is a graph based on interpolation data generated by profile-based interpolation.

Although the pattern of the interpolation data generated by the linear interpolation method is slightly different from the pattern of the actual data for any point, it shows similar directionality in terms of increase and decrease of the slope, and thus can be used in the touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention. have.

In addition, by using the bicubic interpolation method, since the pattern is similar to the actual data more than that by the linear interpolation method, sensitivity correction can be made more finely.

Furthermore, in the case of using the profile-based interpolation method, since it is very similar to the pattern of the actual data, the most ideal sensitivity correction can be achieved.

Referring again to FIG. 19, based on the generated reference data and the calculated interpolation data, a correction coefficient for setting the sensitivity of the touch input device 1000 as a target value is calculated (S1940).

The reference data and the interpolation data have capacitance change amount information corresponding to each position with respect to the entire surface of the cover layer 100.

In this case, a target value for setting uniform sensitivity with respect to the entire surface of the cover layer 100 may be preset. Alternatively, the target value may be set after the reference data and the interpolation data are generated.

The target value, together with the reference data and the interpolation data, is used to calculate a correction factor for a plurality of reference points and any point overlapping the reference pattern. The correction factor may be the inverse of the capacitance change recorded in each data. Alternatively, the correction factor may be a value obtained by multiplying a target value by an inverse of the capacitance change amount recorded in each data.

For example, if the target value is 3000 and the capacitance change amount (detected by applying direct pressure) at the reference point A on the reference pattern is 962, the correction factor at the reference point A on the reference pattern may be 1/962. The correction factor may be 3000/962 multiplied by the target value. Further, if the target value is 3000 and the capacitance change amount at any point x is 1024, the correction coefficient at any point x may be 1/1024, and 3000/1024 multiplied by the target value is the correction coefficient. It can also be

In this way, the correction coefficients for the reference point, any set point, and all points on the reference pattern are calculated.

Referring to FIG. 19, the sensitivity of the touch input device 1000 is uniformly corrected by applying the calculated correction coefficient to each point overlapping with the reference pattern and each point not overlapping with the reference pattern (S1950).

The correction coefficients calculated for all points (a plurality of reference points and arbitrary points overlapping with the reference pattern) existing on the surface of the cover layer 100 are used to uniformly correct the sensitivity of the touch input device 1000.

That is, when the capacitance change amount corresponding to the position of each point is multiplied by the correction factor, the finally detected capacitance change amount has a uniform value as a whole.

On the other hand, in the touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first correction step (S1901) of Figure 19 may be performed in advance. 28 is a flowchart illustrating a first correction step (preliminary correction step) applied to the touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the first correction step, first, a reference pattern is set on the cover layers provided in the plurality of touch input devices (S2810). In the above-described method of FIG. 19, sensitivity can be corrected using only one touch input device 1000, but at least two or more touch input devices 1000 are required to perform the first correction.

When the reference pattern is set, the amount of capacitance is sensed by applying the same pressure to the cover layer at a constant speed along the reference pattern (S2820). In this case, step S2820 is performed for the plurality of touch input devices, and the capacitance change amount of the reference point corresponding to each touch input device is extracted, and the average value thereof is calculated. When such a process is performed for all reference points, an average value of capacitance change amounts for all reference points can be calculated, and average value data is generated based on the average value data (S2830).

The generated average value data is used to calculate a primary correction coefficient for primary correction (S2840). In this case, the first correction coefficient may be a value obtained by taking the inverse of the average value, and may be a value multiplied by the target value.

When the first correction coefficient is calculated, the sensitivity of the touch input device is corrected by applying to a plurality of reference points (S2850).

Hereinafter, each step for performing the first correction will be described in more detail.

29A and 29B are graphs and data showing the sensitivity of the touch input device subjected to the first correction. With the first calibration, you get a much more uniform graph than before the calibration. This means that the sensitivity of the touch input device is made uniform through the first correction.

30A and 30B show the amount of change in capacitance at each reference point when the first correction is made and then subjected to the substantial correction steps (S1910 to S1950 in FIG. 19) once more. In particular, FIGS. 30A and 30B show a case where correction is performed by assuming 15 reference points and 30 arbitrary points on the reference pattern.

Compared to the case where only the first correction and the substantial correction are not performed, the touch input device which performs both the first correction and the substantial correction has a more uniform pressure touch sensitivity.

31A and 31B show an amount of change in capacitance at each position point (reference point and arbitrary point on the reference pattern) when the first correction is performed once more after the substantial correction step (S1910 to S1950 in FIG. 19). Indicates. In particular, FIGS. 31A and 31B show a case where correction is performed by assuming 12 reference points and 33 arbitrary points on the reference pattern.

Compared with the case where only the first correction and the substantial correction are not performed, it can be seen that the touch input device that performs both the first correction and the substantial correction has a more uniform pressure touch sensitivity.

32 is a flowchart illustrating a touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 32, the touch pressure sensitivity correction method according to the present invention may include generating modeling profile data (S3210), generating set profile data (S3230), and sensitivity. A correction step S3250 is included.

To describe the step of generating modeling profile data (S3210), reference is made to FIG. 33.

33 is a diagram for describing a method of generating modeling profile data.

Referring to FIG. 33, as shown in the left figure of FIG. 33, profile data of capacitance change amounts of each of the plurality of touch sensor panels (sample 1, sample 2, sample 3, and sample 4) selected as an arbitrary number data).

In the left graph of FIG. 33, the x-axis and the y-axis of the lower surface mean each axis of the display surface of the touch input device, and the z-axis represents the amount of capacitance change detected when the same pressure is applied to the display surface of the touch input device. It means the electric characteristic value. Herein, the electrical characteristic value may be a value detected through the strain gauge described with reference to FIGS. 15A to 17I.

In the left figure of FIG. 33, four profile data, that is, four profile data obtained from four touch input devices are illustrated, but more or less profile data may be used.

As illustrated in the right figure of FIG. 33, modeling profile data is generated using four profile data (sample 1, sample 2, sample 3, and sample 4) shown on the left side of FIG. 33. Modeling profile data may be generated by calculating an average value of four profile data.

Alternative methods for generating modeling profile data include low level feature extraction methods, such as curvature detection and edge detection algorithms, template matching, and Hough transform. Shape matching method such as a) algorithm, flexible templates such as deformable templates, Snake algorithm, and the like. However, this is merely an example, and modeling profile data may be generated by various other methods.

The generated modeling profile data is not only a balancing value for each of the four touch input devices (sample 1, sample 2, sample 3, and sample 4) shown on the left side of FIG. 33, but also shown on the left side of FIG. It can be a balancing value for many touch input devices produced through the same internal structure and the same manufacturing process as the four touch input devices.

Referring back to FIG. 32, when modeling profile data is generated (S3210), set profile data is generated (S3230). The set profile data is data for correcting the touch pressure sensitivity of the manufactured touch input device. Since many touch input devices produced through the same internal structure and the same manufacturing process do not all have the same touch pressure sensitivity, the touch panel is generated by generating set profile data for each touch input device using the modeling profile data generated in step S3210. The touch pressure sensitivity is calibrated for each device.

The set profile data is generated for each of the four touch input devices (sample 1, sample 2, sample 3, and sample 4) shown on the left side of FIG. 33, and has the same internal structure as the four touch input devices shown on the left side of FIG. It is generated for many touch input devices produced through the same manufacturing process.

Hereinafter, a method of generating set profile data of a 'predetermined touch input device' will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 34. Here, the 'predetermined touch input device' may be any one of four touch input devices (sample 1, sample 2, sample 3, and sample 4) shown on the left side of FIG. Any one of a number of touch input devices produced through the same internal structure and the same manufacturing process as the two touch input devices.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart for describing a method of generating set profile data illustrated in FIG. 32.

Referring to FIG. 34, the method of generating set profile data illustrated in FIG. 32 (S3230) may include setting a reference pattern and generating reference data (S3410), and generating set profile data for each region (S3430). ).

The setting of the reference pattern and generating reference data (S3410) may be referred to as defining a calibration pointer and generating calibration pointer data.

The method of setting the reference pattern is replaced with FIGS. 20A to 20E and the above description. When the reference pattern is set, a predetermined pressure is applied at a constant speed along the reference pattern. At this time, it is preferable that the applied pressure has a size similar to that of the human finger. When the same pressure is applied at a constant speed along each reference pattern, the touch input device detects a capacitance change amount or an electrical characteristic value with respect to the applied pressure. Since the detection of the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value has been described above, the description thereof will be omitted. The detailed description of generating the reference data is replaced with FIG. 22 and the description above.

The capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value detected for a plurality of reference points overlapping or on the reference pattern is used to generate the reference data. The reference data includes the position (x, y) of each reference point and the capacitance change amount z.

Again, referring to FIG. 34, a step (S3430) of generating set profile data for each region will be described.

The set profile data is generated by different methods for each area by dividing the display surface of the cover layer of the touch input device into a center area and other remaining areas (edge area and corner area).

The set profile data of the reference point located in the center area and overlapping with the reference pattern includes the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the reference point on the reference pattern recorded in the reference data and the capacitance change amount (or electrical value) of the reference point recorded in the modeling profile data. The deviation value, which is a difference of the characteristic value), is generated in addition to the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the reference point recorded in the modeling profile data.

The set profile data of any point located in the center area and not overlapping with the reference pattern calculates the deviation value of the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of each of the plurality of reference points adjacent to the arbitrary point, and calculates a plurality of calculated The deviation value of the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of an arbitrary point is calculated by using the deviation value of the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of each reference point and linear interpolation method, and the calculated capacitance change amount of any point The deviation value (or electrical characteristic value) is generated in addition to the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of any point recorded in the modeling profile data.

The set profile data of any point located in other areas (edge area and corner area) is calculated by multiplying the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of any point recorded in the modeling profile data by a predetermined scaling factor. do. Here, the scaling factor is a ratio of the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) recorded in the modeling profile data at one point of the center region nearest to an arbitrary point and the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) recorded in the reference data. to be. Here, the 'one point of the center region' closest to any point may be a reference point or a point located between two reference points.

More specifically, a method of generating set profile data will be described by way of example with reference to FIGS. 35 to 40.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of generating set profile data for each region illustrated in FIG. 34.

Referring to FIG. 35, in the generating of the set profile data for each region (S3430), the display surface of the cover layer of the predetermined touch input device may be divided into a plurality of predefined regions (S3510). In operation S3530, the set profile data of each of the regions of the apparatus is generated in a different manner.

Referring to FIG. 36 to describe the operation S3510 of dividing the display surface of the predetermined touch input device into a plurality of predefined areas.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating an example of dividing a display surface of a touch input device into a plurality of predefined areas.

Referring to FIG. 36, a display surface of a predetermined touch input device is divided into three regions.

The display surface of the touch input device illustrated in FIG. 36 is divided into 432 (27 horizontal and 16 vertical) pointers. 69 of the 432 pointers are reference points overlapping with the reference pattern and correspond to the calibration pointer Cp. The calibration pointer Cp shown in FIG. 36 coincides with the reference pattern shown in FIG. 20B.

Three areas divided in FIG. 36 include a center area 910 including 'Cp' and 'c', an edge area 930 including 'E', and 'Cr'. It is a corner area (950).

The center area 910 is an area including a reference point (or a calibration pointer Cp) on the reference pattern. The center area 910 is defined by a plurality of reference points. The center area 910 is defined as a predetermined area that connects virtual lines connecting the outermost reference points among the plurality of reference points Cp. There may be no reference point or one or more reference points within the center area 910.

Center area 910 also includes an arbitrary point c. An arbitrary point c is located between the plurality of reference points Cp.

The edge area 930 and the corner area 950 are defined as areas other than the center area 910 on the display surface of the touch input device.

The edge region 930 includes an upper region 931 located on the center region 910, a lower region 932 located below the center region 910, a left region 933 located to the left of the center region 910, and a center region. 910 includes a right region 934 located on the right side.

The corner area 950 is an area excluding the center area 910 and the edge area 930 on the display surface of the touch input device. The corner area 950 is an upper area 931, a lower area 932, and a left area of the edge area 930. It is defined as an area located between two areas of the 933 and the right area 934. More specifically, the corner area 950 may include a first corner area 951 located between the upper area 931 and the right area 934, and a second corner located between the right area 934 and the lower area 932. Region 952, a third corner region 953 located between lower region 932 and left region 933, and a fourth corner region 954 positioned between left region 933 and upper region 931. do.

Edge region 930 and corner region 950 include arbitrary points E and Cr.

Again, referring to FIG. 35, step S3530 of generating set profile data for each of the divided regions in a different method will be described.

In operation S3530, the set profile data for each of the plurality of regions is generated in a different manner. The set profile data of the center region 910 and the set of the edge region 930 and the corner region 950 shown in FIG. This step is to generate profile data in different ways.

First, a method of generating set profile data of the center area 910 shown in FIG. 36 will be described with reference to FIGS. 37 and 38.

FIG. 37 is a diagram for describing a method of generating set profile data of the center area 910 illustrated in FIG. 36.

In FIG. 37, A, B, D, and E refer to four adjacent reference points among the plurality of reference points Cp shown in FIG. 36. Pc1, Pc2, Pc3 correspond to any point existing between four reference points (A, B, D and E).

z1 is the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) at reference point A, z2 is the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) at reference point B, and z3 is the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) at reference point D. , z4 is the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) at the reference point E, and z1, z2, z3 and z4 are obtained from the previously generated reference data.

In order to generate the set profile data of the center area 910 shown in FIG. 36, first, the deviation values Δz1, Δz2, Δz3, and Δz4 of each reference point are calculated. The deviation value of the reference point uses modeling profile data generated in step S3210 of FIG. 32 and reference data generated in step S3410 of FIG. 34. Data relating to the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of all the reference points A, B, D, and E are recorded in the reference data and the modeling profile data, respectively. The deviation value for each reference point is defined as the difference between the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the specific reference point recorded in the reference data and the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the specific reference point recorded in the modeling profile data. As a specific example, the deviation value Δz1 of the reference point A is defined as the difference between the capacitance change amount z1 of the reference point A recorded in the reference data and the capacitance change amount of the reference point A recorded in the modeling profile data.

Deviation values (Δz1, Δz2, Δz3, Δz4) of each reference point were calculated, and random positions positioned between four reference points (A, B, D, and E) by using the calculated deviation value of each reference point and linear interpolation. The amount of change in capacitance (or electrical characteristic value) at points Pc1, Pc2, and Pc3 is calculated.

A linear interpolation method for calculating the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of any point Pc1, Pc2, Pc3 located between four reference points A, B, D, and E will be described with reference to FIG. 38. do.

FIG. 38 is a view for explaining a linear interpolation method for calculating the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of arbitrary points Pc1, Pc2, and Pc3 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 38, A, B, D, and E correspond to the four reference points A, B, D, and E shown in FIG. 37, and P (x, y, z) corresponds to four reference points (A, B, As an arbitrary point between D and E), it means any one of Pc1, Pc2, and Pc3 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 38, the capacitance change amount z at any point P may be calculated by the following process.

First, the capacitance change amount z5 at point P5 and the capacitance change amount z6 at point P6 are estimated by linear interpolation. Here, the point P5 is the foot of the waterline which fell from the arbitrary point P on the imaginary straight line which connects the reference point A and the reference point B, and the point P6 is the imaginary straight line which connects the reference point D and the reference point E from the arbitrary point P. It is the foot of the repair.

The capacitance change amount z5 of the point P5 located between the reference point A and the reference point B is linearly estimated from the ratio of the straight line distance between the point P5 and the reference point A and the straight line distance between the point P5 and the reference point B (a: b). The capacitance change amount z6 of the point P6 between the reference point D and the reference point E is linearly estimated from the ratio (a: b) of the linear distance between the point P6 and the reference point D and the linear distance between the point P6 and the reference point E. Can be.

Next, if the capacitance change amount z5 at point P5 and the capacitance change amount z6 at point P6 are estimated by linear interpolation, then the capacitance change amount z at any point P located between points P5 and P6 is z. ) Is estimated by linear interpolation. Here, the capacitance change amount z at any point P is linear from the ratio (c: d) of the distance between any point P and point P5 and the distance between any point P and point P6. Can be estimated.

On the contrary, the capacitance change amount z at any point P estimates the capacitance change amount z7 at point P7 and the capacitance change amount z8 at point P8 by linear interpolation, and the estimated capacitance at point P7 is estimated. Using the change amount z7 and the capacitance change amount z8 at point P8, the capacitance change amount z at any point P can be estimated by linear interpolation.

On the other hand, without using z1, z2, z3, and z4 directly, the deviation values (Δz1, Δz2, Δz3, Δz4) calculated before z1, z2, z3, and z4 are used as the blackout of the reference points A, B, D, and E. Substituting the capacitance change amount value, the deviation value of the capacitance change amount at any point P can be estimated by the above-described method.

And the set profile of any point P in the center area 910 by adding the calculated deviation value of the capacitance change amount of any point P to the capacitance change amount of any point P recorded in the modeling profile data. You can generate data.

In this way, it is possible to generate set profile data for all arbitrary points P between the four reference points A, B, D, E in the center area 910.

Again, referring to FIG. 36, a method of generating set profile data of the edge area 930 will be described. Referring to FIG. 39, a method of generating set profile data of the edge area 930 is described.

FIG. 39 is a diagram for describing a method of generating set profile data of the edge area 930 illustrated in FIG. 36.

In FIG. 39, A and D are reference points, P7 is a point in the center area 910 located between the reference point A and the reference point D, and P is an edge area 930, more specifically, the left area (FIG. 9). 933).

Referring to FIG. 39, in order to generate the set profile data of any point P in the edge area 930, first, the capacitance change amount of P7, which is a point in the center area 910 which is the nearest to any point P, is shown. Estimate (z7). Specifically, the capacitance change amount z7 of the point P7 located between the reference point A and the reference point D is linear from the ratio (c: d) of the straight line distance between the point P7 and the reference point A and the straight line distance between the point P7 and the reference point D. Estimates by enemy.

Here, if the deviation values Δz1 and Δz3 calculated before z1 and z3 are substituted, the deviation value of the capacitance change amount of P7 between the reference point A and the reference point D can be estimated.

The set profile data of P7 may be generated by adding the estimated deviation value of the capacitance change of P7 to the capacitance change amount of P7 recorded in the modeling profile data.

Alternatively, since P7 is a point included in the center area 910, the capacitance change amount z7 of P7 may be obtained from the set profile data of the center area 910 calculated above.

The capacitance change amount z of any point P in the edge region 930 is calculated by multiplying the scaling factor by the capacitance change amount value of any point P recorded in the modeling profile data.

Here, the scaling factor is the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) and reference data recorded in the modeling profile data at P7, which is a point in the center region 910 that is closest to any point P in the edge region 930. Is the ratio of capacitance change (or electrical characteristic value) recorded in Specifically, the scaling factor is obtained by dividing the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of P7 recorded in the modeling profile data by the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of P7 recorded in the reference data, or recorded in the reference data. The capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of P7 may be divided by the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of P7 recorded in the modeling profile data.

The calculated scaling factor may be multiplied by the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of any point P recorded in the modeling profile data to generate set profile data of any point P in the edge area 930. .

Again, a method of generating set profile data of the corner area 950 will be described with reference to FIG. 36. 40 to describe a method of generating set profile data of the corner area 950.

40 is a diagram for describing a method of generating set profile data of the corner area 950 illustrated in FIG. 36.

In FIG. 40, O is a reference point, and P is any point located within corner area 950, more specifically, second corner area 952 in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 40, in order to generate set profile data of any point P in the corner area 950, a scaling factor at a reference point O closest to any point P of the plurality of reference points is calculated. . The scaling factor at the reference point O is defined as the ratio of the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the reference point O recorded in the modeling profile data and the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the reference point O recorded in the reference data. Specifically, the scaling factor is obtained by dividing the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the reference point O recorded in the modeling profile data by the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the reference point O recorded in the reference data, or the reference data. The capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the recorded reference point O may be divided by the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of the reference point O recorded in the modeling profile data.

When the scaling factor at the reference point O closest to any point P among the plurality of reference points is calculated, the calculated scaling factor is used as the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) of any point P recorded in the modeling profile data. ) May be generated to generate the set profile data of any point P in the corner area 950.

Again, the sensitivity correction step S3250 will be described with reference to FIG. 32.

When the set profile data is generated (S3230), the sensitivity correction step (S3250) is performed.

Sensitivity correction step (S3250) calculates the correction coefficients for all points including the reference point and any point on the reference pattern, the calculated correction coefficient to the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) corresponding to the position of each point When multiplied, the amount of capacitance change (or electrical characteristic value) finally detected has a uniform value as a whole.

Here, the correction factor may be an inverse of the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) recorded in the set profile data. Alternatively, the correction coefficient may be a value obtained by multiplying the inverse of the capacitance change amount (or electrical characteristic value) recorded in the set profile data by a predetermined target value. For example, if the target value is 3000 and the capacitance change amount (detected by applying direct pressure) at the reference point A is 962, the correction factor at the reference point A may be 1/962, and the product is 3000 multiplied by the target value. / 962 may be a correction factor. Further, if the target value is 3000 and the capacitance change amount at any point x is 1024, the correction coefficient at any point x may be 1/1024, and 3000/1024 multiplied by the target value is the correction coefficient. It can also be

As described above, the pressure sensitivity correction method according to the embodiment of the present invention generates the set profile data by using the modeling profile data and the reference data, and divides the display surface of the touch input device into a plurality of regions for each of the divided regions. Set profile data is generated in different ways, and the generated set profile data is used to correct the sensitivity. Therefore, a uniform pressure sensitivity can be achieved throughout the display surface of the touch input device, and in particular, continuous sensitivity at the boundary between the center region and the edge region, the boundary between the center region and the corner region, and the boundary between the edge region and the corner region can be achieved. There is an advantage that can be corrected to have.

In addition, since the reference data is generated by the set reference pattern, there is an advantage that the correction time of the pressure sensitivity correction method can be significantly shortened.

On the other hand, the present invention can be implemented in the form of a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing each step included in the touch pressure sensitivity correction method described above.

Program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the computer software arts.

Computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magneto-optical media such as floptical disks. And hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like.

The program instructions may include not only machine code, such as produced by a compiler, but also high-level language code, which may be executed by a computer using an interpreter, and the like.

The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to carry out the process according to the invention, and vice versa.

Features, structures, effects, etc. described in the above embodiments are included in one embodiment of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to one embodiment. Furthermore, the features, structures, effects, and the like illustrated in the embodiments may be combined or modified with respect to other embodiments by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong. Therefore, contents related to such combinations and modifications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

In addition, the above description has been made with reference to the embodiment, which is merely an example and is not intended to limit the present invention. It will be appreciated that various modifications and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiment can be modified. And differences relating to such modifications and applications will have to be construed as being included in the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

1000 ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ Touch input device
100 ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ Cover layer

Claims (18)

A probe which presses the surface of the cover layer of the touch input device at a predetermined constant pressure and applies a constant and continuous pressure to the surface of the cover layer while moving along a preset reference pattern while being in contact with the surface of the cover layer; Moving step;
In response to the movement of the probe, generating reference data for capacitance change amounts or electrical characteristic values at a plurality of reference points overlapping the reference pattern; And
A touch pressure sensitivity correction step of correcting the touch pressure sensitivity of the touch input device based on the generated reference data;
Comprising a touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device.
The method of claim 1,
And the reference pattern is at least one of a plurality of horizontal patterns, a plurality of vertical patterns, a zigzag pattern, and a spiral pattern virtually drawn on the surface of the cover layer.
The method of claim 1, wherein the touch pressure sensitivity correction step,
An interpolation data generation step of generating interpolation data corresponding to a capacitance change amount or an electrical characteristic value for any point existing between the plurality of reference points overlapping the reference pattern;
A correction coefficient calculating step of calculating a correction coefficient for correcting the sensitivity of the touch input device to a target value based on the reference data and the interpolation data, for each of the plurality of reference points and the arbitrary points; And
A sensitivity correction step of uniformly correcting the touch pressure sensitivity of the touch input device by applying the calculated correction coefficient to each corresponding point;
Comprising a touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device.
The method of claim 3, wherein
The correction coefficient corresponds to a value obtained by dividing the target value by the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value recorded in the reference data and the interpolation data, and calculated for each of the plurality of reference points and arbitrary points. Touch pressure sensitivity correction method.
The method of claim 3, wherein
The interpolation data generation step,
Generating a base profile based on at least two profiles;
Generating delta data from the base profile to calculate capacitance variation or electrical characteristic values corresponding to the plurality of reference points and deviation of the reference data; And
Calculating an amount of change in capacitance or an electrical characteristic value for the arbitrary point based on the delta data;
Comprising a touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device.
The method of claim 5,
The profile is a touch pressure sensitivity correction method of a touch input device, wherein the profile is data recorded by applying the same pressure to the plurality of touch input devices manufactured in the same process with respect to a plurality of coordinates, and the amount of change in capacitance or electrical characteristics detected.
The method of claim 5,
The interpolation data generation step,
And generating interpolation data corresponding to the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value for the arbitrary point based on the separation distance from the plurality of reference points and the delta data.
The method of claim 5,
The interpolation data generation step,
A function is calculated based on the coordinates of the plurality of reference points and the delta data, and the coordinates of the arbitrary points are substituted into the function to generate interpolation data corresponding to the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value for the arbitrary points. The touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device.
The method of claim 1,
A modeling profile data generation step of generating modeling profile data based on the collected plurality of profile data; And
Generating set profile data based on the modeling profile data and the reference data;
Further comprising, the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device.
The method of claim 9,
The modeling profile data generation step,
And generating the modeling profile data by calculating an average value of the collected plurality of profile data.
The method of claim 9,
The set profile data generation step,
And generating set profile data for each of the plurality of areas by different methods by dividing the surface of the cover layer of the touch input device into at least two or more areas. How to calibrate the touch pressure sensitivity of the input device.
The method of claim 11, wherein the generating of the set profile data for each region comprises:
The surface of the cover layer of the touch input device is divided into a center area and a remaining area, wherein the center area is formed by connecting the reference points positioned at the outermost of the plurality of reference points with a virtual line,
The set profile data of the reference point located in the center area is a difference between the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value of the reference point recorded in the reference data and the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value of the reference point recorded in the modeling profile data. A deviation value is generated in addition to the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value of the reference point recorded in the modeling profile data,
The set profile data of any point located within the center area calculates a deviation value of the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value of each of the plurality of reference points adjacent to the arbitrary point, and calculates the electrostatic of each of the plurality of reference points. The deviation value of the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value of the arbitrary point is calculated using the deviation value of the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value and the linear interpolation method, and the calculated deviation value of the arbitrary point is recorded in the modeling profile data. And generating in addition to the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value of the predetermined point.
The method of claim 12,
And the linear interpolation method uses a ratio of distances from the arbitrary point to the plurality of reference points.
The method of claim 11,
The generating of the set profile data for each region may include:
The surface of the cover layer of the touch input device is divided into a center area and a remaining area, wherein the center area is formed by connecting the reference points positioned at the outermost of the plurality of reference points with a virtual line,
The set profile data of any point in the remaining area is calculated by multiplying the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value of the arbitrary point recorded in the modeling profile data by a predetermined scaling factor,
The scaling factor is a ratio of the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value recorded in the modeling profile data at one point of the center region closest to the arbitrary point and the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value recorded in the reference data; ,
Wherein one point of the center area is a point located between the arbitrary point and the closest reference point or between two reference points.
The method of claim 14, wherein the scaling factor is
A value obtained by dividing the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value recorded in the modeling profile data at one point of the center region closest to the arbitrary point by the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value recorded in the reference data, or
A touch input device, which is a value obtained by dividing the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value recorded in the reference data at one point of the center region closest to the arbitrary point by the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value recorded in the modeling profile data. Touch pressure sensitivity correction method.
The method of claim 9,
A sensitivity correction step of correcting the sensitivity based on the set profile data,
The sensitivity correction step, the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device by multiplying the capacitance change amount or electrical characteristic value in the set profile data by a predetermined correction coefficient.
The method of claim 16,
And the correction coefficient is a reciprocal of the capacitance change amount or the electrical characteristic value recorded in the set profile data or a value obtained by multiplying the reciprocal by a predetermined target value.
The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program which performs the touch pressure sensitivity correction method of the touch input device in any one of Claims 1-17.

Images