KR102238324B1 - Touch sensor integrated ttype display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch sensor-integrated display device capable of preventing an increase in the number of processes and deterioration of image quality and increasing touch sensitivity, and includes a plurality of gate lines and data lines arranged to cross each other, and a plurality of pixel electrodes. And a common electrode. The pixel electrodes are respectively disposed in regions defined by intersections of a plurality of gate lines and data lines. The common electrode is disposed opposite to the plurality of pixel electrodes. The plurality of gate lines are grouped into at least two units to constitute a plurality of first touch electrodes. The plurality of data lines are grouped into at least two units to constitute a plurality of second touch electrodes.

Description

Touch sensor integrated display device {TOUCH SENSOR INTEGRATED TTYPE DISPLAY DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a touch sensor integrated display device capable of recognizing a user's touch.

Recently, various input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, and a digitizer have been used to construct an interface between a user and a home appliance or various information and communication devices. However, using the input device as described above has a problem in that it is necessary to learn how to use and cause inconvenience such as occupying space. Accordingly, the demand for an input device that is convenient and simple and capable of reducing malfunctions is increasing day by day. In response to such a request, a touch sensor has been proposed in which a user directly contacts a screen with a finger or a pen to input information.

The touch sensor is applied to a variety of display devices because it is simple, has few malfunctions, and can be input without using a separate input device, as well as the convenience that the user can quickly and easily operate through the contents displayed on the screen. have.

Depending on the structure, the touch sensor can be divided into an add-on type and an on-cell type. In the upper plate attachment type, a touch panel on which a display device and a touch sensor are formed is separately manufactured, and then the touch panel is attached to the upper plate of the display device. The top plate integrated type is a method of directly forming a touch sensor on the surface of an upper glass substrate of a display device.

The top plate attachment type has a structure in which a completed touch panel is mounted on a display device, and is thick, and the brightness of the display device is darkened, thereby reducing visibility.

On the other hand, in the case of the integrated upper plate, a separate touch sensor is formed on the upper surface of the display device, and the thickness can be reduced compared to the upper plate attached type. There was a problem in that the thickness increased and the number of processes increased, resulting in an increase in manufacturing price.

Accordingly, a need for a touch sensor integrated display device capable of solving the problems caused by the prior art has emerged, and a touch sensor integrated display device such as Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0110906 is known.

The touch sensor integrated display device disclosed in the above publication eliminates the need to form separate touch electrodes by dividing a common electrode for a display to serve as touch electrodes for touch driving and sensing. Accordingly, the touch sensor-integrated display device can solve the problems of the upper plate-mounted type and the upper plate-integrated touch sensor.

However, since the touch sensor-integrated display device disclosed in the above publication requires a separate wiring for forming a touch electrode by dividing a common electrode and connecting them, a separate process for forming these wirings is not only required. There is a problem in that image quality and touch sensitivity are deteriorated due to an increase in parasitic capacitance due to these wirings.

The present invention is to solve the above-described conventional problem, and a first touch electrode (touch driving electrode or touch sensing electrode) and a second touch electrode (touch sensing electrode or touch driving electrode) for recognizing a touch of a display device are provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a touch sensor-integrated display device capable of preventing an increase in the number of processes and deterioration of image quality and increasing touch sensitivity by using a combination of a display device component.

To achieve the above object, the touch sensor integrated display device of the present invention includes a plurality of gate lines and data lines arranged to cross each other, a plurality of pixel electrodes and a common electrode. The pixel electrodes are respectively disposed in regions defined by intersections of a plurality of gate lines and data lines. The common electrode is disposed opposite to the plurality of pixel electrodes. The plurality of gate lines are grouped into at least two units to constitute a plurality of first touch electrodes. The plurality of data lines are grouped into at least two units to constitute a plurality of second touch electrodes.

In the present invention, gate pulses are sequentially supplied to the gate lines during a display period constituting a partial period of one frame period, and data signals are supplied to the plurality of pixel poles through the data lines, and the one frame period During the touch section constituting the rest of the period, a touch driving voltage is supplied to any one of the plurality of first touch electrodes and the plurality of second touch electrodes, and the other plurality of touch electrodes Are sensed.

In addition, the touch sensor integrated display device further includes a plurality of first connection wirings connecting the plurality of gate lines in at least two units, and a plurality of second connection wirings connecting the plurality of data lines in at least two units. .

In addition, a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of first connection wires may be formed on the substrate, and a plurality of data lines and a plurality of second connection wires may be formed on the gate insulating layer.

In addition, a plurality of pixel electrodes are formed on the gate insulating layer, and are disposed to be spaced apart from a plurality of data lines and a plurality of second connection lines.

In addition, the touch sensor integrated display device further includes first routing wires for respectively connecting a plurality of first connection wires to the touch sensor processor, and a plurality of second routing wires for each connecting a plurality of second connection wires to the touch processor. Includes.

In the touch sensor integrated display device according to the present invention, it is not necessary to separately form touch electrodes for touch sensing in the pixel region, and it is necessary to divide the common electrode and form a separate wiring for connecting the divided common electrodes. There will be no. Accordingly, not only unnecessary processes are omitted, but also parasitic capacitance generated by unnecessary wiring formed in the pixel area can be removed, thereby preventing deterioration of image quality and improving touch sensitivity. have.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a touch sensor integrated display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view schematically showing the display device illustrated in FIG. 1;
3 is a plan view schematically showing a structure of a touch sensor of a display device with an integrated touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a plan view showing a 1-pixel area of a display device integrated with a touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II′ shown in FIG. 4.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers throughout the specification mean substantially the same elements. In the following description, a touch sensor-integrated liquid crystal display device will be described in detail as an example of a touch sensor-integrated display device.

First, a touch sensor integrated display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a touch sensor integrated display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial exploded perspective view schematically illustrating the touch sensor integrated display device illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, a touch sensor integrated liquid crystal display according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a liquid crystal display panel (LCP), a host controller 10, a timing controller 11, a data driver 12, and a gate driver 13. , A power supply unit 15, a touch sensor processor 17, and the like.

The liquid crystal display panel LCP includes a color filter array CFA and a thin film transistor array TFTA formed with a liquid crystal layer (not shown) therebetween.

1 and 2, a thin film transistor array TFTA includes a plurality of gate lines G1 to Gm formed parallel to each other in a first direction (eg, x direction) on a first substrate SUB1, Data lines D1 to Dn, the gate lines G1 to Gm, and data formed parallel to each other in a second direction (e.g., y direction) to cross each other with the plurality of gate lines G1 to Gm Thin film transistors TFT formed in a region where lines D1 to Dn intersect, a plurality of pixel electrodes Px for charging a data voltage to liquid crystal cells, and facing the plurality of pixel electrodes Px It includes a common electrode (not shown) arranged so as to be.

In the touch sensor-integrated display device according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gate lines G1 to Gm are grouped into several units by a first connection wiring, and the first touch electrode (touch driving electrode) is Alternatively, it also functions as a touch sensing electrode), and the data lines D1 to Dn are grouped into several units by a second connection wiring to function as a second touch electrode (a touch sensing electrode or a touch driving electrode).

The common electrode is formed on the second substrate SUB2 in a vertical electric field driving method such as TN (Twisted Nematic) mode and VA (Vertical Alignment) mode. In the horizontal electric field driving method, it is formed on the first substrate SUB1 together with the pixel electrode Px. In the following embodiments of the present invention, a horizontal electric field driving method is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied to a vertical electric field driving method.

Hereinafter, a thin film transistor array (TFTA) of a touch sensor integrated display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. 3 is a plan view schematically showing a structure of a touch sensor of a display device with integrated touch sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a pixel area of a display device with integrated touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II′ shown in FIG. 4.

First, referring to FIG. 3, a touch sensor of a thin film transistor array TFTA according to an embodiment of the present invention groups gate lines G1 to Gm arranged in a first direction (eg, an x-axis direction). A plurality of first connection wirings TCL1 to TCLx for grouping (x is a natural number) and data lines D1 to Dn arranged in a second direction (eg, y-axis direction) It includes second connection wires RCL1 to RCLy (y is a natural number).

The first connection lines TCL1 to TCLx constitute a plurality of first touch electrodes TX1 to TXx together with the gate lines G1 to Gm, and the second connection lines RCL1 to RCLy are data lines. Together with the s D1 ˜Dn, a plurality of second touch electrodes RX1 ˜ RXy are formed.

In the integrated touch sensor display device according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3, gate lines G1 to Gm and data lines D1 to Dn are grouped into four units, respectively. However, this is merely illustrative for convenience of description, and may be grouped into at least two or more, and thus may be grouped into units of fewer or greater numbers.

The touch sensor of the touch sensor-integrated display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is also connected to a plurality of first connection wires TCL1 to TCLx, respectively, to allow the plurality of first touch electrodes TX1 to TXx to be touch-recognized. (17) A plurality of first routing wires (TW1 to TWx) and a plurality of second connection wires (RCL1 to RCLy) connected to the second touch electrodes (RX1 to RXy) is connected to the touch recognition processor ( It includes second routing wires RW1 to RWy connected to 17).

Next, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the touch sensor integrated display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes gate lines GL and data lines DL formed to cross each other on a first substrate SUB1. And, the thin film transistors TFT formed in the crossing regions of the gate lines GL and the data lines DL, and a region defined by the crossing of the gate lines GL and the data lines DL. And a common electrode COM formed to face the pixel electrodes Px and the pixel electrodes Px formed in the pixel electrode Px.

The gate lines GL and G1 to Gm are formed on the first substrate SUB1. The gate lines GL and G1 to Gm are connected to each other by first connection lines TCL1 to TCLx in at least two units (four gate line units in the example of FIG. 3 ), as shown in FIG. 3. It is connected to the touch recognition processor 17 through the 1-1 touch routing wires TW1 to TWx.

The thin film transistor TFT is formed on the first substrate SUB1 and extends from the gate line GL, and the gate insulating layer GI covering the gate line GL and the gate electrode GE. ), an active layer A formed in a region corresponding to the gate electrode GE, a source electrode SE extending from the data line DL formed on the active layer A, the source electrode SE, and It includes a drain electrode DE formed to face each other.

The data lines DL and D1 to Dn are formed on the gate insulating layer GI. The data lines DL and D1 to Dm are connected to each other by second connection wirings RCL1 to RCLy in at least two units (four data line units in the example of FIG. 3), as shown in FIG. 3. It is connected to the touch recognition processor 17 through the second touch routing wires RW1 to RWy.

The pixel electrode Px is formed on the gate insulating film GI, and one end thereof is connected to the drain electrode DE. One end of the drain electrode DE is formed to cover one end of the pixel electrode Px, so that the drain electrode DE of the thin film transistor TFT and the pixel electrode Px are directly connected.

The thin film transistor TFT and the pixel electrode Px formed as described above are covered with a first passivation layer PAS1, and a second passivation layer PAS2 is formed thereon for planarization.

The common electrode COM is formed on the second passivation layer PAS2 to overlap the pixel electrodes Px.

The pixel electrodes Px formed on the first passivation layer PAS1 are formed to have no slit, and the common electrode COM formed on the second passivation layer PAS2 is formed to have a slit SL.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, a configuration in which the pixel electrode Px is formed on the gate insulating layer GI and is directly connected to the drain electrode DE has been described, but the pixel electrode Px is the first passivation layer PAS1. It may be formed on the top. In this case, the pixel electrode Px may be connected to the drain electrode DE through a contact hole penetrating the first passivation layer PAS1.

The color filter array CFA includes a black matrix and a color filter formed on the second substrate SUB2, and a column spacer (not shown) for maintaining a cell gap of a liquid crystal cell.

Polarizing plates POL1 and POL2 are attached to the outer surfaces of the first substrate SUB1 of the thin film transistor array TFTA and the second substrate SUB2 of the color filter array CFA, respectively, as shown in FIG. Alignment layers (not shown) for setting the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal are formed on inner surfaces of the first and second substrates SUB1 and SUB2 in contact with each other.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a description will be given of driving the touch sensor-integrated display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3, the gate driver 13 sequentially outputs a gate pulse (or scan pulse) in a display mode under the control of the timing controller 11 and converts the swing voltage of the output to a gate high voltage (VGH). And the gate low voltage (VGL). The gate pulse output from the gate driver 13 is sequentially supplied to the gate lines G1 to Gm in synchronization with the data voltage output from the data driver 12. The gate high voltage VGH is a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold voltage of the thin film transistor TFT, and the gate low voltage VGL is a voltage lower than the threshold voltage of the thin film transistor TFT. The gate driving ICs (Integrated Circuits) of the gate driver 13 are connected to the gate lines G1 to Gm formed on the first substrate SUB1 of the thin film transistor array TFTA through a Tape Automated Bonding (TAP) process, or It may be directly formed on the first substrate SUB1 of the thin film transistor array TFTA together with the pixels through a gate in panel (GIP) process.

The data driver 12 samples and latches digital video data RGB under the control of the timing controller 11. The data driver 12 reverses the polarity of the data voltage of the digital video data RGB based on the positive/negative gamma compensation voltages GMA1 to GMAn supplied from the power supply 15 to generate positive/negative data. Output voltage. The positive/negative data voltage output from the data driver 12 is synchronized with the gate pulse output from the gate driver 13. Each of the source driving integrated circuits (ICs) of the data driver 12 may be connected to the data lines D1 to Dn of the display unit through a chip on glass (COG) process or a tape automated bonding (TAB) process. The source driving IC may be integrated in the timing controller 11 and implemented as a one chip IC (IC) together with the timing controller 11.

The timing controller 11 uses timing signals required for driving the display device supplied from the external host controller 10 to control the operation timing of the gate driver 13, the data driver 12, and the touch recognition processor 17. It generates timing control signals for controlling The timing control signals for controlling the operation timing of the gate driver 13 and the data driver 12 include a gate timing control signal for controlling the operation timing of the gate driver 13, and the operation timing and data of the data driver 12. It includes a data timing control signal for controlling the polarity of the voltage. Timing control signals for controlling the operation timing of the touch recognition processor 17 include a touch timing control signal for controlling the operation timing of the touch recognition processor 17.

The gate timing control signal includes a gate start pulse (GSP), a gate shift clock (GSC), a gate output enable signal (Gate Output Enable, GOE), and the like. The gate start pulse GSP is applied from the gate driver 13 to the first gate driving IC that first outputs a gate pulse every frame period to control the shift start timing of the gate driving IC. The gate shift clock GSC is a clock signal that is commonly input to the gate driving ICs of the gate driver 13 to shift the gate start pulse GSP. The gate output enable signal GOE controls the output timing of the gate driving ICs of the gate driver 13.

Data timing control signals include Source Start Pulse (SSP), Source Sampling Clock (SSC), Polarity Control Signal (Polarity: POL), and Source Output Enable Signal (Source Output Enable, SOE), etc. Includes. The source start pulse SSP is applied to the first source driver IC that samples data first by the data driver 12 to control the data sampling start timing. The source sampling clock SSC is a clock signal that controls the sampling timing of data in the source driving ICs based on a rising or falling edge. The polarity control signal POL controls the polarity of data voltages output from the source driving ICs. The source output enable signal SOE controls the output timing of the source driving ICs. When digital video data RGB is input to the data driver 12 through a mini LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) interface, the source start pulse SSP and the source sampling clock SSC may be omitted.

The power supply unit 15 is a DC-DC converter including a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) modulation circuit, a boost converter, a regulator, a charge pump, a voltage divider circuit, an operation amplifier, etc. Implemented with (DC-DC Converter). The power supply unit 15 adjusts the input voltage from the host controller 10 to provide a liquid crystal display panel (LCP), a data driver 12, a gate driver 13, a timing controller 11, a backlight unit (not shown), and And power required for driving the touch recognition processor 17 is generated.

Power output from the power supply unit 15 includes a high potential power voltage (VDD), a gate high voltage (VGH), a gate low voltage (VGL), a common voltage (Vcom), and positive/negative gamma reference voltages VGMA1 to VGMAn), touch driving voltage (Vtsp), and the like. Among these voltages, the common voltage Vcom is supplied to all the common electrodes COM under the control of the host controller 10 when the display is driven. The common voltage Vcom may be configured to be supplied to all common electrodes COM under the control of the timing controller 11. Meanwhile, the touch driving voltage Vtsp is supplied to the first touch electrodes Tx1 to TXx, respectively, under the control of the host controller 10 when the touch is driven. The touch driving voltage Vtsp may be configured to be supplied to the first touch electrodes Tx1 to TXx under the control of the timing controller 11. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is shown that the touch driving voltage Vtsp is supplied to the first touch electrodes Tx1 to TXx through the power supply 15, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the touch driving voltage Vtsp may be supplied to the first touch electrodes Tx1 to TXx through the touch recognition processor 17 controlled by the host controller 10 or the timing controller 11.

The host controller 10 provides digital video data (RGB) of an input image and timing signals (Vsync, Hsync, DE, MCLK) necessary for driving a display through LVDS interface (Low Voltage Difference Signaling) and TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling). It is transmitted to the timing controller 11 through an interface such as an interface. The host controller 10 also generates a control signal Vin so that the same common voltage Vcom can be supplied to the plurality of divided common electrodes COM when driving a display for displaying an image on the screen of the liquid crystal display. The power supply unit 15 supplies a control signal Vin so that the touch driving voltage Vtsp is supplied to the first touch electrodes Tx1 to TXx when a touch is driven for touch recognition. To supply.

The touch recognition processor 17 differentially amplifies the voltage of the initial exclusive amount and the voltage of the touch capacitance after the touch of each of the second touch electrodes RX1 to RXy, and converts the result into digital data. In addition, the touch recognition processor 17 determines the touch position where the touch was made based on the difference between the initial capacitance of each of the second touch electrodes RX1 to RXy and the capacitance measured after the touch using a touch recognition algorithm. , And outputs touch coordinate data indicating the touch position to the host controller 10.

As described above, the touch sensor integrated display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is operated by time-dividing one frame period in which one image is displayed into a display period and a touch period. That is, during the display period, gate pulses are sequentially supplied to the gate lines, data voltages are supplied from the data lines, and the screen is displayed. During the touch period, a touch driving voltage is applied to the grouped gate lines (first touch electrodes). Then, a change in mutual capacitance formed between the first touch electrodes and the grouped data lines (second touch electrodes) is sensed.

In the touch sensor integrated display device according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is not necessary to separately form touch electrodes for touch sensing in the pixel area, and separate wiring for dividing the common electrode and connecting the divided common electrodes. There is no need to form. Accordingly, not only unnecessary processes are omitted, but also parasitic capacitance generated by unnecessary wiring formed in the pixel area can be removed, thereby preventing deterioration of image quality and improving touch sensitivity. have.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art through the above description that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. For example, it is possible to change the first direction or the second direction described in the embodiment of the present invention in opposite directions, and change the gate lines to the second touch electrodes and the data lines to the first touch electrodes. It is also possible to do it. Further, the unit for grouping gate lines or data lines is not limited to a specific number described in the description of the embodiment. Further, in the description of the embodiment, a touch sensor-integrated liquid crystal display has been described as an example, but it is applicable to other display devices. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the invention, but should be determined by the claims.

10: host controller 11: timing controller
12: data driver 13: gate driver
15: power supply 17: touch recognition processor
GL, G1 to Gm: gate line DL, D1 to Dn: data line
TCL1 to TCLx: first connection wiring RCL1 to RCLy: second connection wiring
TX1 to TXx: first touch electrode RX1 to RXy: second touch electrode
TW1 to TWx: first routing wiring RW1 to RWy: second routing wiring

Claims (6)

A plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines arranged to cross each other;
A plurality of pixel electrodes respectively disposed in a region defined by an intersection of the plurality of gate lines and data lines; And
A common electrode disposed opposite to the plurality of pixel electrodes,
The plurality of gate lines are grouped into at least two units to constitute a plurality of first touch electrodes,
The plurality of data lines are grouped into at least two units to constitute a plurality of second touch electrodes,
During a display period constituting a partial period of one frame period, gate pulses are sequentially supplied to the gate lines to supply data signals to the plurality of pixel poles through the data lines,
During a touch section constituting the remaining period of the one frame period, a touch driving voltage is supplied to a plurality of touch electrodes of any one of the plurality of first touch electrodes and the plurality of second touch electrodes, and the remaining one A touch sensor integrated display device, characterized in that the plurality of touch electrodes are sensed.
delete The method of claim 1,
A plurality of first connection wirings connecting the plurality of gate lines in at least two units, and a plurality of second connection wirings connecting the plurality of data lines in at least two units All-in-one display device.
The method of claim 3,
The plurality of gate lines and the plurality of first connection wires are formed on a substrate,
The plurality of data lines and the plurality of second connection wirings are formed on the gate insulating layer.
The method of claim 4,
The plurality of pixel electrodes are formed on the gate insulating layer and are disposed to be spaced apart from the plurality of data lines and the plurality of second connection wirings.
The method of claim 3,
The first routing wires respectively connecting the plurality of first connection wires to the touch sensor processor, and a plurality of second routing wires respectively connecting the plurality of second connection wires to the touch processor. Touch sensor integrated display device.

Images