KR20070062692A - Display device and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A display device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided to prevent a touch sensor from damage by external pressure and keep sensitivity of the touch sensor constantly irrespective of positions. A lower substrate(100) faces the upper substrate(200). A pixel layer(115) is formed on the lower substrate. A detection electrode(196) is formed on the lower substrate. A touch sensing projection(240) is formed on the upper substrate and is projected to the detection electrode. A protective projection(321) is formed on the upper substrate and is projected to the detection electrode. A common electrode(270) is formed on the touch sensing projection. Height of the protective projection is higher than the touch sensing projection. A spacer(320) supports the upper and lower substrate between the touch sensing projection and the protective projection.

Description

Display device and manufacturing method thereof {DISPLAY DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF}

1 is a block diagram of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one pixel of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of an optical sensing unit of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a touch sensing unit of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch sensing unit of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the touch sensing unit when the touch sensing unit of the liquid crystal display according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is operated.

6A is a graph illustrating a thickness change of a photosensitive insulating material remaining according to a thickness of a mask according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a graph illustrating a change in thickness of the remaining photosensitive insulating material according to the distance between the mask and the photosensitive insulating material according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a display device and a manufacturing method thereof.

Typical liquid crystal displays (LCDs) among display devices include two display panels provided with pixel electrodes and a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer having dielectric anisotropy interposed therebetween. The pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix and connected to switching elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs) to receive image data voltages one by one. The common electrode is formed over the entire surface of the display panel and receives a common voltage. The pixel electrode, the common electrode, and the liquid crystal layer therebetween form a liquid crystal capacitor, and the liquid crystal capacitor becomes a basic unit that forms a pixel together with a switching element connected thereto.

In such a liquid crystal display, a voltage is applied to two electrodes to generate an electric field in the liquid crystal layer, and the intensity of the electric field is adjusted to adjust the transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer to obtain a desired image. In this case, in order to prevent deterioration caused by an electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer for a long time, the polarity of the image data voltage with respect to the common voltage is inverted frame by frame, row by pixel, or pixel by pixel.

A touch screen panel refers to a device that touches a finger or a pen on the screen to write and draw a character or a picture, or executes an icon to perform a desired command on a machine such as a computer. The liquid crystal display with a touch screen panel may find out whether the user's finger or a touch pen touches the screen and the contact position information.

However, a problem arises in that the touch sensing portion that determines whether or not the touch is damaged by pressure applied from the outside, and the touch sensing panel is not uniformly arranged or formed according to the position of the touch screen panel, resulting in an error in the touch sensing operation. Occurs.

Therefore, the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to prevent damage to the touch sensing unit by the pressure from the outside.

Another technical object of the present invention is to maintain a constant sensitivity of the touch sensing unit regardless of the position.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a display device includes: a first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate, a plurality of pixels formed on the second substrate, and a second substrate; A sensing electrode formed on the first substrate and protruding toward the sensing electrode, a protective protrusion formed on the first substrate and protruding toward the sensing electrode, and the touch sensing protrusion It includes a common electrode formed above.

The protective protrusion may be formed together with the touch sensing protrusion.

The height of the protective protrusion is preferably greater than the height of the touch sensing protrusion.

The protective protrusion may be 0 to 500 kV higher than the touch sensing protrusion.

The protective protrusion may be in contact with the sensing electrode.

The display device according to the above features may further include a spacer supporting the first substrate and the second substrate and formed between the contact sensing protrusion and the protective protrusion.

The height of the protective protrusion is preferably smaller than the spacer.

The spacer is preferably formed together with the contact detecting protrusion.

The spacer may be a column spacer.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a display device including a touch sensing unit, the method comprising: forming a blocking member on a substrate, applying an insulating material having a different thickness depending on a location on the blocking member or the substrate, and the insulating Irradiating light onto a material to form contact sensing protrusions, protective protrusions and spacers having different heights, forming a color filter on the substrate and the blocking member, and the color filter, the exposed blocking member and the contact. Applying a conductor over the sensing protrusion.

The height of the protective protrusion may be higher than the height of the touch sensing protrusion.

The height of the protective protrusion may be 0 to 500Å higher than the height of the touch sensing protrusion.

The height of the protective protrusion is preferably lower than the height of the spacer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention.

In the drawings, the thickness of layers, films, panels, regions, etc., are exaggerated for clarity. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the specification. When a part of a layer, film, region, plate, etc. is said to be "on" another part, this includes not only the other part being "right over" but also another part in the middle. On the contrary, when a part is "just above" another part, there is no other part in the middle.

A liquid crystal display, which is an embodiment of a display device of the present invention, will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one pixel of the liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a light sensing unit of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a touch sensing unit of a liquid crystal display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a liquid crystal panel assembly 300, an image scanning unit 400, an image data driver 500, and a sensing device connected thereto. And a gray voltage generator 550 connected to the scan unit 700, the signal reader 800, the image data driver 500, and a signal controller 600 for controlling them.

The liquid crystal panel assembly 300 is connected to a plurality of signal lines G ₁ -G _n , D ₁ -D _m , S ₁ -S _N , P ₁ -P _M , P _SG , and P _SD in an equivalent circuit. It includes a plurality of pixels and the sensing unit arranged in a substantially matrix form. On the contrary, in the structure shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal panel assembly 300 includes the lower and upper panel 100 and 200 facing each other, the liquid crystal layer 3 interposed therebetween, and the lower and upper panel 100. And a spacer (not shown) that forms a gap therebetween and is compressively deformed to some extent.

The signal lines G ₁ -G _n and D ₁ -D _m are a plurality of image scanning lines G ₁ -G _n transmitting the image scanning signals and image data lines D ₁ -D _m transmitting the image data signals. Include. The image scanning lines G ₁ -G _n extend substantially in the row direction and are substantially parallel to each other, and the image data lines D ₁ -D _m extend substantially in the column direction and are substantially parallel to each other.

The signal lines S ₁ -S _N and P ₁ -P _M include a plurality of sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N for transmitting a sensing scan signal and sensing signal lines P ₁ -P _M for transmitting a sensing signal. . The sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N extend approximately in the row direction and are substantially parallel to each other, and the sensing signal lines P ₁ -P _M extend substantially in the column direction and are substantially parallel to each other.

The signal lines P _SG and P _SD include a control voltage line P _SG for transmitting the control voltage V _SG and an input voltage line P _SD for transferring the input voltage V _SD , and extend in the row or column direction. have.

Each pixel includes a switching element Q connected to a signal line G ₁ -G _n , D ₁ -D _m , a liquid crystal capacitor C _LC , and a storage capacitor C _ST connected thereto. Include. The holding capacitor C _ST can be omitted as necessary.

The switching element Q is a three-terminal element such as a thin film transistor provided in the thin film transistor array panel 100, the control terminal of which is connected to the image scanning line G ₁ -G _n , and the input terminal of the thin film transistor display panel 100. D ₁ -D _m ) and the output terminals are connected to the liquid crystal capacitor (C _LC ) and the holding capacitor (C _ST ).

The liquid crystal capacitor C _LC uses the pixel electrode 191 of the thin film transistor array panel 100 and the common electrode 270 of the common electrode display panel 200 as two terminals, and the liquid crystal layer 3 between the two electrodes 191 and 270. ) Functions as a dielectric. The pixel electrode 191 is connected to the switching element Q, and the common electrode 270 is formed on the entire surface of the common electrode display panel 200 and receives the common voltage Vcom. Unlike in FIG. 2, the common electrode 270 may be provided in the thin film transistor array panel 100. In this case, at least one of the two electrodes 191 and 270 may be linear or rod-shaped.

The storage capacitor C _ST , which serves as an auxiliary part of the liquid crystal capacitor C _LC , has a separate signal line (not shown) provided on the thin film transistor array panel 100 and the pixel electrode 191 having an insulator interposed therebetween. In this case, a predetermined voltage such as the common voltage Vcom is applied to the separate signal line. However, the storage capacitor C _ST may be formed such that the pixel electrode 191 overlaps the front end image scanning line directly above the insulator.

On the other hand, in order to implement color display, each pixel uniquely displays one of the primary colors (spatial division) or each pixel alternately displays the primary colors over time (time division) so that the spatial colors of these primary colors can be displayed. In this way, the desired color can be recognized in time. Examples of the primary colors include three primary colors such as red, green, and blue. 2 illustrates that each pixel includes a color filter 230 representing one of the primary colors in an area of the common electrode display panel 200 corresponding to the pixel electrode 191. Unlike FIG. 2, the color filter 230 may be formed above or below the pixel electrode 191 of the thin film transistor array panel 100.

At least one polarizer (not shown) for polarizing light is attached to an outer surface of the liquid crystal panel assembly 300.

The sensing unit includes a light sensing unit and a touch sensing unit. The sensing unit may be included in the pixel or may be disposed in a separate area between the pixels or outside the pixel.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the light sensing unit includes a sensing element Q _P connected to the signal lines P _SG and P _SD and a switching element Q _S1 connected to a part of the signal lines S ₁ -S _N and P ₁ -P _M. ) And sense signal capacitor C _P connected thereto.

The sensing element Q _P is a three-terminal element whose control terminal and input terminal are connected to the control voltage line P _SG and the input voltage line P _SD, respectively, and the output terminal is a sensing signal capacitor C _P and a switching element. Is connected to (Q _S1 ). An opening is formed in the upper portion of the sensing element Q _P , and when light is irradiated to the channel semiconductor, a channel semiconductor made of amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon forms a photocurrent, and an input voltage applied to the input voltage line P _SD . The photocurrent flows in the direction of the sensing signal capacitor C _P and the switching element Q _S1 by V _SD .

The sensing signal capacitor C _{P is} connected between the sensing element Q _P and the control voltage line P _SG , and accumulates charges according to the photocurrent from the sensing element Q _P to maintain a predetermined voltage. The sensing signal capacitor C _P may be omitted as necessary.

The switching element Q _S1 is also a three-terminal element whose control terminals, output terminals and input terminals are part of the sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N , the sensing signal lines P ₁ -P _M and the sensing elements Q _P, respectively. Is connected to. The switching element Q _S1 is a voltage stored in the sensing signal capacitor C _P or the sensing element Q _P when a voltage for turning on the switching element Q _S1 is applied to the sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N. The photocurrent from is output as the detection signals V _P1 -V _PM to the corresponding detection signal lines P ₁ -P _M.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the touch sensing unit includes a switch SWT connected to the common voltage Vcom, a sensing element Q _T connected to the switch SWT, and a signal line P _SG , and a signal line S ₁ -S _N. , P ₁ -P _M ), which includes a switching element Q _S2 connected to a portion of the signal lines S ₁ -S _N and P ₁ -P _M. It is.

Switch (SWT) passes a common voltage (Vcom) according to the user's contact with the sensing element (Q _T).

The sensing element Q _T is a three-terminal element whose control terminal and input terminal are connected to the control voltage line P _SG and the switch SWT, respectively, and the output terminal is connected to the switching element Q _S2 . The sensing element Q _T outputs a sensing current according to the common voltage Vcom transferred from the switch SWT.

The switching element Q _S2 is also a three-terminal element, the control terminal, the output terminal and the input terminal of which are part of the sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N , the sensing signal lines P ₁ -P _M and the sensing elements Q _T, respectively. Is connected to. A switching element (Q _S2) detects the scanning line (S ₁ -S _N) to the switching elements when a voltage for turning on the (Q _S2) applied to the sensing element detects a touch sensing current from the (Q _T) signal (V _P1 -V _PM ) is output to the corresponding sensing signal lines P ₁ -P _M.

The switching elements Q, Q _S1 and Q _S2 and the sensing elements Q _P and Q _T may be formed of amorphous silicon or poly crystalline silicon thin film transistors.

Then, the structure and operation of the touch sensing unit will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5A to 6B.

FIG. 5A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a touch sensing unit of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B illustrates touch sensing when the touch sensing unit of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is operated. It is a figure which shows schematically the cross section of a part. 6A is a graph illustrating a thickness change of the remaining photosensitive insulating material according to the thickness of the mask according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B illustrates a mask and the photosensitive insulating material according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph which shows the thickness change of the photosensitive insulating material which remain | survives with the space | interval between them.

As illustrated in FIG. 5A, a pixel layer 115 is formed on an insulating substrate 110 made of transparent glass, plastic, or the like in the lower panel 100. A pixel, a sensing unit, and the like are formed in the pixel layer 115, and the input terminal electrode 196 of the sensing element Q _T of the touch sensing unit is exposed on the pixel layer 115.

In the upper panel 200 facing the lower panel 100, a light blocking member 220 is formed on an insulating substrate 210 made of transparent glass, plastic, or the like. The light blocking member 220 is also called a black matrix and prevents light leakage between pixels.

A plurality of column spacers 320, a plurality of contact sensing protrusions 240, and a plurality of protective protrusions 321 formed of an organic material are formed on the substrate 210 and the light blocking member 220.

The touch sensing protrusion 240 and the protective protrusion 321 are disposed corresponding to the position where the input terminal electrode 196 of the sensing element Q _T is formed, and the protective protrusion 321 is the touch sensing protrusion 240. Higher than, for example, about 0 to 500 kHz higher, but lower than the column spacer 320.

In addition, the protective protrusion 321 is formed near the contact detecting protrusion 240, and the number of the protective protrusion 321 is the same as the number of the touch detecting protrusion 240. However, the number of the protective protrusions 321 may be more or less than the number of the touch sensing protrusions 240.

In FIG. 5A, the protective protrusion 321 is in contact with the input terminal electrode 196 of the sensing element Q _T , but may not be in contact.

The column spacer 320 is uniformly distributed on the liquid crystal panel assembly 300 and forms a gap between the lower panel 100 and the upper panel 200.

These protrusions 240 and 321 and the column spacer 320 may be formed in a desired shape and height by applying and patterning a photosensitive insulating material made of an organic film or the like. That is, an organic film or the like is applied and the mask is aligned thereon, and then developed after irradiating light to the organic film through the mask. At this time, the amount of light irradiated to the organic film varies according to the thickness of the mask, the distance between the mask and the organic film, and the thickness of the organic film to be developed depends on the amount of light to be irradiated. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, as the thickness of the mask increases, the thickness of the remaining organic film increases, and as shown in FIG. 6B, as the gap between the mask and the organic film increases, the thickness of the remaining organic film decreases. In the case of Figure 6a is a result obtained after fixing the interval between the mask and the organic film 200 to 250㎛.

  Accordingly, the thicknesses of the masks, the intervals between the masks and the organic layers, etc. are appropriately adjusted to form the protrusions 240 and 321 and the column spacer 320 in a desired shape with different heights.

A plurality of color filters 230 are also formed on the substrate 210 and the light blocking member 220, and are arranged to almost fit into the opening region surrounded by the light blocking member 220. The color filter 230 may extend in the vertical direction along the pixel to form a stripe. Each color filter 230 may display one of primary colors such as three primary colors of red, green, and blue.

The common electrode 270 is formed on the color filter 230, the light blocking member 220, the exposed substrate 210, and the contact sensing protrusion 240. The common electrode 270 is preferably made of a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO). The common electrode 270 may be formed into a desired shape by applying a pattern to the conductor. The common voltage Vcom is applied to the common electrode 270. The common electrode 270 has the same boundary as the protective protrusion 321 and the column spacer 320.

In this case, an overcoat made of an (organic) insulator may be formed under the common electrode 270 to protect the color filter 230 and prevent the color filter 230 from being exposed.

An alignment layer (not shown) is applied on the inner surfaces of the display panels 100 and 200, and one or more polarizers (not shown) are disposed on the outer surfaces of the display panels 100 and 200. Not included).

The liquid crystal display may further include a sealant (not shown) that couples the lower panel 100 and the upper panel 200. The encapsulant is positioned at an edge of the upper panel 200.

A liquid crystal layer (not shown) is included between the lower panel 100 and the upper panel 200, and the two display panels 100 and 200 are supported by the plurality of column spacers 320, thereby providing a touch sensing protrusion ( The common electrode 270 surrounding the 240 and the input terminal electrode 196 maintain a constant interval, and the interval may be about 0.1 μm to 1.0 μm.

The two display panels 100 and 200 may be supported by beads spacers (not shown).

The common electrode 270 surrounding the touch sensing protrusion 240 and the input terminal electrode 196 form a switch SWT of the touch sensing unit.

As such, since the column spacer 230 is formed together with the touch sensing protrusion 240 under the color filter 230, the column spacer 230 is formed under the same conditions as the touch sensing protrusion 240, and thus different process conditions. Or problems with other process steps are reduced.

In addition, since the column spacer 230 is formed below the color filter 230, the gap between the column spacer 230 and the contact sensing protrusion 240 is not constant due to an imbalance such as the thickness of the color filter 230. The sensitivity of the touch sensing unit may be prevented from varying according to the position of the assembly 300.

5B is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a state where a user's finger or the like is in contact. As shown in Figure 5b, the upper panel 200 is detected in the common electrode 270. The lower panel 100 surrounds the projection 240 for by the pressure is pressed detect contact of the contact point portion of the contact element (Q _T ) Is electrically and physically connected to the input terminal electrode 196 of FIG. Accordingly, the common voltage (Vcom) is delivered to the input terminal electrode 196, the sensing element (Q _T) has shed the sense current.

At this time, since the protective protrusion 321 is in contact with the input terminal electrode 196 of the sensing element Q _T of the touch sensing unit, as shown in FIG. 5A, the pressure applied by the contact of a finger or the like is applied to the protective protrusion 321. Are distributed towards On the contrary, even if the protective protrusion 321 is not in contact with the input terminal electrode 196 of the sensing element Q _T , the height of the protective protrusion 321 is higher than that of the touch sensing protrusion 240 so that the touch sensing protrusion ( Since the protective protrusion 321 contacts the input terminal electrode 196 of the sensing element Q _T before the 240, the pressure from the outside is dispersed toward the protective protrusion 321. Therefore, the touch sensing protrusion 240 is prevented from being damaged due to excessive pressure applied to the touch sensing protrusion 240.

The light sensing unit has a resolution of 1/4 of the resolution of the liquid crystal display. As an example, the light sensing unit may be disposed in an area where the odd-numbered sensing scan line and the odd-numbered sensing signal line cross each other. Then, a liquid crystal display device having such an optical sensing unit may be used even in a high precision application field such as character recognition. Of course, the resolution of the light sensing unit may have a higher or lower resolution as necessary.

The touch sensing unit has a resolution equal to or less than that of the light sensing unit and is disposed in a pixel in which the light sensing unit is not disposed. As an example, the touch sensing unit may be disposed in an area where the odd-numbered sensing scan line and the even-numbered sensing signal line cross each other.

By placing the light sensing units in two vertically adjacent sensing regions, and connecting the two sensing scanning lines to each other, the sensing signals of the light sensing units can be superimposed on the same sensing signal line. The superimposed sensing signals not only reduce the characteristic variation of each optical sensing unit, but also double the signal to noise ratio to extract more accurate sensing signals. In this case, even though two light detectors are arranged vertically, one detection signal is actually output, so the resolution of the light detector is determined according to the detection signal. The contact sensing unit can also be arranged in this way.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the gray voltage generator 550 generates two gray voltage sets (or reference gray voltage sets) related to the transmittance of the pixel. One of the two sets has a positive value for the common voltage Vcom and the other set has a negative value.

The image scanning unit 400 is connected to the image scanning lines G ₁ -G _n of the liquid crystal panel assembly 300 to gate-on voltage Von for turning on the switching element Q, and gate-off voltage Voff for turning off. ) Is applied to the image scanning lines G ₁ -G _n .

The image data driver 500 is connected to the image data lines D ₁ -D _m of the liquid crystal panel assembly 300, and selects a gray voltage from the gray voltage generator 550 and uses the image data as the image data signal. Applies to lines D ₁ -D _m . However, when the gray voltage generator 550 provides only a predetermined number of reference gray voltages instead of providing all voltages for all grays, the image data driver 500 divides the reference gray voltages so that the grays for all grays are divided. Generates a voltage and selects an image data signal among them.

The sensing scan unit 700 is connected to the sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N of the liquid crystal panel assembly 300 to gate-off voltage Von for turning on the switching element Q _s1 or Q _s2 and gate-off for turning off the gate-on voltage Von. A sensing scan signal composed of a combination of the voltages Voff is applied to the sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N.

Signal reading unit 800 is input a sense signal (V _P1 -V _PM) output is connected to the detection signal of the liquid crystal panel assembly _{(300) (P 1 -P M} ) via the detected signal line (P ₁ -P _M) After receiving the signal processing such as amplification, filtering, etc., analog-to-digital conversion is performed to output a digital sense signal (DSN).

The signal controller 600 controls operations of the image scanning unit 400, the image data driver 500, the sensing scanning unit 700, and the signal reading unit 800.

Each of the driving devices 400, 500, 550, 600, 700, and 800 may be mounted directly on the liquid crystal panel assembly 300 in the form of at least one integrated circuit chip, or may be a flexible printed circuit film ( It may be mounted on the liquid crystal panel assembly 300 in the form of a tape carrier package (TCP) or mounted on a separate printed circuit board (not shown). Alternatively, these driving devices 400, 500, 550, 600, 700, and 800 are connected to signal lines G ₁ -G _n , D ₁ -D _m , S ₁ -S _N , P ₁ -P _M and thin film transistors ( Q, Q _T , Q _P , Q _s1 , Q _s2 ) may be integrated in the liquid crystal panel assembly 300.

Next, the display operation and the detection operation of the liquid crystal display will be described in more detail.

The signal controller 600 receives input image signals R, G, and B and an input control signal for controlling the display thereof from an external device (not shown). The input image signals R, G, and B contain luminance information of each pixel, and the luminance is a predetermined number, for example, 1024 (= 2 ¹⁰ ), 256 (= 2 ⁸ ), or 64 (= 2 ⁶ ). It has two grays. Examples of the input control signal include a vertical sync signal Vsync, a horizontal sync signal Hsync, a main clock MCLK, and a data enable signal DE.

The signal controller 600 receives the input image signals R, G, and B based on the input image signals R, G, and B and the input control signal, and generates operating conditions of the liquid crystal panel assembly 300 and the image data driver 500. After processing accordingly, generating the image scanning control signal CONT1 and the image data control signal CONT2, etc., the image scanning control signal CONT1 is sent to the image scanning unit 400, and the image data control signal CONT2 And output the processed image signal DAT to the image data driver 500. In addition, the signal controller 600 generates the sensing scan control signal CONT3 and the read control signal CONT4 based on the input control signal, and then outputs the sensing scan control signal CONT3 to the sensing scan unit 700 and read control. The signal CONT4 is sent to the signal reading unit 800.

The image scan control signal CONT1 includes a scan start signal STV indicating the start of scanning and at least one clock signal controlling the output of the gate-on voltage Von. The image scan control signal CONT1 may further include an output enable signal OE that defines a duration of the gate-on voltage Von.

The image data control signal CONT2 is a load signal for applying the image data signal to the horizontal synchronization start signal STH indicating the start of transmission of the image data DAT in one pixel row and the image data lines D ₁ -D _m . LOAD) and data clock signal HCLK. The image data control signal CONT2 is also an inversion signal for inverting the voltage polarity of the image data signal with respect to the common voltage Vcom (hereinafter referred to as the polarity of the image data signal by reducing the voltage polarity of the image data signal with respect to the common voltage). RVS) may be further included.

According to the image data control signal CONT2 from the signal controller 600, the image data driver 500 receives a digital image signal DAT for a pixel of one pixel row and corresponds to each digital image signal DAT. The gradation voltage is selected to convert the digital image signal DAT into an analog image data signal and then apply it to the corresponding image data lines D ₁ -D _m .

The image scanning unit 400 applies the gate-on voltage Von to the image scanning line G ₁ -G _n in response to the image scanning control signal CONT1 from the signal controller 600, thereby applying the image scanning line G ₁ -G. _n ) turns on the switching element Q connected. Then, the image data signal applied to the image data lines D ₁ -D _m is applied to the corresponding pixel through the turned-on switching element Q.

The difference between the voltage of the image data signal applied to the pixel and the common voltage Vcom is represented as the charging voltage of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc, that is, the pixel voltage. The arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules varies according to the magnitude of the pixel voltage, thereby changing the polarization of light passing through the liquid crystal layer 3. The change in polarization is represented as a change in the transmittance of light by the polarizer attached to the liquid crystal panel assembly 300, and thus a desired image may be displayed.

This process is repeated in units of one horizontal period (also referred to as "1H" and equal to one period of the horizontal sync signal Hsync and the data enable signal DE), thereby reproducing all image scanning lines G ₁ -G _n. ), A gate-on voltage Von is sequentially applied to the image data signal to all the pixels, thereby displaying an image of one frame.

When one frame ends, the state of the inversion signal RVS applied to the image data driver 500 is controlled so that the next frame starts and the polarity of the image data signal applied to each pixel is opposite to the polarity of the previous frame (" Invert frame "). In this case, the polarity of the image data signal flowing through one image data line is changed (eg, inversion of a row, inversion of a point) according to the characteristics of the inversion signal RVS within one frame, or the polarity of the image data signal applied to one pixel row. May differ from one another (eg, nirvana, point inversion).

The sensing scan unit 700 applies the gate-on voltage Von to the sensing scan lines S ₁ -S _N in response to the sensing scan control signal CONT3 from the signal controller 600, thereby detecting the sensing scan lines S ₁ -S. _N) switching elements (Q _S1, Q _S2 sikimyeo turn on), thereby detecting a signal from the optical detector unit or the touch sensing (V _P1 -V _PM) that it is turned on switching devices (Q _S1, Q _S2 connected to) It is applied to the corresponding sensing signal line (P ₁ -P _M ) through.

The signal reading unit 800 reads the sensing signals V _P1 -V _PM applied to the sensing signal lines P ₁ -P _M in accordance with the read control signal CONT4. The signal reader 800 converts the read sensing signals V _P1 -V _PM into a digital signal DSN after signal processing such as amplification and filtering, and then outputs them to an external device. The external device performs appropriate arithmetic processing on the digital signal DSN to find out whether or not it has been touched and the contact position, and transmits an image signal based thereon to the liquid crystal display.

The sensing operation is performed separately from the display operation described above, and is not affected by each other. The sensing operation for one row is performed every one horizontal period or a plurality of horizontal periods according to the formation density of the light sensing unit and the contact sensing unit. In addition, a sensing operation of one sensing unit does not necessarily need to be performed every frame, but may be performed once every plurality of frames as necessary.

Meanwhile, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the liquid crystal display is described as a display device, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the same may be applied to a display device such as a plasma display device and an organic light emitting display. Can be.

According to the present invention, since the column spacer is formed together with the contact sensing protrusion, the problem due to different process conditions or different process steps is reduced.

In addition, since the column spacer is formed under the color filter, the distance between the column spacer and the contact sensing protrusion is not constant due to an imbalance such as the thickness of the color filter, thereby preventing the sensitivity of the touch sensing unit from varying depending on the position of the liquid crystal panel assembly.

Furthermore, since a protective protrusion is formed around the touch sensing protrusion to distribute the pressure applied to the touch sensing protrusion to the protective protrusion, thereby preventing breakage of the touch sensing protrusion due to excessive pressure, thereby improving reliability of the touch sensing unit.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

Claims (13)

First substrate, A second substrate facing the first substrate, A plurality of pixels formed on the second substrate, A sensing electrode formed on the second substrate, A contact sensing protrusion formed on the first substrate and protruding toward the sensing electrode; A protective protrusion formed on the first substrate and protruding toward the sensing electrode, and The common electrode formed on the contact sensing protrusion Display device comprising a. In claim 1, And the protective protrusion is formed together with the touch sensing protrusion. In claim 1, The height of the protective protrusion is greater than the height of the touch sensing protrusion. In claim 3, The protective protrusion is 0 to 500 kHz higher than the touch sensing protrusion. In claim 3, The display protrusion is in contact with the sensing electrode. In claim 1, And a spacer which supports the first substrate and the second substrate and is formed between the contact sensing protrusion and the protective protrusion. In claim 6, The display device having a height smaller than that of the spacer. In claim 6, The spacer is formed together with the touch sensing protrusion. In claim 6, The spacer is a column spacer. A method of manufacturing a display device including a touch sensor, Forming a blocking member on the substrate, Applying an insulating material having a different thickness depending on a position on the blocking member or the substrate, Irradiating the insulating material with light to form contact detecting protrusions, protective protrusions, and spacers having different heights, respectively; Forming a color filter on the substrate and the blocking member, and Applying a conductor on the color filter, the exposed blocking member, and the contact sensing protrusion; Method of manufacturing a display device comprising a. In claim 10, And a height of the protective protrusion is higher than a height of the touch sensing protrusion. In claim 11, And a height of the protective protrusion is 0 to 500Å higher than a height of the touch sensing protrusion. In claim 11, And a height of the protective protrusion is lower than a height of the spacer.

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