KR20130026374A - Apparatus and method for driving touch screen - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A touch screen device and a driving method are provided to perform a setup operation and/or an ADC(Analog to Digital Conversion) operation with a sensing operation while sensing operation time, thereby reducing the whole sensing time of the touch screen. CONSTITUTION: Tx lines and Rx lines are intersected. Sensor nodes(TSN) are formed every an intersection unit. A touch screen driving circuit supplies pulses to the Tx lines. The touch screen driving circuit converts the voltage of the sensor nodes into digital data by sampling the voltage received through the Rx lines. The touch screen driving circuit operates a setup operation, a sensing operation, an ADC operation, a coordinate recognition operation, and a data transmission operation. The touch screen driving circuit performs the ADC operation with the sensing operation while sensing time in parallel.

Description

Touch screen device and its driving method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DRIVING TOUCH SCREEN}

The present invention relates to a touch screen device and a driving method thereof.

User input means has been replaced with a touch screen in a button-type switch in accordance with the trend of lightening and slimming of household appliances and portable information devices. The touch screen includes a plurality of touch sensors.

US published patent US 2010/0200310 (published Aug. 12, 2010) discloses a conventional touch screen (hereinafter referred to as “capacitive touch sensor”) at each intersection of X lines and Y lines that cross each other. Self capacitance touch screen ". The self capacitance type touch screen scans the X lines to convert the signals received from the X lines into digital data through analog to digital conversion (ADC) And converts the signal received from the Y lines into digital data through the ADC process. Self-capacitance touch screen recognizes the touch sensor located at the intersection of the X-line and Y-line with large amount of change before and after touch as the touch position. This self capacitance touch screen senses each of the X and Y lines and converts them into ADCs to analyze the digital data obtained to determine the touch position. Therefore, a ghost point (ghost point) to the touch position. Therefore, the self-capacitance touch screen has disadvantages such as low sensitivity of multi-touch recognition and additional application of a complex ghost detection and removal algorithm.

The Self-capacitance type touch screen disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US20030 / 2003103 senses X lines and Y lines on a group basis in a pre-scan step. Subsequently, the self-capacitance touch screen disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US20030 / 030010 increases the accuracy of touch recognition through a re-scan process and a touch position detection process after an ADC process and a touch position detection process. The self capacitance touch screen disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. US 2010/0200310 simultaneously scans the X lines (or Y lines) in the group during the pre-scan process, so that every X line and Y The speed of touch sensing can be reduced compared to a method of sequentially sensing lines. However, the self capacitance touch screen disclosed in U.S. Publication No. US 2010/0200310 needs to sequentially perform a pre-scan, an ADC, a touch recognition algorithm execution, a rescan, an ADC, and a touch recognition algorithm every time the touch position is recognized There is a limit to reducing the speed of touch sensing.

The touch report rate is inversely proportional to the total sensing time required to sense all sensor nodes in the touch screen. As the total sensing time becomes longer, the touch report rate decreases. The touch report rate refers to the number of touch coordinate values transmitted per second. Therefore, the self-capacitance touch screen disclosed in US 2010/0200310 cannot sufficiently increase the touch report rate, making it difficult to properly cope with an increase in the resolution of the touch screen.

The present invention provides a touch screen device and a driving method thereof capable of reducing the total sensing time of the touch screen and increasing the touch report rate.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch screen device including: a touch screen in which Tx lines and Rx lines cross each other, and sensor nodes are formed at each intersection thereof; And a touch screen driving circuit for supplying pulses to the Tx lines and sampling and converting the voltages of the sensor nodes received through the Rx lines into digital data.

The touch screen driving circuit is a setup operation for selecting Tx lines to be supplied with the pulse and selecting Rx lines at which the voltage of the sensor node is to be received, supplying pulses to the Tx lines and supplying sensor node voltages through the Rx lines. A sensing operation of receiving and sampling a signal, an ADC operation of converting a sampled voltage into digital data, a coordinate recognition operation of estimating a coordinate of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm, and the coordinate Performs a data transmission operation for transmitting the included touch coordinate data to an external system.

The touch screen driving circuit performs at least one of the sensing operation and the ADC operation in parallel with the sensing operation during the sensing time required for the sensing operation.

In a touch screen device according to another embodiment of the present invention, the touch screen driving circuit receives a group setup information including a plurality of Tx setup information and a plurality of Rx setup information, selects Tx lines to which the pulse is supplied, and selects the sensor. Setup operation for selecting Rx lines to receive the voltage of the node, sensing operation for supplying pulses to the Tx lines, receiving and sampling sensor node voltages through the Rx line, and ADC operation for converting the sampled voltage into digital data. A coordinate recognition operation of estimating coordinates of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm, and a data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinate data including the coordinates to an external system.

The touch screen driving circuit performs the sensing operation and the ADC operation in parallel during the sensing time required for the sensing operation.

A method of driving a touch screen device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: selecting a Tx lines to be supplied with a pulse and performing a setup operation for selecting Rx lines to receive a voltage of the sensor node; Performing a sensing operation of supplying the pulse to selected Tx lines and receiving and sampling a sensor node voltage through the selected Rx lines; Performing an ADC operation to convert the sampled voltage into digital data; Performing a coordinate recognition operation of estimating a coordinate of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm, and performing a data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinate data including the coordinates to an external system Steps.

One or more of the sensing operation and the ADC operation are processed in parallel with the sensing operation during the sensing time required for the sensing operation.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of driving a touch screen device, which receives group setup information including a plurality of Tx setup information and a plurality of Rx setup information, selects Tx lines to which the pulse is supplied, and selects a voltage of the sensor node. Performing a setup operation to select Rx lines to be received; Performing a sensing operation of supplying the pulse to selected Tx lines and receiving and sampling a sensor node voltage through the selected Rx lines; Performing an ADC operation to convert the sampled voltage into digital data; Performing a coordinate recognition operation of estimating a coordinate of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm, and performing a data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinate data including the coordinates to an external system Steps.

The sensing operation and the ADC operation are performed in parallel during the sensing time required for the sensing operation.

The present invention can significantly reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen and increase the touch report rate by performing the setup operation and / or ADC operation in parallel with the sensing operation during the sensing operation time of the touch screen. In addition, the present invention can further reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen by applying a group setup. The present invention can significantly reduce the sensing time of the touch screen to which noise may flow, thereby reducing the noise of data obtained from the sensor node.

The present invention can reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen, and also reduce the time required for executing the touch recognition algorithm and transmitting the touch coordinate data by executing the touch recognition algorithm and the operation of transmitting the touch coordinate data in parallel.

The present invention virtually divides the touch screen into two or more blocks, and quickly determines whether there is a touch (or proximity) input in units of blocks, and then precisely positions the touch input only in a block in which a touch (or proximity) input is detected. Sensing. As a result, the present invention can minimize the total sensing time of the touch screen.

Furthermore, the present invention can reduce the noise inflow time that may affect the touch screen by reducing the total sensing time of the touch screen, and minimize the noise effect by verifying the o-touch that is misidentified as touch in the block sensing through partial sensing. The accuracy of touch recognition can be increased. Each of the block sensing method and the partial sensing method may perform a setup operation and / or an ADC operation in parallel with the sensing operation, or apply a group setup and perform the sensing operation and the ADC operation in parallel. In addition, the present invention can reduce the time required for the transmission of the touch recognition algorithm and the touch coordinate data by executing the touch recognition algorithm and the operation of transmitting the touch coordinate data in parallel after performing the block sensing method and the partial sensing method. .

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of arrangement of sensor nodes of a touch screen.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a total sensing time when a setup, sensing, and ADC are sequentially processed for each sensor node in a mutual capacitive touch screen.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a plan view illustrating an electrode pattern in detail by enlarging a portion of the touch screen in FIG. 3.
5 to 7 illustrate various combination forms of a touch screen and a display panel.
8 is a block diagram showing in detail the ROIC of the present invention.
9 is a waveform diagram illustrating an example of a pulse supplied to Tx lines.
10 to 12 are diagrams illustrating a driving method of a touch screen device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
13 to 18 are diagrams illustrating a driving method of a touch screen device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
19 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving a touch screen device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
20 to 34 are block diagrams illustrating a block sensing method and a partial sensing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
35 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving a touch screen device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals throughout the specification denote substantially identical components. In the following description, when it is determined that a detailed description of known functions or configurations related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Mutual capacitance touch screens include Tx lines, Rx lines intersecting the Tx lines, and sensor nodes formed at the intersection of the Tx lines and the Rx lines. Each of the sensor nodes has a mutual capacity. The touch screen device detects a change in the voltage charged in the sensor nodes before and after the touch (or proximity) to determine whether the conductive material is in contact (or proximity) and its position. The mutual capacitive touch screen supplies pulses to the Tx lines and individually senses the change in capacitance of each of the sensor nodes through the Rx lines in synchronization with the pulses. Due to this sensing method, the mutual capacitive touch screen can detect the voltage change before and after the touch at each of the sensor nodes, thereby accurately recognizing the multi-touch.

If j (j is a natural number) Tx lines and i (i is a natural number) Rx lines intersect, the touch screen may have i × j sensor nodes formed at the intersection of the Tx lines and the Rx lines as shown in FIG. (1,1) to (j, i)}. One Tx line is connected with i sensor nodes arranged laterally along the line direction, and one Rx line is connected with j sensor nodes arranged longitudinally along the column direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the touch screen device includes a setup (STP), a sensing (SS), and an ADC process for each sensor node in order to sense the voltage of the sensor nodes.

The setup process (STP) generates a setup signal and transmits the setup signal to the Tx driving circuit and the Rx driving circuit to select the Tx line to be supplied with the pulse and the Rx line to receive the sensor node voltage. The sensing process SS supplies a pulse to the Tx line selected by the Tx setup signal, and receives and samples the sensor node voltage through the Rx line selected by the Rx setup signal. The ADC process converts the sampled sensor node voltage into digital data using an analog-to-digital converter built into the Rx driver circuit. The touch screen device executes a touch recognition algorithm to estimate the touch (or proximity) input position by analyzing digital data obtained from the touch screen, that is, touch raw data.

The touch recognition algorithm analyzes the digital data obtained by the analog-digital conversion process, estimates the touch (or proximity) input position, and calculates the touch coordinate value of the touch position. Such a touch recognition algorithm may be implemented by any known algorithm.

The setup process (STP), sensing process (SS), and ADC process are repeated for each sensor node in order to sense all the sensor nodes in the touch screen. Thus, the total sensing time required for sensing all sensor nodes in the touch screen is about "total sensing time = (STP + SS + ADC) x i x j". Here, "STP" means time required for the setup operation, "SS" means time required for the sensing operation, and "ADC" means time required for the ADC operation.

This setup, sensing, and ADC processing in sequence for each sensor node makes it difficult to reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen.

According to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 12, the setup operation and the sensing operation are performed in parallel, the sensing operation and the ADC are performed in parallel, or the setup operation, the sensing operation, and the ADC operation are performed in parallel to dramatically reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen. Can be reduced.

3 and 4, a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a display panel DIS, a display driving circuit, and a touch screen device. The touch screen device includes a touch screen TSP and a touch screen driving circuit.

The display device of the present invention is a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting diode display (Organic Light Emitting Display) , OLED), and electrophoretic display devices (Electrophoresis, EPD) can be implemented based on a flat panel display device. In the following embodiments, a display device is described as a liquid crystal display device as an example of a flat panel display device, but it should be noted that the display device of the present invention is not limited to a liquid crystal display device.

The display panel (DIS) has a liquid crystal layer formed between two glass substrates. The lower substrate of the display panel DIS includes a plurality of data lines D1 to Dm and m are natural numbers, a plurality of gate lines G1 to Gn and n are natural numbers intersecting the data lines D1 to Dm. A plurality of TFTs formed at intersections of the data lines D1 to Dm and the gate lines G1 to Gn, a plurality of pixel electrodes for charging data voltages to liquid crystal cells, and a pixel electrode And a storage capacitor to maintain the voltage of the liquid crystal cell.

The pixels of the display panel DIS are formed in a pixel region defined by the data lines D1 to Dm and the gate lines G1 to Gn and arranged in a matrix form. Each liquid crystal cell of the pixels is driven by an electric field applied according to a voltage difference between a data voltage applied to the pixel electrode and a common voltage applied to the common electrode to control the amount of incident light. The TFTs are turned on in response to gate pulses from the gate lines G1 to Gn to supply a voltage from the data lines D1 to Dm to the pixel electrodes of the liquid crystal cell.

The upper substrate of the display panel DIS may include a black matrix, a color filter, and the like. The lower substrate of the display panel DIS may be implemented with a COT (Color Filter On TFT) structure. In this case, the black matrix and the color filter can be formed on the lower substrate of the display panel DIS.

A polarizing plate is attached to each of the upper and lower substrates of the display panel DIS, and an alignment layer for setting the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal is formed on an inner surface of the display panel DIS. A column spacer for maintaining a cell gap of the liquid crystal cell is formed between the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the display panel DIS.

A backlight unit may be disposed on the back surface of the display panel DIS. The backlight unit is implemented as an edge type or direct type backlight unit to emit light to the display panel DIS. The display panel DIS may be implemented in any known liquid crystal mode such as TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, VA (Vertical Alignment) mode, IPS (In Plane Switching) mode and FFS (Fringe Field Switching) mode.

The display driving circuit includes a data driving circuit 12, a scan driving circuit 14, and a timing controller 20, and writes the video data of the input video into the pixels.

The data driving circuit 12 converts the digital video data RGB input from the timing controller 20 into an analog positive / negative gamma compensation voltage and outputs a data voltage. The data voltage is supplied to the data lines D1 to Dm. The scan driving circuit 14 sequentially supplies a gate pulse (or scan pulse) synchronized with the data voltage to the gate lines G1 to Gn to select a line of the display panel DIS to which data is to be written.

The timing controller 20 receives timing signals such as a vertical synchronization signal Vsync, a horizontal synchronization signal Hsync, a data enable signal DE and a main clock MCLK from an external host system . The timing controller 20 generates a scan timing control signal and a data timing control signal for controlling the operation timings of the data driving circuit 12 and the scan driving circuit 14. The scan timing control signal includes a gate start pulse (GSP), a gate shift clock, a gate output enable signal (GOE), and the like. The data timing control signal includes a source sampling clock (SSC), a polarity control signal (Polarity), a source output enable signal (SOE), and the like.

The touch screen TSP may be bonded to the upper polarizing plate POL1 of the display panel DIS as shown in FIG. 5, or may be formed between the upper polarizing plate POL1 and the upper glass substrate GLS1 as shown in FIG. 6. In addition, the sensor nodes TSN of the touch screen TSP may be embedded in the lower substrate in an in-cell type together with the pixel array in the display panel DIS as shown in FIG. 7. 5 to 7, "PIX" denotes a pixel electrode of a liquid crystal cell, "GLS2" denotes a lower substrate, and "POL2" denotes a lower polarizing plate, respectively.

The touch screen TSP includes Tx lines (T1 to Tj, j is a positive integer less than n), Rx lines (R1 to Ri, i being an amount less than m) crossing the Tx lines Integer), and ixj sensor nodes TSN formed at intersections of Tx lines T1 to Tj and Rx lines R1 to Ri.

The touch screen driving circuit includes a Tx driving circuit 32, an Rx driving circuit 34, and a touch controller 30. The touch screen driving circuit supplies a pulse as shown in FIG. 9 to the Tx lines T1 to Tj and senses a voltage of the sensor node through the Rx lines R1 to Ri in synchronization with the pulse. The Tx driving circuit 32 and the Rx driving circuit 34 may be integrated in one read-out IC (ROIC) as shown in FIG. 8. The touch controller 30 may also be integrated in the ROIC.

The Tx driving circuit 32 selects a Tx line to which a pulse is supplied in response to a setup signal input from the touch controller 30. The Tx driving circuit 32 supplies pulses to the Tx lines T1 to Tj selected according to the Tx setup signal every sensing time.

By repeatedly accumulating the voltage of the sensor node TSN N times (N is a natural number of 2 or more) and charging the sampling capacitor of the Rx driving circuit 34, the voltage change of the sensor node before and after touching the amount of charge of the sampling capacitor can be increased. have. To this end, the pulses applied to each of the Tx lines T1 to Tj may include N pulses generated at predetermined time intervals as shown in FIG. 9. If j sensor nodes are connected to one Tx line, pulses including N pulses are supplied to the Tx line j consecutively, and then pulses are supplied to the next Tx line in the same manner.

The Rx driving circuit 34 selects an Rx line to receive the sensor node voltage in response to the Rx setup signal input from the touch controller 30. The Rx driving circuit 34 receives and samples the voltage of the sensor node through the Rx line selected according to the Rx setup signal. The Rx driving circuit 34 converts a voltage sampled using an analog-digital converter into digital data and outputs touch raw data (TData). The touch raw data TData is transmitted to the touch controller 30.

The touch controller 30 is connected to the Tx driving circuit 32 and the Rx driving circuit 34 through an interface such as an I ² C bus, a serial peripheral interface (SPI), a system bus, or the like. The touch controller 30 generates a control signal CTRL necessary for controlling the Tx driving circuit 32 and the Rx driving circuit 34, such as setup information (or group setup information), sampling timing information, and ADC timing information.

The touch controller 30 analyzes touch raw data input from the Rx driver circuit 34 by using a preset touch recognition algorithm. The touch recognition algorithm compares touch raw data with a predetermined threshold, estimates touch raw data above a threshold as data of a touch (or proximity) input position, and calculates coordinates for the touch (or proximity) input position. . The touch recognition algorithm can be applied to any known algorithm. The touch controller 30 transmits coordinate data HIDxy including coordinate information of a touch (or proximity) input position obtained as a result of the calculation of the touch recognition algorithm to an external host system. The touch controller 30 may include a buffer memory that temporarily stores the calculation result of the touch recognition algorithm and the touch coordinate data.

In order to reduce the sensing time of each sensor node of the touch screen, the touch screen driving circuit performs the setup operation and the sensing operation in parallel, the sensing operation and the ADC in parallel, or the setup operation and the sensing operation as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. Perform parallel operation and ADC operation. Therefore, the touch screen driving circuit simultaneously handles the setup operation as well as the sensing operation and the ADC within the setup time. To this end, the touch controller 30 may generate a setup signal and / or an ADC clock during the sensing time. The touch controller 30 may be implemented as a micro controller unit (MCU).

The host system may be connected to an external video source device such as a navigation system, a set top box, a DVD player, a Blu-ray player, a personal computer (PC), a home theater system, a broadcast receiver, a phone system, Video data can be input from the device. The host system converts the image data from the external video source device into a format suitable for display on the display panel DIS. In addition, the host system executes an application program associated with the coordinate data input from the touch controller 30.

8 is a block diagram showing in detail the ROIC of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the ROIC includes a Tx driver circuit 32, an Rx driver circuit 34, a ROIC controller 36, a clock generator 38, and the like.

The Tx driving circuit 32 includes a Tx pulse generator 32a and Tx setup switches S1. The Rx driving circuit 34 includes a sampling section 34a, an analog-to-digital converter 34b, and Rx setup switches S2.

The ROIC controller 36 includes an instruction processor 36a, a first buffer memory 36b, a second buffer memory 36c, and the like. The buffer memories 36b and 36c operate as first-in first-out (FIFO) memories.

The command processor 36a decodes the control signal CTRL received from the touch controller 30 to extract setup information, sampling timing information, and ADC timing information. Setup information, sampling timing information, ADC timing information, and the like may be temporarily stored in the buffer memories 36b and 36c. The command processor 36a generates setup signals STP (Tx) and STP (Rx) for selecting the Tx line and the Rx line according to the setup information. The instruction processor 36a controls the operation timing of the sensor node voltage sampling unit 34a and the analog-to-digital converter 34b based on the sampling timing information and the ADC timing information.

The Tx pulse generator 32a generates a pulse under the control of the instruction processor 36a. Tx setup switches S1 are connected between the Tx pulse generator 32a and the Tx lines T1 to Tj. The Tx setup switches S1 are turned on in response to the Tx setup signal STP (Tx) to connect a Tx line to be supplied with a pulse to the output terminal of the Tx pulse generator 32a.

The sensor node voltage sampling unit 34a samples the sensor node voltage received through the Rx lines R1 to Ri under the control of the command processor 36a. Rx setup switches S2 are connected between the sensor node voltage sampling unit 34a and the Rx lines R1 to Ri. The Rx setup switches S2 are turned on in response to the Rx setup signal input from the command processor 36a to connect an Rx line to which the sensor node voltage is to be received to an input terminal of the sensor node voltage sampling unit 34a.

The analog-digital converter 34b converts the sampled sensor node voltage into the touch raw data TDATA, which is digital data, under the control of the instruction processor 36a.

The clock generator 38 transmits a clock signal to the Tx pulse generator 32a, the sensor node voltage sampling unit 34a, and the analog-to-digital converter 34b under the control of the ROIC controller 36 to control the Tx driving circuit 32. And the operation timing of the Rx driving circuit 34 are synchronized.

10 to 12 are diagrams illustrating a driving method of a touch screen device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

10 to 12, the touch controller 30 may select setup signals STP (TX) and STP (RX) for selecting an I + 1 sensor node during a sensing time of an I (I is a natural number) sensor node. Will occur). In addition, the touch controller 30 generates an ADC clock ADC for converting the voltage of the I-1 sensor node into digital data during the sensing time of the I sensor node. The Tx setup signal STP (TX) is transmitted to the Tx driver circuit 32. The Rx setup signal STP (RX) and ADC clock ADC are transmitted to the Rx driver circuit 34.

The touch controller 30 applies a first signal to the Tx driving circuit 32 for a time t1 in order to sense the voltage of the first sensor node {TSN (1,1)}, which is the first sensor node of the first line LINE # 1. Generates the Tx setup signal. The Tx driver circuit 32 selects the first Tx line T1 in response to the first Tx setup signal. The first Tx line T1 is connected to the first through i-th sensor nodes TSN (1,1) to TSN (1, i).

The touch controller 30 generates a second Tx setup signal for selecting the second sensor node TSN (1,2) within t2 time, and outputs a switch control signal of the sampling circuit. The Tx driving circuit 32 supplies a pulse to the first Tx line T1 within a t2 time (sensing time). In addition, the Tx driving circuit 32 selects the first Tx line T1 again in response to the second setup signal STP within a t2 time (sensing time). The Rx driving circuit 34 selects the first Rx line R1 to receive the sensor node voltage in response to the first Rx setup signal for a time t2. The Rx driving circuit 34 stores and samples the voltage of the first sensor node received through the first Rx line R1 in a sampling capacitor in synchronization with the pulse for t2 time. The first Rx line R1 has a first sensor node {TSN (1, 1)}, an i + 1th sensor node TSN (2, 1), ... (j-2) +1 sensor node {TSN Sensor nodes arranged along the first column line such as ((j-1), 1)} and (j-1) +1 sensor nodes {TSN (j, 1)} are connected.

The touch controller 30 outputs the ADC clock ADC within the time t3 and generates a third Tx setup signal (not shown in the figure) for selecting the third sensor node TSN (1,3). The Tx driver circuit 32 supplies a pulse set according to the second Tx setup signal to the first Tx line T1 within t3 time, and selects the first Tx line T1 again in response to the third setup signal. . The Rx driving circuit 34 inputs the voltage of the first sensor node sampled during the t3 period to the analog-digital converter to convert the voltage of the first sensor node into digital data.

This operation is repeated, and the voltages of all the sensor nodes TSN (1,1) to TSN (1, i) belonging to the first line LINE # 1 are sequentially sampled and converted into digital data. During the sensing time of the i-th sensor node {TSN (1, i)}, which is the last sensor node of the first line LINE # 1, the Tx driving circuit 32 supplies a pulse to the first Tx line T1 and Rx. The driving circuit 34 samples the voltage of the i th sensor node {TSN (1, i)} received through the i th Rx line Ri. The touch controller 30 is an i + 1 sensor node {TSN (2, i)} which is the first sensor node of the second line LINE # 2 during the sensing time of the i-th sensor node {TSN (1, i)}. Outputs setup signals to select.

In the touch screen of the present invention, the sensing time of the sensor nodes {TSN (1, i) to TSN (j, i)) is significantly reduced by performing the sensing operation, the sensing operation, and / or the ADC operation in parallel as described above. Can be. Furthermore, since the present invention can increase the touch report rate, the number of sensor nodes of the touch screen can be increased to effectively correspond to the high resolution of the touch screen. In the parallel execution method as shown in FIG. 10, the total sensing time is "total sensing time = STP + {SS × i × j} + analog-to-digital conversion time (ADC)".

The touch screen is electrically coupled with the display panel DIS. Therefore, the sensor node voltage received from the sensor nodes of the touch screen may include noise during the sensing time due to the influence of the driving signal of the display panel DIS. As shown in FIG. 10, when the total sensing time of the touch screen is reduced, the noise time flowing into the sensor node may be reduced, thereby reducing noise that adversely affects the touch screen.

The present invention can further reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen (TSP) by simultaneously sensing a plurality of sensor nodes connected to the Tx line. To this end, the touch controller 30 generates a group Rx setup signal. The Rx driving circuit 34 simultaneously selects G (G is a positive integer less than 2 and i / 2) Rx lines to receive sensor node voltages in response to the group Rx setup signal from the touch controller 30. Accordingly, when a pulse is input to the Tx line in response to the group Rx setup signal, the Rx driving circuit 34 simultaneously receives and samples the G sensor node voltages through the G Rx lines, and then responds to the next group Rx setup signal. Then select G Rx lines at the same time. Here, G is illustrated as "6" in FIGS. 11A-11B, but is not limited thereto.

11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating an example of sensing voltages of sensor nodes simultaneously received through multiple Rx lines. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a signal sequence when a plurality of sensor nodes are simultaneously sensed as shown in FIGS. 11A through 11C.

11A to 12, when a pulse is applied to the second Tx line, the Rx driving circuit 34 simultaneously senses voltages of six sensor nodes connected to the second Tx line. Subsequently, when a pulse is applied to the second Tx line again, the Rx driver circuit 34 simultaneously senses the voltages of the next six sensor nodes. In this case, the total sensing time of the touch screen TSP is further reduced to "total sensing time = STP + {SS × i / G × j} + analog-to-digital conversion time (ADC)".

The present invention can reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen by performing the setup operation and / or ADC operation in parallel with the sensing operation as described above. Furthermore, the second embodiment of the present invention can further reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen by reducing the number of setup signal transmission using the group setup information as shown in FIGS. 13 to 18.

The touch controller 30 may generate a control signal CTRL including group setup information, sampling timing information, ADC timing information, and the like. The group setup information includes a plurality of Tx setup information and a plurality of Rx setup information necessary for sensing a voltage of sensor nodes included in a group having a predetermined size in a touch screen (TSP). When the ROIC receives the group setup information, the ROIC selects Tx lines and Rx lines connected to the plurality of sensor nodes based on the group setup information. The Tx setup information and the Rx setup information described in the above embodiments are single setup information transmitted to the ROIC every time the sensor node is sensed. In contrast, the group setup information is initially generated once within the time required for sensing the sensor nodes in the group, including a plurality of setup information for selecting Tx lines and Rx lines connected with the sensor nodes in the preset group. . The group setup information is sent to the ROIC once at the beginning of the time needed to sense sensor nodes in the group. Here, the group may be set to a size including two or more sensor nodes. For example, the group may be a line unit group including sensor nodes connected to one Tx line in the touch screen as shown in FIG. 14, and set to a size including all sensor nodes present in the touch screen as shown in FIG. 15. Can be. Note that the group is not limited to this. For example, a group may include sensor nodes connected to an N (N is a positive integer of 2 or greater) line.

ROIC implementing the touch screen device driving method according to the second embodiment of the present invention can be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 8, the ROIC controller 36 receives a control signal CTRL from the touch controller 30 and decodes the control signal CTRL to store group setup information, sampling timing information, and ADC timing information in buffer memories 36b. , 36c).

Tx setup information of the group setup information may be stored in the first buffer memory 36b, and Rx setup information of the group setup information may be stored in the second buffer memory 36c.

The instruction processor 36a increases the address counts of the buffer memories 36a and 36b by 1 until all sensor nodes in the group are sensed, thereby setting Tx setup information of the group setup information from the buffer memories 36b and 36c. Read Rx setup information and generate Tx setup signals and Rx setup signals. Therefore, according to the touch screen driving method according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the touch screen driving circuit performs the setup signals by performing the setup operations in parallel by the number of sensor nodes in the group based on one group setup information received in advance. It can reduce the number of times received.

13 to 18 are diagrams illustrating a driving method of a touch screen device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 13, the ROIC controller 36 receives group setup information GSTP from the touch controller 30 and stores the group setup information GSTP in the buffer memories 36b and 36c. (S11) Next, the ROIC controller 36 receives a group. Based on the setup information GSTP, the Tx line and the Rx line are repeatedly set until the voltages of the sensor nodes existing in the group are sensed to sense and sample the voltages of the sensor nodes. (S12 to S14) The ROIC controller 36 repeats steps S12 to S14 to complete sensing operations of all sensor nodes existing in the current group (S15 and S16).

The group setup information GSTP may include Tx and Rx channel configuration information for sensor nodes arranged in one line of the touch screen TSP. The group setup information GSTP is transmitted to the ROIC once in one line sensing time of the touch screen TSP as shown in FIG. 14.

Referring to FIG. 14, the touch controller 30 transmits group setup information GSTP to the ROIC controller 36. The group setup information GSTP includes Tx channel information and Rx channel information necessary for sensing sensor nodes existing in one line of the touch screen. The touch controller 30 generates an ADC clock ADC for converting the voltage of the I-1 sensor node into digital data in the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment during the sensing time of the I (I is a natural number) sensor node. Outputs can be controlled in parallel to sensing and ADC operation.

The touch controller 30 transmits the group setup information GSTP of the first line to the ROIC controller 36 for t1 time. The ROIC controller 36 receives the group setup information GSTP of the first line for t1 time, and the Tx line indicated by the group setup information GSTP of the first line according to the group setup information GSTP of the first line. And Rx lines. Subsequently, the ROIC controller 36 repeats the sensing operation and the ADC operation to sense all sensor nodes in the group selected by the group setup information GSTP. The group setup information GSTP of the first line includes Tx channel information and Rx channel information necessary for sensing voltages of all sensor nodes included in the first line LINE # 1. The ROIC controller 36 controls the Tx driving circuit 32 and the Rx driving circuit 34 for t2 and t3 times to sense and sample the voltage of the first sensor node TSN (1,1) and convert it into digital data. do. The ROIC controller 36 completes sensing of the i th sensor node TSN (1, i) which is the last sensor node of the first line LINE # 1 from the first sensor node TSN (1,1). Tx lines and Rx lines connected to the sensor nodes of the first line are selected based on the group setup information GSTP which has already been received.

For example, the ROIC controller 36 may have a first Tx line T1 and a second Rx line R2 indicated by the group setup information already received after the sensing of the first sensor node TSN (1,1) is completed. To sense the second sensor node TSN (1,2). Subsequently, the ROIC controller 36 selects the first Tx line T1 and the third Rx line R3 indicated by the group setup information already received after the sensing of the second sensor node TSN (1,2) is completed. To sense the third sensor node TSN (1,3). Subsequently, the ROIC controller 36 selects the first Tx line T1 and the fourth Rx line R4 indicated by the group setup information already received after the sensing of the third sensor node TSN (1,3) is completed. To sense the fourth sensor node TSN (1,4).

The touch controller 30 transmits the group setup information GSTP of the second line to the ROIC controller 36 after all the sensor nodes of the first line LINE # 1 have completed the sensing SS and the ADC conversion. The group setup information GSTP of the second line includes Tx channel information and Rx channel information necessary for sensing voltages of all sensor nodes included in the second line LINE # 2. The ROIC controller 36 selects the Tx lines and the Rx lines connected to the sensor nodes of the second line based on the group setup information already received until all the sensor nodes of the second line LINE # 2 are sensed. .

For example, the ROIC controller 36 may include the second Tx line T2 and the first Rx line R1 indicated by the group setup information already received after the sensing of the i-th sensor node TSN (1, i) is completed. To sense the i + 1 th sensor node TSN (2,1). Subsequently, the ROIC controller 36 receives the second Tx line T2 and the second Rx line R2 indicated by the group setup information already received after the sensing of the i + 1 th sensor node TSN (2,1) is completed. To sense the i + 2 th sensor node TSN (2,2). Subsequently, the ROIC controller 36 receives the second Tx line T2 and the third Rx line R3 indicated by the group setup information already received after the sensing of the i + 2 sensor node TSN (2,2) is completed. To sense the i + 3 th sensor node TSN (2,3).

The group setup information GSTP may include Tx and Rx channel configuration information for all sensor nodes of the touch screen TSP. Such group setup information GSTP is transmitted to the ROIC once in the total sensing time of the touch screen TSP as shown in FIG. 15.

Referring to FIG. 15, the touch controller 30 transmits group setup information GSTP to the ROIC controller 36 and then Tx lines and Rx lines connected to all sensor nodes based on the group setup information GSTP. Control their setup behavior. The group setup information GSTP includes Tx channel information and Rx channel information necessary for sensing all sensor nodes of the touch screen.

The touch controller 30 outputs an ADC clock ADC for converting the voltage of the I-1 sensor node into digital data during the sensing time of the I sensor node as in the first embodiment described above, thereby sensing and ADC operation. Can be controlled in parallel.

The ROIC controller 36 receives the group setup information GSTP for t1 time and selects the Tx lines and the Rx lines according to the group setup information GSTP. The ROIC controller 36 selects the Tx lines and the Rx lines based on the group setup information received at the time t1 to sequentially sequence all sensor nodes TSN (1,1) to TSN (j, i) in the touch screen. Sensing. The ROIC controller 36 detects that all the sensor nodes TSN (1,1) to TSN (j, i) of the touch screen are completed for one frame period, and then, from the touch controller 30 at the beginning of the next frame period. After receiving the next group setup information, the sensor nodes TSN (1,1) to TSN (j, i) of the touch screen are sensed again.

The present invention significantly reduces the transmission time of the setup signal transmitted from the touch controller 30 to the ROIC by using group setup information, and also parallelizes the sensing process and the ADC process to all sensor nodes {TSN (1, i) ~). The total sensing time required for sensing TSN (j, i)} can be drastically reduced as compared with the related art.

For example, when generating group setup information (GSTP) in units of line by line and selecting an Rx channel in units of 1 sensor node as shown in FIG. 14, the total sensing time is “total”. Sensing time = (GSTP + (SS × i) + ADC) × j ". As shown in FIG. 15, in the case of generating group setup information (GSTP) in units of one frame (or a touch screen corresponding to an entire screen), and sensing a sensor node by selecting an Rx channel in units of one sensor node, the total sensing time is "Total sensing time = GSTP + (SS × i × j) + ADC". Here, "GSTP" is required to receive group setup information GSTP from touch controller 30 and to process the setup operation of Tx and Rx channels for all sensor nodes in the group based on the group setup information GSTP. It's time. "SS" is the time required for the sensing operation, "ADC" is the time required for the ADC operation.

The present invention can further reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen TSP by simultaneously sensing a plurality of sensor nodes connected to the same Tx line. For example, the touch controller 30 may separately drive the Rx lines R1 to Ri into G Rx groups as shown in FIGS. 11A through 11C using the group setup information GSTP. In this case, the Rx driving circuit 34 sequentially activates the G Rx groups based on the group setup information GSTP from the touch controller 30 and connects the Rx channels connected to the Rx lines existing in one group. By simultaneously activating the signals, the sensor node voltages can be simultaneously received through the Rx lines present in a group.

A method of simultaneously setting Gx Rx channels and receiving G sensor node voltages simultaneously is an embodiment of generating group setup information (GSTP) on a line basis as shown in FIG. 14, or group setup information (GSTP) on a frame basis as shown in FIG. 15. It can be applied to all the embodiments that generate). FIG. 16 shows an example of generating group setup information (GSTP) in frame units as shown in FIG. 15 and setting Rx channels at the same time.

Tx lines T1 to Tj to which a pulse is applied may be divided and driven into K (positive integers of 2 or more and j / 2 or less) groups according to the group setup information GSTP. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, Tx channels may be divided into four Tx groups B1 to B4, and pulses may be simultaneously applied to Tx lines existing in one Tx group. In this case, if the sensor node voltage is received through the Rx channel set in units of 1 sensor node, the total sensing time can be further reduced to "Total sensing time = (GSTP + (SS × i) + ADC) × j / K". have.

The Tx lines T1 to Tj to which the pulse is applied may be divided into K groups according to the group setup information GSTP, and pulses may be simultaneously supplied to the Tx lines existing in one Tx group. In this case, the Rx lines R1 to Ri where the sensor nodes are received are divided into G Rx groups as shown in FIGS. 11A through 11C, and the sensor node voltages are transmitted through the Rx lines present in one Rx group. If received at the same time, the total sensing time can be further reduced to "total sensing time = (GSTP + (SS x i / G) + ADC) x j / K" as shown in FIG.

The present invention can reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen through parallel processing as in the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the present invention applies the above-described embodiments, and also executes the touch recognition algorithm and touches by parallel processing the execution operation of the touch recognition algorithm and the data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinates to the host system as shown in FIGS. 19 and 35. The time required for coordinate data transmission can be reduced.

19 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving a touch screen device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 19, a method of driving a touch screen device obtains touch raw data Tdata by sensing sensor nodes of a touch screen TSP. (S21) A sensing method of a touch screen TSP is a conventional sensing method. The method may also be applied, but it is preferable to apply a sensing method that can significantly reduce the total sensing time by applying the above-described first and second embodiments. The sensing method of the touch screen TSP may be applied to the block sensing method and the parcel sensing method as illustrated in FIGS. 20 to 25.

Subsequently, the driving method of the touch screen apparatus executes a touch recognition algorithm, analyzes touch raw data, determines touch raw data having a threshold value or more as data of a touch (or proximity) input position, and calculates coordinates thereof (S22a). At the same time, the driving method of the touch screen device transmits the touch coordinate data already obtained as a result of the execution of the touch recognition algorithm to the host system (S22b).

The touch controller 30 may execute a touch recognition algorithm to calculate the coordinates of the touch (or proximity) input position in units of one line of the touch screen, or calculate the coordinates of the touch (or proximity) input position in units of one frame. For example, the touch controller 30 analyzes touch raw data (TData) obtained from the I line of the touch screen TSP in step S22a to calculate coordinates for the touch (or proximity) input of the I line. The touch coordinate data including the coordinate information is stored in the buffer memory. At the same time, the touch controller 30 reads out the touch coordinate data of the line I-1 from the buffer memory in step S22b and transmits the read coordinate data to an external host system.

In addition, the touch controller 30 may transmit the touch coordinate data obtained as a result of the execution of the touch recognition algorithm to the host system in units of one line or one frame of the touch screen. The touch controller 30 may include a buffer memory that temporarily stores touch coordinate data including coordinate information. For example, the touch controller 30 analyzes one frame of touch raw data TData obtained from all the sensor nodes of the touch screen TSP in step S22a to input the touch (or proximity) of the I frame. Coordinate data is calculated and the touch coordinate data including the coordinate information is stored in the buffer memory. At the same time, the touch controller 30 reads the touch coordinate data of the I-1 frame from the buffer memory and transmits the touch coordinate data to the external host system in operation S22b.

The touch screen sensing method of the present invention virtually divides the touch screen into two or more blocks as shown in FIGS. 20 to 35, and determines whether a touch (or proximity) input is performed in units of blocks by using a block sensing method. You can judge quickly. Subsequently, the touch screen sensing method of the present invention can apply a partial sensing method only to a block in which a touch (or proximity) input is detected to accurately sense a touch input position within the block, The sensing time can be further reduced. The block sensing method and the partial sensing method may be applied together with the above-described first to third embodiments. For example, in each of the block sensing method and the partial sensing method, the sensing operation and / or the ADC operation may be paralleled together with the setup operation, or the group setup operation may be performed and the sensing operation and the ADC operation may be parallelized. In addition, in the block sensing method and the partial sensing method, the parallel processing and the touch data transmission can be performed in parallel with the above parallel processing.

Hereinafter, the driving method of the touch screen device to which the block sensing method and the partial sensing method are applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 to 35.

The touch screen (TSP) is divided into virtual Tx / Rx blocks along the x-axis direction and / or y-axis direction, each of which includes at least two Tx lines and at least two Rx lines and a plurality of sensor nodes. do.

The touch screen driving circuit performs partial sensing (or sensing) of sensor nodes in the block only in a block in which a touch (or proximity) input is detected after block sensing (or primary sensing) of the sensor nodes in units of blocks as shown in FIGS. 20 to 34. Second sensing) to accurately detect the touch position. The first sensing time is only one line of sensing time in the prior art. Therefore, the touch screen driving apparatus of the present invention can reduce the total sensing time required for sensing all the sensor nodes in the touch screen and can also reduce the total sensing time to reduce noise of data obtained from the sensor node. In addition, by using the block sensing method and the partial sensing method, the touch screen may be sensed twice every frame to increase the accuracy of the touch sensing result, thereby increasing the sensitivity of the touch sensor.

The Tx driving circuit 32 applies pulses to the Tx lines T1 to Tj in units of Tx blocks during the block sensing period as shown in FIGS. 26 and 28, and detects a touch (or proximity) during the partial sensing period. The pulse is supplied only to the Tx lines T1 to Tj existing therein.

The Rx driving circuit 34 simultaneously senses the voltages of the sensor nodes through the Rx lines R1 to Ri in the Rx block unit under the control of the touch controller 30 during the block sensing period, and converts the voltages of the sensor nodes into digital data. During the period, only the Rx block in which the touch sensing result (or proximity) input is detected may sequentially sample and digitally convert the voltages of the sensor nodes received through the Rx lines in the block. The Rx block contains G Rx lines.

In the prior art, the Tx drive circuit sequentially supplied pulses to the Tx lines. In contrast, the block sensing method and the partial sensing method of the present invention can significantly reduce the Tx driving time through the block sensing method and prevent the touch misrecognition through the partial sensing method in order to reduce the Tx driving time and prevent touch misrecognition.

In response to the setup signal input from the touch controller 30, the Tx driving circuit 32 selects Tx lines to output pulses during the block sensing period in block units, and selects Tx lines to output pulses during the partial sensing period in line units. To select. The Tx driving circuit 32 supplies pulses to the Tx lines T1 to Tj selected according to the Tx setup signal. In order to increase the charging amount of the sampling capacitor by repeatedly accumulating the voltage of the sensor node TSN N times, as shown in FIGS. 9, 26, and 28, pulses applied to each of the Tx lines T1 to Tj at predetermined time intervals. It may include N pulses generated in succession. If j sensor nodes are connected to one Tx line, pulses including N pulses are supplied to the Tx line j consecutively, and then pulses are supplied to the next Tx line in the same manner.

In the prior art, the Rx driving circuit sequentially samples and digitally converts the voltages of the sensor nodes one by one when sensing the sensor nodes connected to one Tx lines. In contrast, the Rx driving circuit 34 of the present invention can significantly reduce the reception and sampling time of the sensor node voltages through a block sensing method.

The Rx driving circuit 34 selects Rx lines R1 to Ri to receive the sensor node voltage in response to the Rx setup signal input from the touch controller 30. The Rx driver circuit 34 receives and samples the voltage of the sensor node through the Rx lines selected according to the Rx setup signal.

The Rx driving circuit 34 may simultaneously receive, sample, and convert the voltages of the sensor nodes through the Rx lines R1 to Ri in the Rx block unit during the block sensing period. The Rx driving circuit 34 may sequentially receive, sample, and convert the voltages of the sensor nodes through the Rx lines in the Rx block only for the Rx block in which the touch sensing (or proximity) input of the block sensing result is detected. The digital data output from the Rx driving circuit 34 is transmitted to the touch controller 30 as touch raw data.

The touch controller 30 transmits a control signal CTRL to the ROIC including the Tx driving circuit 32 and the Rx driving circuit 34. The touch controller 30 analyzes the touch raw data obtained as a result of the block sensing, and determines that data having a large change value of the sensor node voltage greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value before and after the touch as sensor node data of a touch (or proximity) input position. (Or proximity) can be determined whether the input. The touch controller 30 controls the Tx driving circuit 32 and the Rx driving circuit 34 in a partial sensing driving method when a touch (or proximity) input is detected as a result of block sensing. The touch controller 30 performs a partial sensing method and analyzes the touch raw data obtained by precisely sensing the sensor nodes only in a block in which a touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method. The touch controller 30 determines the data obtained from the sensor nodes at the actual touch (or proximity) input position as the data obtained when the change amount before and after the touch is larger than a predetermined threshold as a result of the partial sensing, and determines coordinate values of the sensor nodes. Estimate. The touch controller 30 transmits the final touch coordinate data including the coordinate information of the sensor node detected as a touch (or proximity) input to the host system in both the block sensing method and the partial sensing method.

If a touch (or proximity) input is not detected in the block sensing method, the touch controller 30 repeats the block sensing method without shifting to the partial sensing method. Accordingly, the touch controller 30 may omit the partial sensing method selectively according to the block sensing result to reduce the total sensing time of the touch screen without deteriorating the touch sensitivity.

20 to 22, the block sensing method senses sensor nodes in units of blocks and senses all sensor nodes in the touch screen TSP during the first sensing time TB (S31). Simultaneously sense the voltage of all sensor nodes present in the I block by simultaneously supplying pulses to the Tx lines present in the I block, and then simultaneously apply pulses to the Tx lines present in the I + 1 block to apply the I Sensing the voltage of all sensor nodes present in the +1 block at the same time. Since the first first sensing time is simultaneously supplied to all Tx lines in one block as shown in FIGS. 26 and 28, the first sensing time is only a time required for sensing one line of the touch screen.

If the touch controller 30 detects a touch (or proximity) input as a result of the block sensing, the touch controller 30 proceeds to the partial sensing step to apply pulses to the Tx lines in the block where the touch (or proximity) input is detected during the second sensing time TP. By sequentially supplying line by line and precisely sensing the voltage of sensor nodes present in the block, the touch (or proximity) input position is precisely detected (S32 and S33). The second sensing time TP is a touch (or proximity). ) Input depends on the number of blocks detected.

When a touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method, the partial sensing method is performed after the block sensing method as shown in FIG. 21. On the other hand, if no touch (or proximity) input is detected in the block sensing method, the block sensing method is performed again after the block sensing method as shown in FIG. 22.

The total sensing time Ttotal required for sensing all the sensor nodes of the touch screen TSP is the sum of the first sensing time TB and the second sensing time TP as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22. As a result of the block sensing, if a touch (or proximity) input is detected in a plurality of blocks, that is, a multi-touch (or proximity) input is detected, the blocks are subjected to partial sensing. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 22, while the first sensing time TB required for block sensing is fixed, when the multi-touch (or proximity) is detected as a result of the block sensing, the second sensing time TP becomes long, and thus, the first sensing time TB required for partial sensing is required. 2 sensing time TP is a variable time.

23 to 25 are diagrams illustrating a block sensing method and a partial sensing method when the touch screen is driven to be divided into a plurality of Tx blocks along the y axis.

When the touch screen TSP is divided into first and second Tx blocks B1 and B2 as shown in FIG. 23, the block sensing method simultaneously supplies pulses to all Tx lines in the first Tx block B1. The pulses are simultaneously supplied to all Tx lines in the second Tx block B2 to detect the presence of a touch (or proximity) input in units of the Tx block. If a touch (or proximity) input is detected in the first Tx block B1 by the block sensing method, the partial sensing method is performed. The partial sensing method sequentially senses sensor nodes in the first Tx block B1 by sequentially supplying pulses to the Tx lines in the first Tx block B1, and thus detects a final touch (or proximity) input. . The partial sensing method does not sense the second Tx block B2 in which the touch (or proximity) input is not detected in the block sensing method.

When the touch screen TSP is divided into first to third Tx blocks B1 to B3 as shown in FIG. 24, the block sensing method simultaneously supplies pulses to all Tx lines in the first Tx block B1. By simultaneously supplying pulses to all Tx lines in the second Tx block B2 to detect the presence of a touch (or proximity) input in units of Tx blocks, and simultaneously applying pulses to all Tx lines in the third block B3. Supply to detect the presence or absence of a touch (or proximity) input in the third Tx block. If a touch (or proximity) input is detected in the second Tx block B2 by the block sensing method, the partial sensing method is performed. The partial sensing method sequentially senses sensor nodes in the second Tx block B2 by sequentially supplying pulses to the Tx lines in the second Tx block B2, and thus detects a final touch (or proximity) input. . The partial sensing method does not sense the first and third Tx blocks B1 and B3 for which a touch (or proximity) input is not detected in the block sensing method.

When the touch screen TSP is divided into first to third Tx blocks B1 to B3 as illustrated in FIG. 25, the block sensing method may simultaneously supply pulses to all Tx lines in the first Tx block B1. The pulses are simultaneously supplied to all Tx lines in the second Tx block B2. Subsequently, the block sensing method simultaneously supplies pulses to all Tx lines in the third Tx block B3, and simultaneously supplies pulses to all Tx lines in the fourth Tx block B4 to touch each Tx block unit. Or proximity) detection of the presence of an input. If a touch (or proximity) input is detected in the second Tx block B2 by the block sensing method, the partial sensing method is performed. The partial sensing method sequentially senses sensor nodes in the second Tx block B2 by sequentially supplying pulses to the Tx lines in the second Tx block B2, and thus detects a final touch (or proximity) input. . The partial sensing method does not sense the first, third and fourth Tx blocks B1, B3, and B4 for which a touch (or proximity) input is not detected in the block sensing method. FIG. 26 is a waveform diagram illustrating driving pulses supplied to Tx lines in the case of FIG. 25.

27 is a diagram illustrating a block sensing method and a partial sensing method in a multi-touch (or proximity) input. FIG. 28 is a waveform diagram illustrating pulses supplied to Tx lines in the case of FIG. 27.

Referring to FIGS. 27 and 28, the block sensing method detects the presence of a touch (or proximity) input in units of Tx blocks by applying pulses in units of Tx blocks. As a result of the block sensing, if a touch (or proximity) input is detected in each of the second and third Tx blocks B2 and B3, the partial sensing method is performed. The partial sensing method sequentially supplies pulses to the Tx lines in the second Tx block B2 and sequentially supplies pulses to the Tx lines in the third Tx block B3 so that the second and third Tx blocks B2 may be used. , Precisely sense the sensor nodes in B3). Therefore, when a multi-touch (or proximity) input is detected over several blocks as a result of block sensing, the second sensing time TP becomes long. The partial sensing method does not sense sensor nodes of the first and fourth blocks B1 and B4 for which a touch (or proximity) input is not detected in the block sensing method.

29 and 34, when a touch (or proximity) input is detected at a boundary between neighboring Tx / Rx blocks, the parcel sensing method accurately senses neighboring blocks close to the touch (or proximity) input position.

30 to 34 are diagrams illustrating a block sensing method and a partial sensing method when the touch screen TSP is divided and driven into a plurality of Rx blocks C1 to C4 along an x-axis.

30 to 34, a block sensing method applies pulses to Tx blocks in units of Tx blocks, receives and samples voltages of sensor nodes in units of first to fourth Rx blocks, and digitalizes the sampled voltages. Can be converted to For example, the block sensing method may simultaneously supply the first pulses to the Tx lines of the first Tx block B1 and simultaneously receive the voltages of the sensor nodes through the Rx lines of the first Rx block C1. By simultaneously supplying a second pulse to the Tx lines of the 1 Tx block, the voltage of the sensor nodes may be simultaneously received through the Rx lines of the second Rx block C2. Subsequently, the block sensing method simultaneously supplies a third pulse to the Tx lines of the first Tx block B1 to simultaneously receive the voltages of the sensor nodes through the Rx lines of the third Rx block C3, and then the first Tx. The fourth pulse may be simultaneously supplied to the Tx lines of the block to simultaneously receive the voltages of the sensor nodes through the Rx lines of the fourth Rx block C4. In this manner, all sensor nodes in the first Tx block are sensed by the block sensing method, and then sensor nodes of the next Tx block are sensed.

If a touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method, the partial sensing method is performed. The partial sensing method precisely senses Tx blocks and Rx blocks intersecting the sensor nodes where the touch (or proximity) input of the block sensing results are detected, and sensor nodes intersecting the blocks. In detail, the partial sensing method sequentially applies pulses to the Tx lines of the Tx block in which the block sensing result touch (or proximity) input is detected, and Rx of the Rx block in which the block sensing result touch (or proximity) input is detected. The sensor node voltages are simultaneously or sequentially received through the lines and sampled, and the sampled voltages are converted into digital data. The partial sensing method does not apply pulses to Tx blocks for which no touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method, and also detects sensors through Rx blocks for which no touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method. Do not receive node voltages. As a result of the block sensing, if no touch (or proximity) input is detected in all blocks, the partial sensing method is not performed and the block sensing method is performed again.

When the multi-touch (or proximity) input is detected in the plurality of Rx blocks as shown in FIG. 33 by the block sensing method, the partial sensing method pulses the Tx lines of each of the Tx blocks where the touch (or proximity) input is detected. Are sequentially applied, and the sensor node voltages are simultaneously or sequentially received and sampled through the Rx lines of each of the Rx blocks where the touch (or proximity) input is detected, and the sampled voltage is converted into digital data. Even in this case, the partial sensing method does not apply pulses to Tx blocks for which no touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method, and Rx for which no touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method. Do not receive sensor node voltages through the blocks. As a result of the block sensing, if no touch (or proximity) input is detected in all blocks, the partial sensing method is not performed and the block sensing method is performed again.

When a touch (or proximity) input is detected at the boundary of neighboring Rx blocks by the block sensing method, the partial sensing method sequentially pulses pulses on Tx lines of the Tx block where the touch (or proximity) input is detected. The sensor node voltages are simultaneously or sequentially received and sampled through the Rx lines of neighboring Rx blocks bordering on a touch (or proximity) input position, and the sampled voltages are converted into digital data. Even in this case, the partial sensing method does not apply pulses to Tx blocks for which no touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method, and Rx for which no touch (or proximity) input is detected by the block sensing method. Do not receive sensor node voltages through the blocks. As a result of the block sensing, if no touch (or proximity) input is detected in all blocks, the partial sensing method is not performed and the block sensing method is performed again.

The driving method of the touch screen device according to the third embodiment of the present invention described above with reference to FIG. 19 may be applied together with the block sensing method and the partial sensing method to significantly reduce the response speed of the touch screen device and to touch (or proximity) the touch screen device. Sensing sensitivity can be improved significantly. 35 is a driving method of the touch screen device.

Referring to FIG. 35, a method of driving a touch screen device may obtain touch raw data Tdata by sensing sensor nodes of a touch screen TSP using a block sensing method and a partial sensing method as illustrated in FIGS. 20 to 34. (S41-S43)

Subsequently, the driving method of the touch screen apparatus executes a touch recognition algorithm, analyzes touch raw data, determines touch raw data having a threshold value or more as data of a touch (or proximity) input position, and calculates coordinates thereof (S44a). At the same time, the driving method of the touch screen device transmits the touch coordinate data already obtained as a result of the execution of the touch recognition algorithm to the host system (S44b).

The touch controller 30 may execute a touch recognition algorithm to calculate the coordinates of the touch (or proximity) input position in units of one line of the touch screen, or calculate the coordinates of the touch (or proximity) input position in units of one frame. For example, the touch controller 30 analyzes touch raw data TData obtained from the I line of the touch screen TSP in step S44a to calculate coordinates for the touch (or proximity) input of the I line. The touch coordinate data including the coordinate information is stored in the buffer memory. At the same time, the touch controller 30 reads the touch coordinate data of the line I-1 from the buffer memory and transmits the touch coordinate data to the external host system in operation S44b.

In addition, the touch controller 30 may transmit the touch coordinate data obtained as a result of the execution of the touch recognition algorithm to the host system in units of one line or one frame of the touch screen. The touch controller 30 may include a buffer memory that temporarily stores touch coordinate data including coordinate information. For example, the touch controller 30 analyzes one frame of touch raw data TData obtained from all sensor nodes of the touch screen TSP in step S44a and applies the touch (or proximity) input of the I frame to the touch input. Coordinate data is calculated and the touch coordinate data including the coordinate information is stored in the buffer memory. At the same time, the touch controller 30 reads the touch coordinate data of the I-1 frame from the buffer memory in step S44b and transmits the touch coordinate data to an external host system.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification, but should be defined by the claims.

DIS: Display panel TSP: Touch screen
12: data driving circuit 14: scan driving circuit
20: timing controller 30: touch controller
32: Tx driving circuit 34: Rx driving circuit

Claims (15)

A touch screen in which Tx lines and Rx lines intersect and sensor nodes are formed at each intersection thereof;
A touch screen driving circuit for supplying pulses to the Tx lines and sampling and converting voltages of the sensor nodes received through the Rx lines into digital data;
The touch screen driving circuit includes:
A setup operation for selecting Tx lines to which the pulse is to be supplied and selecting Rx lines to which the voltage of the sensor node is to be received,
A sensing operation of supplying a pulse to the Tx lines and receiving and sampling a sensor node voltage through the Rx lines,
ADC operation to convert the sampled voltage into digital data,
A coordinate recognition operation of estimating a coordinate of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm;
Performing a data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinate data including the coordinates to an external system,
The touch screen driving circuit
And at least one of the sensing operation and the ADC operation in parallel with the sensing operation during the sensing time required for the sensing operation. The method of claim 1,
The touch screen driving circuit includes:
A Tx driving circuit for selecting a Tx line in response to a Tx setup signal and supplying the pulse to the selected Tx line;
An Rx driving circuit for selecting the Rx line in response to the Rx setup signal, receiving and sampling the voltage of the sensor node through the selected Rx line, and converting the sampled voltage into digital data according to the ADC clock; And
And a touch controller which controls operation timings of the Tx driving circuit and the Rx driving circuit and generates one or more of the setup signals and the ADC clock during the sensing time. The method of claim 2,
The touch controller,
And a set-up signal for selecting an I + 1 sensor node during a sensing time of the first (I is natural number) sensor node. The method of claim 2,
The touch controller,
And a ADC clock for converting the voltage of the I-1 sensor node into digital data during the sensing time of the I (I is natural number) sensor node to the Rx driving circuit. The method of claim 3, wherein
The touch controller,
And a ADC clock for converting the voltage of the I-1 sensor node into digital data during the sensing time of the I (I is natural number) sensor node to the Rx driving circuit. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The touch controller,
And performing the coordinate recognition operation and the data transmission operation in parallel. A touch screen in which Tx lines and Rx lines intersect and sensor nodes are formed at each intersection thereof;
A touch screen driving circuit for supplying pulses to the Tx lines and sampling and converting voltages of the sensor nodes received through the Rx lines into digital data;
The touch screen driving circuit includes:
A setup operation for receiving a group setup information including a plurality of Tx setup information and a plurality of Rx setup information, selecting Tx lines to which the pulse is supplied, and selecting Rx lines to which a voltage of the sensor node is to be received;
A sensing operation of supplying a pulse to the Tx lines and receiving and sampling a sensor node voltage through the Rx line,
ADC operation to convert the sampled voltage into digital data,
A coordinate recognition operation of estimating a coordinate of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm;
Performing a data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinate data including the coordinates to an external system,
The touch screen driving circuit includes:
And performing the sensing operation and the ADC operation in parallel during the sensing time required for the sensing operation. The method of claim 7, wherein
The group setup information,
And a plurality of Tx channel information and a plurality of Rx channel information for sensing sensor nodes present in one line of the touch screen. The method of claim 8,
The touch screen driving circuit includes:
Receive the group setup information and store it in a buffer memory,
Perform a setup operation on the Tx lines and Rx lines necessary for sensing all sensor nodes in the group based on the group setup information read from the buffer memory until all sensor nodes in the currently sensing group are sensed. ,
After all sensor nodes in the current sensing group have completed sensing, the next node setup information received from the touch controller is stored in the buffer memory, and the sensor node in the next group based on the next group setup information read from the buffer memory. And performing a setup operation on the Tx lines and the Rx lines necessary for sensing the signals. The method of claim 7, wherein
The group setup information,
And a plurality of Tx channel information and a plurality of Rx channel information for sensing all sensor nodes of the touch screen. 11. The method of claim 10,
The touch screen driving circuit includes:
Receive the group setup information and store it in a buffer memory,
Perform a setup operation on Tx lines and Rx lines necessary for sensing the sensor nodes based on group setup information read from the buffer memory until all sensor nodes of the touch screen are sensed;
After all sensor nodes of the touch screen are sensed, the next group setup information received from the touch controller is stored in the buffer memory,
And performing a setup operation on the Tx lines and the Rx lines necessary for re-sensing all the sensor nodes based on the next group setup information read from the buffer memory. 12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11,
The touch controller,
And performing the coordinate recognition operation and the data transmission operation in parallel. A driving method of a touch screen device for driving a touch screen in which Tx lines and Rx lines intersect and sensor nodes are formed at each intersection thereof,
Performing a setup operation to select Tx lines to which a pulse is to be supplied and to select Rx lines to which a voltage of the sensor node is to be received;
Performing a sensing operation of supplying the pulse to selected Tx lines and receiving and sampling a sensor node voltage through the selected Rx lines;
Performing an ADC operation to convert the sampled voltage into digital data;
Performing a coordinate recognition operation of estimating coordinates of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm; and
Performing a data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinate data including the coordinates to an external system;
And at least one of the sensing operation and the ADC operation is processed in parallel with the sensing operation during the sensing time required for the sensing operation. A driving method of a touch screen device for driving a touch screen in which Tx lines and Rx lines intersect and sensor nodes are formed at each intersection thereof,
Receiving a group setup information including a plurality of Tx setup information and a plurality of Rx setup information, selecting a Tx line to which the pulse is supplied, and performing a setup operation of selecting Rx lines to which a voltage of the sensor node is to be received;
Performing a sensing operation of supplying the pulse to selected Tx lines and receiving and sampling a sensor node voltage through the selected Rx lines;
Performing an ADC operation to convert the sampled voltage into digital data;
Performing a coordinate recognition operation of estimating coordinates of a touch input position by analyzing the digital data using a preset touch recognition algorithm; and
Performing a data transmission operation of transmitting touch coordinate data including the coordinates to an external system;
And the sensing operation and the ADC operation are performed in parallel during the sensing time required for the sensing operation. The method according to claim 13 or 14,
And the coordinate recognition operation and the data transmission operation are performed in parallel.

Images