KR20140127739A - Method for Detecting an Object using A Touch Panel - Google Patents

Abstract

An adjacent objection detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: (a) preparing an adjacent objection detection apparatus including multiple first electrode which are arranged on a surface of a substrate and include at least one 1a electrode and 1b electrode arranged to extend in a first direction and multiple second electrodes which are arranged on the surface of the substrate to be parallel to the first electrodes and form a capacitor with the first electrodes; (b) applying electrical phase-in signals to the first 1a electrodes and 1b electrodes; and (c) receiving a current signal from the second electrodes.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for detecting an adjacent object using a touch panel,

The present invention relates to a method for detecting an adjacent object.

Currently, sensing methods used in touch screens are mainly composed of resistive film type, surface ultrasonic type, and capacitance type. In case of capacitive type, multi-touch detection is possible and durability and visibility are excellent. And is adopted as an input means.

The capacitive touch screen recognizes the user input by sensing the change in the amount of charge charged on the capacitive sensors on the touch screen panel due to user intervention, and recognizes the user input by self-capacitive type according to the charge storage method. And mutual-capacitive. The self-capacitance scheme forms one conductor per capacitive sensor to form a reference ground and a charge plane outside the touch screen panel, while the mutual capacitive scheme forms two reference electrodes on the touch screen panel Of the electric conductors form a charging surface to function as one charging sensor.

In general, the self-capacitance type uses an X / Y orthogonal arrangement of conductors. In this case, each power sensor functions as a line sensor. Therefore, when sensing each touch screen, an X- Detection information and Y-sense information from only one Y-line sensor group and one Y-line sensor group, respectively. Therefore, a single self-capacitance touch screen can detect and track a single touch but can not support multiple touches. The reciprocal capacitance method uses the X / Y orthogonal arrangement of conductors, but each charging sensor is configured in the form of a grid sensor at each orthogonal position of the conductor. When the user input on the touch screen is detected, The point that is detected independently is different from the self-capacitance method. Each lattice sensor corresponds to a different X / Y coordinate and provides independent reaction results. Therefore, in the mutual storage type touch screen, the user inputs from the X / Y-sense information set provided from the X / Information can be extracted and the multi-touch of the user can be detected and tracked.

The conductive configuration and sensing method of a common mutual capacitive touch screen panel are as follows. The first electrodes composed of a conductor extending in one direction and the second electrodes composed of a conductor extending in a direction perpendicular to the first electrodes are connected to each other through a dielectric material between the two electrodes, to form a mutual-capacitive sensor. The capacitance C of this sensor is the distance d between the two electrodes, the area a of the charge surface, and the equivalent dielectric constant of all the dielectric materials present between the charge surfaces, * a / d, and the relationship between the charge Q stored in the sensor and the voltage V and Q = CV applied to the two electrodes / the charge surface. When the user approaches the sensor, interference occurs in the electric field formed between the two electrodes, which prevents the charge from accumulating in the sensor. As a result, the amount of charge stored in the sensor is reduced, resulting in a decrease in capacitance. It can be understood that the capacitance changes due to the change of the equivalent dielectric constant between the charged surfaces due to the user's approach. However, since the electric charge between the charged surfaces is partially shunted due to the user access, the charge charge / Phenomenon. When an AC voltage source is connected to the first electrode and an AC waveform is applied to one of the charge surfaces of the sensor, a charge amount variation (ΔQ) corresponding to ΔQ = CΔV is generated for C that varies according to the access degree of the user, A read-out circuit (read-out circuit) connected to the second electrode converts the current or voltage. The converted information is generally used for a coordinate tracking algorithm and a gesture recognition algorithm through signal processing steps such as noise filtering, demodulation, digital conversion, and accumulation. A prior patent for such a capacitive touch sensitive panel is US Pat. No. 7,920,129.

Conventionally, the adjacent object detecting apparatus and the adjacent object detecting method have performed the signal processing process in the active mode in which the touch input coordinates and the touch intensity are detected even in a standby state waiting for the input of the user. However, unnecessary power consumption increases when the signal is processed in the same manner as the active mode for detecting the touch coordinates and the touch intensity of the user in the standby mode in which the user enters the active mode while waiting for the touch of the user. It is possible to reduce the power consumption by lengthening the refresh rate which is a cycle for detecting touch coordinates and touch intensity. However, if the refresh rate is lengthened, after the touch is performed to use the device in the input waiting state, Mode latency is long and the response to the touch input of the user is deteriorated.

In order to overcome such disadvantages, it is possible to reduce the latency time by varying the driving structure in the active mode and the driving structure in the standby mode, but since the area of the chip is increased due to the introduction of the circuit portion driving these two methods, And it is disadvantageous in that unnecessary power consumption can be increased.

A method for detecting an adjacent object according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: (a) forming a plurality of first electrodes including at least one first electrode 1a and at least one first electrode 1b disposed on one surface of a substrate and extending in a first direction, And a plurality of second electrodes disposed on one surface of the substrate and arranged in parallel with the first electrodes and alternately forming the first electrodes and the capacitors; and (b) Applying an in-phase electrical signal to the electrodes and the first b electrodes, and (c) receiving a current signal from the second electrodes.

A method for detecting an adjacent object according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: (a) forming a plurality of first electrodes including at least one first electrode 1a and at least one first electrode 1b disposed on one surface of a substrate and extending in a first direction, And a plurality of second electrodes disposed on one surface of the substrate and arranged in parallel with the first electrodes and alternately forming the first electrodes and the capacitors; and (b) Applying an electrical signal out of phase to the electrodes and the first b electrodes, and (c) receiving a current signal from the second electrodes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problem and provide a method of detecting an adjacent object that can quickly enter an active mode by reacting to a user's input in a standby mode.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of detecting an adjacent object that can reduce power consumption in a standby mode for waiting for a user's input.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a touch screen display device and a touch screen display method which are used in a standby mode in which a user's input is awaited using a driving structure used in an active mode for extracting touch coordinates and touch intensity information by an object, And to provide a neighboring object detection method in accordance with the trend.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of an adjacent object detecting apparatus according to the present embodiment.
2 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of first electrodes, second electrodes, and third electrodes disposed on a substrate.
3 is a diagram for explaining terms used in this embodiment.
4 is a diagram illustrating waveforms of signals applied to the first electrodes, the second electrodes, and the third electrodes in order to detect an object according to the present embodiment.
5 is a view illustrating a case where an object is placed on the touch panel.
6 is a diagram showing waveforms of signals applied to the first electrodes, the second electrodes, and the third electrodes in order to detect an object according to the present embodiment.
7 is a diagram illustrating a case where an object is located on the touch panel.
8 to 9 are flowcharts showing an outline of a method of driving an electronic device provided with a touch panel according to the present embodiment.

The following description is only an example for structural or functional explanation, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, the embodiments are to be construed as being variously embodied and having various forms, so that the scope of the present invention should be understood to include equivalents capable of realizing technical ideas.

Meanwhile, the meaning of the terms described in the present application should be understood as follows. The terms " first ", " second ", and the like are used to distinguish one element from another and should not be limited by these terms. For example, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "on" or "on" another element, it may be directly on top of the other element, but other elements may be present in between.

It should be understood that the singular " include "or" have "are to be construed as including a stated feature, number, step, operation, component, It is to be understood that the combination is intended to specify that it is present and not to preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Each step may take place differently from the stated order unless explicitly stated in a specific order in the context. That is, each step may occur in the same order as described, may be performed substantially concurrently, or may be performed in reverse order.

The drawings referred to for explaining embodiments of the present disclosure are exaggerated in size, height, thickness, and the like intentionally for convenience of explanation and understanding, and are not enlarged or reduced in proportion. In addition, any of the components shown in the drawings may be intentionally reduced, and other components may be intentionally enlarged.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to be consistent with the meanings in the context of the relevant art and can not be interpreted as having ideal or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of an apparatus for detecting an adjacent object according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a plurality of first electrodes 120, 140 and the third electrodes 160. As shown in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an apparatus for detecting an adjacent object according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate, at least one first electrode 1a extending in a first direction and at least one first electrode b disposed on one side of the substrate, A plurality of second electrodes disposed on one surface of the substrate and arranged in parallel with the first electrodes alternately to form the first electrodes and the capacitor, and a plurality of first electrodes, And a control unit for connecting the signal source to the first electrodes and controlling the detection unit to be connected to the second electrodes, wherein the signal source is connected to the first electrode And out-of-phase signals to the first and second electrodes.

For example, in the present disclosure, the first electrodes 120 and the second electrodes 140 are both used as sensing electrodes in the active mode, but in order to clearly and concisely explain the operation in the standby mode The names of the first, the first, the first, the second, the second, and the second are given.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, a cover glass is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 180 at a predetermined distance. The cover glass is formed of glass having undergone a predetermined process, and protects the touch panel 100 disposed on the substrate, and performs a function of transmitting an image represented by a display disposed under the substrate to a user. In another embodiment, although not shown, an opaque cover may be formed on the upper surface of the substrate. The described cover and cover glass are formed of a material that can transmit an electric field flux so that the object O can shunt the electric field flux formed by the third electrode 160 functioning as a driving electrode in the active mode do.

In the present specification, the term 'extending in the first direction' means not only linearly along the first direction as shown in FIG. 3 (a), but also a zigzag zigzag < / RTI > Also, although not shown, the term " extending in the first direction " in this specification includes those formed along the first direction in a zigzag-like outward curved shape.

Hereinafter, an object to which a user can apply an input to a touch panel is defined as an " object ". Such an object refers to an object capable of applying a touch input to the touch panel 100 by shunting an electric field flux formed by the first and second electrodes, such as a hand, a palm, or a stylus. However, this is for describing the object, not for limiting the scope of the object.

In the present specification, a state of acquiring information such as touch coordinate information, touch strength, and speed of movement when a user touches an object is defined as an " active mode " A state in which no object exists is defined as a " idle mode ", and a state in which touch information detection is stopped is defined as a " stop mode ".

The substrate 180 is formed of a dielectric. In one embodiment, the substrate 180 is formed of a transparent dielectric material, and a cover glass is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 180 to form a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) ) A display device such as a display. In one example, the substrate 180 is formed of glass. The first electrodes 120, the second electrodes 140, and the third electrodes 160 disposed on the substrate 180 are all formed to be transparent so as to function to detect objects simultaneously with display have. In another embodiment, it is also possible to form the substrate 180 with an opaque dielectric and function to simply detect only the touch of the object.

A plurality of first electrodes 120 extending in a first direction and a plurality of second electrodes 140 arranged in parallel and alternating with the first electrodes to form first electrodes and a capacitor are formed on an upper surface of a substrate, Located.

In one embodiment, the third electrodes 160 are disposed on the rear surface of the substrate 180 and extend in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and are arranged in parallel with each other. In the active mode, the third electrodes 160 function as a driving electrode and form a capacitive grid sensor together with first and second electrodes functioning as a sensing electrode. do. For example, the first, second, and third electrodes may be formed of a transparent conductive material so as to transmit an image displayed by a display device disposed on the backside of the substrate as described above. For example, the first to third electrodes may be formed of a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), or indium cadmium oxide (ICO). In another embodiment, the first to third electrodes may be formed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNT can flow a current having a higher density than a transparent conductive material such as ITO.

In the standby mode, the third electrodes 160 are connected to a low impedance power supply or a ground potential to block noise emitted by the display (not shown). In the active mode, the third electrodes other than the third electrode, which is connected to the signal source of the third electrodes 160 to form the electric field flux, are all connected to the low impedance power supply (not shown) In the standby mode, since the electric field flux is formed between the first electrode and the second electrode, all of the third electrodes are connected to the low impedance power source to block the noise introduced from the back surface of the substrate 180. [

The signal source Vsig generates an electrical signal. In one embodiment, the electrical signal generated by the signal source is at least one of a step wave, a square pulse, a sinusoidal pulse, a triangular pulse, and linear superposition thereof. For example, the signal source can simultaneously output an electrical signal and an out-of-phase signal having a phase difference of 180 degrees. As another example, the signal source can simultaneously output an electrical signal and an inphase signal without phase difference.

The detection unit 300 is electrically connected to one of the electrodes of the capacitor formed by the first electrode and the second electrode, receives the current signal output from the corresponding electrode, and outputs a corresponding voltage signal. In one embodiment, the detector 300 includes a charge amplifier. In one embodiment of the charge amplifier, the output stage of the operational amplifier is fed back to the inverting input stage, the capacitor and resistor are connected in parallel in the feedback path, and the non-inverting input The noninverting input stage is connected to ground. Although the inverting input is not connected to the noninverting input due to the virtual short principle of the operational amplifier, the potential remains the same as the potential of the noninverting input. Therefore, when the ground potential is applied to the non-inverting input terminal, the ground potential is maintained at the inverting input terminal, and when the predetermined potential is applied to the non-inverting input terminal, the potential of the inverting input terminal is maintained at the potential of the non-inverting input terminal. In one embodiment, the potential of the non-inverting terminal is applied to the ground potential. In another embodiment, the potential of the non-inverting terminal is applied to the potential between the potential of the power supply and the ground potential.

The control unit 200 electrically connects the first electrode 120 to the signal source Vsig and connects the second electrode 140 to the detection unit 300. In one embodiment, the controller 200 connects the first electrodes 120 to the detection unit 300 at a predetermined period and switches the second electrodes 140 to connect to the signal source Vsig.

A method of detecting a touch by an object according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of detecting a touch by an object according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a case where an object O is located on the touch panel 100. FIG. The waveforms shown as V1a and V1b in Fig. 4 sequentially show the waveforms applied to the first and second electrodes in Fig. 5, and the waveform shown as V3 shows that the ground potential is applied to the third electrode. In addition, the first electrode enable signal indicates that the first electrodes are in a period in which an electric signal is received from the signal source to form an electric field, and the second electrode enable signal is generated when the second electrodes receive an electrical signal from the signal source Indicating the section forming the electric field. Also, the area indicated by gray indicates that the corresponding electrode is connected to the detection unit to perform the object sensing.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the controller 200 divides the frame scan into two sections T1 and T2. The control unit 200 electrically connects the first electrodes 120 to the signal source during the T1 period and connects the second electrodes 140 to the detection unit 300 (see gray portion of FIG. Accordingly, the first electrodes 120 form an electric field flux by an electrical signal applied by a signal source, and the second electrodes 140 are connected to a charge amplifier of the detection unit to sense a touch of an object do. When the second electrodes 140 are connected to the charge amplifier of the detection unit, the potential of the second electrodes is maintained at the potential of the non-inverting terminal of the charge amplifier by the virtual short circuit of the charge amplifier.

The signal source Vsig applies a constant square pulse V1a to one first electrode 120a between any two electrodes 140 during the T1 interval and the first b electrode 120b has a phase difference Which is an out-of-phase pulse having a square pulse V1b. When an electrical signal having an out-of-phase relationship with each other is applied to the first and second electrodes 1a and 1b, the electric field flux formed by the first electrode 120a and the first electrode 120b is applied to the second electrode region The influence is canceled. The first electrodes 120a and the second electrodes 140 form capacitors having predetermined capacitances and the first electrodes 120b and the second electrodes 140 are also formed as shown in FIG. Thereby forming capacitors each having a predetermined capacitance. The first electrode, the first electrode, and the second electrode, which serve as electrodes in the capacitor thus formed, have the same area, and the material serving as a dielectric of the capacitor is also common to each capacitor, so that the capacitances of the capacitors are the same.

When the signal source Vsig applies a square pulse having a rising edge to the first electrode 120a, a current flows through the second electrode 140, which is another electrode of the capacitor connected to the ground potential. If this current is i1, then i1 is expressed by the following equation (1).

으로 표시되므로, i1과 i2가 동시에 인가되는 제2 전극에서 두 전류는 서로 상쇄된다. Similarly, a pulse applied to the first electrode 1a and an out-of-phase pulse are applied to the first electrode 120b, so that a square pulse having a falling edge is applied to the first electrode 120b. Assuming that the current flowing through the capacitor formed between the second electrode 140 and the first electrode b is i2,

So that the two currents cancel each other out at the second electrode to which i1 and i2 are simultaneously applied.

A pulse having a falling edge is applied to the first electrode 120a after a half period of a pulse applied to the first electrodes and a pulse having a rising edge is applied to the first electrode 122. [ The current due to each pulse at the second electrode is canceled as in the case described above. That is, the adjacent electrodes connected to the signal source (Vsig) and the capacitors formed on the basis of one electrode connected to the detector operate complementarily. Accordingly, when the object O is not located close enough to shunt the electric field flux, or when there is no object, no current flows through the second electrode 140, or only a small current flows. Can be detected.

As shown in FIG. 5, in a state in which the object O is touched, the first 1a electrode 120a and the first 1b electrode 120b are connected to the first and second electrodes 120a and 120b, respectively, A waveform is applied. Therefore, pulses having an out-of-phase relationship with each other are also applied to the first 1a electrode 120a and the first b electrode 120b near the object O. However, since the distance between the object O and the 1a electrode 120a and the distance between the object and the 1b electrode 120b are the same, the object O shunts the electric field flux formed by the pulse applied to the 1a electrode, And the amount of shunting the electric field flux formed by the pulse applied to the 1b electrode are the same. In this manner, when touching a point spaced by the same distance from any two electrodes to which signals are applied out-of-phase, objects can not be detected even though the object is touched. This is because the amount of electric field flux shunted by the object is the same in the two capacitors which operate complementarily with each other, so that the amount of decrease of i1 current is equal to the amount of decrease of i2, thereby canceling out the two currents at the second electrode.

The control unit 200 connects the first electrodes 120 connected to the signal source Vsig to the detection unit at a predetermined cycle and switches the second electrodes 140 connected to the detection unit to be connected to the signal source Vsig . After the switching is performed, the signal source applies an out-of-phase waveform to each of the second electrode 140a and the second electrode 140b as shown in the T2 section of FIG. 4, 120 are electrically connected to the detection unit 300 (see gray section of FIG. 4, T2). Since the object O is located on the 2a electrode 140a in the T2 interval, the object O is positioned on the 2a electrode 140a relative to the amount of the object O shunting the electric field flux formed by the 2b electrode 140b. The amount of shunting of the electric field flux formed by the electric field fluxes 140a is large. Accordingly, the capacitor C1 formed of the 2a electrode 140a and the 1a electrode 120a, and the capacitor C2 formed of the 2a electrode 140a and the 1b electrode 120b are formed in the shunt electric field flux And the generated current value is different from the current value generated in the capacitor C2 'formed by the electrode of the second electrode 140b and the electrode of the first electrode 120b. That is, the complement of the current is destroyed by the touch of the object, and the currents are not canceled each other so that a current is formed in the second electrode 120b.

Likewise, in the capacitor C1 and the capacitor C1 'formed by the 2a electrode, the complement of the current due to the object is destroyed, so that the current is similarly formed also in the 1a electrode 120a. Therefore, the detection unit 300 can detect a current thus formed and form a signal indicating the touch by the object.

For example, when the electric field flux is shunted by the object O, the dielectric constant of the dielectric forming the capacitors C1 and C2 can be modeled as reduced. If the phase of the pulse applied to the electrode on which the object O is located is 0 degrees and the phase of the pulse applied to the adjacent electrode is 180 degrees across the electrode connected to the detection unit, Decreases, the capacitance decreases as compared to the capacitance of the capacitors C1 'and C2', in which the object does not shunt the electric field. Therefore, the current formed by the first and second electrodes 120a and 120b connected to the detection unit is dominant due to the out-of-phase pulse, so that the current is applied to the electrode on which the object is located There is a relationship between pulse and out of phase.

When the touch detection apparatus is in the standby mode, a signal source is connected to the first electrode for detecting the object, and a first phase (T1) for connecting the detection unit to the second electrode, A frame scan is performed in a second phase T2 in which a detection unit is connected to the second electrode T2 and a signal source is connected to the second electrode. The frame scan is performed at a constant refresh rate, Only the presence or absence of touch by the object is detected.

Accordingly, in the coordinate detection, the number of the third electrodes arranged on the other side of the substrate is scanned. In the prior art, the number of the third electrodes is scanned to detect whether the objects are adjacent to each other. Unnecessary power consumption can be reduced because only two scans are required for one electrode and the second electrode. Further, it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the standby mode without sacrificing the speed at which the touch by the object is detected and reacted. In addition, since an object can be detected with low power without a component added to a component used in the active mode, there is no need to increase the chip size.

In the above-described embodiment, only the configuration in which the first electrode and the second electrode are alternately connected to the signal source and the detection unit is shown and described as an example. The number of electrodes to which a pulse having a phase of 0 degrees is applied, the number of electrodes to which a pulse having a phase of 180 degrees is applied, and the number of second electrodes connected to the detecting unit are plural . That is, a pulse having a phase of 0 degrees is applied to the A electrode group including two or more adjacent electrodes, the B electrode group including two or more electrodes disposed adjacent to the A electrode group is connected to the detecting unit, and B It is naturally possible to perform detection of an object by applying a pulse having a phase of 180 degrees to the C electrode group arranged adjacent to the electrode group as in the above embodiment.

Next, the operation of the adjacent object detecting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 7. FIG. However, for the sake of brevity and clarity, the description of the overlapping portions is omitted. 6 illustrates waveforms applied to the first and second electrodes in FIG. 7 in order of waveforms V1a and V1b in FIG. 6, and V3 Shows that the ground potential is applied to the third electrode. In addition, the first electrode enable signal indicates that the first electrodes are in a period in which an electric signal is received from the signal source to form an electric field, and the second electrode enable signal is generated when the second electrodes receive an electrical signal from the signal source Indicating the section forming the electric field. Also, the area indicated by gray indicates that the corresponding electrode is connected to the detection unit to perform the object sensing. The third electrode disposed on the other surface of the substrate 180 is electrically connected to a low impedance source or a ground potential to apply a ground signal and a ground signal as shown in the above embodiment. And the waveform applied to the second electrode differ in phase from the above-described embodiment.

In this embodiment, the controller 200 electrically connects the first electrodes 120 to the signal source. The first electrodes 120 receive an in-phase signal from a signal source Vsig to form an electric field flux. In one embodiment, square pulses are applied to the first electrodes 120 between any two electrodes 140, which are in phase with no phase difference from each other. If an out-of-phase relationship pulse is applied between the first electrodes 120a and 120b facing each other with the second electrode 140 therebetween as in the above-described embodiment, an electric field flux formed by the first electrodes Will be canceled near the second electrode, which is a point in the middle thereof, and adjacent electric field fluxes are attracted to each other, so that the height at which the electric field flux affects is relatively low. However, when pulses in the in-phase relationship to each other are applied to the facing first electrodes 120 as in the present embodiment, the electric field fluxes repulse each other and are formed so as to rise upward in the substrate 180. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the electric field fluxes formed by applying the signals having the in-phase relationship with each other by the first electrodes 120 are high enough to be shunted by the hovering object on the substrate The second electrodes transmit the current generated by the change of the electric field flux shunted by the objects floating on the upper surface of the substrate to the detection unit 300 and process the detected current to process the detected current, It is possible to detect whether the object is hovering on the top, or whether the object is approaching or separating from the substrate.

Referring to FIG. 7, the first electrodes 120 receive an in-phase signal applied from a signal source and repulse each other to form an electric field flux that affects a certain height. As described above, the second electrode 140 forms a capacitor together with the first electrode, and is electrically connected to the detection unit by the control unit. A predetermined AC waveform is applied to the first electrode 120 forming the capacitor and a potential applied to the non-inverting terminal of the charge amplifier is applied to the second electrode 140 due to the virtual short circuit of the detector, A current flowing from the first electrode 120a toward the second electrode 140a is formed and a current flowing from the first electrode 120b to the second electrode 140b is also formed in the capacitor C2. Accordingly, when the object is not adjacent to the upper part of the touch panel or the object is not adjacent to the object such that the electric field flux can not be shunted, the current applied from the second electrode 140 to the detection unit 300 is Is equal to the sum of the currents flowing at the second electrode of the transistor.

However, when the object is positioned above the 2a electrode to such an extent that the object can shunt the electric field flux, the object O shunts the electric field flux formed by the first electrode 120a and the first electrode 120b. The current flowing through the capacitor C1 formed by the first electrode 120a and the second electrode 140a and the capacitor C2 formed by the first electrode 120b and the second electrode 140a is the current flowing through the object O) decreases in proportion to the shunted electric field flux. In the above-described embodiment, when an electrical signal of an out-of-phase is applied to the first electrode or the second electrode and are complementary to each other, the currents flowing through the 2a electrode are canceled each other and the influence of the object can not be detected However, the currents do not cancel each other in this embodiment. Therefore, a current reduced in proportion to the electric field flux shunted by the object O flows through the 2a electrode and is applied to the detection unit.

Therefore, in one embodiment, the signal formed by the current flowing through the 2a electrode 140a and the signal formed by the current flowing through the second electrode may be compared with each other to detect the proximity of the object. In another embodiment, the currents flowing through the second electrodes are summed and compared with a predetermined current value, and if the current is less than the predetermined current value, it can be determined that the objects are adjacent to each other. Further, when the current flowing through the 2a electrode gradually increases, the influence of the object gradually decreases. Therefore, it can be determined that the object gradually moves away from the touch panel. On the contrary, when the current flowing through the 2a electrode gradually decreases, It can be judged that it is approaching to the panel.

In the present embodiment, since the currents are not canceled each other, it is not necessary to divide one frame scan into two sections. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, one frame scan can be performed in one section to further reduce the power consumed in the standby mode. In another embodiment, the driving method and the driving structure according to the previous embodiment can be used by performing one frame scan divided into two sections as shown in FIG. 6B.

According to the present embodiment, it can be seen that when the in-phase in-phase signals are applied to the electrodes arranged alternately with one electrode sandwiched therebetween, the range in which the electric field fluxes formed by the in- have. Therefore, if the object is shunted by the electric field flux thus formed, even if the object is not in direct contact with the detection device but in a hovering state on its upper surface, the other electrode detects the influence of the electric field shunted by the object . Furthermore, it is possible to detect the approach and separation of the object.

According to this embodiment, it is not necessary to perform touch coordinate detection by an object as in the prior art. Therefore, it is possible to detect the approach and separation of an object by only one scan without performing scanning by the number of driving electrodes, And further reduce the power consumption in the standby mode without sacrificing the speed at which the touch by the object is detected and reacted. In addition, since an object can be detected with low power without a component added to a component used in the active mode, there is no need to increase the chip size. Further, it is possible to detect an access state, which is a state before a touch by an object occurs, or a separation state, which is a state after a touch occurs by an object. It is also possible to detect whether an object is approaching as time elapses, It is possible to detect whether the electronic device is separated or not, thereby enabling more efficient driving control of the electronic device.

The present embodiment has been described by exemplifying only the configuration in which the first electrode and the second electrode are alternately connected to the signal source and the detection unit, as in the previous embodiments. However, this is for ease of explanation, and the number of electrodes connected to the signal source to apply a pulse having a phase of 0 degrees and the number of electrodes connected to the detection unit may be plural.

A method of driving an electronic device having a touch panel according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 9. FIG. In the description of the present embodiment, for the sake of brevity and clarity, the overlapping portions of the embodiments described above may be omitted. 8 and 9 are flowcharts for explaining a method of driving an electronic device. 8 and 9, a method of driving an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of applying an in-phase electrical signal to a plurality of first electrodes disposed on one side of a substrate and extending in a first direction, Detecting an approach of an object by receiving a current signal from second electrodes arranged on one side of the substrate and alternately arranged in parallel with the first electrodes and detecting an approach of the object when the object is detected, Detecting a touch by an object by receiving a current signal by an electric field flux formed by an electrical signal that is an out-of-phase electric field from a first electrode and a second electrode; .

In one example, if no input is applied to the electronic device in steps S100 and S200, the electronic device detects the access of the object. Thus, in-phase electrical signals are applied to the first electrodes disposed between the second electrodes as in the above-described embodiments. When an in-phase electrical signal is applied to the first electrodes, the electric field fluxes formed by the first electrodes repulse each other as described above to detect an object hovering adjacent to the touch panel As shown in FIG.

In one embodiment, a frame scan for object proximity detection to detect an object may be performed in one section to further reduce power consumed in the idle mode. In another embodiment, the driving method and the driving structure according to the previous embodiment can be used by performing one frame scan for detecting adjacent objects in two sections.

When the access of the object is detected, the touch by the object is detected (S300, S400). If it is detected that the object is approaching or the object is floating, it can be determined that the user intends to perform a predetermined operation using the electronic device within a short time, so that the touch input detection for applying the input to the electronic device is prepared do. Accordingly, when the access of the object is detected, an electrical signal of an out-of-phase is applied to the first electrodes and a current signal of the electric field flux formed by the electrical signal of the out-of-phase is received from the second electrodes, Detects a touch. As described above, if the object is located above one of the electrodes, the object may not be able to detect a change in the current formed by shunting the electric field flux, so that the connection between the first electrode and the signal source Disconnects the first electrode to the detection unit, disconnects the second electrode from the detection unit, and connects the second electrode to the signal source. In this way, touch detection by an object composed of two phases is performed at a predetermined frequency.

When a touch by an object is detected, the electronic device is driven in an active mode, and information such as touch coordinates of an object, touch intensity, and the like are received and the electronic device is driven (S500).

In one embodiment, the electronic device enters the stop mode when no touch by the object is detected for a predetermined period of time in the active mode. However, since a touch may not be detected for a predetermined period of time and there is a touch by an object, the touch mode should be detected for a predetermined period without entering the stop mode immediately. Accordingly, if no touch by the object is detected for a predetermined time, an electric signal of an out-of-phase is applied to the first electrodes and a current signal of an electric field flux formed by an electrical signal of an out-of-phase from the second electrodes is received And performs touch detection by the object (S600). At this time, if a touch by the object is detected, it is determined that the user intends to drive the electronic device again, so that the electronic device is driven again in the active mode.

However, if a touch by an object is not detected for a predetermined time, the first electrodes and the first electrodes are alternately arranged in parallel with the first electrodes to apply an in-phase electrical signal to the first electrodes, The current signal by the electric field flux is received from the two electrodes to detect whether the object is approaching or floating the object (S700). That is, when the touch by the object can not be detected, it is detected whether the object is hovering on the upper surface of the substrate. If the object is floating at a predetermined distance from the substrate, the object can be touched by the object, so it is necessary to detect whether or not the object is hovered for a predetermined time. However, if it is detected that the object is not floating for a predetermined time, the electronic device is driven in the stop mode (S900).

In the case of performing object detection in the standby mode according to this embodiment, only two sensing operations are required for one frame scan. Therefore, even if the refresh rate is kept the same as that in the active mode, high power efficiency can be obtained as compared with the active mode, and an improved initial reaction speed can be obtained as compared with the existing technology which realizes low power by lowering the refresh rate.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. It will be appreciated that other embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims.

100: touch panel 120: first electrode
140: second electrode 160: third electrode
180: substrate 200:
300:

Claims (9)

(a) applying an electrical signal in phase with each other to at least one first electrode and at least one first electrode located on one side of the substrate and extending in a first direction;
(b) receiving a current signal from a plurality of second electrodes disposed on a first surface of the substrate in parallel with the first electrode and the first electrode and alternately forming a first electrode and a first electrode and a capacitor,
(c) converting the received current signal into a voltage signal to detect whether the object is adjacent or not. The method according to claim 1,
A method for detecting an adjacent object that performs a cycle including the steps (a) and (b) at a predetermined frequency. The method according to claim 1,
The step of applying the electrical signal comprises:
A method for detecting an adjacent object that is performed by applying at least one electrical signal of a step, a square pulse, a sinusoidal pulse, a triangular pulse, and linear superposition thereof. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The method of detecting an adjacent object includes:
And connecting a low impedance source or a ground potential to third electrodes arranged on the other side of the substrate in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and arranged in parallel with each other. (a) applying an out-of-phase electrical signal to at least one first electrode and at least one first electrode disposed on one side of the substrate and extending in a first direction;
(b) receiving a current signal from a plurality of second electrodes disposed on a first surface of the substrate in parallel with the first electrode and the first electrode and alternately forming a first electrode and a first electrode and a capacitor,
(c) converting the received current signal into a voltage signal to detect whether the object is adjacent or not. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the second electrodes comprise at least one second electrode and at least one second electrode,
After the step (c)
(d) applying an electrical signal of out-of-phase to the second electrode and the second electrode,
(e) receiving a current signal from the first electrode and the first electrode. The method according to claim 6,
The method of claim 1, further comprising: a first step including the steps of (b) and (c), and a second step including the steps of (d) and (e) Way. 6. The method of claim 5,
The step of applying the electrical signal comprises:
A method for detecting an adjacent object that is performed by applying at least one electrical signal of a step, a square pulse, a sinusoidal pulse, a triangular pulse, and linear superposition thereof. 9. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8,
The method of detecting an adjacent object includes:
And a low impedance source or a ground potential is connected to third electrodes extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the other surface of the substrate and arranged in parallel with each other.

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