KR20170016556A - Finger sensor integrated type touch screen panel and driving method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a fingerprint sensor integrated type touch screen apparatus includes a touch screen and a touch screen driving circuit. The touch screen includes Tx electrode lines, Rx electrode lines intersecting with the Tx electrode lines, and touch and fingerprint sensors disposed an intersecting part between the Tx electrode lines and the Rx electrode lines, in which a sensing object region having the touch and fingerprint sensors is divided into at least two blocks. The touch screen driving circuit includes a Tx driving circuit and an Rx driving circuit, such that, a touch sensing mode senses a touch input per block and a fingerprint sensing mode detects a presence of a fingerprint input per block during a block sensing period, proceeds to a partial sensing period upon detection of the fingerprint input, and senses the fingerprint input only within the block where the fingerprint input occurs, per the touch and fingerprint sensor.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device and a driving method thereof,

The present invention relates to a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device, and more particularly, to a touch screen device having a fingerprint recognition function.

With the development of computer technology, various applications such as a notebook computer, a tablet PC, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, an automated teller machine, a search guide system, Computer based systems have been developed. Because these systems typically store a large amount of confidential data such as business information or business secrets, as well as personal information related to personal privacy, there is a need to enhance security to protect these data.

For this purpose, there has been known a fingerprint sensor capable of enhancing security by registering or authenticating a system using a fingerprint of a finger.

The fingerprint sensor is a sensor that detects a human fingerprint. The fingerprint sensor is roughly divided into an optical fingerprint sensor and a capacitive fingerprint sensor.

An optical fingerprint sensor uses a principle of irradiating a light source such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or the like and detecting light reflected by a ridge of a fingerprint through a CMOS image sensor. The optical fingerprint sensor has a limitation in reducing the size because it is required to scan using the LED, and the manufacturing cost is increased because the light source itself is expensive.

A capacitive fingerprint sensor utilizes a difference in the quantity of electricity charged between a ridge and a valley in contact with the fingerprint sensor.

A conventional capacitive fingerprint sensor is known as "capacitive sensor packaging ", US Patent Publication No. US2013 / 0307818 published on November 21, 2013. In the capacitive fingerprint sensor described in the above-mentioned U.S. Patent Application Publication, the capacitive fingerprint sensor is configured in the form of an assembly combined with a specific push button, and the electrostatic capacitance between the capacitive plate and the fingerprint (ridge and valley) A circuit for measuring capacitance includes a silicon wafer printed thereon.

Generally, ridges and valleys of human fingerprints are very small in size from about 300 μm to 500 μm. Therefore, the capacitive fingerprint sensor of the above-mentioned United States publication uses a high-resolution sensor array and an IC Integrated Chip) is required, and a silicon wafer that can form an integrated sensor array and IC is used. However, when a high-resolution sensor array and an IC are formed together using a silicon wafer, an assembly structure for combining a fingerprint sensor with a push button is required, which not only complicates the configuration but also increases the non-display area (bezel area) There was a problem. Further, since the push button (for example, the home key of the smart phone) and the fingerprint sensor are formed to overlap with each other, the thickness of the push button is increased, and the fingerprint sensing area is dependent on the size of the push button.

In order to solve such a problem, a technique of using the area of the touch sensor screen as a fingerprint identification area has been developed. US Patent No. 8,564, 314 entitled " Capacitive Touch Sensor for Identifying a Fingerprint ", entitled " Fingerprint Identification Integrated Capacitive Touch Screen Korean Patent No. 10-1432988, which was registered on Aug. 18, 2014, is known.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an arrangement of a driving electrode and a sensing electrode of a capacitive sensing panel, which is shown in FIG. 1, the capacitive touch sensor for fingerprint identification includes a touch sensor 3 including a touch driving electrode 1 (x) and a touch sensing electrode 1 (y), a fingerprint driving electrode 5 (x ) And a fingerprint sensing electrode 5 (y).

In the capacitive touch sensor for fingerprint identification, the touch electrode region for touch sensing and the fingerprint electrode region for fingerprint sensing are electrically separated, so that it is impossible to realize touch sensing and fingerprint sensing as the same electrode. This technique requires the signal wiring and the driving IC connected to the touch sensor 3, the signal wiring connected to the fingerprint sensor 5, and the driving IC to be connected to the fingerprint sensor 5 because the touch sensor 3 and the fingerprint sensor 5 must be formed separately Respectively. This technology is somewhat inconvenient to use because it is possible to recognize fingerprint only in a predetermined area rather than the whole area. In this technique, the fingerprint sensor 5, like the touch sensor 3, can not be formed in the image display area but must be formed outside the image display area. When the fingerprint sensor 5 is present in the image display area, the difference in the electrode pattern between the fingerprint sensor 5 and the touch sensor 3 (the fingerprint sensor 5 has a higher resolution than the touch sensor 3) There is a difference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device capable of reducing the total sensing time of the touch screen and reducing the influence of noise from the display panel, And a driving method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, the fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device according to the present invention includes a touch screen and a touch screen driving circuit. The touch screen includes Tx electrode lines, Rx electrode lines intersecting the Tx electrode lines, and touch and fingerprint sensors provided at intersections of the Tx electrode lines and the Rx electrode lines. Are divided into two or more blocks. The touch screen driving circuit senses a touch input on a block basis in a touch sensing mode, detects the presence or absence of a fingerprint input in units of blocks during a block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode, shifts to a partial sensing period when the fingerprint input is detected, It includes a Tx driving circuit and an Rx driving circuit to sense the fingerprint input in touch and fingerprint sensor units only for the block in which the input is generated. Wherein each of the blocks includes two or more Tx electrode lines connected to the same demux circuit and two or more Rx electrode lines connected to the same mux circuit.

In order to sense a touch input on a block-by-block basis in the touch sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit simultaneously controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to supply the sensor driving signal to the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block, Controls the operation of the mux circuit so that the voltages of the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block are simultaneously sampled.

In order to sense a touch input on a block-by-block basis in the touch sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to supply the sensor driving signal to only a part of touch and fingerprint sensors in the same block, The driving circuit controls the operation of the mux circuit to sample only the voltage of the touch " fingerprint sensor supplied with the sensor driving signal among the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block.

In order to detect the presence or absence of fingerprint input in block units during the block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to transmit the sensor driving signal to the touch & And the Rx driving circuit controls the operation of the mux circuit so that the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block is simultaneously sampled.

In order to detect the presence or absence of fingerprint input in block units during the block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit so that only a part of the touch & And the Rx driving circuit controls the operation of the mux circuit to sample only the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor supplied with the sensor driving signal among the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block.

The touch screen is virtually divided into first and second Tx blocks along a first axis and is virtually divided into first and second Rx blocks along a second axis intersecting the first axis, And simultaneously supplying the sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines existing in the first Tx block during the block sensing period and simultaneously supplying the sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines existing in the second Tx block, Wherein the Rx driving circuit simultaneously samples voltages of touch and fingerprint sensors input through Rx electrode lines in the first Rx block during the block sensing period, Simultaneously samples the voltage of the fingerprint sensors.

In order to sense the fingerprint input in units of the touch and fingerprint sensor during the partial sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the demultiplexing circuit so that the touch and fingerprint in the block in which the fingerprint input is generated The Rx driving circuit sequentially controls the operation of the mux circuit to sequentially sample voltages of the touch and fingerprint sensors in the block in which the fingerprint input is generated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch screen device comprising Tx electrode lines, Rx electrode lines intersecting the Tx electrode lines, and touch and fingerprint sensors provided at intersections of the Tx electrode lines and the Rx electrode lines, A method of driving a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device having a touch screen in which a sensing target area in which sensors exist is divided into two or more blocks, the method comprising: sensing a touch input on a block basis in a touch sensing mode; Detecting the presence or absence of a fingerprint input in a block unit during a block sensing period, shifting to a partial sensing period when a fingerprint input is detected, and sensing a fingerprint input in units of touch and fingerprint sensors only in the block in which the fingerprint input is generated . Wherein each of the blocks includes two or more Tx electrode lines connected to the same demux circuit and two or more Rx electrode lines connected to the same mux circuit.

In the touch sensing mode, a touch (or proximity) input is rapidly performed on a block-by-block basis. The touch sensor is divided into two or more blocks. Sensing. In the fingerprint sensing mode, the fingerprint input position is precisely sensed only for the block having the fingerprint input after quickly determining whether the fingerprint is input in units of blocks. As a result, the present invention can minimize the total sensing time of the touch screen. Furthermore, the present invention reduces the total sensing time of the touch screen, thereby reducing the noise inflow time that may affect the touch screen, and verifying the erroneous o'-touch sensed by the fingerprint input in the block sensing by partial sensing to minimize the noise effect And the precision of fingerprint recognition can be increased.

1 is a plan view schematically showing an arrangement of a driving electrode and a sensing electrode of a conventional capacitive sensing panel.
2 is a block diagram showing a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a view showing a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device in FIG. 2; FIG.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are waveform diagrams showing a sensor driving signal supplied to Tx electrode lines in the touch sensing mode. FIG.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a block sensing period and a partial sensing period; FIG.
FIGS. 7 and 8B illustrate examples of a block sensing method and a partial sensing method when the touch screen is dividedly driven into two or more Tx groups. FIG.

The display device to which the fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device of the present invention is applied includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP) A light emitting diode display device (OLED), and an electrophoresis display device (EPD). 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 the display device of the present invention is not limited to a liquid crystal display device.

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, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

FIG. 2 shows a display device to which a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 shows the fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device included in FIG. 2 in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device of the present invention includes a touch screen (TSP) and a touch IC 20.

The fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device of the present invention can be implemented as a capacitive touch screen (TSP) that senses a touch input through a plurality of capacitive sensors.

The capacitive touch screen includes a plurality of sensors having a capacitance. Capacitance can be divided into Self Capacitance and Mutual Capacitance. The electrostatic capacitance can be formed along a single-layer conductor wiring formed in one direction, and mutual capacitance can be formed between two orthogonal conductor wiring.

The touch screen TSP, which is implemented as a mutual capacitance sensor, includes Tx electrode lines (or Tx channels) arranged in parallel to each other along a first direction, Rx (or Tx channels) arranged side by side along a second direction, Electrode lines (or Rx channels), and mutual capacitance sensors formed at the intersections of the Tx electrode lines and the Rx electrode lines. Each mutual capacitance sensor includes a Tx electrode connected to the Tx electrode line, an Rx electrode connected to the Rx electrode line, and an insulating layer positioned between the Tx electrode and the Rx electrode. The Tx electrode lines are drive signal wires that apply a sensor drive signal to each of the sensors to supply charge to the sensors. The Rx electrode lines are sensor wirings connected to the sensors and supplying the charge of the sensors to the touch IC 20. [ In the mutual capacitance sensing method, a sensor driving signal is applied to a Tx electrode of a mutual capacitance sensor through a Tx electrode line to supply electric charge to the mutual capacitance sensor, and the capacitance change of the mutual capacitance sensor is synchronized with the sensor driving signal, Sensing through the line allows sensing the touch input.

In the present invention, the touch sensor and the fingerprint sensor are realized with the same electrode pattern. Accordingly, the mutual capacitance sensor is a touch and fingerprint sensor (TS) that acts as a touch sensor in the touch sensing mode and acts as a fingerprint sensor in the fingerprint sensing mode. Since the touch and fingerprint sensor (TS) is formed of one kind of electrode pattern, the problem of visibility due to the difference in electrode pattern between the fingerprint sensor and the touch sensor is prevented in advance as in the prior art.

The touch screen TSP may be bonded onto the upper polarizer plate of the display panel, or may be formed between the upper polarizer plate and the upper substrate of the display panel. Further, the touch and fingerprint sensors TS of the touch screen TSP can be embedded in the pixel array of the display panel DIS.

In order to realize a touch screen integrated with a fingerprint sensor, Tx electrode lines and Rx electrode lines are formed in a fine pattern, that is, a high density electrode pattern in a touch screen (TSP). Therefore, there is an advantage that fingerprint recognition can be performed on the entire area of the touch screen TSP.

Since the Tx electrode lines and the Rx electrode lines are formed in a high-density electrode pattern, the fingerprint & touch sensors TS are finely implemented so that a plurality of fingerprint sensors can be positioned between the ridges and the valleys of the fingerprint, thereby enabling accurate fingerprint sensing.

In the touch sensing mode, the sensor driving signals are applied to the touch & fingerprint sensors TS through the demultiplexing circuits DEMUX1-4 and the voltages of the touch and fingerprint sensors TS are transmitted through the MUX1-4 Is sensed. In the touch sensing mode, the fingerprint & touch sensor TS can be driven and sensed at the same time in block units or only one block at a time in the touch sensing mode. Accordingly, the present invention can reduce sensing time, power consumption, and touch report rate.

In the fingerprint sensing mode, the sensor driving signals are applied to the touch & fingerprint sensors TS through the demultiplexing circuits DEMUX1 to 4, and the voltages of the touch and fingerprint sensors TS are applied to the MUX1 ~ 4). However, in the fingerprint sensing mode, there is a feature that the touch input is simply sensed firstly in order to reduce the sensing time, power consumption, and the touch report rate, and second sensing is performed only in a specific area in which the touch is recognized. In other words, in the fingerprint sensing mode, the presence or absence of fingerprint input is detected in block units during the first sensing period (block sensing period), and when the fingerprint input is detected, transition is made to the second sensing period (partial sensing period) The fingerprint input can be sensed by the touch & fingerprint sensor (TSP) unit only. The operation in the primary sensing period of the fingerprint sensing mode is substantially the same as the touch sensing mode.

To this end, the sensing target area where the touch & fingerprint sensors TS exist in the touch screen TSP may be divided into two or more blocks. Each of the blocks includes two or more Tx electrode lines connected to the same DEMUX1-4 and two or more Rx electrode lines connected to the same MUX1-4. The first group Tx electrode lines TB1 are connected to the first DEMUX circuit DEMUX1 and the second group Tx electrode lines TB2 are connected to the second DEMUX circuit DEMUX2, The third group Tx electrode lines TB3 are connected to the circuit DEMUX3 and the fourth group Tx electrode lines TB4 are connected to the fourth DEMUX circuit DEMUX4. The first group Rx electrode lines RB1 are connected to the first mux circuit MUX1 and the second group Rx electrode lines RB2 are connected to the second mux circuit MUX2. The third group Rx electrode lines RB3 are connected to the fourth group Mx4 and the fourth group Rx electrode lines RB4 are connected to the fourth mux circuit MUX4. In this case, the sensing block may be implemented in 16 by intersection of the first to fourth group Tx electrode lines TB1 to TB4 and the first to fourth group Rx electrode lines RB1 to RB4.

On the other hand, when fingerprint & touch sensors TS are simultaneously driven and sensed on a block basis, the mutual capacitance of the fingerprint & touch sensors TS sensed at one time becomes too large and the sensing performance may be deteriorated accordingly. Accordingly, when driving and sensing the fingerprint & touch sensors TS at the same time, only the Rx electrode lines are selectively sensed in each block, and the remaining Rx electrode lines, which are not sensed, Can be processed.

The touch IC 20 includes a Tx driving circuit 22A for supplying a sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines, an Rx driving circuit 22B for sensing Rx electrode lines, a Tx driving circuit 22A and an Rx driving circuit And a touch controller 22C for controlling the operation of the touch sensors 22A and 22B. The Tx driving circuit 22A and the Rx driving circuit 22B constitute a touch screen driving circuit.

The touch screen driving circuit senses a touch input on a block basis in a touch sensing mode, detects the presence or absence of a fingerprint input in units of blocks during a block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode, shifts to a partial sensing period when the fingerprint input is detected, Sensing the fingerprint input in units of the touch & fingerprint sensor only for the block in which the input is generated. The present invention not only reduces the total sensing time required to sense all the fingerprint & touch sensors (TS) in the touch screen (TSP), but also reduces the total sensing time to reduce the time of noise introduction from the display panel.

The Tx driving circuit 22A and the Rx driving circuit 22B can be integrated in one ROIC (Read-out IC).

In the touch sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit 22A applies a sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines in units of groups as shown in Figs. 4A and 4B under the control of the touch controller 22C, and the Rx driving circuit 22B (Or only part of) the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS through the Rx electrode lines in group units under the control of the controller 22C and converts them into digital data.

In the fingerprint sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit 22A applies a sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines on a group basis during a block sensing period as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B under the control of the touch controller 22C, The sensor driving signal is supplied only to the Tx electrode lines existing in the block in which the fingerprint input is detected during the partial sensing period. The Rx driver circuit 22B senses the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS through the Rx electrode lines under the control of the touch controller 30 and converts them into digital data. The Rx driver circuit 22B simultaneously (or partly) senses the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS through the Rx electrode lines in block units under the control of the touch controller 30 during the block sensing period and converts them into digital data The voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS received through the Rx electrode lines in the block can be sequentially sampled and digitally converted into the block having the fingerprint input as a result of block sensing.

The Tx driving circuit 22A includes a plurality of DEMUXs 1 to 4 for driving the Tx electrode lines in the group units TB1 to TB4 or in units of the lines. The Rx driving circuit 22B includes a plurality of mux circuits MUX1 to MUX4 for driving the Rx electrode lines in the group units RB1 to RB4 or in units of the lines.

In the touch sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit 22A sets the Tx channel to output the sensor driving signal in block units (or line units) in response to the setup signal input from the touch controller 22C. In the fingerprint sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit 22A sets a Tx channel to output a sensor driving signal in a block unit (or line unit) in response to a setup signal input from the touch controller 22C, Sets the Tx channel to output the sensor drive signal for the period in line units. The Tx driving circuit 32 supplies a sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines connected to the Tx channel set according to the set-up signal. The sensor driving signal may include N sensor driving signals continuously generated at predetermined time intervals. Accordingly, the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor TS is repeatedly accumulated in N (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) times and charged to the sampling capacitor of the Rx driving circuit 22B, so that the charging amount of the sampling capacitor can be increased.

The Rx driver circuit 22B sets an Rx channel to receive the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor TS in response to the setup signal input from the touch controller 22C. The Rx driving circuit 22B receives the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor TS through the Rx electrode line connected to the Rx channel set in accordance with the setup signal, and samples the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor TS. The present invention receives the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor TS through the Rx channel set in accordance with the setup signal and the Rx electrode line connected thereto, and samples the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor TS.

The Rx driver circuit 22B simultaneously samples (or only partially) the voltages of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS through the Rx electrode lines in units of blocks under the control of the touch controller 22C in the touch sensing mode, It can be converted into digital data.

The Rx driver circuit 22B simultaneously (or only partly) samples the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS through the Rx electrode lines in units of blocks under the control of the touch controller 22C during the block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode The sampled voltage is converted into digital data. The Rx driving circuit 22B sequentially samples and converts the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS received through the Rx electrode lines in the block into digital data only in the block in which the fingerprint is input as a result of block sensing. The digital data output from the Rx drive circuit 22B is transferred as touch raw data to the touch controller 22C.

The touch controller 22C is connected to the Tx drive circuit 32 and the Rx drive circuit 22B through an interface such as an I2C bus, a SPI (serial peripheral interface), and a system bus. The touch controller 22C supplies the setup signal to the Tx drive circuit 32 and the Rx drive circuit 22B to set the Tx channel to which the sensor drive signal is to be output and the Rx channel to which the voltage of the touch & Select. The touch controller 22C supplies the Rx sampling clock for controlling the sampling timing of the sampling circuit incorporated in the Rx driving circuit 22B to the Rx driving circuit 22B to set the sampling timing of the voltage of the touch & . The touch controller 22C supplies the ADC clock to the analog-digital converter built in the Rx drive circuit 22B to control the analog-digital conversion timing.

The touch controller 22C analyzes touch data in a touch sensing mode and outputs touch information. The touch controller 22C analyzes the data by the touch in the block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode to determine whether a fingerprint is input. When the fingerprint input is detected as a result of the block sensing, the Tx driving circuit 22A and the Rx driving circuit 22B It is controlled by the partial sensing driving method. The touch controller 22C analyzes the data inputted from the Rx driving circuit 22B after the partial sensing, and outputs fingerprint information. The touch information and the fingerprint information output from the touch controller 22C are transmitted to the host system.

The touch controller 22C controls the Tx driving circuit 22A and the Rx driving circuit 22B in the fingerprint sensing mode to sense the touch and fingerprint sensors TS of the touch screen on a block basis during the block sensing period, When the fingerprint input is confirmed by the sensing, the touch and fingerprint sensors (TS) in the block having the fingerprint input are precisely sensed through the partial sensing to calculate accurate fingerprint information. On the other hand, the touch controller 22C controls the Tx driving circuit 22A and the Rx driving circuit 22B, and if it is confirmed that there is no fingerprint input during the block sensing period, the partial sensing is omitted and the block sensing is repeated.

The display device to which the fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device of the present invention is applied may include a display panel (DIS), a display drive circuit (12, 14, 16), and a host system (18).

The display panel DIS includes a liquid crystal layer formed between two substrates. The pixel array of the display panel DIS includes pixels formed in the pixel region defined by the data lines (D1 to Dm, m is a positive integer) and the gate lines (G1 to Gn, n is a positive integer) . Each of the pixels is connected to TFTs (Thin Film Transistors) formed at intersections of the data lines D1 to Dm and the gate lines G1 to Gn, a pixel electrode for charging a data voltage, A storage capacitor (Cst) for maintaining a voltage, and the like.

A black matrix, a color filter, and the like may be formed on the upper substrate of the display panel DIS. 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. The common electrode to which the common voltage is supplied may be formed on the upper substrate or the lower substrate of the display panel DIS. On the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the display panel DIS, a polarizing plate is attached, and an alignment film for forming a pre-tilt angle of the liquid crystal on the inner surface in contact with the liquid crystal is formed. 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 below the rear surface of the display panel DIS. The backlight unit is implemented as an edge type or direct type backlight unit, and irradiates the display panel (DIS) with light. 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 16, and writes video data of the input image to pixels of the display panel DIS. The data driving circuit 12 converts the digital video data RGB input from the timing controller 16 into an analog positive / negative gamma compensation voltage to output a data voltage. The data voltage output from the data driving circuit 12 is supplied to the data lines D1 to Dm. The scan driving circuit 14 sequentially supplies a gate pulse (or a scan pulse) synchronized with the data voltage to the gate lines G1 to Gn to select a pixel line of the display panel DIS to which the data voltage is written.

The timing controller 16 inputs timing signals such as a vertical synchronization signal Vsync, a horizontal synchronization signal Hsync, a data enable signal DE and a main clock MCLK input from the host system 18 And synchronizes the operation timings of the data driving circuit 12 and the scan driving circuit 14 with each other. 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 host system 18 is 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, Video data can be input from an external video source device. The host system 18 converts image data from an external video source device into a format suitable for display on a display panel (DIS), including a system on chip (SoC) including a scaler. In addition, the host system 18 executes an application program associated with the touch information or fingerprint information input from the touch controller 22C.

4A and 4B show the sensor driving signals supplied to the Tx electrode lines in the touch sensing mode.

In order to sense the touch input on a block basis in the touch sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit 22A controls the operation of the DEMUX circuits DEMUX1 to DEMUX4 so that the Tx electrode lines (in the group unit TB1 to TB4) The sensor driving signal can be simultaneously supplied to the touch & fingerprint sensors TS in the same block. In this case, the Rx driving circuit 22B controls the operation of the mux circuits MUX1 to MUX4 to sense the Rx electrode lines group by group to simultaneously sample the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors TS in the same block .

In order to sense the touch input on a block basis in the touch sensing mode, the Tx driving circuit 22A controls the operation of the DEMUX circuits DEMUX1 to DEMUX4 so that the Tx electrode lines (in the group unit TB1 to TB4) And a sensor driving signal is applied to only some of the Tx electrode lines of each group to supply a sensor driving signal to only a part of the touch and fingerprint sensors TS in the same block. In this case, the Rx driving circuit 22B controls the operations of the MUX1 to MUX4 to sense the Rx electrode lines in groups, and only the Rx electrode lines of each group are sensed, Only the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensor TS supplied with the sensor driving signal can be sampled.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of driving a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device according to the present invention. 6 shows a block sensing period and a partial sensing period.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a method of driving a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device of the present invention detects a touch input by sensing sensing touch and fingerprint sensors in units of blocks in a touch sensing mode.

The driving method of the present invention senses touch and fingerprint sensors in units of blocks during a block sensing period (TB) in a fingerprint sensing mode (S11). During the block sensing period TB, the sensor driving signals are simultaneously supplied to the Tx electrode lines existing in the Nth (N is a natural number) block, so that the voltages of all touch and fingerprint sensors existing in the Nth block are simultaneously sensed, The voltage of all the touch and fingerprint sensors existing in the (N + 1) th block is simultaneously sensed by simultaneously applying the sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines existing in the (N + 1) th block. In the block sensing period TB, a sensor driving signal is simultaneously applied to the Tx electrode lines included in one block, which is only one line sensing time of the conventional art. Here, the block sensing period TB includes a Tx block sensing period and an Rx block sensing period.

The driving method of the present invention can analyze the data with the touch generated through the block sensing and determine whether the fingerprint is inputted or not based on the data whose change value of the touch & fingerprint sensor voltage is larger than a predetermined threshold value before and after the touch. In the driving method of the present invention, when the fingerprint input is detected through block sensing, the process shifts to the partial sensing step, and the sensor driving signals are sequentially applied to the Tx electrode lines in the block in which the fingerprint input is generated during the partial sensing time TP And fingerprint information is precisely detected by sensing the voltage of the touch & fingerprint sensors existing in the block sequentially by line (S12 and S13). The partial sensing time (TP) includes the Tx partial sensing time and the Rx partial sensing time. In the touch screen driving method of the present invention, if a fingerprint input is not detected through block sensing, the block sensing step is repeated without moving to the partial sensing step.

FIGS. 7 and 8B illustrate examples of a block sensing method and a partial sensing method when the touch screen is dividedly driven into two or more Tx groups. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 7, the touch screen may be divided into two or more groups, for example, first to fourth groups TB1 to TB4.

As shown in FIG. 8A, after the sensor driving signals are simultaneously supplied to all the Tx electrode lines in the first group TB1 during the block sensing period TB, a sensor driving signal is applied to all the Tx electrode lines in the second group TB2 At the same time, the presence or absence of fingerprint input is detected on a block-by-block basis. The touch and fingerprint sensors of the first and second groups TB1 and TB2 are sensed on a block basis during the block sensing period TB and sensor drive signals are simultaneously supplied to all the Tx electrode lines in the third group TB3 A sensor driving signal is simultaneously supplied to all the Tx electrode lines in the fourth group TB4 to detect a fingerprint input in the third and fourth groups TB3 and TB4. When the fingerprint input is detected in the second group TB2 through block sensing, the process shifts to the partial sensing step, and sensor drive signals are sequentially supplied to all the Tx electrode lines in the second group TB2 as shown in FIG. 8A, The fingerprint information is precisely sensed in the group TB2. Accordingly, if a fingerprint input is detected in a plurality of blocks as a result of block sensing, the longer the partial sensing time (TP) becomes, the more the number of blocks in which the fingerprint input is generated increases. If there is no fingerprint input in the first, third and fourth blocks TB1, TB3 and TB4 as a result of the block sensing, the Tx lines of the first, third and fourth blocks TB1, TB3 and TB4 in the partial sensing step The touch and fingerprint sensors of the first, third, and fourth blocks TB1, TB3, and TB4 are not sensed.

After the sensor driving signal is supplied to one (or a part of) the Tx electrode lines in the first group TB1 during the block sensing period TB as shown in FIG. 8B, among the Tx electrode lines in the second group TB2 A sensor drive signal is supplied to any one (or a part), and the presence or absence of fingerprint input is detected on a block-by-block basis. The touch and fingerprint sensors of the first and second groups TB1 and TB2 are sensed on a block basis during the block sensing period TB and then the touch and fingerprint sensors of any one A sensor drive signal is supplied to any one (or a part of) the Tx electrode lines in the fourth group TB4 and the fingerprint input is performed in the third and fourth groups TB3 and TB4 . When the fingerprint input is detected in the second group TB2 through block sensing, the process shifts to the partial sensing step. As shown in FIG. 8B, the sensor driving signals are sequentially supplied to all the Tx electrode lines in the second group TB2, The fingerprint information is precisely sensed in the group TB2. Accordingly, if a fingerprint input is detected in a plurality of blocks as a result of block sensing, the longer the partial sensing time (TP) becomes, the more the number of blocks in which the fingerprint input is generated increases. If there is no fingerprint input in the first, third and fourth blocks TB1, TB3 and TB4 as a result of the block sensing, the Tx lines of the first, third and fourth blocks TB1, TB3 and TB4 in the partial sensing step The touch and fingerprint sensors of the first, third, and fourth blocks TB1, TB3, and TB4 are not sensed.

As described above, according to the present invention, the touch and fingerprint sensor is implemented in the entire area of the touch screen as a fine electrode pattern, the touch screen is virtually divided into two or more blocks, and in the touch sensing mode, Proximity) input. In the fingerprint sensing mode, the fingerprint input position is precisely sensed only for the block having the fingerprint input after quickly determining whether the fingerprint is input in units of blocks. As a result, the present invention can minimize the total sensing time of the touch screen. Furthermore, the present invention reduces the total sensing time of the touch screen, thereby reducing the noise inflow time that may affect the touch screen, and verifying the erroneous o'-touch sensed by the fingerprint input in the block sensing by partial sensing to minimize the noise effect And the precision of fingerprint recognition can be increased.

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 22C: touch controller
22A: Tx driving circuit 22B: Rx driving circuit

Claims (8)

Tx electrode lines, Rx electrode lines intersecting the Tx electrode lines, and touch and fingerprint sensors provided at intersections of the Tx electrode lines and the Rx electrode lines, wherein the touch and fingerprint sensors A touch screen in which a sensing target region is divided into two or more blocks; And
Sensing a touch input on a block basis in a touch sensing mode, detecting whether a fingerprint is input in a block unit during a block sensing period in a fingerprint sensing mode, shifting to a partial sensing period when a fingerprint input is detected, And a touch screen driving circuit for sensing a fingerprint input in units of a touch and fingerprint sensor,
The touch screen driving circuit includes a Tx driving circuit for supplying a sensor driving signal to the touch & fingerprint sensors through the Tx electrode lines, a Rx sampling circuit for sampling a voltage of the touch and fingerprint sensors received through the Rx electrode lines, A driving circuit,
Each of the blocks including two or more Tx electrode lines connected to the same demux circuit and two or more Rx electrode lines connected to the same mux circuit. The method according to claim 1,
In order to sense the touch input on a block-by-block basis in the touch sensing mode,
The Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to simultaneously supply the sensor driving signal to the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block,
Wherein the Rx driving circuit controls the operation of the mux circuit so that voltages of the touch and fingerprint sensors in the same block are simultaneously sampled. The method according to claim 1,
In order to sense the touch input on a block-by-block basis in the touch sensing mode,
The Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to supply the sensor driving signal to only a part of the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block,
Wherein the Rx driving circuit controls the operation of the mux circuit to sample only the voltage of the touch " fingerprint sensor supplied with the sensor driving signal from the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block. The method according to claim 1,
In order to detect the presence or absence of fingerprint input in block units during the block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode,
The Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to simultaneously supply the sensor driving signal to the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block,
Wherein the Rx driving circuit controls the operation of the mux circuit so that voltages of the touch and fingerprint sensors in the same block are simultaneously sampled. The method according to claim 1,
In order to detect the presence or absence of fingerprint input in block units during the block sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode,
The Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to supply the sensor driving signal to only a part of the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block,
Wherein the Rx driving circuit controls the operation of the mux circuit to sample only the voltage of the touch " fingerprint sensor supplied with the sensor driving signal from the touch & fingerprint sensors in the same block. 5. The method of claim 4,
The touch screen is virtually divided into first and second Tx blocks along a first axis and is virtually divided into first and second Rx blocks along a second axis intersecting the first axis,
The Tx driving circuit simultaneously supplies the sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines existing in the first Tx block during the block sensing period and then supplies the sensor driving signal to the Tx electrode lines existing in the second Tx block, Respectively,
Wherein the Rx driving circuit simultaneously samples voltages of touch and fingerprint sensors input through Rx electrode lines in the first Rx block during the block sensing period, A fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device for simultaneously sampling voltages of fingerprint sensors. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
In order to sense a fingerprint input in units of the touch and fingerprint sensor during the partial sensing period in the fingerprint sensing mode,
The Tx driving circuit controls the operation of the DEMUX circuit to sequentially supply the sensor driving signals to the touch & fingerprint sensors in the block in which the fingerprint input is generated,
Wherein the Rx driving circuit sequentially controls the voltages of the touch and fingerprint sensors in the block in which the fingerprint input is generated by controlling the operation of the mux circuit. Tx electrode lines, Rx electrode lines intersecting the Tx electrode lines, and touch and fingerprint sensors provided at intersections of the Tx electrode lines and the Rx electrode lines, wherein the touch and fingerprint sensors A method of driving a fingerprint sensor integrated touch screen device having a touch screen in which a sensing target region is divided into two or more blocks,
Sensing a touch input on a block-by-block basis in a touch sensing mode; And
In the fingerprint sensing mode, the presence or absence of a fingerprint input is detected in units of blocks during a block sensing period, and when a fingerprint input is detected, the fingerprint sensing period is shifted to a partial sensing period to sense a fingerprint input in units of touch and fingerprint sensors ≪ / RTI >
Each of the blocks including two or more Tx electrode lines connected to the same DEMUX circuit and two or more Rx electrode lines connected to the same MUX circuit.

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