TW201624215A - Touch device - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch device including a touch panel and a controller integrated circuit (IC) is provided. The touch panel has a level shifter, a shift register string, a plurality of first touch electrodes and a plurality of second touch electrodes. The shift register string includes a plurality of shift registers connected with each other in series. The output terminal of the level shifter is connected to the input terminal of a first shift register of the shift registers. The output terminals of the shift registers are connected to the first touch electrodes in one-to-one manner. The controller IC has a start-pulse output terminal and a plurality of sensing terminals. The start-pulse output terminal is connected to the input terminal of the level shifter of the touch panel. The sensing terminals are connected to the second touch electrodes in one-to-one manner.

Description

Touch device

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to a touch device.

In recent years, with the rapid development and application of information technology, wireless mobile communication and information appliances, many information products have been input devices such as traditional keyboards or mice for the purpose of being more convenient, lighter and more humanized. , changed to use a touch panel (Touch Panel) as an input device. The user can operate the electronic device by touching (or approaching) the touch panel with a finger or other object (such as a stylus). Generally, the touch controller needs to drive the touch panel with a high voltage signal. The high voltage output means that the general touch controller must use an expensive high pressure process.

The invention provides a touch device to reduce the output voltage swing of the integrated circuit of the controller.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a touch device including a touch panel. And the controller integrated circuit. The touch panel has a first level shifter, a shift register string, a plurality of first touch electrodes, and a plurality of second touch electrodes. The shift register string includes a plurality of shift registers that are serially connected to each other. The output of the first quasi-offset is coupled to the input of the first shift register of the shift registers. The outputs of these shift registers are connected to the first touch electrodes in a one-to-one manner. The first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes are interdigitated to form a touch area. The controller integrated circuit has a starting pulse output and a plurality of sensing terminals. The start pulse output is connected to the input of the first level shifter of the touch panel. The sensing terminals are connected to the second touch electrodes in a one-to-one manner.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first level shifter, the shift register string, the first touch electrode, and the second touch electrode are all formed on the touch panel by the touch panel process. On the substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the voltage swing of the initial pulse output of the controller integrated circuit is smaller than the voltage swing of the output of the first level shifter.

In an embodiment of the invention, the power supply terminal of the first level shifter is powered by the controller integrated circuit or is powered by a timing controller for driving the display panel.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first level shifter includes a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor, and a capacitor. The first end of the first transistor and the control end are coupled to the first power terminal of the first level shifter. The first end of the second transistor is coupled to the first power terminal of the first level shifter. Second transistor The two ends are coupled to the output of the first level offset. The control end of the second transistor is coupled to the second end of the first transistor. The first end of the third transistor is coupled to the second end of the second transistor. The second end of the third transistor is coupled to the second power terminal of the first level shifter. The control end of the third transistor is coupled to the input of the first level shifter. The first end of the capacitor is coupled to the second end of the first transistor. The second end of the capacitor is coupled to the second end of the second transistor.

In an embodiment of the invention, the touch panel further includes a second level shifter. The output of the second level shifter is connected to the clock trigger of these shift registers. The input of the second level shifter is coupled to the clock output of the controller integrated circuit.

In an embodiment of the invention, the touch panel further includes a clock removing device. The input of the clock is connected to the high frequency clock source to receive the high frequency clock. A plurality of outputs of the clock divider are coupled to the plurality of clock inputs of the controller integrated circuit to provide a plurality of clock signals of different frequencies.

In an embodiment of the invention, the clock removing device, the first level shifting device, the shift register string, the first touch electrode and the second touch electrode are all formed by the touch panel process. On the substrate of the touch panel.

In an embodiment of the invention, the high frequency clock source is a timing controller for driving the display panel.

Based on the above, the level shifter of the touch panel can increase the output voltage swing of the controller integrated circuit to drive the shift register string of the touch panel. Therefore, the output voltage swing of the controller integrated circuit can be effectively reduced.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

100, 300‧‧‧ touch devices

110, 310‧‧‧ touch panel

111‧‧‧First positional offset

112‧‧‧Second position shifter

113‧‧‧ third positional offset

120, 320‧‧‧ controller integrated circuit

311‧‧‧In addition to the clock

330‧‧‧Sequence Controller

C1‧‧‧ capacitor

CK‧‧‧ clock output

CLK‧‧‧ clock output

F1, F2, F3, F4‧‧‧ clock input

In_LS‧‧‧ input

M1, M2, M3, M4‧‧‧ second touch electrode

N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, N8‧‧‧ first touch electrodes

Out_LS‧‧‧output

R1, R2, R3, R4‧‧‧ sensing end

SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, SR5, SR6, SR7, SR8‧‧‧ shift register

T1‧‧‧first transistor

T2‧‧‧second transistor

T3‧‧‧ third transistor

Vdd_LS‧‧‧First power terminal

Vss_LS‧‧‧second power terminal

Vst‧‧‧ starting pulse output

XCK‧‧‧Inverted Clock Output

FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a touch device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the first level shifter 111 of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of a touch device according to another embodiment of the invention.

The term "coupled" as used throughout the specification (including the scope of the patent application) may be used in any direct or indirect connection. For example, if the first device is described as being coupled to the second device, it should be construed that the first device can be directly connected to the second device, or the first device can be connected through other devices or some kind of connection means. Connected to the second device indirectly. In addition, wherever possible, the elements and/ Elements/components/steps that use the same reference numbers or use the same terms in different embodiments may refer to the related description.

FIG. 1 illustrates an electric device of a touch device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. Road map. The touch device 100 includes a touch panel 110 and a controller integrated circuit 120. The touch panel 110 has a first level shifter 111, a shift register string, a plurality of first touch electrodes, and a plurality of second touch electrodes. The number of first touch electrodes and/or the number of second touch electrodes can be determined according to product design requirements. For example, but not limited to, the touch panel 110 shown in FIG. 1 has first touch electrodes N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, N8, and has second touch electrodes M1, M2. , M3, M4. The first touch electrodes N1 N N8 and the second touch electrodes M1 M M4 are interdigitated to form a touch area. The first touch electrodes N1 N N8 , the second touch electrodes M1 M M4 , the first level shifter 111 , and the shift registers SR1 SR SR8 can be embedded/formed through the same process (touch panel process). On the substrate of the touch panel 110.

The shift register string includes a plurality of shift registers that are serially connected to each other. The number of shift registers of the touch panel 110 can be determined according to product design requirements. For example, but not limited to, the shift register string of the touch panel 110 shown in FIG. 1 includes shift register SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, SR5, SR6, SR7, and SR8 connected in series with each other. . As used herein, "interconnected" means that the input of one shift register is electrically connected to the output of another shift register. The meaning of "multiple shift registers are connected in series" does not include the connection relationship between the power supply terminal, the control terminal, the clock trigger terminal or other connection terminals of the shift register.

The shift register SR1~SR8 may be a conventional shift register or other shift register, which is not limited in this embodiment. The output terminals of the shift registers SR1 to SR8 are connected to the first touch electrodes N1 to N8 in a one-to-one manner. First quasi-bias The output of the shifter 111 is connected to the input of the first shift register SR1 of the shift registers SR1 to SR8.

The touch panel 110 also has a second level shifter 112 and a third level shifter 113. The output of the second level shifter 112 is coupled to the positive clock trigger of the shift registers SR1~SR8. The output of the third level shifter 113 is connected to the negative clock trigger of the shift registers SR1~SR8. The first touch electrodes N1 to N8, the second touch electrodes M1 to M4, the level shifters 111 to 113, and the shift registers SR1 to SR8 can be embedded/formed through the same process (touch panel process). On the substrate of the touch panel 110.

The controller integrated circuit 120 has a start pulse output terminal, a clock output terminal and a plurality of sensing terminals. The number of start pulse outputs, clock outputs and sense terminals can be determined according to product design requirements. For example, but not limited to, the controller integrated circuit 120 shown in FIG. 1 has a start pulse output terminal Vst, a clock output terminal CK, an inverted clock output terminal XCK, and sensing terminals R1, R2, and R3. , R4. The start pulse output terminal Vst is connected to the input terminal of the first shift register SR1 in the shift register string of the touch panel 110. The clock output CK is coupled to the input of the second level shifter 112 to provide a clock signal. The inverting clock output terminal XCK is coupled to the input of the third level shifter 113 to provide an inverted clock signal. The sensing terminals R1 R R4 are connected to the second touch electrodes M1 M M4 in a one-to-one manner.

In other embodiments, the shift registers SR1~SR8 may each have only one clock trigger. Therefore, the level shifter 113 and the inverted clock output terminal XCK can be omitted. In other embodiments, the shift registers SR1~SR8 may be respectively There are three (or more) clock trigger terminals to receive clock signals of different phases. Therefore, the touch panel 110 may be configured with more level offsets, and the controller integrated circuit 120 may be configured with more clock outputs (eg, CK1, CK2, CK3, ..., and XCK1, XCK2). XCK3,..., not shown). The plurality of level shifters and the plurality of clock outputs may refer to a reference description of the level shifter 112, the level shifter 113, the clock output terminal CK, and the inverted clock output terminal XCK. And analogy, so I won't repeat them.

Referring to FIG. 1, the voltage swing of the start pulse output terminal Vst of the controller integrated circuit 120 is smaller than the voltage swing of the output terminal of the first level shifter 111. That is to say, the level shifters 111, 112 and 113 of the touch panel 110 can increase the output voltage swing of the controller integrated circuit 120 to drive the shift register SR1~SR8 of the touch panel 110. . Therefore, the output voltage swing of the controller integrated circuit 120 can be effectively reduced. The reduction in output voltage swing means that the controller integrated circuit 120 can employ an inexpensive low voltage process. In some embodiments, the controller integrated circuit 120 can be powered to the power terminals of the level shifters 111, 112, and 113. In other embodiments, a timing controller (not shown) for driving the display panel can be powered to the power terminals of the level shifters 111, 112, and 113.

The controller integrated circuit 120 can provide a start pulse signal to the shift registers SR1 SRSR8 of the touch panel 110 via the start pulse output terminal Vst and the first level shifter 111. The controller integrated circuit 120 can provide a clock signal to the shift registers SR1 SRSR8 of the touch panel 110 via the clock output terminal CK and the second level shifter 112. The controller integrated circuit 120 can pass through the inverted clock output terminal XCK and the The three-bit shifter 113 provides an inverted clock signal to the shift registers SR1 SR SR8 of the touch panel 110. According to the trigger timing of the clock signal outputted by the clock output terminal CK and the inverted clock output terminal XCK, the shift registers SR1 SR SR8 may be generated based on the start pulse signal provided by the controller integrated circuit 120. / output driving pulse signal to the first touch electrodes N1 N N8 to scan the first touch electrodes N1 N N8. During the scanning of the first touch electrodes N1 N N8, the controller integrated circuit 120 can synchronously sense the second touch electrodes M1 M M4 via the sensing terminals R1 R R4 to detect the touch on the touch panel 110 . The touch event of the control area.

This embodiment does not limit the implementation of the level shifters 111, 112 and 113. For example, in some embodiments, the level shifters 111, 112, and 113 can be well-known level shifters or other level shifting circuits.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the first level shifter 111 of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. Embodiments of the other level shifters 112 and 113 can be analogized with reference to the related description of the first level shifter 111. The first bit shifter 111 has an input terminal In_LS, an output terminal Out_LS, a first power supply terminal Vdd_LS, and a second power supply terminal Vss_LS. The input terminal In_LS may be coupled to the start pulse output terminal Vst of the controller integrated circuit 120. The output terminal Out_LS can be coupled to the input of the shift register SR1. The first power terminal Vdd_LS and the second power terminal Vss_LS may be coupled to the power supply circuit. In other embodiments, the controller integrated circuit 120 can supply power to the first power terminal Vdd_LS of the level shifter 111 and the second power terminal Vss_LS. In other embodiments, a timing controller (not shown) for driving the display panel can be powered to the first power terminal Vdd_LS and the second power of the level shifter 111. Source Vss_LS.

The first bit alignment deflector 111 includes a first transistor T1, a second transistor T2, a third transistor T3, and a capacitor C1. In this embodiment, but not limited thereto, the first transistor T1, the second transistor T2 and the third transistor T3 may be N-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (NMOS) transistors. . The first end (eg, the drain) of the first transistor T1 is coupled to the control terminal (eg, the gate) to the first power terminal Vdd_LS of the first level shifter 111. The first end (eg, the drain) of the second transistor T2 is coupled to the first power terminal Vdd_LS. The second end (eg, the source) of the second transistor T2 is coupled to the output terminal Out_LS of the first level shifter 111. A control terminal (eg, a gate) of the second transistor T2 is coupled to a second end (eg, a source) of the first transistor T1. The first end (eg, the drain) of the third transistor T3 is coupled to the second end of the second transistor T2. The second end (eg, the source) of the third transistor T3 is coupled to the second power terminal Vss_LS of the first level shifter 111. The control terminal (eg, the gate) of the third transistor T3 is coupled to the input terminal In_LS of the first level shifter 111. The first end of the capacitor C1 is coupled to the second end of the first transistor T1. The second end of the capacitor C1 is coupled to the second end of the second transistor T2.

In other embodiments, the first level shifter 111 can include a plurality of sets of circuits shown in FIG. 2 in series with each other.

FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of a touch device 300 according to another embodiment of the invention. The touch device 300 includes a touch panel 310 , a controller integrated circuit 320 , and a timing controller 330 . The timing controller 330 can control/drive a display panel (eg, a liquid crystal display panel, not shown). The touch panel 310 has multiple levels of offset a shift register string, a clock divider 311, a plurality of first touch electrodes, and a plurality of second touch electrodes. The first touch electrodes T1 to N8, the second touch electrodes M1 to M4, the level shifters 111 to 113, the shift registers SR1 to SR8, and the clock saver 311 can be processed through the same process (touch panel process). And embedded/formed on the substrate of the touch panel 310. The touch device 300, the touch panel 310, and the controller integrated circuit 320 shown in FIG. 3 can be analogized with reference to the related descriptions of the touch device 100, the touch panel 110, and the controller integrated circuit 120 shown in FIG.

The touch panel 310 shown in FIG. 3 further includes a clock separator 311. The input of the clock 311 is connected to the high frequency clock source to receive the high frequency clock. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the high frequency clock source may be a timing controller 330 for driving a display panel (not shown) or other external clock source. The clock of the touch panel 310 and the controller integrated circuit 320 comes from an external clock source (for example, the timing controller 330), so the power consumption of the touch panel 310 and/or the controller integrated circuit 320 can be reduced.

The clock output terminal CLK of the timing controller 330 outputs a high frequency clock (for example, several MHz to several hundreds of MHz) to the clock divider 311. The plurality of outputs of the clock divider 311 are coupled to a plurality of clock inputs (eg, clock inputs F1, F2, F3, and F4) of the controller integrated circuit 320 to provide a plurality of clock signals of different frequencies. . The clock input terminals F1 to F4 shown in FIG. 3 are examples of implementation. The number of clock inputs of the timing controller 330 is not limited thereto. The clock divider 311 can divide the high frequency clock outputted by the clock output terminal CLK of the timing controller 330 to output clock signals of different frequencies to the clock input terminals F1 to F4 of the controller integrated circuit 320. . For example, but not limited to, assuming that the clock output terminal CLK of the timing controller 330 outputs a high frequency When the frequency of the pulse is f Hz, the clock 311 can output the clock signals of the frequency f/2 Hz, f/4 Hz, f/8 Hz, and f/16 Hz to the clock input terminals F1 to F4 of the controller integrated circuit 320. .

The controller integrated circuit 320 can select one of the clock input terminals F1~F4, and output the clock signal of the selected clock input terminal to the level offset via the clock output terminal CK and the inverted clock output terminal XCK. Shifters 112 and 113. The controller integrated circuit 320 can perform a frequency hopping operation by selecting the clock input terminals F1 to F4. The frequency hopping operation can improve the touch performance of the touch panel.

This embodiment does not limit the implementation of the clock 311. For example, in some embodiments, the clock saver 311 can be a known frequency divider or other frequency dividing circuit. In other embodiments, the clock saver 311 can include a plurality of flip-flops connected in series with one another. The high frequency clock outputted by the clock output terminal CLK of the timing controller 330 can be frequency-divided by using the flip-flop string to output clock signals of different frequencies. On the other hand, the present embodiment does not limit the number of the clock separators 311. For example, in some embodiments, the clock saver 311 can include a plurality of clock dividers that provide different frequency division ratios, respectively. Therefore, the de-clocking devices can respectively divide the high-frequency clock outputted by the clock output terminal CLK of the timing controller 330 by different ratios, and output the clock signals of different frequencies to the controller integrated circuit 320. Pulse input terminals F1~F4.

In summary, the level shifter of the touch panel of the embodiment of the present invention can increase the output voltage swing of the controller integrated circuit to drive the shift register of the touch panel. Therefore, the output voltage swing of the controller integrated circuit can be effectively reduced. low. The reduction in output voltage swing means that the controller integrated circuit can be used in an inexpensive low voltage process.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧ touch device

110‧‧‧Touch panel

111‧‧‧First positional offset

112‧‧‧Second position shifter

113‧‧‧ third positional offset

120‧‧‧Controller integrated circuit

CK‧‧‧ clock output

M1, M2, M3, M4‧‧‧ second touch electrode

N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, N8‧‧‧ first touch electrodes

R1, R2, R3, R4‧‧‧ sensing end

SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, SR5, SR6, SR7, SR8‧‧‧ shift register

Vst‧‧‧ starting pulse output

XCK‧‧‧Inverted Clock Output

Claims (9)

A touch device includes: a touch panel having a first level shifter, a shift register string, a plurality of first touch electrodes, and a plurality of second touch electrodes, wherein the shifting The register string includes a plurality of shift registers connected in series with each other, an output of the first level shifter being connected to an input of a first shift register of the shift registers The output ends of the shift registers are connected to the first touch electrodes in a one-to-one manner, and the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes are interdigitated to form a touch. And a controller integrated circuit having a start pulse output end and a plurality of sensing ends, wherein the start pulse output end is connected to an input end of the first level shifter of the touch panel, The sensing ends are connected to the second touch electrodes in a one-to-one manner. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the first level shifter, the shift register string, the first touch electrodes, and the second touch electrodes are all The touch panel process is formed on a substrate of the touch panel. The touch device of claim 1, wherein a voltage swing of the initial pulse output of the controller integrated circuit is smaller than a voltage swing of the output of the first level offset. The touch device of claim 1, wherein a power terminal of the first level shifter is powered by the controller integrated circuit or a timing controller for driving a display panel. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the first level The first transistor is coupled to a first power terminal of the first level shifter; a second transistor coupled to the first terminal Connected to the first power terminal of the first level shifter, a second end of the second transistor is coupled to the output end of the first level shifter, and one of the second transistors The control terminal is coupled to a second end of the first transistor; a third transistor having a first end coupled to the second end of the second transistor, and a second second transistor The end is coupled to a second power terminal of the first level shifter, a control end of the third transistor is coupled to the input end of the first level shifter; and a capacitor, one of the The first end is coupled to the second end of the first transistor, and the second end of the capacitor is coupled to the second end of the second transistor. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the touch panel further comprises: a second level shifter, an output end of which is connected to the clock trigger end of the shift register; The input of the second level shifter is coupled to a clock output of the controller integrated circuit. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the touch panel further comprises: a clock removing device, wherein an input end is connected to a high frequency clock source to receive a high frequency clock, the dividing Multiple outputs of the clock are connected to the plurality of integrated circuits of the controller The clock input provides multiple clock signals at different frequencies. The touch device of claim 7, wherein the clock removing device, the first level shifter, the shift register string, the first touch electrodes, and the second The touch electrodes are formed on a substrate of the touch panel via a touch panel process. The touch device of claim 7, wherein the high frequency clock source is a timing controller for driving a display panel.