TW202347101A - Touch control chip and related signal processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch chip capable of electrically connecting a touch monitor having a plurality of touch blocks, the touch chip includes a plurality of pins, a plurality of selectors, a first amplifier and a second amplifier. The plurality of pins are electrically coupled to the plurality of touch blocks. The plurality of selectors are coupled to the plurality of pins, a first selected block of the plurality of touch blocks is formed by connecting the plurality of selectors to M pins of the plurality of pins, and a second selected block of the plurality of touch blocks is formed by connecting the plurality of selectors to N pins of the plurality of pins. The first amplifier and the second amplifier are respectively electrically coupled to the first selected block and the second selected block. A number of the touch block of the first selected block electrically coupled to the first amplifier is M, a number of the touch block of the second selected block electrically coupled to the second amplifier is N, wherein M is an integer not smaller than 2, N is an integer.

Description

Touch chip and signal processing method

The present invention relates to a technology related to a touch signal reading circuit of a touch screen of an electronic device, in particular to a technology related to a touch signal reading circuit of a touch screen that can support an active pen and a touch chip based on this circuit. .

A touch system requires sensing components, touch controllers, and back-end device driver software. For example, a touch screen of a computing device includes a sensing element, and the touch screen is provided with multiple touch areas. Through physical signals such as light, pressure, sound or charge changes generated by touch, the touch controller reads the analog or digital physical signals and processes them to determine the touch position, and then the touch controller determines the touch position. The coordinate point data of the location is transmitted to the software executed by the application processor of the computing device for use. As far as the implementation of the touch controller is concerned, multiple traces of multiple touch areas of the touch screen are connected to the touch controller, and connected to the multiplexer in the touch controller and then connected to the charge based on the amplifier. Voltage converter (charge-to-voltage converter, QVC or CVC for short).

On the other hand, the current application trend of computing devices is to further support active pens on finger-touch touch systems. The reporting frequency of touch screens is generally 60 Hz, and the reporting frequency of active pens is higher (such as 240 Hz). Therefore, a touch controller that supports active pens needs to add charge-to-voltage converters (QVCs) to receive active pen signals in a timely manner. However, increasing the number of charge-to-voltage converters (QVCs) will increase the area and cost of the touch controller.

One purpose of the present invention is to provide a touch chip technology that can help further reduce the cost of the touch chip and enable the touch chip to be used in a touch screen that can support an active pen.

To achieve at least the above objectives, the present invention proposes an embodiment of a touch chip that can be electrically coupled to a touch screen. The touch screen has a plurality of touch blocks. The touch chip includes: a plurality of pins, Selector, first amplifier and second amplifier. A plurality of pins are used to electrically couple the touch blocks. a selector, coupled to the pins, and used to electrically couple M pins among the pins to form parts of the touch blocks into a first selected block, and electrically couple the N pins of the pins are coupled to form parts of the touch blocks into a second selected block. The first amplifier is used to electrically couple the first selected block. The second amplifier is used to electrically couple to the second selected block. The number of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is M, and the number of touch blocks in the second selected block to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled is N, and M is not A positive integer less than 2, N is a positive integer.

To achieve at least the above objectives, the present invention provides an embodiment of a touch chip, which includes a plurality of pins, a selector module and a plurality of amplifiers. The pins are used to electrically couple multiple touch areas of the touch screen. a selector module, coupled to the pins, and used to selectively electrically couple M pins among the pins to form parts of the touch blocks into a first selected block, and selectively electrically coupling N pins among the pins to form parts of the touch blocks into a second selected block. The selector module is configured to selectively control a first selected block to be electrically coupled to a first amplifier of the amplifiers, and is configured to selectively control a second selected block to be electrically coupled to a third amplifier of the amplifiers. The two amplifiers are electrically coupled. The number of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is M, and the number of touch blocks to the second selected block to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled is N, and M is not A positive integer less than 2, N is a positive integer.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the number M of touch areas in the first selected area to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled and the number M of touch areas in the second selected area to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled The number N is a different positive integer.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the selector includes a plurality of multiplexers, electrically coupled between M pins of the pins and the first amplifier, and electrically coupled to the pins between the N pins and the second amplifier.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the touch screen includes a first touch area and a second touch area, the first touch area is closer to the touch chip than the second touch area, and the first selected area is located The first touch area and the second selected block are located in the second touch area.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the selector includes: a first switch, electrically coupled between one of the M pins and the first amplifier, for changing the electrical capability of the first amplifier. Number of pins for sexual coupling.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the selector includes: a second switch, electrically coupled between one of the M pins and the second amplifier, for changing the electrical capability of the second amplifier. Number of pins for sexual coupling.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the touch chip can support an active pen, and the operating frequency of the active pen is greater than the operating frequency of the touch screen.

In some embodiments of the present invention, at least one touch area between the first selected area and the second selected area is the same.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first selected block is closer to the touch chip than the second selected block; and the number M of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is greater than the number M of the touch chip. The number N of touch blocks in the second selected block to which the two amplifiers are electrically coupled.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the selector module forms the first selected block and the second selected block respectively at different times.

In order to achieve at least the above objectives, an embodiment of a signal processing method of the present invention is used for a touch chip. The signal processing method includes:

a) When a first direction scan of a touch screen is performed, a selector module of the touch chip is used to form a plurality of selected areas from parts of multiple touch areas of the touch screen, and Each selected block is electrically coupled to a corresponding amplifier among a plurality of amplifiers of the touch chip to read the sensing quantity corresponding to the selected block, wherein the number of touch blocks in each selected block is Not less than 2;

b) Obtain the first signal from an active pen based on the sensing quantities corresponding to the selected blocks in step a);

c) When a second direction scan of the touch screen is performed, the selector module of the touch chip is used to form a plurality of selected areas from the touch block portions of the touch screen, and Each selected block is electrically coupled to a corresponding amplifier among a plurality of amplifiers of the touch chip to read the sensing quantity corresponding to the selected block, wherein the number of touch blocks in each selected block is Not less than 2;

d) Obtain the second signal from the active pen based on the sensing quantities corresponding to the selected blocks in step c);

e) Determine the coordinates of the touch position of the active pen based on the first signal and the second signal of the active pen.

In some embodiments of the present invention, in step a) or b), the selected blocks include a first selected block and a second selected block, and the touch block in the first selected block The number is M and the number of touch blocks in the second selected block is N, and M and N are different positive integers.

In some embodiments of the invention, wherein:

The first selected block is closer to the touch chip than the second selected block; and

The number M of touch blocks in the first selected block is greater than the number N of touch blocks in the second selected block.

In some embodiments of the present invention, at least one touch block between the first selected block and the second selected block is the same.

In some embodiments of the present invention, in the signal processing method, the selector module forms the first selected block and the second selected block respectively at different times.

As shown in the above embodiments, in order to further reduce the cost of the touch chip and enable the touch chip to be used in a touch screen that can support an active pen, multiple touch areas corresponding to the near-end and far-end touch areas of the touch screen The number of electrically coupled pins may be different. For example, the number of electrically coupled pins corresponding to the proximal touch area may be greater than the number of electrically coupled pins corresponding to the far end touch area. This can help to balance the technical effects of touch sensing quality and reducing touch chip costs.

In order to fully understand the purpose, characteristics and effects of the present invention, the present invention is described in detail through the following specific embodiments in conjunction with the attached drawings, as follows:

The circuit architecture and various implementation methods of the touch chip are proposed below according to the present invention. The touch chip (such as Figure 1, Figure 3A, Figure 3B, Figure 5 or their related embodiments) includes a plurality of pins and a plurality of amplifiers, and the pins are used to electrically couple the touch screen A plurality of touch blocks (such as Figure 2, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 7A, Figure 7B or related embodiments), the touch chip is configured to make a plurality of the pins A pin is electrically coupled to a first amplifier of the amplifiers, and is configured to electrically couple a plurality of second pins of the pins to a second amplifier of the amplifiers. The number of the first pins to which the first amplifier can be electrically coupled is different from the number of the second pins to which the second amplifier can be electrically coupled.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of an implementation of a circuit architecture of a touch chip for reading touch signals from a touch screen, which can represent multiple embodiments based on this circuit architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the touch screen 1 has multiple touch areas (eg 11, 12). The touch screen 1 is, for example, a touch screen on a computing device such as a computer, a smartphone, or a tablet computer. It is a display screen attached or embedded with sensing elements such as a touch detection device, an array, or a film (such as Liquid crystal (LCD) screen, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen, etc.). For example, the touch screen 1 further supports an active pen (active pen) such as the active pen represented by AN in Figure 1 based on the touch system of finger touch.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the touch chip 2 includes a selector module 21 and an amplifier module 25 . The architecture based on the touch chip 2 can be implemented as a touch screen readout circuit (readout IC), a touch controller or a touch display driver integration (Touch with display driver integration, TDDI) suitable for reading active pen signals, for example. wafer. The selector module 21 may be implemented by, for example, a switch, a multiplexer, a selector or other various suitable circuits. The amplifier module 25 includes multiple amplifiers, which may be implemented as multiple charge-to-voltage converters to convert touch-sensing charges into touch signals. When the touch chip 2 is implemented, it may further include an analog-to-digital converter and other circuits for signal processing of the touch signal.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 , the touch area 12 is closer to the touch chip 2 than the touch area 11 . Therefore, the touch area 12 is called a proximal touch area relative to the touch chip 2 . The control area 11 is called the remote touch area.

Please refer to Figure 2 , which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of reading touch signals based on the touch chip in Figure 1 . As shown in Figure 2, for example, the touch screen 1 has 16x50 touch blocks, where the touch blocks are represented by dotted squares. For example, the touch screen 1 includes a plurality of traces that electrically connect the touch block to a plurality of pins of the touch chip 2 . The touch chip 2 has an analog front-end circuit electrically coupled to multiple pins. The analog front-end circuit includes, for example, multiple switches, multiplexers, selectors, or other various suitable circuits, and includes amplifier-based charge-to-voltage conversion. (QVC).

The reporting frequency of the active pen AN is high, such as 240 Hz, and its reporting period is shorter than that of the touch chip. Therefore, the touch chip 2 supporting the active pen will require more charge-to-voltage converters (QVC) to receive the active pen signal in time. In order to enable the touch chip 2 to receive active pen signals in a timely manner without increasing the number of charge-to-voltage converters (QVCs), one approach is to allow multiple multiplexers of the touch chip 2 to be electrically coupled to one charge-to-voltage converter (QVC). QVC), allowing one charge-to-voltage converter (QVC) to connect multiple multiplexers. Another approach is to further study and explore the relationship between the quality of the touch sensing signal and the number of touch blocks electrically coupled to the charge-to-voltage converter (QVC), as well as the distance between the touch block and the touch chip. relationship. Through computer simulation experimental data, the inventor of the present case found that, for example, the pins corresponding to the far-end touch area are electrically coupled to a first number (such as 4) and the pins corresponding to the near-end touch area are electrically coupled. In a configuration where the number of couplings is the second number (such as 8), the measurement results (such as capacitance values) obtained by the analog front end are relatively close, and can be used directly or only require low-complexity signal compensation processing. This takes into account the technical effect of touch sensing quality and reducing touch chip costs. It is true that the implementation of the present invention is not limited to the examples. The above-mentioned first number and second number can be adjusted differently for different touch screens, for example, they can be learned through simulation experiments.

In order to take into account the quality of the touch sensing signal and promote the touch chip 2 to support the active pen and reduce the chip cost, the touch chip 2 of the embodiment in Figure 1 can be configured so that the touch blocks in different touch areas correspond to The number of pins of the touch chip 2 that are electrically coupled is different. For example, the number of electrical couplings between the multiple pins corresponding to the near-end touch area (such as the touch area 12 ) and the far-end touch area (such as the touch area 11 ) of the touch screen 1 may be different. For example, the number of electrically coupled pins corresponding to the near-end touch area may be greater than the number of electrically coupled pins corresponding to the far-end touch area.

As shown in Figure 2, the solid line box represents that when the touch screen 1 is scanning in the Y direction during operation, there are pins corresponding to different touch blocks on the selector module of the touch chip 2 21 is electrically coupled to read the touch signal. For example, every 4 touch blocks in row 1 are connected into the same block, as if the selected block A1 includes the first 4 touch blocks in row 1 of touch screen 1; Every 5 touch blocks in the row (row) are connected into the same block, as if the selected block A2 contains the first 5 touch blocks in the 4th column of touch screen 1; every 6 touch blocks in the 6th column (row) The touch blocks are connected into the same block, as if the selected block A3 contains the first 6 touch blocks in the 6th column of the touch screen 1; every 8 touch blocks in the 50th column (row) are connected into For the same block, the selected block A4 includes the first 8 touch blocks of the 50th column of touch screen 1. Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. With respect to the touch chip 2, the selected block A1 can be regarded as a far-end touch block, and the selected block A4 can be regarded as a near-end touch block. , the far-end column has fewer touch block connections than the near-end column.

For example, the selected block A1 of the touch screen 1 (such as the first four touch blocks in the first column) is electrically coupled to the touch screen through the traces (not shown) in the touch screen 1. A group of pins among the pins of chip 2. Please refer to FIG. 3A , which illustrates an embodiment in which pins corresponding to the remote touch area are electrically coupled. As shown in Figure 3A, an embodiment of the touch chip 2 includes a selector module 21A and an amplifier module 25A. The touch area of the selected area A1 is electrically coupled to the pins P11, P12, P13, and P14. , the pins P11, P12, P13, and P14 are electrically coupled through a plurality of connection lines in the selector module 21A, and are further electrically coupled to an amplifier in the amplifier module 25A, for example, implemented as a charge-to-voltage converter. (QVC)251A.

For example, the selected block A4 of the touch screen 1 (such as the first 8 touch blocks in the 50th column) is electrically coupled to the touch screen through the traces (not shown) in the touch screen 1. A group of pins among the pins of chip 2. Please refer to FIG. 3B , which illustrates an embodiment in which pins corresponding to the proximal touch area are electrically coupled. As shown in Figure 3B, the touch area of the selected area A4 is electrically coupled to the pins P21 ~ P28. The pins P21 ~ P28 are electrically coupled through the connecting lines in the selector module 21A, and are further electrically coupled. is coupled to an amplifier within the amplifier module 25A, such as implemented as a charge-to-voltage converter (QVC) 252A.

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of touch signal reading based on the touch chip with the architecture shown in FIG. 1 . As shown in Figure 4, the solid line box represents that when the touch screen 1 is scanning in the X direction during operation, there are pins corresponding to different touch blocks on the selector module of the touch chip 2 21 is electrically coupled to read the touch signal. For example, the selected block B1 includes the first 4 touch blocks of the first row (column) of the touch screen 1, and the selected block B2 includes the consecutive 5 touch blocks of the first row (column) of the touch screen 1. The selected block B3 includes the last 8 touch blocks of the first row of the touch screen 1, and the touch blocks of the remaining rows are connected like the first row (column).

For example, the selected block B1 of the touch screen 1 (such as the first four touch blocks in row 1) is electrically coupled to the touch screen through the traces (not shown) in the touch screen 1. One set of pins among the plurality of pins of the chip 2, the selected block B3 of the touch screen 1 (such as the last 8 touch blocks in the first row) are also electrically coupled to the plurality of pins of the touch chip 2. Another set of pins within the pins. In comparison, the selected block B1 can be regarded as the far end, and the selected block B3 can be regarded as the near end. The far end column has fewer touch block connections than the near end column. As for the embodiment in which the pins corresponding to the far-end touch area and the near-end touch area are electrically coupled, for example, it can be implemented in a similar manner with reference to Figure 3A and Figure 3B. For the sake of simplicity of this article , no more details will be given.

In addition, according to Figures 3A and 3B, the selector module 21A electrically couples multiple pins through multiple connecting lines so that multiple pins are connected to an amplifier. In some embodiments, It can also be further implemented by arranging switches or multiplexers controlled by control signals in the connecting lines. In this way, the touch chip 2 can be configured to selectively control a plurality of first pins (such as P11 ~ P14 ) among a plurality of pins of the touch chip 2 and a first amplifier ( 3A) are electrically coupled, and configured to selectively control a plurality of second pins among the pins (such as P21~P28) and a second amplifier among the amplifiers ( Such as 252A in Figure 3A) electrical coupling.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , the selector module 21B is an embodiment of the selector module 21 and is configured to be electrically coupled to the pins (such as P11 ~ P14 ) and the between amplifiers (such as 251B). As shown in FIG. 5 , the touch blocks A11 to A14 in the touch screen 21B are electrically coupled to the pins P11 to P14 through traces. The selector module 21B is configured to selectively control a plurality of first pins and a plurality of pins of the touch chip 2 in response to a first state of the control signal (eg, implemented by one or more sub-signals). A first amplifier in the amplifier module 25B is electrically coupled and configured to selectively control a plurality of second pins among a plurality of pins of the touch chip 2 in response to a second state of the control signal. A second amplifier in the amplifier module 25B is electrically coupled. For example, in Figure 5, the selector module 21B is configured with connecting lines and switches (SW), and each switch can be individually controlled to be on or off with a control signal. For example, the configuration selector module 21B is configured to cause the first touch blocks in the touch blocks to which the first pins are electrically coupled in response to the control signal to be smaller than the third touch blocks. A plurality of second touch blocks among the touch blocks with two pins electrically coupled are closer to the touch chip 2, and the first amplifier can be electrically coupled with the first pins The number is greater than the number of the second pins to which the second amplifier can be electrically coupled. In the above-mentioned embodiment of the selector module 21B, further reference can be made to FIG. 2, FIG. 3A or FIG. 3B to realize the electrical coupling of the corresponding pins for the touch block in the X direction or the Y direction.

Please refer to FIG. 6 , which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a touch screen signal processing method applicable to the touch chip based on the architecture shown in FIG. 1 . The method includes the following steps S10~S50.

Step S10: When scanning in the X direction, use the selector module to electrically couple the pins corresponding to the selected block. In this way, as the X-direction scanning of the touch screen proceeds, the selector module is used to form multiple touch blocks of the touch screen into selected blocks (such as B1, B2 or B3 as shown in Figure 4; or row 3 as shown in Figure 7A). For example, when scanning in the B1, B2 or B3 in the figure respectively correspond to 4, 5 or 8 pins in the 1st row (column); or 6 pins corresponding to the 3rd row in Figure 7A) to form different selected blocks. When each selected block is formed in step S10, the selected block is electrically coupled to an amplifier (such as implemented as QVC) in the amplifier module to read the inductive quantity (such as capacitance) corresponding to the selected block. value). If the active pen is located in the selected area, it can receive a certain size of sensing amount from the active pen (such as AN); if the active pen is not located in the selected area, the sensing amount that can be received is relatively low.

Step S20: Receive the first signal output by the active pen (eg AN) and the signal (eg pulse signal (eg ring)) output by the front end of the active pen. What step S20 represents is that, assuming there is an active pen on the touch screen, after scanning in the X direction in step S10, the results of multiple received sensing quantities are deemed to have received the first signal output by the active pen ( Or it can be used as a touch signal in the X direction).

Step S30: When scanning in the Y direction, use the selector module to electrically couple the pins corresponding to the selected block (as shown in Figure 7B). In this way, as the Y-direction scanning of the touch screen proceeds, the selector module is used to make parts of the multiple touch blocks of the touch screen form selected blocks (such as A1, A2, A3 or A3 as shown in Figure 2). A4; or column 3 as shown in Figure 7B). For example, during the Y-direction scanning, multiple columns (columns) are driven successively from left to right or from right to left, and a part of the number of pins (such as the second pin) among the multiple pins are electrically coupled. A1, A2, A3 or A4 in the figure correspond to 4, 5, 6 or 8 pins in row 1, 4, 6 or 50 respectively; or 6 pins corresponding to column 3 in figure 7B) to form different selected blocks. When each selected block is formed in step S30, the selected block is electrically coupled to an amplifier (such as implemented as QVC) in the amplifier module to read the inductive quantity (such as capacitance) corresponding to the selected block. value). If the active pen is located in the selected area, it can receive a certain size of sensing amount from the active pen (such as AN); if the active pen is not located in the selected area, the sensing amount that can be received is relatively low.

Step S40: Receive the second signal output by the active pen (AN), the signal output by the front end of the active pen. Similar to step S20, step S40 represents that, assuming there is an active pen on the touch screen, after scanning in the Y direction in step S30, the results of multiple received sensing quantities are deemed to have received the output of the active pen. The second signal (or can be used as a touch signal in the Y direction).

Step S50: Calculate the coordinates of the touch position based on the received first signal and second signal of the active pen (AN). For example, based on the received first signal and the second signal of the active pen (AN), the touch signal in the The capacitance distribution can determine the coordinates of the touch position of the active pen.

For example, the touch chip 2 is implemented as a touch display driver integration (TDDI) chip, which has an operating clock of a display driver (such as 60Hz) and an operating clock of a touch driver (such as 60Hz) to cooperate with the touch screen. The operation is shown in Figure 8, which shows the edge signal (Vporch), touch period (TP term), finger frame number (finger frame number) and pen frame number (pen frame) corresponding to a display frame. number). Assume that the frequency of the touch screen is 60Hz and the reporting frequency of the active pen is 240Hz. Therefore, in the time interval of a display frame (for example, 16.66 ms), points need to be reported 8 times (for example, 4 times in the X and Y directions). The touch chip 2 implemented as a TDDI chip may need to add charge-to-voltage conversion. Only the number of devices (QVC) can receive the active pen signal in time. When the touch chip 2 is implemented, if the number of charge-to-voltage converters (QVCs) is not increased and the reporting frequency of the active pen (such as 240Hz) must be met at the same time, multiple pins corresponding to the touch area can be used for electrical coupling. This is used to reduce the number of charge-to-voltage converters (QVCs) originally used to receive active pen signals.

As shown in Figure 7A or Figure 7B, for example, the touch screen has 6x6 (36 in total) touch areas, and a total of 36 charge voltage converters (QVC) receive signals. The touch chip 2 can be implemented as, The sensor module 21 is configured to selectively electrically couple multiple pins corresponding to the six selected blocks when scanning in the X direction and Y direction, so that only six charge voltage conversions are needed in each of the X direction and Y direction. Converter (QVC) to receive active pen signals.

Generally, when touching by hand, it is not necessary to use multiple pins corresponding to the selected block for electrical coupling. In some embodiments, the touch chip 2 is configured to use the selector module 21 to scan q objects in the Multiple pins corresponding to the selected blocks are electrically coupled, so that only Q/q charge-to-voltage converters (QVC) are used for the entire touch screen to receive signals from the active pen. In some embodiments, the touch chip 2 is configured to use the selector module 21 to electrically conduct multiple pins corresponding to the p selected blocks when scanning in the Y direction after the active pen is synchronized with the touch screen. Coupling, so that only P/p charge-to-voltage converters (QVC) are used for the entire touch screen to receive the active pen signal.

In addition, the method based on Figure 6 can be further implemented with reference to the foregoing embodiments (such as Figure 2, Figure 3A, Figure 3B, Figure 4 or related embodiments).

In some embodiments, the touch chip 2 is configured such that there is no overlap between groups of selected blocks in the touch screen. Please refer to FIG. 9 , which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of reading touch signals based on the touch chip in FIG. 1 . As shown in Figure 9, take the touch screen 1 with 16x50 touch areas as an example. For example, the group G1 is the pins corresponding to the first four touch blocks in the first column of the touch screen 1 that are electrically coupled; then, the group G2 is the consecutive four touch blocks in the first column of the touch screen 1. The corresponding pins of the control block are electrically coupled. Other groups can also operate in the same way, so that when the touch block is scanned, there is no overlap between the groups of the selected block, thereby achieving efficient scanning and reading of touch signals.

In some embodiments, the touch chip 2 is configured to overlap groups of selected blocks in the touch screen. Please refer to FIG. 10 , which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of reading touch signals based on the touch chip in FIG. 1 . As shown in Figure 10, take the touch screen 1 having 16x50 touch areas as an example. For example, the group G1A is the pins corresponding to the first 4 touch blocks in the first column of the touch screen 1 that are electrically coupled; then, the group G2A is the 4th to 7th touch blocks in the first column of the touch screen 1. The corresponding pins of the touch block are electrically coupled, and other groups can operate similarly. In this way, during the scanning of touch blocks, at least one touch block among the groups of selected blocks formed one after another can overlap (or be said to be the same), so the overlapping touch areas (such as the 4th in the 1st row The touch block) will be scanned twice, thereby increasing the amount of sensing or the accuracy of the touch signal.

Please refer to FIG. 11 , which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a touch screen signal processing method applicable to the touch chip based on the architecture shown in FIG. 1 . Figure 11 is an embodiment of the method based on Figure 6. The method in Figure 11 includes the following steps S110~S150.

Step S110: When scanning in the G2A adjusts at least one touch area between B1 and B2 in Figure 4 to be the same. In this way, as the X direction of the touch screen is scanned, at least one touch block between two groups of adjacent selected blocks formed successively can be the same (or can be said to overlap).

Step S120: Receive the first signal output by the active pen (such as AN) and the signal output by the front end of the active pen.

Step S130: When scanning in the Y direction, use the selector module to electrically couple the pins corresponding to the selected block (as shown in Figure 2), wherein the selected block (for example, refer to G1A, Figure 10) At least one touch block between G2A) is the same. In this way, as the Y direction of the touch screen is scanned, at least one touch area between two groups of adjacent selected areas formed one after another can be the same (or can be said to overlap).

Step S140: Receive the second signal output by the active pen (AN), the signal output by the front end of the active pen.

Step S150: Calculate the coordinates of the touch position based on the received first signal and second signal of the active pen (AN).

In steps S110 and S130 of the embodiment of FIG. 11 , it is optional to make at least one touch block between the selected blocks the same. That is to say, when scanning the X or scanning Y direction, this method can be used for scanning in one direction, but not used for scanning in the other direction; or, when scanning In the Y direction, this method is adopted.

Furthermore, in some embodiments based on the method of FIG. 6 or FIG. 11, further reference may be made to FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 9, FIG. 10 or related embodiments, when scanning X or scanning Aim in the Y direction to control or adjust the number of touch blocks in individual or each selected block, or make a judgment based on whether the selected block is far or near (such as based on the row or column serial number), thereby controlling the The number of touch blocks in the selection block is the same or different. For example, the number of touch blocks in the selected block at the far end is smaller than the number of touch blocks in the selected block at the near end. For example, a selector module (such as 21 in Figure 1 or related embodiments) can be configured to receive a plurality of control signals, thereby electrically coupling them based on the circuit operation method as shown in Figure 5 Some of the pins are used to form parts of the touch blocks into selected blocks. For example, the touch chip may further include a control circuit (such as a digital circuit, a microcontroller or other suitable circuit) for outputting a plurality of control signals to the selector module, thereby forming a selected block and controlling the selected block. Control or adjust the number of touch blocks.

Please refer to Figure 12, which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a circuit formed by a touch chip, a touch screen, and an active pen during touch based on the architecture shown in Figure 1. In view of the previous topic, the inventor of this case further researched and discussed the relationship between the quality of the touch sensing signal and the number of touch blocks electrically coupled to the charge-to-voltage converter (QVC), as well as the relationship between the touch blocks and the touch distance between the wafers. The simulation experiment is based on the circuit in Figure 12. When the scanning direction is the X direction or the Y direction, the number of electrical couplings (such as 8 or 4) of the pins corresponding to the touch area is simulated. Measure the amount of active pen sensing.

Through computer simulation experimental data, the inventor of the present case found that, for example, the pins corresponding to the far-end touch area are electrically coupled to a first number (such as 4) and the pins corresponding to the near-end touch area are electrically coupled. In a configuration where the number of couplings is the second number (such as 4), the active pen sensing amount corresponding to the near-end touch area is greater than the active pen sensing amount corresponding to the far-end touch area, and the active pen sensing amount corresponding to the near-end touch area is In a configuration where the number of pins electrically coupled is the second number (such as 8), the measured active pen sensing values are similar and both are within the usable range.

According to the simulation experimental data of the circuit in Figure 12 above, the touch chip 2 can be configured to correspond to the near-end touch area (such as the touch area 12) and the far-end touch area (such as the touch area 11). The number of multiple pins for electrical coupling is not less than 2, and the number of the two can be different, or the number of multiple pins for electrical coupling corresponding to the near-end touch area (such as touch area 12) Not less than 2, the far-end touch area (such as the touch area 11) is not electrically coupled. For example, the pins corresponding to the far-end and near-end touch areas are electrically coupled with the first number and the third number. Both numbers are 4, or the pins corresponding to the far-end and near-end touch areas are electrically coupled to different numbers (for example, the first number is 4 and the second number is 8).

Furthermore, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to the examples. The number of electrically coupled pins corresponding to the above-mentioned touch areas may be different for different touch screens and touch blocks relative to the touch chip 2 . Tuning and configuration. This quantity can be known, for example, through computer simulation or physical experiments.

In any of the above-mentioned embodiments regarding the touch chip, optionally, there may also be a certain or partial amplifier that can be electrically coupled to the same number of corresponding pins for the same operation or corresponding circuit configuration.

To sum up, the touch chip in the above embodiments is configured to electrically couple a plurality of first pins among the pins to a first amplifier among the amplifiers, and is configured to A plurality of second pins among the pins are electrically coupled to a second amplifier among the amplifiers, wherein the number of the first pins to which the first amplifier can be electrically coupled is not less than 2 , wherein the number of the second pins to which the second amplifier can be electrically coupled is not less than 1. In order to further reduce the cost of the touch chip and enable the touch chip to be used in a touch screen that supports an active pen, multiple pins corresponding to the near-end and far-end touch areas of the touch screen are electrically connected. The number of couplings can vary. For example, the number of electrically coupled pins corresponding to the proximal touch area may be greater than the number of electrically coupled pins corresponding to the far end touch area. This can help to balance the technical effects of touch sensing quality and reducing touch chip costs.

The present invention has been disclosed above with preferred embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that any changes and substitutions that are equivalent to these embodiments should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of the patent application. The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the patentable scope of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

1. 1B: Touch screen 11, 12: Touch area 2:Touch chip 21, 21A, 21B: Selector module 25, 25A, 25B: amplifier module 251A~252A, 251B: Charge to voltage converter (QVC) A1A4, B1~B3: selected block A11~A14: Touch area AN: Active pen P11~P14, P21~P28: Pins SW: switch G1, G2, G1A, G2A: Group S10~S50: steps

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation of the circuit architecture of a touch chip for reading touch signals from a touch screen. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of reading touch signals based on the touch chip in FIG. 1 . Figure 3A is a schematic diagram of an embodiment in which a touch chip electrically couples pins corresponding to a remote touch area. Figure 3B is a schematic diagram of an embodiment in which a touch chip is electrically coupled to pins corresponding to the proximal touch area. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of reading touch signals based on the touch chip in FIG. 1 . Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment in which a touch chip electrically couples pins corresponding to a remote touch area. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a touch screen signal processing method based on the touch chip in FIG. 1 . Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a touch screen signal processing method. Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a touch screen signal processing method. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the internal operating clock of the touch chip in FIG. 1 . FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of reading touch signals based on the touch chip in FIG. 1 . FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of reading touch signals based on the touch chip in FIG. 1 . FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a touch screen signal processing method based on the touch chip of FIG. 1 . Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a circuit formed during touch based on the touch chip, touch screen, and active pen in Figure 1.

1:Touch screen

11, 12: Touch area

2:Touch chip

21: Selector module

25:Amplifier module

AN:active pen

Claims (20)

A touch chip can be electrically coupled to a touch screen. The touch screen has a plurality of touch blocks. The touch chip includes: a plurality of pins for electrically coupling the touch blocks; a selector, coupled to the pins, for forming parts of the touch blocks into a first selected block by electrically coupling M pins of the pins, and electrically coupling N pins of the pins to form portions of the touch blocks into a second selected block; a first amplifier for electrically coupling the first selected block; and a second amplifier for electrically coupling the second selected block, The number of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is M, and the number of touch blocks in the second selected block to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled is N. , M is a positive integer not less than 2, and N is a positive integer. The touch chip as described in claim 1, wherein: The number M of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is different from the number N of touch blocks in the second selected block to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled. Positive integer. The touch chip as described in claim 1, wherein: The selector includes a plurality of multiplexers, electrically coupled between M pins of the pins and the first amplifier, and electrically coupled between N pins of the pins and between the second amplifier. The touch chip of claim 1, wherein the touch screen includes a first touch area and a second touch area, and the first touch area is closer to the touch chip than the second touch area. , the first selected block is located in the first touch area, and the second selected block is located in the second touch area. The touch chip of claim 4, wherein the number M of touch blocks in the first selected block is greater than the number N of touch blocks in the second selected block. The touch chip as described in claim 1, wherein the selector includes: A first switch is electrically coupled between one of the M pins and the first amplifier, and is used to change the number of pins that the first amplifier can be electrically coupled to. The touch chip as described in claim 5, wherein the selector includes: A second switch is electrically coupled between one of the N pins and the second amplifier, and is used to change the number of pins that the second amplifier can be electrically coupled to. The touch chip as described in claim 1, wherein: The touch chip can support an active pen, and the operating frequency of the active pen is greater than the operating frequency of the touch screen. The touch chip of claim 1, wherein at least one touch block between the first selected block and the second selected block is the same. A touch chip including: a plurality of pins for electrically coupling multiple touch areas of a touch screen; a selector module, coupled to the pins, for selectively electrically coupling M pins of the pins to form parts of the touch blocks into a first selected block, and selectively electrically coupling N pins among the pins to form portions of the touch blocks into a second selected block; and A plurality of amplifiers, wherein the selector module is configured to selectively control the first selected block to be electrically coupled to a first amplifier of the amplifiers, and is configured to selectively control the second selected block. The selection block is electrically coupled to a second amplifier of the amplifiers, The number of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is M, and the number of touch blocks in the second selected block to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled is N. , M is a positive integer not less than 2, and N is a positive integer. The touch chip as described in claim 10, wherein: The number M of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is different from the number N of touch blocks in the second selected block to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled. Positive integer. The touch chip as described in claim 10, wherein: The first selected block is closer to the touch chip than the second selected block; and The number M of touch blocks in the first selected block to which the first amplifier is electrically coupled is greater than the number N of touch blocks in the second selected block to which the second amplifier is electrically coupled. The touch chip as described in claim 10, wherein: The touch chip can support an active pen, and the operating frequency of the active pen is greater than the operating frequency of the touch screen. The touch chip of claim 10, wherein at least one touch block between the first selected block and the second selected block is the same. The touch chip according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the selector module forms the first selected block and the second selected block at different times. A signal processing method for a touch chip, the signal processing method includes: a) When a first direction scan of a touch screen is performed, a selector module of the touch chip is used to form a plurality of selected areas from multiple touch areas of the touch screen, and Each selected block is electrically coupled to a corresponding amplifier among a plurality of amplifiers of the touch chip to read the sensing quantity corresponding to the selected block, wherein the number of touch blocks in each selected block is Not less than 2; b) Obtain the first signal from an active pen based on the sensing quantities corresponding to the selected blocks in step a); c) When a second direction scan of the touch screen is performed, the selector module of the touch chip is used to form a plurality of selected areas from the touch block portions of the touch screen, and Each selected block is electrically coupled to a corresponding amplifier among a plurality of amplifiers of the touch chip to read the sensing quantity corresponding to the selected block, wherein the number of touch blocks in each selected block is Not less than 2; d) Obtain the second signal from the active pen based on the sensing quantities corresponding to the selected blocks in step c); e) Determine the coordinates of the touch position of the active pen based on the first signal and the second signal of the active pen. The signal processing method as described in claim 16, wherein in step a), the selected blocks include a first selected block and a second selected block, and the number of touch blocks in the first selected block is M and the number of touch blocks in the second selected block is N, where M and N are different positive integers. The signal processing method as described in request item 17, wherein: The first selected block is closer to the touch chip than the second selected block; and The number M of touch blocks in the first selected block is greater than the number N of touch blocks in the second selected block. The signal processing method of claim 18, wherein at least one touch block between the first selected block and the second selected block is the same. The signal processing method as described in any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the selector module forms the first selected block and the second selected block at different times.