Display device including large-area fingerprint sensor and large-area fingerprint sensor

Abstract

The present invention discloses a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor and the large-area fingerprint sensor. The display device supplies a driving signal only to a first touch block corresponding to a position touched by a user's finger to sense the user's fingerprint.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0084952, filed on Jul. 15, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor and a large-area fingerprint sensor. Background Art

[0004] A fingerprint sensor is a sensor for sensing a person's fingerprint. The fingerprint sensor has generally been used for locking devices such as door locks, but recently is being used to release the sleep mode of electronic devices such as smartphones and is used as an authentication means for various applications provided by smartphones.

[0005] Fingerprint sensors may be classified into ultrasonic type, infrared type, and capacitive type based on their operating principles.

[0006] In particular, a fingerprint sensor using an ultrasonic type recognizes a fingerprint by using a difference between voltages generated when ultrasonic waves generated by a plurality of piezoelectric elements are reflected by ridges and valleys of a fingerprint.

[0007] For example, a fingerprint sensor of the related art is provided in a partial area of ​​an electronic device such as a smart phone. However, since the electronic device is provided with various applications based on fingerprint recognition, the size of each fingerprint sensor must be equal to the size of the display area of ​​the display panel.

[0008] However, as the size of the fingerprint sensor increases, the power consumption of the fingerprint sensor increases, and due to the increase in the power consumption of the fingerprint sensor, the power consumption of an electronic device such as a smart phone also increases. Summary of the invention

[0009] Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to a display device that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

[0010] An aspect of the present disclosure is directed to providing a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor that supplies a driving signal only to a first touch block corresponding to a position touched by a user's finger to sense the user's fingerprint.

[0011] Additional advantages and features of the present disclosure will be described in part in the following description, and in part will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon studying the following, or may be learned from the practice of the present disclosure. The objects and other advantages of the present disclosure may be realized and obtained by the structures specifically pointed out in the written description and claims thereof and in the accompanying drawings.

[0012] To achieve these and other advantages, and in accordance with the purposes of the present disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor is provided, the display device including: a display panel that displays an image; a touch panel that senses the touch of a finger; a fingerprint sensor including a plurality of fingerprint pixels that perform a function corresponding to a basic unit for identifying a fingerprint of a finger; a fingerprint sensor driver that drives the fingerprint sensor; and a touch driver that drives the touch panel. The fingerprint sensor driver includes: a driver that drives the fingerprint sensor; and a fingerprint identifier that identifies a fingerprint by using a sensing signal received from the fingerprint sensor. The driver provides a sensing gate signal to a sensing gate line among m (where m is an integer of 2 or greater) sensing gate lines included in the fingerprint sensor, the sensing gate line being included in a first touch block determined to be touched based on touch position information received from the touch driver.

[0013] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present disclosure are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure as claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application. The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0015] Figure 1 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 2 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a controller applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 3 is an exemplary diagram showing a structure of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 is another exemplary diagram showing the structure of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 5 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operating principle of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 6 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 7 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of each of a fingerprint sensor and a fingerprint sensor driver for describing a driving method of a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 8 is a diagram showing the fingerprint sensor driver generating a Figure 7 An example diagram of a waveform of a signal of a fingerprint sensor is shown;

[0023] Fig. 9 is another exemplary diagram showing a configuration of each of a fingerprint sensor and a fingerprint sensor driver for describing a driving method of a display device including a large area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure;

[0024] Fig.10 is a diagram showing the fingerprint sensor driver generating a Fig. 9 An example diagram of a waveform of a signal of a fingerprint sensor is shown;

[0025] Fig.11 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of each of a touch sensor and a sensing gate signal supplier applied to a display device including a large area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure; and

[0026] Fig.12 is an exemplary diagram for describing a method of sensing a fingerprint corresponding only to a touch area in a display device including a large area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

[0028] The advantages and features of the present disclosure and their implementation methods will be explained by the following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In addition, the present disclosure is limited only by the scope of the claims.

[0029] The shapes, sizes, ratios, angles and numbers disclosed in the drawings for describing the embodiments of the present disclosure are examples only, and therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the details shown. Throughout the text, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements. In the following description, when the detailed description of the relevant known functions or configurations is determined to be unnecessary to blur the focus of the present disclosure, the detailed description will be omitted. In the case of using "including", "having" and "comprising" described in this specification, another component may be added unless "only..." is used. Unless otherwise specified, terms in the singular may include plural forms.

[0030] When explaining an element, although not explicitly described, the element is explained to include an error range.

[0031] When describing a positional relationship, for example, when the positional relationship between two components is described as "on," "over," "under," and "immediately following," one or more other components may be disposed between the two components unless "only" or "directly" is used.

[0032] When describing a time relationship, for example, when a time sequence is described as "after," "subsequently," "then," and "before," discontinuous cases may be included unless "just" or "directly" is used.

[0033] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0034] When describing the elements of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b) etc. may be used. Such terms are only used to distinguish the corresponding elements from other elements, and the nature, order or priority of the corresponding elements are not limited by these terms. It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on" or "connected to" another element or layer, it may be directly on another element or layer or directly connected to another element or layer, or there may be an intermediate element or layer. In addition, it should be understood that when an element is arranged on or under another element, this may represent the situation where these elements are arranged to directly contact each other, but may also represent that these elements are arranged not to directly contact each other.

[0035] The term "at least one" should be understood to include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements. For example, the meaning of "at least one of a first element, a second element, and a third element" represents the combination of all elements proposed from two or more of the first element, the second element, and the third element, as well as the first element, the second element, or the third element.

[0036] As those skilled in the art can fully understand, the features of the various embodiments of the present disclosure can be coupled or combined with each other in part or in whole, and can cooperate with each other in various ways and be driven technically. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be performed independently of each other, or can be performed together in a mutually dependent relationship.

[0037] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] Figure 1 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure, and Figure 2 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a controller applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure.

[0039] like Figure 1As shown, a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure may include: a display panel 100 that displays an image; a touch panel 800 that senses a user's touch; a touch driver 700 for driving the touch panel 800; a gate driver 200 for supplying a gate signal to a plurality of gate lines GL1 to GLg included in the display panel 100; a fingerprint sensor 500 including a plurality of fingerprint pixels 510 for performing a function corresponding to a basic unit for recognizing a user's fingerprint; a fingerprint sensor driver 600 for driving the fingerprint sensor 500; a data driver 300 for supplying a data voltage to a plurality of data lines DL1 to DLd included in the display panel 100; and a controller 400 that converts a plurality of input video data transmitted from an external system into a plurality of image data Data, transmits the plurality of image data Data to the data driver 300, and generates a control signal for controlling the gate driver 200, the data driver 300, the touch driver 700, and the fingerprint sensor driver 600 by using a timing synchronization signal transmitted from the external system.

[0040] Hereinafter, the elements will be described sequentially.

[0041] The display panel 100 may be a liquid crystal display panel including liquid crystals, an organic light emitting display panel including a plurality of organic light emitting diodes, or a light emitting display panel including a plurality of inorganic light emitting devices, and further, the display panel 100 may be one of various display panels.

[0042] The display panel 100 may include a display area 120 including a plurality of pixels 110 for displaying an image and a non-display area 130 surrounding the display area 120 .

[0043] A gate driver 200 for supplying gate signals to a plurality of pixel driving circuits respectively provided in the plurality of pixels 110 may be provided in the non-display area 130 .

[0044] The display device including the large area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure may include a touch panel 800 for determining the presence and touch position of a touch. The touch panel 800 may be implemented as a single body integrated with the display panel 100, or may be manufactured independently of the display panel 100 and may be attached to the display panel 100.

[0045] The touch panel 800 may be manufactured by using various types such as a resistive type and a capacitive type. When the touch panel 800 uses the capacitive type, the touch panel 800 may be manufactured by using an inter-type that requires a plurality of touch drive electrodes and a plurality of touch receiving electrodes. When the touch panel 800 uses the capacitive type, the touch panel 800 may be manufactured by using a self-capacitive type that requires only a plurality of touch electrodes that are independently provided therewith.

[0046] The touch driver 700 may supply a touch driving signal to the touch panel 800 , and may generate information (hereinafter referred to as touch position information) about a touch position (hereinafter referred to as a touch position) of the touch panel 800 by using a touch sensing signal received from the touch panel 800 .

[0047] The touch driver 700 may transfer the touch position information to the fingerprint sensor driver 600 .

[0048] The gate driver 200 may supply a gate signal to the pixel driving circuit.

[0049] The gate driver 200 may be disposed in the non-display area 130, and when manufacturing the pixel driving circuit, the gate driver 200 may be manufactured together with the pixel driving circuit. That is, the gate driver 200 may be directly embedded in the display panel 100 by using a gate-in-panel (GIP) type. However, the gate driver 200 may be manufactured independently of the display panel 100 and may be installed in the non-display area 130.

[0050] The gate driver 200 may supply a gate turn-on signal to the gate lines GL1 to GLg included in the display panel 100 by using the gate control signal GCS transferred from the controller 400. The gate control signal GCS may include a plurality of gate clocks.

[0051] Here, the gate-on signal may refer to a signal for turning on a transistor connected to each of the gate lines GL1 to GLg. A signal for turning off a transistor may be referred to as a gate-off signal. A general name for the gate-on signal and the gate-off signal may be a gate signal.

[0052] The data driver 300 may convert a plurality of pieces of image data Data transferred from the controller 400 into data voltages, and may supply the data voltages to the data lines DL1 to DLd.

[0053] The controller 400 may generate a gate control signal GCS for controlling driving of the gate driver 200 by using a timing synchronization signal TSS input from an external system and a data control signal DCS for controlling driving of the data driver 300. In addition, the controller 400 may convert a plurality of pieces of input video data Ri, Gi, and Bi received from the external system into a plurality of pieces of image data Data, and may transfer the plurality of pieces of image data Data to the data driver 300.

[0054] As described above, a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure may include a touch driver 700 for sensing the presence of a touch applied to the touch panel 800 by using a touch sensing signal received from the touch panel 800, and the controller 400 may generate a touch control signal for controlling the touch driver 700.

[0055] In addition, the controller 400 may generate a fingerprint sensor control signal FCS for controlling the fingerprint sensor driver 600 .

[0056] In order to perform the above functions, Figure 2 As shown, the controller 400 may include a data aligner 430, which realigns a plurality of input video data Ri, Gi, and Bi transmitted from an external system by using a timing synchronization signal TSS transmitted from the external system to provide a plurality of realigned image data to the data driver 300; a control signal generator 420, which generates a gate control signal GCS, a data control signal DCS, a touch control signal, and a fingerprint sensor control signal FCS by using the timing synchronization signal TSS; an input unit 410, which transmits the timing synchronization signal TSS sent from the external system and a plurality of input video data Ri, Gi, and Bi to the data aligner 430 and the control signal generator 420; and an output unit 440, which outputs a plurality of image data and control signals generated by the data aligner 430 and the control signal generator 420, respectively, to the data driver 300, the gate driver 200, the fingerprint sensor driver 600, or the touch driver 700.

[0057] In addition, the controller 400 may further include a storage unit 450 that stores a plurality of pieces of information required for controlling the gate driver 200, the data driver 300, the fingerprint sensor driver 600, and the touch driver 700 and at least one of the input video data Ri, Gi, and Bi and the image data Data. However, the storage unit 450 may be configured independently of the controller 400.

[0058] The fingerprint sensor 500 may include: a driving electrode unit that generates ultrasonic waves; a plurality of receiving electrodes that receive ultrasonic waves reflected by the fingerprint of the finger; and a piezoelectric material arranged between the driving electrode unit and the receiving electrodes. The piezoelectric material may refer to a material representing a piezoelectric effect, and may refer to a material such as quartz, Rochelle salt, or barium titanate, for example.

[0059] A fingerprint pixel 510 serving as a basic unit for recognizing a fingerprint may be included in the fingerprint sensor 500 .

[0060] A plurality of sensing gate lines connected to transistors included in the fingerprint pixel 510 may be included in the fingerprint sensor 500 .

[0061] The fingerprint sensor 500 may be disposed in an area corresponding to a portion of the display area 120 , but may also be implemented to have the same size as the display area 120 .

[0062] The fingerprint sensor driver 600 may supply a driving signal to the driving electrode unit, and may supply a sensing gate signal to the sensing gate line.

[0063] The fingerprint sensor driver 600 may include a driver 610 for driving the driving electrode unit and a fingerprint recognizer 620 for recognizing a fingerprint by using a sensing signal received from the fingerprint sensor 500. Also, the fingerprint sensor driver 600 may further include: a power supply 640 for supplying power required for the driver 610 and the fingerprint recognizer 620; and a storage unit 630 for storing a fingerprint input by a user (hereinafter referred to as a reference fingerprint).

[0064] The power supply 640 may be provided outside the fingerprint sensor driver 600 independently of the fingerprint sensor driver 600 .

[0065] The configuration and function of the fingerprint sensor 500 and the fingerprint sensor driver 600 will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0066] Figure 3 is an exemplary diagram showing the structure of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure, and Figure 4 is another exemplary diagram showing the structure of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure.

[0067] like Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the fingerprint sensor 500 applied to the present disclosure may include a base substrate 520 and a plurality of transistors included in a fingerprint pixel 510. In addition, the fingerprint sensor 500 may include: a fingerprint pixel driving layer 530 disposed in the base substrate 520; a plurality of receiving electrodes 540 disposed on the fingerprint pixel driving layer 530 and in each of the fingerprint pixels 510; a plate-type piezoelectric material 550 disposed at the upper end of each of the receiving electrodes 540; and a driving electrode unit 560 disposed on the piezoelectric material 550.

[0068] The base substrate 520 may be a glass substrate, or may be a film including a synthetic resin.

[0069] The fingerprint pixel driving layer 530 may include a plurality of transistors.

[0070] Each of the receiving electrodes 540 may be connected to a gate of a first transistor included in each of the fingerprint pixels 510. The first transistor may be included in the fingerprint pixel driving layer 530.

[0071] The receiving electrode 540 may receive ultrasonic waves output from the driving electrode unit 560 and received by the user's finger, and the receiving electrode 540 may provide a voltage (hereinafter referred to as ultrasonic wave voltage) generated from the received ultrasonic waves to the gate of the first transistor.

[0072] The piezoelectric material 550 may generate ultrasonic waves from voltages supplied to the driving electrode unit 560 and the receiving electrode 540, and may generate ultrasonic wave voltages from ultrasonic waves reflected by the user's finger and received by the receiving electrode 540. As described above, the piezoelectric material 550 may use quartz, Rochelle salt, or barium titanate.

[0073] like Figure 3 As shown, the driving electrode unit 560 may include a plurality of driving electrodes each having a rod shape. In this case, the driving electrode may be provided with a driving signal from the fingerprint sensor driver 600 by using various methods.

[0074] However, if Figure 4 As shown, the driving electrode unit 560 may be configured with one driving electrode having a plate shape.

[0075] Figure 5 is an exemplary diagram for describing an operating principle of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure.

[0076] In the fingerprint sensor 500 , as described above, a fingerprint pixel driving layer 530 may be provided on the base substrate 520 , a receiving electrode 540 may be provided on the fingerprint pixel driving layer 530 , a piezoelectric material 550 may be provided on the receiving electrode 540 , and a driving electrode unit 560 may be provided on the piezoelectric material 550 .

[0077] In this case, a second surface opposite to the first surface on which the fingerprint pixel driving layer 530 is provided among the two surfaces of the base substrate 520 constituting the fingerprint sensor 500 may be bonded to the first surface 111 of the display panel 100, and an image may be displayed through the second surface 112 opposite to the first surface 111 among the two surfaces of the display panel 100. The user's finger for fingerprint recognition may contact the second surface 112 of the display panel 100.

[0078] As described above, the display panel 100 may be a liquid crystal display panel, an organic light emitting display panel, or a light emitting display panel including a plurality of inorganic light emitting devices, and in addition, the display panel 100 may be one of various display panels.

[0079] In addition, the display panel 100 may include a touch panel 800 for sensing a touch position touched by a user. In this case, the touch panel 800 may be provided as a whole integrated with the display panel 100, or may be attached to the display panel 100. In addition, the touch panel 800 may be configured based on various types such as a self-capacitive type and a mutual type.

[0080] When the fingerprint sensor driver 600 supplies a driving signal to the driving electrode unit 560, ultrasonic waves may be generated by the piezoelectric material 550, and as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, ultrasonic waves may be transmitted to the outside of the display panel 100 through the base substrate 520 and the display panel 100 .

[0081] The fingerprint may be formed in the user's finger 20, and may include valleys 21 and ridges 22. The valleys 21 and the ridges 22 may have a height difference therebetween, and further, an inclined surface may be provided therebetween.

[0082] The ultrasonic voltage generated by the receiving electrode 540 by using the ultrasonic wave output by the fingerprint sensor 500 and received by the valley 21 and the ultrasonic voltage generated by the receiving electrode 540 by using the ultrasonic wave reflected by the ridge 22 may have different values.

[0083] Therefore, the fingerprint sensor driver 600 may recognize a fingerprint by using the ultrasonic voltage generated through the receiving electrode 540 .

[0084] In this case, the ultrasonic wave generated at the first point A of the fingerprint sensor 500 may propagate only in a direction perpendicular to the second surface 112 of the display panel 100 and may not be reflected only in a direction perpendicular to the second surface 112. Figure 5 As shown, the ultrasonic wave generated at the first point A may propagate in various directions inclined relative to the second surface 112 , and thus may reach the receiving electrode 540 in various directions inclined relative to the second surface 112 .

[0085] Therefore, in addition to the ultrasonic wave generated at the first point A, the ultrasonic wave corresponding to the first point A received by the receiving electrode 540 may also include ultrasonic waves generated at other points except the first point A. The time period for the ultrasonic wave generated at the first point A to be reflected and received may be different from the time period for the ultrasonic wave generated at other points except the first point A to be received by the first point A.

[0086] In the present disclosure, fingerprints may be recognized based on the above-mentioned time period difference.

[0087] Hereinafter, a basic configuration of a fingerprint sensor 500 applied to the present disclosure and a basic method of sensing a fingerprint by using the fingerprint sensor 500 will be described.

[0088] Figure 6 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a fingerprint sensor applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure. Figure 6 In the fingerprint sensor 500 shown in the figure, in order to help understand the structure of the fingerprint pixel 510, the multiple driving electrodes TXm-1 and TXm and the multiple receiving electrodes 540 are not shown in the multiple fingerprint pixels shown in the lower left part of the fingerprint sensor 500, and all elements are shown in the multiple fingerprint pixels 510 shown at the upper left part, upper right part and lower right part of the fingerprint sensor 500.

[0089] like Figure 6 As shown, the fingerprint sensor 500 may include: a receiving electrode 540 arranged independently of each of the fingerprint pixels 510; n (where n is an integer of 2 or greater) sensing lines SL extending along a first direction and connected to the fingerprint pixels arranged along the first direction; m (where m is an integer of 2 or greater) driving electrodes TX1 to TXm extending along a second direction different from the first direction; m+1 sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm+1 extending along the second direction; a plurality of fixed voltage lines VDD extending along the first direction; a plurality of fingerprint common voltage lines VC extending along the first direction; and three transistors T1 to T3 formed by one sensing line SL and one sensing gate line SGL and included in the fingerprint pixel 510.

[0090] In the present disclosure, as mentioned above Figure 3 and Figure 4 As described above, the driving electrode unit 560 may include driving electrodes TX1 to TXm each having a rod shape, or may be configured as one driving electrode having a plate shape. Figure 3 and Figure 6 As shown, a fingerprint sensor 500 including a driving electrode unit 560 including driving electrodes TX1 to TXm each having a rod shape will be described as an example of the present disclosure. However, the description given below can be similarly applied to a fingerprint sensor 500 including a driving electrode unit 560 including only one driving electrode having a plate shape. Therefore, the features of the fingerprint sensor 500 including a driving electrode unit 560 including only one driving electrode will be described separately.

[0091] As described above, three transistors (eg, first to third transistors) T1 to T3 may be included in the fingerprint pixel 510 .

[0092] A gate of the first transistor T1 among the three transistors T1 to T3 may be connected to the receiving electrode 540 corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 , a first terminal of the first transistor may be connected to the fixed voltage line VDD, and a second terminal of the first transistor may be connected to the second terminal of the second transistor T2 .

[0093] A gate of the second transistor T2 among the three transistors T1 to T3 may be connected to the sensing gate line SGL, a first terminal of the second transistor T2 may be connected to the sensing line SL, and a second terminal of the second transistor T2 may be connected to the second terminal of the first transistor T1.

[0094] A gate of the third transistor T3 among the three transistors T1 to T3 can be connected to another sensing gate line SGL adjacent to the sensing gate line SGL, a first terminal of the third transistor T3 can be connected to the gate of the first transistor T1, and a second terminal of the third transistor T3 can be connected to a fingerprint common voltage line VC corresponding thereto.

[0095] In this case, the driving electrodes TX1 to TXm may be electrically connected to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed in parallel with the driving electrodes TX1 to TXm, respectively. In the case where the driving electrode unit 560 is configured with one driving electrode, the one driving electrode may be electrically connected to all fingerprint pixels 510 included in the fingerprint sensor 500.

[0096] The fingerprint sensor driver 600 may include a driver 610 supplying driving signals to driving electrodes TX1 to TXm and supplying sensing gate signals to sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm and a fingerprint recognizer 620 recognizing a fingerprint by using sensing signals received through sensing lines SL1 to SLn.

[0097] The driver 610 may include a driving signal supplier 611 for supplying a driving signal to the driving electrodes TX1 to TXm and a sensing gate signal supplier 612 for supplying a sensing gate signal to the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm.

[0098] For example, the fingerprint identifier 620 can amplify the sensing signal received through each of the sensing lines SLl to SLm, convert the amplified sensing signal into a digital value, identify the valleys, ridges and inclined surfaces of the fingerprint (hereinafter referred to as fingerprint information) based on the size of the digital value, and combine multiple fingerprint information identified based on all the sensing signals to finally identify the fingerprint.

[0099] A receiving electrode driver for supplying a receiving electrode voltage to the receiving electrode 540 or for floating the receiving electrode 540 may be included in the driver 610, or may be included in the fingerprint identifier 620. The receiving electrode voltage may be a ground voltage, or may be a predetermined voltage. To this end, each of the receiving electrodes 540 may be connected to the receiving electrode driver via a receiving electrode line corresponding thereto. However, in the case where the receiving electrode 540 is maintained in a floating state only, the receiving electrode driver may not be provided.

[0100] A basic method of sensing a fingerprint by using the fingerprint sensor 500 having the above-described structure will be described below.

[0101] First, in a state in which a reception electrode voltage is supplied to the reception electrode 540 or the reception electrode 540 is floated, the driving signal supplier 611 may supply a driving signal to the first driving electrode TX1 disposed in parallel with the sensing gate line SLG1 during a predetermined period.

[0102] In this case, the sensing gate turn-off signal may be provided to all the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm including the first sensing gate line SGL1 .

[0103] Here, the sensing gate off signal may represent a signal for turning off a transistor connected to a sensing gate line, and a signal for turning on a transistor connected to a sensing gate line may be referred to as a sensing gate on signal. A general name for the sensing gate off signal and the sensing gate on signal may be a sensing gate signal.

[0104] Therefore, while the driving signal is supplied to the first driving electrode TX1 , the second transistor T2 may be turned off, and thus, the sensing signal may not be transferred to the sensing lines SL1 to SLn connected to the second transistor T2 .

[0105] Subsequently, after the driving signal is supplied, the reception electrode 540 may be floated or another voltage may be supplied to the reception electrode 540 .

[0106] Then, the receiving electrode 540 may generate voltages having different levels (ie, ultrasonic voltages) based on the ultrasonic waves output from the first driving electrode TX1 , reflected by the finger, and received by the receiving electrode 540 .

[0107] Each of the receiving electrodes 540 may be connected to the gate of the first transistor T1 included in the fingerprint pixel 510. As described above, the ultrasonic voltage generated by the receiving electrode 540 may vary based on the level of the ultrasonic wave received by the receiving electrode 540.

[0108] The level of current flowing through the first transistor T1 and the level of voltage applied to the first transistor T1 may vary based on the level of ultrasonic waves provided to the gate of the first transistor T1 through the reception electrode 540 .

[0109] In this case, the sensing gate-on signal may be provided only to the first sensing gate line SGL1 , the sensing gate-off signal may be provided to the other sensing gate lines SGL2 to SGLm, and a voltage having a constant level may be provided to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0110] Therefore, the third transistors T3 constituting the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the first sensing gate line SGL1 may all be turned off, and all the second transistors T2 of the fingerprint pixels 510 may be turned on.

[0111] Therefore, the level of current or the level of voltage delivered to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the sensing line SL may vary based on the level of voltage supplied to the gate of the first transistor T1.

[0112] The fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the first sensing gate line SGL1 based on the level of current or the level of voltage transferred through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SLn.

[0113] For example, an ultrasonic wave voltage generated from ultrasonic waves received by the receiving electrode 540 included in the fingerprint pixel 510 may be provided to the gate of the first transistor T1 of the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the first sensing line SL1 among the fingerprint pixels 510 arranged along the first sensing gate line SGL1.

[0114] When the ultrasonic voltage does not turn on the first transistor T1, current and voltage may not be supplied to the first sensing line SL1. The fingerprint recognizer 620 may recognize this state as a valley or a ridge.

[0115] When the ultrasonic voltage turns on the first transistor T1, current may flow from the first transistor T1 to the second transistor T2 based on the fixed voltage applied through the fixed voltage line VDD. In this case, the second transistor T2 may be turned on by a sensing gate turn-on signal provided through the first sensing gate line SGL1, and thus the current transferred from the first transistor T1 may be provided to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the second transistor T2 and the first sensing line SL1.

[0116] Furthermore, when the ultrasonic voltage turns on the first transistor T1, a constant voltage may be generated in the first transistor T1, and a voltage corresponding to a difference between the fixed voltage and a voltage applied to the first transistor T1 may be provided to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the second transistor T2 and the first sensing line SL1.

[0117] In this case, the level of current or the level of voltage provided to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the first transistor T1, the second transistor T2 and the first sensing line SL1 may vary based on the ultrasonic voltage. That is, the degree to which the first transistor T1 is turned on may vary based on the level of the ultrasonic voltage, and the level of current or the level of voltage provided to the fingerprint identifier 620 may vary based on the degree to which the first transistor T1 is turned on.

[0118] Therefore, the fingerprint recognizer 620 may analyze the level of current or the level of voltage received through the first sensing line SL1 and may recognize fingerprint information (eg, a valley, a ridge, or an inclined surface) corresponding to a result of the analysis.

[0119] Through the above process, a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the first sensing gate line SGL1 may be generated.

[0120] Subsequently, in a state where the reception electrode voltage is supplied to the reception electrode 540 again or the reception electrode 540 is floated, the driving signal supplier 611 may supply a driving signal to the second driving electrode TX2 disposed in parallel with the second sensing gate line SLG2 during a predetermined period.

[0121] In this case, the sensing gate-off signal may be provided to all the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm including the second sensing gate line SGL2 .

[0122] Therefore, while the driving signal is supplied to the second driving electrode TX2 , the second transistor T2 may be turned off, and thus, the sensing signal may not be transferred to the sensing lines SL1 to SLn connected to the second transistor T2 .

[0123] Subsequently, after the driving signal is supplied, the reception electrode 540 may be floated or another voltage may be supplied to the reception electrode 540 .

[0124] Then, the receiving electrode 540 may generate ultrasonic voltages having different levels based on the ultrasonic wave output from the second driving electrode TX2 , reflected by the finger, and received by the receiving electrode 540 .

[0125] In this case, the sensing gate turn-on signal may be provided only to the second sensing gate line SGL2 , the sensing gate turn-off signal may be provided to the other sensing gate lines SGL1 and SGL3 to SGLm, and a voltage having a constant level may be provided to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0126] Therefore, the third transistors T3 constituting the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the second sensing gate line SGL2 may all be turned off, and all the second transistors T2 of the fingerprint pixels 510 may be turned on.

[0127] Therefore, as described above, the level of current or the level of voltage delivered to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the sensing line SL may vary based on the level of the ultrasonic voltage supplied to the gate of the first transistor T1.

[0128] The fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the second sensing gate line SGL2 based on the level of current or the level of voltage transferred through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SLn.

[0129] In this case, the sensing gate turn-on signal provided to the second sensing gate line SGL2 may be provided to the gate of the third transistor T3 of each of the fingerprint pixels 510 on which fingerprint sensing is performed, which is arranged along the first sensing gate line SGL1. Therefore, the third transistor T3 of each of the fingerprint pixels 510 arranged along the first sensing gate line SGL1 may be turned on.

[0130] The first terminal of the third transistor T3 may be connected to the receiving electrode 540, and the second terminal of the third transistor T3 may be connected to the fingerprint common voltage line VC. The fingerprint common voltage line VC may be connected to a terminal supplied with a fingerprint common voltage. The fingerprint common voltage may be a ground voltage, or may be a predetermined voltage. The third transistor T3 may release the charge remaining in the fingerprint pixel 510 through the fingerprint common voltage line VC after fingerprint sensing, thereby initializing the fingerprint pixel 510.

[0131] That is, when multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the second sensing gate line SGL2 is generated based on the sensing gate turn-on signal provided to the second sensing gate line SGL2, each of the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the first sensing gate line SGL1 on which fingerprint sensing has been completed can be initialized by the third transistor T3 and the sensing gate turn-on signal provided to the second sensing gate line SGL2.

[0132] Finally, the above process may be repeated on the third to m+1th sensing gate lines SGL3 to SGLm+1, and thus, a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information corresponding to all fingerprint pixels 510 included in the fingerprint sensor 500 may be generated.

[0133] The fingerprint identifier 620 may combine a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information determined through processing to generate one fingerprint.

[0134] The driving method corresponding to the case where the driving electrode unit 560 is configured with one driving electrode may include the above-mentioned process. That is, compared with the fingerprint sensor 500 including the driving electrode unit 560 including the driving electrodes TX1 to TXm, the driving method of the fingerprint sensor 500 including the driving electrode unit 560 including one driving electrode may have the following difference: the driving signal sequentially input to the driving electrode is provided to the entire surface of the fingerprint sensor 500.

[0135] In the fingerprint sensor 500 in which the driving electrode unit 560 includes driving electrodes TX1 to TXm each having a rod shape, the driving electrodes parallel to the sensing gate line supplied with the fingerprint gate turn-on signal for fingerprint recognition can be driven separately, and thus, the fingerprint recognition performance of the position-based fingerprint sensor can be enhanced. In addition, the driving electrodes TX1 to TXm can be driven sequentially, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0136] The structure of the fingerprint sensor 500 in which the driving electrode unit 560 includes one driving electrode having a plate shape may be simple, and thus, the manufacturing cost of the fingerprint sensor 500 may be reduced, and the process of manufacturing the fingerprint sensor 500 may be simplified. Also, in the fingerprint sensor 500 including one driving electrode having a plate shape, a complex circuit for sequentially driving the driving electrodes may not be required.

[0137] Figure 7 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of each of a fingerprint sensor and a fingerprint sensor driver for describing a driving method of a display device including a large area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure, and Figure 8 is a diagram showing the fingerprint sensor driver generating a Figure 7 An example diagram of the waveform of a signal of a fingerprint sensor is shown in FIG.

[0138] In the following, for the convenience of description, Figure 7 As shown, a fingerprint sensor 500 including nine driving electrodes TX1 to TX9 , a plurality of receiving electrodes 540 , and sixteen sensing lines SL1 to SL16 will be described as an example of the present disclosure. As described above, each of the receiving electrodes 540 may be included in a fingerprint pixel 510 .

[0139] In this case, the nine driving electrodes TX1 to TX9 may be connected to a driving signal supplier 611 for supplying driving signals to the driving electrodes TX1 to TXm, and the sixteen sensing lines SL1 to SL16 may be connected to a fingerprint recognizer 620 for recognizing a fingerprint by using a sensing signal received from the fingerprint sensor 500 .

[0140] Hereinafter, for ease of description, a fingerprint sensor driver 600 that simultaneously supplies a drive signal to five adjacent drive electrodes will be described as an example of the present disclosure, but the fingerprint sensor driver 600 may simultaneously supply a drive signal to three adjacent drive electrodes, simultaneously supply a drive signal to seven adjacent drive electrodes, or simultaneously supply a drive signal to many adjacent drive electrodes.

[0141] That is to say, as mentioned above Figure 5 As described above, the ultrasonic wave output from the first point A may not be reflected only to the receiving electrode in which the first point A is disposed, and may be reflected to other receiving electrodes near the first point A.

[0142] Therefore, the ultrasonic wave received by the first point A (hereinafter referred to as a received ultrasonic wave) may include ultrasonic waves output from the surroundings of the first point A and reflected, in addition to the ultrasonic wave output from the first point A.

[0143] The presence of many received ultrasonic waves may indicate the presence of many data available for analysis, and this may enhance fingerprint recognition performance. Fingerprint information corresponding to the first point A and generated based on received ultrasonic waves output from the first point A and its surroundings and received by the first point A may include information that better matches the user's real fingerprint than fingerprint information corresponding to the first point A and generated based only on ultrasonic waves output from the first point A.

[0144] Therefore, in the present disclosure, a driving signal may be supplied to at least three driving electrodes at the same time, and then, fingerprint information may be generated at a position corresponding to one of the at least three driving electrodes. Hereinafter, a method of supplying a driving signal to five driving electrodes at the same time will be described as an example of the present disclosure. Figure 6 The description given is the same or similar to the description.

[0145] First, during the first period 1P, the driving signal provider 611 can Figure 8 The drive signal shown in FIG. is supplied to a Figure 6 to Figure 7 The first to third driving electrodes TX1 to TX3 of the fingerprint sensor 500 of the structure shown in FIG. The driving signal may include at least one pulse. Therefore, Figure 8 , a driving signal including three pulses is shown in FIG. 1 , but the number of pulses constituting the driving signal may be variously changed. In this case, the sensing gate turn-off signal may be supplied to all sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGL9 including the first sensing gate line SGL1 .

[0146] The driving signal may be supplied, and then, the reception electrode 540 may be floated or another voltage may be supplied to the reception electrode 540 .

[0147] The ultrasonic waves output from the first to third driving electrodes TX1 to TX3 and reflected by the finger may be transferred in a direction toward the first driving electrode TX1 .

[0148] Subsequently, during a second period 2P occurring after the first period 1P, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may supply a sensing gate turn-on signal to only the first sensing gate line SGL1, supply a sensing gate turn-off signal to other sensing gate lines SGL2 to SGL9, and supply a voltage having a constant level to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0149] Therefore, the third transistors T3 constituting the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the first sensing gate line SGL1 may all be turned off, and all the second transistors T2 of the fingerprint pixels 510 may be turned on.

[0150] Therefore, as described above, the level of current or the level of voltage delivered to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the sensing line SL may vary based on the level of voltage supplied to the gate of the first transistor T1.

[0151] The fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the first sensing gate line SGL1 based on the level of current or the level of voltage transferred through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SLn.

[0152] In this case, during the second period 2P, the fingerprint identifier 620 can be Figure 8 The sampling control signal SAMPS shown in FIG. 1 is used to perform three sensing operations.

[0153] The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the first sensing operation performed during the second period 2P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from the first driving electrode TX1, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the first driving electrode TX1. The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the second sensing operation performed during the second period 2P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from the second driving electrode TX2, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the first driving electrode TX1. The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the third sensing operation performed during the second period 2P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from the third driving electrode TX3, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the first driving electrode TX1.

[0154] An interval between three pulses of the sampling control signal SAMPS and a width of each of the three pulses may be differently set based on an interval between ultrasonic waves output from the first to third driving electrodes TX1 to TX3 and received by the receiving electrode corresponding to the first driving electrode TX1 and a width of each of the received ultrasonic waves.

[0155] That is, by using the above three sensing operations, the fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the first sensing gate line SGL1 .

[0156] Subsequently, during the third period 3P, the driving signal provider 611 may supply the driving signal to the first to fourth driving electrodes TX1 to TX4 . In this case, the sensing gate off signal may be supplied to all the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGL9 including the first sensing gate line SGL1 .

[0157] Subsequently, during a fourth period 4P occurring after the third period 3P, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may supply a sensing gate turn-on signal to only the second sensing gate line SGL2, supply a sensing gate turn-off signal to other sensing gate lines SGL1 and SGL3 to SGL9, and supply a voltage having a constant level to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0158] Therefore, the third transistors T3 constituting the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the second sensing gate line SGL2 may all be turned off, and all the second transistors T2 of the fingerprint pixels 510 may be turned on.

[0159] During the fourth period 4P, the fingerprint reader 620 can be used to Figure 8The sampling control signal SAMPS shown in FIG. 1 is used to perform three sensing operations, and thus, a plurality of fingerprint information pieces respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the second sensing gate line SGL2 may be generated.

[0160] The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the first sensing operation performed during the fourth period 4P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from the second driving electrode TX2, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the second driving electrode TX2. The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the second sensing operation performed during the fourth period 4P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from each of the first driving electrode TX1 and the third driving electrode TX3, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the second driving electrode TX2. The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the third sensing operation performed during the fourth period 4P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from the fourth driving electrode TX4, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the second driving electrode TX2.

[0161] In this case, Figure 7 In the embodiment, since no driving electrode is provided at the upper end of the first driving electrode TX1 and only the second driving electrode TX2 and the third driving electrode TX3 are provided at the lower end of the first driving electrode TX1, the second sensing operation and the third sensing operation performed during the second period 2P can both use only the sensing signal based on ultrasonic waves output from one driving electrode (the second driving electrode TX2 or the third driving electrode TX3).

[0162] However, since the first drive electrode TX1 is disposed at the upper end of the second drive electrode TX2, and the third drive electrode TX3 and the fourth drive electrode TX4 are disposed at the lower end of the second drive electrode TX2, the second sensing operation of the fourth period 4P may use a sensing signal based on the ultrasonic wave output from each of the first drive electrode TX1 and the third drive electrode TX3, and the third sensing operation of the fourth period 4P may use only a sensing signal based on the ultrasonic wave output from the fourth drive electrode TX4.

[0163] That is, since the first drive electrode TX1 and the third drive electrode TX3 are separated from the second drive electrode TX2 by the same interval, the ultrasonic waves output from the first drive electrode TX1 and the third drive electrode TX3 can be received by the position corresponding to the second drive electrode TX2 during the same time period, and therefore, the second sensing operation of the fourth time period 4P can use a sensing signal based on the ultrasonic waves output from the first drive electrode TX1 and the third drive electrode TX3.

[0164] However, since there is no driving electrode spaced apart the same interval as the fourth driving electrode TX2 with respect to the second driving electrode TX2 , the third sensing operation of the fourth period 4P may use a sensing signal based on ultrasonic waves output from the fourth driving electrode TX4 .

[0165] That is, by using the above three sensing operations, the fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the second sensing gate line SGL2 during the fourth period 4P.

[0166] Subsequently, during the fifth period 5P, the driving signal provider 611 may supply the driving signal to the first to fifth driving electrodes TX1 to TX5 . In this case, the sensing gate turn-off signal may be supplied to all the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGL9 including the first sensing gate line SGL1 .

[0167] Subsequently, during a sixth period 6P occurring after the fifth period 5P, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may supply a sensing gate turn-on signal to only the third sensing gate line SGL3, supply a sensing gate turn-off signal to the other sensing gate lines SGL1, SGL2 and SGL4 to SGL9, and supply a voltage having a constant level to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0168] Therefore, the third transistors T3 constituting the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the third sensing gate line SGL3 may all be turned off, and all the second transistors T2 of the fingerprint pixels 510 may be turned on.

[0169] During the sixth period 6P, the fingerprint reader 620 can be used to Figure 8 The sampling control signal SAMPS shown in FIG. 1 is used to perform three sensing operations, and thus, a plurality of fingerprint information pieces respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the third sensing gate line SGL3 may be generated.

[0170] The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the first sensing operation performed during the fourth period 4P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from the third driving electrode TX3, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the third driving electrode TX3. The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the second sensing operation performed during the fourth period 4P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from each of the second driving electrode TX2 and the fourth driving electrode TX4, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the third driving electrode TX3. The sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the third sensing operation performed during the fourth period 4P may be signals generated from reception ultrasonic waves output from each of the first driving electrode TX1 and the fifth driving electrode TX5, reflected by the user's finger, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 overlapping the third driving electrode TX3.

[0171] Since the first drive electrode TX1 and the second drive electrode TX2 are arranged at the upper end of the third drive electrode TX3, and the fourth drive electrode TX4 and the fifth drive electrode TX5 are arranged at the lower end of the third drive electrode TX3, the sensing operation of the sixth period 6P can use a sensing signal based on the received ultrasonic wave output from each of the second drive electrode TX2 and the fourth drive electrode TX4, and the third sensing operation of the sixth period 6P can use a sensing signal based on the received ultrasonic wave output from each of the first drive electrode TX1 and the fifth drive electrode TX5.

[0172] That is, since the second drive electrode TX2 and the fourth drive electrode TX4 are separated from the third drive electrode TX3 by the same interval, the ultrasonic waves output from the second drive electrode TX2 and the fourth drive electrode TX4 during the same period can be received by the position corresponding to the third drive electrode TX3, and therefore, the second sensing operation of the sixth period 6P can use a sensing signal based on the ultrasonic waves output from the second drive electrode TX2 and the fourth drive electrode TX4.

[0173] In addition, since the first drive electrode TX1 and the fifth drive electrode TX5 are separated from the third drive electrode TX3 by the same interval, the ultrasonic waves output from the first drive electrode TX1 and the fifth drive electrode TX5 during the same period can be received by the position corresponding to the third drive electrode TX3, and therefore, the third sensing operation of the sixth period 6P can use a sensing signal based on the ultrasonic waves output from the first drive electrode TX1 and the fifth drive electrode TX5.

[0174] That is, by using the above three sensing operations, the fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the third sensing gate line SGL3 during the sixth period 6P.

[0175] Subsequently, the operations performed during the fifth period 5P and the sixth period 6P may be performed on the fourth to seventh driving electrodes TX4 to TX7 based on the same principle.

[0176] Therefore, multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the fourth sensing gate line SGL4 can be generated during the seventh period 7P and the eighth period 8P, multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the fifth sensing gate line SGL5 can be generated during the ninth period 9P and the tenth period 10P, multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the sixth sensing gate line SGL6 can be generated during the eleventh period 11P and the twelfth period 12P, and multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the seventh sensing gate line SGL7 can be generated during the thirteenth period 13P and the fourteenth period 14P.

[0177] Subsequently, the operations performed during the third period 3P and the fourth period 4P may be performed in the fifteenth period 15P and the sixteenth period 16P based on the same principle.

[0178] That is, during the fifteenth period 15P and the sixteenth period 16P, a plurality of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the eighth sensing gate line SGL8 may be generated through four electrodes (ie, the sixth to ninth driving electrodes TX6 to TX9 ).

[0179] Subsequently, the operations performed during the first period 1P and the second period 2P may be performed in the seventeenth period 17P and the eighteenth period 18P based on the same principle.

[0180] That is, during the seventeenth period 17P and the eighteenth period 18P, a plurality of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the ninth sensing gate line SGL9 may be generated through three electrodes (ie, the seventh to ninth driving electrodes TX7 to TX9 ).

[0181] Finally, the fingerprint identifier 620 may combine the multiple pieces of fingerprint information determined through the processing to generate one fingerprint.

[0182] The fingerprint identifier 620 may compare the fingerprint with a reference fingerprint stored in the storage unit 630 to determine whether the fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint.

[0183] The result of determining whether a fingerprint matches a reference fingerprint can be applied to applications executed by various electronic devices (e.g., smart phones, desktop personal computers (PCs), monitors, televisions (TVs), etc.) that include a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure.

[0184] For example, when an application executed by a smartphone requires fingerprint-based user authentication, the smartphone may authenticate the user based on the determination result transmitted from the fingerprint recognizer 620 .

[0185] According to the present disclosure described above, since sensing gate lines included in a fingerprint sensor are individually driven, a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information corresponding to positions where the sensing gate lines are driven may be accurately generated, and thus fingerprint recognition performance may be increased.

[0186] Fig. 9 is another exemplary diagram showing a configuration of each of a fingerprint sensor and a fingerprint sensor driver for describing a driving method of a display device including a large area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure, and Fig.10 is a diagram showing the fingerprint sensor driver generating a Fig. 9 An example diagram of the waveform of a signal of a fingerprint sensor is shown in FIG.

[0187] As described above, the driving electrode unit 560 applied to the present disclosure may include a plurality of driving electrodes each having a rod shape, but may also include one driving electrode having a plate shape.

[0188] Reference above Figure 7 and Figure 8 The described method may be a driving method of a display device including the driving electrode unit 560 including a plurality of driving electrodes each having a rod shape.

[0189] In the following, reference will be made to Fig. 9 and Fig.10 A driving method of a display device including a driving electrode unit 560 including one driving electrode having a plate shape is described.

[0190] The driving method of the display device including the driving electrode unit 560 including one driving electrode may be similar to the above reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 Describe the method.

[0191] Therefore, in Fig. 9 The resolution of the fingerprint sensor shown in Figure 7 In the case where the fingerprint sensor shown recognizes fingerprints with the same or similar resolution, Fig. 9 The display device shown in FIG. 1 can be realized by using a display device similar to Figure 8 The signal shown in is used to drive.

[0192] However, although Fig. 9 The driving electrode shown in FIG. 6 includes only one driving electrode TX, but the driving signal supplied from the driving signal supplier 611 to the driving electrode TX may be as follows: Fig.10 is configured as shown.

[0193] That is to say, Fig.10 As shown, the driving signal provider 611 may supply the driving signal to the driving electrode TX only during odd-numbered periods among the first period 1P to the eighteenth period 18P.

[0194] In this case, by using the same Figure 7 and Figure 8 In the same manner as described above, the fingerprint identifier 620 can generate multiple pieces of fingerprint information in each of the fingerprint pixels 510, and can finally generate a fingerprint by using the multiple pieces of fingerprint information. Fig. 9 The signal shown in FIG. 1 and the driving method of the display device of the fingerprint sensor 500. In the following, the above reference is omitted or briefly given. Figure 7 and Figure 8 The description given is the same or similar to the description.

[0195] First, during the first period 1P, the driving signal provider 611 can Fig.10 The drive signal shown in FIG. is supplied to a Fig. 9 . In this case, the sensing gate off signal may be supplied to all the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm including the first sensing gate line SGL1.

[0196] The driving signal may be supplied, and then the receiving electrode 540 may be floated or another voltage may be supplied to the receiving electrode 540 .

[0197] Subsequently, during a second period 2P occurring after the first period 1P, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may supply a sensing gate turn-on signal to only the first sensing gate line SGL1, supply a sensing gate turn-off signal to other sensing gate lines SGL2 to SGL9, and supply a voltage having a constant level to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0198] In this case, during the second period 2P, the fingerprint identifier 620 can be Fig.10 The sampling control signal SAMPS shown in FIG. 1 is used to perform three sensing operations.

[0199] The sensing signal received through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the first sensing operation of the second period 2P may be a signal generated from a reception ultrasonic wave output from a region of the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the first sensing gate line SGL1, reflected by a finger of the user, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the first sensing gate line SGL1. The sensing signal received through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the second sensing operation of the second period 2P may be a signal generated from a reception ultrasonic wave output from a region of the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the second sensing gate line SGL2, reflected by a finger of the user, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the first sensing gate line SGL1. The sensing signal received by each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the third sensing operation of the second period 2P may be a signal generated from a received ultrasonic wave output from an area of ​​the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the third sensing gate line SGL3, reflected by the user's finger and transmitted to the receiving electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the first sensing gate line SGL1.

[0200] That is, by using the above three sensing operations, the fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the first sensing gate line SGL1 .

[0201] Subsequently, during the third period 3P, the driving signal supplier 611 may supply the driving signal to the driving electrode TX. In this case, the sensing gate-off signal may be supplied to all the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGL9.

[0202] Subsequently, during a fourth period 4P occurring after the third period 3P, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may supply a sensing gate turn-on signal to only the second sensing gate line SGL2, supply a sensing gate turn-off signal to other sensing gate lines SGL1 and SGL3 to SGL9, and supply a voltage having a constant level to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0203] During the fourth period 4P, the fingerprint reader 620 can be used to Fig.10 The sampling control signal SAMPS shown in FIG. 1 is used to perform three sensing operations, and thus, a plurality of fingerprint information pieces respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the second sensing gate line SGL2 may be generated.

[0204] The sensing signal received through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the first sensing operation of the fourth period 4P may be a signal generated from a reception ultrasonic wave output from a region of the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the second sensing gate line SGL2, reflected by a finger of a user, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the second sensing gate line SGL2. The sensing signal received through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the second sensing operation of the fourth period 4P may be a signal generated from a reception ultrasonic wave output from a region of the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the first sensing gate line SGL1 and the third sensing gate line SGL3, reflected by a finger of a user, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the second sensing gate line SGL2. The sensing signal received by each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the third sensing operation of the fourth period 4P may be a signal generated from receiving an ultrasonic wave output from an area of ​​the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the fourth sensing gate line SGL4, reflected by the user's finger and transmitted to the receiving electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the second sensing gate line SGL2.

[0205] That is, by using the above three sensing operations, the fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the second sensing gate line SGL2 during the fourth period 4P.

[0206] Subsequently, during a fifth period 5P, the driving signal supplier 611 may supply the driving signal to the driving electrode TX. In this case, the sensing gate-off signal may be supplied to all the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGL9.

[0207] Subsequently, during a sixth period 6P occurring after the fifth period 5P, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may supply a sensing gate turn-on signal to only the third sensing gate line SGL3, supply a sensing gate turn-off signal to the other sensing gate lines SGL1, SGL2 and SGL4 to SGL9, and supply a voltage having a constant level to the fixed voltage line VDD.

[0208] During the sixth period 6P, the fingerprint reader 620 can be used to Fig.10 The sampling control signal SAMPS shown in FIG. 1 is used to perform three sensing operations, and thus, a plurality of fingerprint information pieces respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the third sensing gate line SGL3 may be generated.

[0209] The sensing signal received through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the first sensing operation of the sixth period 6P may be a signal generated from a reception ultrasonic wave output from a region of the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the third sensing gate line SGL3, reflected by a finger of a user, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the third sensing gate line SGL3. The sensing signal received through each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the second sensing operation of the sixth period 6P may be a signal generated from a reception ultrasonic wave output from a region of the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the second sensing gate line SGL2 and the fourth sensing gate line SGL4, reflected by a finger of a user, and transferred to the reception electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the third sensing gate line SGL3. The sensing signal received by each of the sensing lines SL1 to SL16 in the third sensing operation of the sixth period 6P may be a signal generated from receiving an ultrasonic wave output from an area of ​​the driving electrode TX corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the first sensing gate line SGL1 and the fifth sensing gate line SGL5, reflected by the user's finger and transmitted to the receiving electrode 540 disposed at a position corresponding to the fingerprint pixel 510 connected to the third sensing gate line SGL3.

[0210] That is, by using the above three sensing operations, the fingerprint recognizer 620 may generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the third sensing gate line SGL3 during the sixth period 6P.

[0211] Subsequently, the operations performed during the fifth period 5P and the sixth period 6P may be performed on the fingerprint pixels connected to the fourth to seventh sensing gate lines SGL4 to SGL7 based on the same principle.

[0212] Therefore, during the seventh period 7P and the eighth period 8P, multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the fourth sensing gate line SGL4 can be generated, during the ninth period 9P and the tenth period 10P, multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the fifth sensing gate line SGL5 can be generated, during the eleventh period 11P and the twelfth period 12P, multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the sixth sensing gate line SGL6 can be generated, and during the thirteenth period 13P and the fourteenth period 14P, multiple fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 set along the seventh sensing gate line SGL7 can be generated.

[0213] Subsequently, the operations performed during the third period 3P and the fourth period 4P may be performed in the fifteenth period 15P and the sixteenth period 16P based on the same principle.

[0214] That is, a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the eighth sensing gate line SGL8 may be generated in the fifteenth period 15P and the sixteenth period 16P.

[0215] Subsequently, the operations performed during the first period 1P and the second period 2P may be performed in the seventeenth period 17P and the eighteenth period 18P based on the same principle.

[0216] That is, a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information respectively corresponding to the fingerprint pixels 510 disposed along the ninth sensing gate line SGL9 may be generated in the seventeenth period 17P and the eighteenth period 18P.

[0217] Finally, the fingerprint identifier 620 may combine the multiple pieces of fingerprint information determined through the processing to generate one fingerprint.

[0218] The fingerprint sensor 500 may be provided to correspond to only a portion of the total area of ​​the display panel 100 , but the utility of the fingerprint increases, and the fingerprint sensor 500 may be provided to be the same type as the display panel 100 .

[0219] In particular, the position where the user's fingerprint is input may not need to be larger than the display area 120 , and thus, for example, the fingerprint sensor 500 may be provided to have a size and shape for covering at least the display area 120 .

[0220] In this case, as described above, when the sensing gate lines are sequentially driven and the driving signal and the sensing gate signal are continuously supplied to the fingerprint sensor 500 , the power consumption of the driver 610 may continue to increase.

[0221] Furthermore, in the case where the fingerprint recognizer 620 converts all sensing signals received through all sensing lines into digital values ​​to recognize a fingerprint, power consumption of the fingerprint recognizer 620 may continue to increase.

[0222] That is, in the case of generally using an electronic device such as a smart phone or a tablet, the period of time during which the electronic device recognizes a fingerprint may be much shorter than the total driving period of the electronic device. In addition, the area of ​​the electronic device that is touched by the user's finger to actually recognize the fingerprint may be much smaller than the total area of ​​the display area 120.

[0223] Therefore, in the present disclosure, a sensing signal can be generated by supplying a driving signal only to a sensing gate line included in a first touch block corresponding to a position touched by a user's finger for fingerprint recognition, and the user's fingerprint can be sensed by using only a sensing signal received through a sensing line included in a second touch block corresponding to a position touched by the user's finger.

[0224] Therefore, according to the present disclosure, power consumption of the display device as well as the fingerprint sensor driver 600 can be reduced, and further, power consumption of an electronic device having the display device applied to the electronic device can be reduced.

[0225] Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the configuration of the sensing gate signal provider 612 for performing the above functions.

[0226] Fig.11 1 is an exemplary diagram showing the configuration of each of a touch sensor and a sensing gate signal provider applied to a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure. Fig.11 In order to facilitate the description, the driving electrode unit and the plurality of receiving electrodes are not shown. Fig.11 The touch sensor shown in FIG. 1 can be configured with Figure 6 The same type of touch sensor is shown in FIG.

[0227] Therefore, in the following, the above references are omitted or briefly given. Figures 6 to 10 The description given is the same or similar to the description.

[0228] As described above, the driver 610 may include a driving signal supplier 611 for supplying a driving signal to the driving electrode and a sensing gate signal supplier 612 for supplying a sensing gate signal to the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm.

[0229] As mentioned above Figure 6 As described above, the driving signal provider 611 can sequentially provide the driving signal to one driving electrode, and as described above with reference to Figures 6 to 10 The driving signal provider 611 can sequentially provide the driving signal to at least three driving electrodes at the same time for all driving electrodes. In addition, when the driving electrode unit is configured with one driving electrode, the driving signal provider 611 can repeatedly provide the driving signal to the driving electrode every predetermined period.

[0230] The sensing gate signal provider 612 may be driven based on the touch position information TSI transmitted from the touch driver 700, and may provide a driving signal only to the sensing gate lines corresponding to the touch position information TSI included in the first touch block.

[0231] For this reason, Fig.11 As shown, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may include: a plurality of stages (e.g., the first stage to the m+1th stage) ST1 to STm+1, which are used to provide sensing gate signals to sensing gate lines (e.g., the first sensing gate line to the m+1th sensing gate line) SGL1 to SGLm+1; and a stage controller 613, which is used to provide a start signal STS to one of the stages ST1 to STm+1 based on touch position information TSI sent from the touch driver 700.

[0232] Each of the stages ST1 to STm+1 may be driven by a start signal STS transmitted from the stage controller 613 , and a stage next to the stage driven by the start signal STS may be driven by a sensing gate turn-on signal output from the stage driven by the start signal STS.

[0233] For example, when the stage controller 613 provides the start signal STS to the first stage ST1 , the first stage ST1 may be driven, and thus, the first sensing gate turn-on signal may be output from the first stage ST1 .

[0234] The first sensing gate turn-on signal may be provided to the first sensing gate line SGL1 connected to the first stage ST1 , and may turn on the second transistor T2 connected to the first sensing gate line SGL1 .

[0235] The first sensing gate turn-on signal may be set as a start signal of the second stage ST2 next to the first stage ST1 .

[0236] That is, the first sensing gate turn-on signal may be a start signal of the second stage ST2 .

[0237] Therefore, the second stage ST2 may be driven by the first sensing gate turn-on signal, and thus, the second sensing gate turn-on signal may be output from the second stage ST2 to the second sensing gate line SGL2.

[0238] The second sensing gate turn-on signal may turn on the second transistor T2 connected to the second sensing gate line SGL2 .

[0239] The second sensing gate turn-on signal may be set as a start signal of the third stage ST3 which is set next to the second stage ST2 .

[0240] That is, the above-described process may be repeatedly performed until the (m+1)th stage STm+1 which is the last stage, and thus, the sensing gate turn-on signal may be sequentially provided to the sensing gate lines SGL1 to SGLm+1.

[0241] In this case, when the start signal STS output from the stage controller 613 is provided to the third stage ST3 , the third stage ST3 to the (m+1)th stage STm+1 may sequentially output the sensing gate turn-on signal.

[0242] Furthermore, when the start signal STS output from the stage controller 613 is provided to the f-th stage STf, the f-th stage STf to the (m+1)-th stage STm+1 may sequentially output the sensing gate turn-on signal.

[0243] In order to perform the above operation, a start signal supply line provided with a start signal STS may be connected to each of the stage controller 613 and the stage. However, the start signal supply line may be connected to only some of the multiple stages. For example, the start signal supply line may be connected only to the odd-numbered stages, or the start signal supply line may be connected to each of the even-numbered stages, or the start signal supply line may be connected to at least two stages, respectively.

[0244] In order to forcibly block the sensing gate turn-on signals sequentially output from the stages, the stage controller 613 may provide a reset signal RSS to the stages.

[0245] For example, in the case where only the third stage ST3 to the (m−1)th stage STm−1 should output the sensing gate turn-on signal, the stage controller 613 may transfer the start signal STS to the third stage ST3 .

[0246] Therefore, the third stage ST3 to the (m-1)th stage STm-1 may sequentially output the sensing gate turn-on signal.

[0247] In this case, when the m-1th stage STm-1 outputs the m-1th sensing gate turn-on signal, the stage controller 613 may provide the reset signal RSS to the reset line RSL connected to each stage. That is, the reset signal RSS may be commonly provided to all stages.

[0248] Therefore, when the (m-1)th sensing gate turn-on signal is output, the (m)th stage STm may no longer output the sensing gate turn-on signal based on the reset signal RSS provided to each stage.

[0249] That is, the reset signal RSS may block the sensing gate turn-on signal provided from the previous stage to the next stage. To this end, each of the stages may include a switch provided in a line provided with the sensing gate turn-on signal from the previous stage, and, for example, the switch may be disconnected by the reset signal RSS. When the switch is disconnected by the reset signal, the sensing gate turn-on signal output from the previous stage may not be input to the next stage.

[0250] In this case, since the sensing gate turn-on signal (ie, the start signal) output from the previous stage is not provided to the next stage, the next stage may not be driven, and thus, the sensing gate turn-on signal may not be output from the next stage.

[0251] Based on the above process, the sensing gate turn-on signal can be output only from a specific stage.

[0252] The configuration of each of the stages may be similar to the configuration of each of the gate stages included in the gate driver 200 for sequentially outputting the current sensing gate turn-on signal to the gate lines.

[0253] That is, a basic configuration for sequentially outputting a sensing gate turn-on signal by using a stage may be the same as a basic configuration for sequentially outputting a sensing gate turn-on signal by using a gate stage included in the gate driver 200 .

[0254] In this case, for example, among the gate stages included in the gate driver 200, only the first gate stage may be driven by a start signal provided from the outside of the gate driver 200 (e.g., the controller 400), and each of the other gate stages may be driven by a sensing gate turn-on signal output from the previous gate stage.

[0255] However, each of the stages included in the sensing gate signal provider 612 may be configured to be driven by the start signal STS provided from the stage controller 613 in addition to the sensing gate turn-on signal provided from the previous stage.

[0256] In addition, as described above, each of the stages included in the sensing gate signal provider 612 may include a switch for blocking the sensing gate turn-on signal provided from the previous stage based on the reset signal RSS provided from the stage controller 613. The switch may be configured with, for example, a switching transistor. That is, when the reset signal is provided to the gate of the switching transistor included in the next stage, the switching transistor may be turned off, and therefore, the sensing gate turn-on signal provided from the previous stage may not be provided to the next stage. Therefore, the next stage may not output the sensing gate turn-on signal.

[0257] In this case, the touch position information TSI may be provided to the fingerprint recognizer 620 as well as the stage controller 613. The touch position information TSI provided to the stage controller 613 may be the same as or different from the touch position information TSI provided to the fingerprint recognizer 620.

[0258] For example, the touch position information TSI may include the X coordinate and the Y coordinate of the touched portion of the touch panel. In this case, the stage controller 613 may calculate the stage number of the stage to which the start signal is to be provided and the stage number of the stage to which the reset signal is to be provided based on the Y coordinate of the touch position information TSI. In addition, the fingerprint identifier 620 may calculate the number of sensing units for each of the sensing units for converting the sensing signal received through the sensing line into a digital signal to generate a plurality of fingerprint information based on the X coordinate of the touch position information TSI.

[0259] In addition, the touch position information TSI provided to the stage controller 613 may include only the Y coordinate of the touched portion of the touch panel, or the touch position information TSI provided to the fingerprint identifier 620 may include only the X coordinate of the touched portion of the touch panel. In this case, the stage controller 613 may calculate the stage number of the stage to which the start signal is to be provided and the stage number of the stage to which the reset signal is to be provided based on the Y coordinate of the touch position information TSI. In addition, the fingerprint identifier 620 may calculate the number of sensing units for each of the sensing units for converting the sensing signal received through the sensing line into a digital signal to generate sensing information based on the X coordinate of the touch position information TSI.

[0260] The following will refer to Fig.12 Detailed functions of the stage controller 613 and the fingerprint identifier 620 are described in detail.

[0261] Fig.12 is an exemplary diagram for describing a method of sensing a fingerprint corresponding only to a touch area in a display device including a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure. Figures 1 to 11 The description given is the same or similar to the description.

[0262] First, when fingerprint authentication processing is performed through an application of an electronic device (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) including a display device with a large-area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure, an external system for controlling the electronic device can send a control signal for notifying the execution of the fingerprint authentication processing to the controller 400.

[0263] In this case, the controller 400 may transmit a fingerprint sensor control signal FCS for notifying the execution of the fingerprint authentication process to the fingerprint sensor driver 600. The driver 610 and the fingerprint recognizer 620 having received the fingerprint sensor control signal FCS may perform a preparation process for fingerprint recognition.

[0264] Then, when the user's finger touches the touch panel 800, the touch driver 700 may generate information about the touch position ( Fig.12The information of the touch position (i.e., the area indicated by XY in the touch screen) is obtained.

[0265] The touch position information TSI may be transmitted to the stage controller 613 and the fingerprint identifier 620. In this case, as described above, the touch position information TSI provided to the stage controller 613 may be the same as or different from the touch position information TSI provided to the fingerprint identifier 620.

[0266] As mentioned above Fig.11 As described, the sensing gate signal provider 612 may include a plurality of stages (eg, first to m+1th stages) ST1 to STm+1 and a stage controller 613 .

[0267] The fingerprint recognizer 620 may include a plurality of sensing units 622 for converting sensing signals received through the sensing lines SL1 to SLn into digital signals to generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information, and a sensing controller 621 for controlling operations of the sensing units 622 .

[0268] Each of the sensing units 622 may be connected to one sensing line SL, and may generate fingerprint information by using a sensing signal received through the sensing line SL.

[0269] The sensing controller 621 may select a sensing unit 622 to be actually driven to generate fingerprint information from among the plurality of sensing units 622 based on the X coordinate of the touch position information TSI received from the touch driver 700 .

[0270] That is, only the sensing units selected by the sensing controller 621 may be actually driven to generate a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information, and the sensing units not selected by the sensing controller 622 may not be driven. For example, the selection of the sensing units to be driven to generate the fingerprint information may be performed based on an operation of blocking the power supplied to the sensing units.

[0271] Subsequently, when the touch position information TSI is received, the stage controller 613 may select a stage to which a start signal is to be provided and a stage to which a reset signal RSS is to be provided based on the Y coordinate included in the touch position information TSI.

[0272] For example, when the Y coordinate included in the touch position information TSI corresponds to Fig.12 When the area indicated by XY is in the region indicated by XY, the stage controller 613 may select the kth stage STk as the stage to which the start signal is to be provided, and may select the k+3th stage STk+3 as the stage to which the reset signal RSS is to be provided.

[0273] In this case, a region including the kth to k+2th sensing gate lines SGLk to SGLk+2 connected to the kth to k+2th stages STk to STk+2 may be referred to as a first touch block.

[0274] Subsequently, when the touch position information TSI is received, the sensing controller 621 may select a sensing unit 622 to be actually driven to generate fingerprint information from among the plurality of sensing units 622 based on the X coordinate of the touch position information TSI received from the touch driver 700 .

[0275] For example, when the X coordinate included in the touch position information TSI corresponds to Fig.12 In the case of the area indicated by XY in FIG. 1 , the sensing controller 621 may select the pth to p+3th sensing cells 622a to 622d from among the plurality of sensing cells 622 as sensing cells to be actually driven.

[0276] In this case, a region including the pth to p+3th sensing lines SLp to SLp+3 connected to the pth to p+3th sensing units 622a to 622d may be referred to as a second touch block.

[0277] Then, when the processing is completed, the driving signal provider 611 may provide the driving signal to the driving electrode unit 560, as described above with reference to FIG. Figures 6 to 10 described.

[0278] That is, when the driving electrode unit 560 is configured with multiple driving electrodes, the driving signal provider 611 can repeat the process of providing the driving signal to at least three driving electrodes at the same time, and when the driving electrode unit 560 is configured with one driving electrode, the driving signal provider 611 can repeatedly provide the driving signal to the driving electrode.

[0279] Subsequently, when an order to provide a sensing gate-on signal to a kth sensing gate line SGLk included in the first touch block 1BL arrives while a driving signal is provided to the driving electrode unit, the stage controller 613 may provide a start signal to the kth stage STk.

[0280] Therefore, the kth stage STk may provide the sensing gate turn-on signal to the kth sensing gate line SGLk.

[0281] Subsequently, a sensing signal may be provided to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the sensing lines SL1 to SLn based on the sensing gate-on signal provided to the kth sensing gate line SGLk.

[0282] In this case, the sensing controller 621 can drive the pth sensing unit 622a to the p+3th sensing unit 622d connected to the pth sensing line SLp to the p+3th sensing line SLp+3 included in the second touch block 2BL to generate a plurality of fingerprint information about the fingerprint pixel 510 corresponding to the kth sensing gate line SGLk.

[0283] Subsequently, the k+1th stage STk+1 may be driven, and thus the sensing gate turn-on signal may be provided to the k+1th sensing gate line SGLk+1. In this case, the pth to p+3th sensing units 622a to 622d may be driven, and thus a plurality of fingerprint information regarding the fingerprint pixel 510 corresponding to the k+1th sensing gate line SGLk+1 may be generated.

[0284] Subsequently, the k+2th stage STk+2 may be driven, and thus the sensing gate turn-on signal may be provided to the k+2th sensing gate line SGLk+2. In this case, the pth to p+3th sensing units 622a to 622d may be driven, and thus a plurality of fingerprint information regarding the fingerprint pixel 510 corresponding to the k+2th sensing gate line SGLk+2 may be generated.

[0285] Subsequently, the sensing gate turn-on signal may be provided to the (k+2)th sensing gate line SGLk+2, and then, the sensing controller 621 may provide the reset signal RSS to the reset line RSL.

[0286] Based on the reset signal RSS, the sensing gate turn-on signal supplied to the k+2 th sensing gate line SGLk+2 may not be supplied to the k+3 th stage STk+3. Therefore, the sensing signal may no longer be supplied to the fingerprint identifier 620 through the sensing line.

[0287] In this case, the sensing controller 621 may not drive the sensing unit 622. The stage controller 613 may transfer a control signal for allowing the sensing unit 622 not to be driven, or the sensing controller 621 may directly determine the timing of not driving the sensing unit 622 based on the information about the Y coordinate.

[0288] Finally, the fingerprint identifier 620 may combine the multiple pieces of fingerprint information determined through the processing to generate one fingerprint.

[0289] The process of generating the fingerprint may be directly performed by the pth to p+3th sensing units 622a to 622d, and in this case, the sensing controller 621 may drive the pth to p+3th sensing units 622a to 622d until the fingerprint is generated.

[0290] However, the process of generating the fingerprint may be performed by a fingerprint generator that has received a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information from the pth to p+3th sensing units 622a to 622d. The fingerprint generator may be included in the fingerprint recognizer 620.

[0291] That is, driving of the pth to p+3th sensing units 622a to 622d may be stopped, and then, a process of generating a fingerprint may be performed by the fingerprint recognizer 620.

[0292] The fingerprint identifier 620 may compare the fingerprint with a reference fingerprint stored in the storage unit 630 to determine whether the fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint.

[0293] The result of determining whether the fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint may be applied to an application program executed by an electronic device including the display device of the large area fingerprint sensor according to the present disclosure.

[0294] For example, when an application executed by a smartphone requires fingerprint-based user authentication, the smartphone may authenticate the user based on the determination result transmitted from the fingerprint recognizer 620 .

[0295] According to the present disclosure, although the fingerprint sensor 500 having a large area covering the display area 120 is used, the driving signal can be provided only to the first touch block 1BL corresponding to the position touched by the user's finger, and thus, the user's fingerprint can be sensed, thereby reducing the power consumption of the display device. In addition, the user's fingerprint can be sensed only based on the sensing signal corresponding to the position touched by the user's finger received from the second touch block 2BL, thereby reducing the power consumption of the display device.

[0296] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to sense a user's fingerprint by providing a driving signal only to a first touch block corresponding to a position touched by a finger of the user, thereby reducing power consumption of a display device.

[0297] Furthermore, the user's fingerprint may be sensed based only on the sensing signal received by the second touch block corresponding to the position touched by the user's finger, thereby reducing power consumption of the display device.

[0298] The above-mentioned features, structures and effects of the present disclosure are included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, but are not limited to one embodiment. In addition, those skilled in the art can realize the features, structures and effects described in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure by combining or modifying other embodiments. Therefore, the contents associated with the combination and modification should be interpreted as being within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0299] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to cover modifications and variations of the present disclosure as long as they fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A display device comprising a fingerprint sensor, the display device include: a display panel for displaying an image; a touch panel that senses the touch of a finger; a fingerprint sensor including a plurality of fingerprint pixels, the plurality of fingerprint pixels performing a function corresponding to a basic unit for recognizing a fingerprint of the finger; A fingerprint sensor driver for driving the fingerprint sensor; as well as a touch driver for driving the touch panel, in, The fingerprint sensor driver comprises: a fingerprint recognizer for recognizing a fingerprint by using a sensing signal received from the fingerprint sensor; and a driver that provides a sensing gate signal to a sensing gate line among m sensing gate lines included in the fingerprint sensor, the sensing gate line being included in a first touch block determined to be touched based on touch position information received from the touch driver, wherein m is an integer of 2 or more, in, The driver comprises: A driving signal provider for providing a driving signal to the fingerprint sensor; and A sensing gate signal provider that provides the sensing gate signal to the sensing gate line included in the first touch block among the m sensing gate lines, and wherein the sensing gate signal provider includes: sequentially providing the sensing gate signal to a plurality of stages of the m sensing gate lines; and A stage controller provides a start signal to one of the plurality of stages to drive one of the plurality of stages based on the touch position information transferred from the touch driver.

2. The display device according to claim 1, in, The fingerprint sensor comprises: a plurality of receiving electrodes; n sensing lines connected to fingerprint pixels arranged along a first direction to extend along the first direction, wherein n is an integer of 2 or more; a driving electrode unit comprising at least one driving electrode; The m sensing gate lines extend along a second direction different from the first direction; a plurality of fixed voltage lines extending along the first direction; a plurality of fingerprint common voltage lines extending along the first direction; and A sensing line and a first transistor, a second transistor and a third transistor included in a fingerprint pixel arranged based on the one sensing line.

3. The display device according to claim 1, in, The fingerprint recognizer generates a plurality of pieces of fingerprint information by using sensing signals received through sensing lines among n sensing lines included in the fingerprint sensor, the sensing lines being included in a second touch block determined to be touched based on the touch position information received from the touch driver.

4. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: include: A reset line is provided between the stage controller and the plurality of stages to receive a reset signal for stopping driving of the plurality of stages.

5. The display device according to claim 4, in, While a driving signal is provided to the fingerprint sensor, when a sequence to provide a sensing gate turn-on signal to a kth sensing gate line included in the first touch block arrives, the stage controller provides the start signal to the kth stage, where k is an integer of 2 or greater.

6. The display device according to claim 5, in, The sensing gate turn-on signal is provided to a last sensing gate line included in the first touch block, and a sensing controller provides the reset signal to the reset line.

7. The display device according to claim 2, in, a gate of the first transistor is connected to the receiving electrode, a first terminal of the first transistor is connected to a fixed voltage line, and a second terminal of the first transistor is connected to a second terminal of the second transistor, A gate of the second transistor is connected to the sensing gate line, a first terminal of the second transistor is connected to the sensing line, and a second terminal of the second transistor is connected to a second terminal of the first transistor, and A gate of the third transistor is connected to another sensing gate line adjacent to the sensing gate line, a first terminal of the third transistor is connected to the gate of the first transistor, and a second terminal of the third transistor is connected to the fingerprint common voltage line.

8. A fingerprint sensor for a display device, include: a plurality of fingerprint pixels that perform a function corresponding to a basic unit for identifying a fingerprint of a finger; m sensing gate lines, wherein m is an integer of 2 or greater; as well as a sensing gate signal supplier that supplies a sensing gate signal to a sensing gate line included in a touch block determined to be touched based on touch position information from the display device, among the m sensing gate lines, Wherein, the sensing gate signal provider comprises: sequentially providing the sensing gate signal to a plurality of stages of the m sensing gate lines; and A stage controller provides a start signal to one of the plurality of stages to drive one of the plurality of stages based on the touch position information.

9. The fingerprint sensor according to claim 8, further comprising: include: a plurality of receiving electrodes; n sensing lines connected to fingerprint pixels arranged along a first direction to extend along the first direction, wherein n is an integer of 2 or more; a driving electrode unit comprising at least one driving electrode; The m sensing gate lines extend along a second direction different from the first direction; a plurality of fixed voltage lines extending along the first direction; a plurality of fingerprint common voltage lines extending along the first direction; as well as A sensing line and a first transistor, a second transistor and a third transistor included in a fingerprint pixel arranged based on the one sensing line.

10. The fingerprint sensor according to claim 9, in, a gate of the first transistor is connected to the receiving electrode, a first terminal of the first transistor is connected to a fixed voltage line, and a second terminal of the first transistor is connected to a second terminal of the second transistor, A gate of the second transistor is connected to the sensing gate line, a first terminal of the second transistor is connected to the sensing line, and a second terminal of the second transistor is connected to a second terminal of the first transistor, and A gate of the third transistor is connected to another sensing gate line adjacent to the sensing gate line, a first terminal of the third transistor is connected to the gate of the first transistor, and a second terminal of the third transistor is connected to the fingerprint common voltage line.

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