Touch circuit, touch display device and touch driving method thereof

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method, and more particularly, to a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method for simply configuring a system for transmitting signals between a touch display device and a stylus by evenly arranging intervals between touch driving periods in a touch frame.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0134267 filed on October 28, 2019, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method. Background Art

[0004] As an information-oriented society develops, various demands for display devices for displaying images increase. Recently, various types of display devices, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display panel (PDP) devices, and organic light emitting display devices, have been utilized.

[0005] The liquid crystal display device in the display device displays an image by adjusting the light transmittance of the liquid crystal using an electric field. To this end, the liquid crystal display device generally includes: a liquid crystal display panel on which liquid crystal cells are arranged in a matrix form; and a driving circuit for driving the liquid crystal display panel.

[0006] In the pixel array of the liquid crystal display panel, a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines intersect each other, and a thin film transistor (TFT) for driving a liquid crystal cell is formed in the region where each gate line and each data line intersect. In addition, a storage capacitor for maintaining the voltage of the liquid crystal cell at a specific level is formed in the liquid crystal display panel, and the liquid crystal cell includes a pixel electrode, a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer. An electric field passing through the liquid crystal layer included in the liquid crystal cell is formed by the data voltage applied to the pixel electrode and the common voltage applied to the common electrode. At this time, the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer can be adjusted by the electric field; therefore, an image can be generated.

[0007] The driving circuit may include: a gate driving circuit for sequentially providing gate signals to the gate lines; and a data driving circuit for providing image signals (i.e., data voltages) to the data lines. The data driving circuit may provide data voltages to the liquid crystal cells by driving the data lines. The gate driving circuit selects the liquid crystal cells on a horizontal line of the display panel to which the data voltages are provided by sequentially driving the gate lines.

[0008] In order to sequentially generate gate signals, the gate driving circuit includes a gate shift register configured with a plurality of stages. Each stage of the shift register alternately performs charging and discharging; therefore, a gate output signal including a gate clock signal of a low voltage level is output. The output terminals of each stage are connected to the gate lines one by one, respectively. A gate signal of a first level is sequentially generated from each stage once per frame, and then the gate signal is provided to each gate line GL.

[0009] Meanwhile, in the case of providing a touch input function in a display device, in order to provide a thin portable device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc., an in-cell type touch display device in which components of a touch screen are integrated inside a display panel of the touch display device has been developed and utilized.

[0010] Such a touch display device uses a common electrode for driving each pixel as a touch electrode for touch sensing. Therefore, during the display period, a common voltage is provided to at least one thin film transistor, and during the touch period, a touch drive signal is provided to at least one touch electrode.

[0011] In a touch display device, a driver for touch is usually driven only once during one frame, which is one cycle of an image refresh rate or frame frequency of a display panel.

[0012] For example, when the frame frequency is 60 Hz, after performing display driving of turning on or off one or more pixels through N gate lines constituting the touch screen panel (TSP) in a horizontal period of 1 / 60 s, touch driving for touch sensing is then performed during a pre-configured interval. In other words, this can be expressed as a touch report rate of 60 Hz.

[0013] Meanwhile, for the touch input of the touch display device, not only a passive stylus such as a finger but also an active stylus capable of sending and / or receiving signals to and / or from the display panel may be used.

[0014] In case of using the active stylus, the touch display device transmits a beacon signal or a ping signal including information about the display panel to the active stylus, and then the active stylus may determine the state of the display panel and perform a synchronization process.

[0015] Generally, since a beacon signal or a ping signal having an asymmetric interval has been used for transmission from a touch display device to an active stylus, the complexity of signal processing increases, and a problem of including noise in synchronization processing between the active stylus and the touch display device sometimes occurs. Summary of the invention

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method are provided for simply configuring a system for transmitting a signal between a touch display device and a stylus pen by evenly arranging intervals between touch driving periods in a touch frame.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method are provided for reducing the number of check signals in a touch frame period and reducing power consumption of a stylus pen by evenly arranging intervals between touch driving periods in a touch frame.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method for improving touch sensitivity by uniformly arranging intervals between touch driving periods in a touch frame are provided.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method are provided for maintaining synchronization between a touch display device and a stylus in one or more remaining periods by evenly arranging intervals between touch driving periods in a touch frame even when noise is included in a period for sending a beacon signal.

[0020] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a touch display device is provided, which includes: a display panel in which a touch screen panel including a plurality of touch electrodes is embedded; and a touch circuit that generates a touch synchronization signal in which the intervals between a plurality of touch drive periods in a touch frame period including a vertical blank period are uniform, and provides a touch drive signal to the display panel based on the generated touch synchronization signal.

[0021] The touch circuit can generate a touch synchronization signal in which intervals between multiple touch driving periods are uniform by dividing the vertical blank period into time intervals equal to the number of multiple touch driving periods included in the touch frame period and adding the divided time intervals to each touch driving period.

[0022] The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal may include a first beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in a touch frame period and a second beacon signal provided in a second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

[0023] An interval between the plurality of touch driving periods may correspond to an interval between the first beacon signal and the second beacon signal.

[0024] The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal may include a beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in a touch frame period and a check signal provided in a second touch drive period in a touch frame period. In this case, the check signal may not be provided after the second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

[0025] An interval between the plurality of touch driving periods may correspond to an interval between a beacon signal and a ping signal.

[0026] The touch driving signal provided in the second touch driving period including the interrogation signal may be a direct current signal.

[0027] The touch circuit may provide a touch driving signal for sensing a downlink signal provided from the stylus pen at a time when a specific offset time elapses from an interval between a plurality of touch driving periods in a touch driving period in which the beacon signal is not provided.

[0028] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a touch circuit is provided, which includes: a pulse width modulation generator, which generates a touch synchronization signal in which the intervals between multiple touch drive periods in a touch frame period including a vertical blank period are uniform, and provides the touch synchronization signal to a display panel including multiple touch electrodes; a touch controller, which controls the operation of the pulse width modulation generator; and an interface processor, which provides an interface signal between the touch controller and the drive circuit of the display panel.

[0029] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a touch driving method is provided, the touch driving method comprising: generating a touch synchronization signal in which intervals between multiple touch driving periods in a touch frame period including a vertical blank period are uniform; and providing a touch driving signal to a display panel according to the generated touch synchronization signal.

[0030] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method for simply configuring a system for transmitting a signal between a touch display device and a stylus pen may be provided.

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method for reducing the number of check signals transmitted in a touch frame period and reducing power consumption of a stylus pen may be provided.

[0032] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method for improving touch sensitivity may be provided.

[0033] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch circuit, a touch display device, and a touch driving method can be provided that enable synchronization between a touch display device and a stylus to be maintained in one or more remaining periods even when noise is included in a period for transmitting a beacon signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 A touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0035] Figure 2 A timing sequence for configuring a display driving period and a touch driving period in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0036] Figure 3 It is shown that one display frame period is temporally divided into a plurality of display driving periods and a plurality of touch driving periods in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 4 A touch driving timing independent of a display driving timing in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0038] Figure 5 An operation between a touch display device and a stylus pen according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0039] Figure 6 An example of a timing for performing touch driving of a stylus pen in a touch display system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0040] Figure 7 An example of an asymmetric phenomenon in which intervals between LHBs are unequal in a touch frame period in a touch display device is shown.

[0041] Figure 8 An example of signal timing for explaining a method of arranging LHBs so that intervals between adjacent LHBs in a touch frame period are equal through modulation of a touch sync signal in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0042] Fig. 9 Signal timings representing a process of configuring intervals between LHBs to be equal in a touch frame period by modulation of a touch sync signal in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0043] Fig.10 Signal timings when intervals between LHBs are equally arranged in a touch frame period in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0044] Fig.11 Another example showing a case in which the intervals between LHBs in a touch frame period are unequal in a touch display device is shown.

[0045] Fig.12 Another signal timing when the intervals between LHBs are equally arranged in the touch frame period in the touch display device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0046] Fig.13 A signal timing when a downlink signal transmitted from a stylus pen is sensed in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0047] Fig.14 Signal timings when beacon signals are arranged to be adjacent in a touch frame period in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0048] Fig.15 Signal timing when a downlink signal of a protocol performing synchronization using both a beacon signal and a ping signal is sensed in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0049] Fig.16 Signal timing when synchronization and sensing of a downlink signal are performed by using a beacon signal and a ping signal only once in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0050] Fig.17 1 shows a signal timing when a DC touch driving signal is applied at the LHB to which a verification signal is applied in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Fig.18 A block diagram of a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] In the following description of examples or embodiments of the present invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which specific examples or embodiments that can be implemented are shown by way of illustration, and the same reference numerals and symbols in the accompanying drawings may be used to represent the same or similar components, even if these components are shown in different drawings from each other. In addition, in the following description of examples or embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of known functions and components incorporated herein may make the subject matter of some embodiments of the present invention unclear, the description will be omitted. Terms such as "including", "having", "comprising", "consisting of", and "formed by" used herein are generally intended to allow the addition of other components unless these terms are used together with the term "only". As used herein, the singular form is intended to include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0053] Terms such as "first", "second", "A", "B", "(A)" or "(B)" may be used herein to describe elements of the present invention. Each of these terms is not used to limit the nature, sequence, order or number of elements, etc., but is only used to distinguish the corresponding element from other elements.

[0054] When it is mentioned that a first element is “connected or coupled to” a second element, “contacts or overlaps” the second element, etc., it should be explained that the first element may not only be “directly connected or coupled to” the second element, or “directly contact or overlaps” the second element, but also a third element may be “interposed” between the first element and the second element, or the first element and the second element may be “connected or coupled to”, “contacts or overlaps” the first element and the second element via a fourth element, etc. Here, the second element may be included in at least one element of two or more elements that are “connected or coupled to”, “contacts or overlaps” the second element and the like.

[0055] When time relationship terms such as "after", "subsequently", "next", "before", etc. are used to describe the processing or operation of an element or configuration, or the process or steps in the operation, process, or manufacturing method, these terms can be used to describe discontinuous or non-sequential processing or operations, unless the terms "directly" or "immediately" are used together.

[0056] In addition, when referring to any dimension, relative size, etc., it should be considered that the numerical value or corresponding information (e.g., level, range, etc.) of the element or feature includes tolerances or error ranges that may be caused by various factors (e.g., process factors, internal or external influences, noise, etc.), even if no relevant description is indicated. In addition, the term "may" fully encompasses all meanings of the term "can".

[0057] Figure 1A block diagram of a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0058] Reference Figure 1 The touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be, for example, a display device that can provide a function of sensing the touch of a passive stylus such as a finger, a conductive object, etc., and a function of sensing the touch of an active stylus such as a pen in addition to the function of displaying an image.

[0059] The touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be a display device in which a touch screen panel TSP including a plurality of touch electrodes TE as touch sensors is embedded in a display panel 110. For example, the touch display device 100 may be a television TV, a monitor, etc., or may be a mobile device such as a tablet computer, a smart phone, etc.

[0060] For example, the touch display device 100 may divide the common electrodes used in the display period into a plurality of groups and then use the plurality of divided groups as the plurality of touch electrodes TE.

[0061] In another example, the touch display device 100 may use the plurality of touch electrodes TE as touch sensing electrodes or touch driving electrodes.

[0062] The display panel 110 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel, or the like.

[0063] For example, when the display panel 110 is a liquid crystal display panel, the touch display device 100 may divide common electrodes to which a common voltage is applied and to form an electric field with pixel electrodes into a plurality of groups and then use the plurality of divided groups as corresponding touch electrodes TE.

[0064] In another example, when the display panel 110 is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel, the touch display device 100 may include a first electrode as an anode of the organic light emitting diode (OLED), an organic light emitting layer, a second electrode, an encapsulation layer located on the OLED and having an encapsulation function, and a touch sensor metal layer located on the encapsulation layer. Here, a plurality of touch electrodes may be formed on the touch sensor metal layer.

[0065] Hereinafter, for convenience of description and easy understanding, it is assumed that the plurality of touch electrodes TE are used as touch driving electrodes (touch sensors) in a touch driving process, and are used as common electrodes in a display driving process.

[0066] The touch display device 100 may include a touch circuit TIC that performs touch sensing and stylus sensing using a signal received through the display panel 110 by driving the display panel 110 in which the touch screen panel TSP is integrated.

[0067] The touch circuit TIC may include a first circuit for receiving a signal via the display panel 110 by driving the display panel 110 , and a second circuit for performing passive touch sensing (eg, finger touch sensing) and active touch sensing using the signal received via the display panel 110 .

[0068] The first circuit may be referred to as a touch driving circuit ROIC, and the second circuit may be referred to as a touch controller TCR.

[0069] The touch driving circuit ROIC may be implemented as an integrated driving circuit SRIC together with a data driving circuit SDIC driving data lines.

[0070] The integrated driving circuit SRIC may be implemented as a chip on film (COF) type in which the integrated driving circuit SRIC is mounted on a film.

[0071] A film on which the integrated driving circuit SRIC is mounted may be attached to a joining portion of the display panel 110 and a joining portion of the printed circuit board PCB.

[0072] The touch controller TCR and the like can be mounted on a printed circuit board PCB.

[0073] The touch driving circuit ROIC and the data driving circuit SDIC may be implemented as separate driving chips. The touch driving circuit ROIC may be electrically connected to a plurality of touch electrodes TE included in the display panel 110 through a plurality of signal lines SL.

[0074] At this time, the touch driving circuit ROIC can perform touch sensing during the touch period compared to the display period divided separately in time. In another example, the display period and the touch period in which touch sensing is performed can be performed simultaneously, and in this case, the touch period can have a time period equal to or different from the display period.

[0075] Figure 2 A timing sequence for configuring a display driving period and a touch driving period in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0076] Reference Figure 2, the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure performs display driving for displaying an image during a predefined display driving period DP, and performs touch driving for sensing a touch input from a finger or a stylus during a predefined touch driving period TP.

[0077] The display driving period DP and the touch driving period TP may be equal in time, entirely or partially overlap each other in time, or be separated from each other in time.

[0078] When the display driving period DP and the touch driving period TP are equal in time, the display driving and the touch driving may be performed simultaneously.

[0079] Hereinafter, for convenience of description, it is assumed that the display driving period DP and the touch driving period TP are separated from each other in time. In this case, the display driving period DP and the touch driving period TP may be alternately arranged.

[0080] Therefore, when the display driving period DP and the touch driving period TP are temporally separated to be alternately arranged, the touch driving period TP may correspond to a blank period Blank in which the display driving is not performed.

[0081] The touch display device 100 may generate a touch synchronization signal Tsync that swings between a high level and a low level, and thereby may identify or control the display driving period DP and the touch driving period TP. That is, the touch synchronization signal Tsync may be a driving timing control signal for defining the touch driving period TP.

[0082] For example, a high level period (or low level period) of the touch synchronization signal Tsync may correspond to the display driving period DP, and a low level period (or high level period) of the touch synchronization signal Tsync may correspond to the touch driving period TP.

[0083] At the same time, regarding the method of allocating a display driving period DP and a touch driving period TP in one display frame period, for example, one display frame period can be divided into one display driving period DP and one touch driving period TP, and display driving can be performed during one display driving period DP, and touch driving for sensing touch input from a finger and a stylus can be performed during one touch driving period TP corresponding to a blank period Blank.

[0084] In another example, one display frame period may be divided into two or more display drive periods DP and two or more touch drive periods TP, and display driving may be performed during two or more display drive periods DP in one display frame period, and touch driving for sensing one or two or more touch inputs from a finger and a stylus on all or at least a portion of the display screen may be performed during two or more touch drive periods TP in one display frame period.

[0085] In this way, when one display frame period is divided into two or more display drive periods DP and two or more touch drive periods TP, and then display driving and touch driving are performed, each of two or more blank periods corresponding to the two or more touch drive periods TP in one display frame period is sometimes referred to as a long horizontal blank ("LHB").

[0086] Therefore, two or more periods in which touch sensing from a stylus pen or a finger is performed in a display frame period may be referred to as an LHB or a touch drive period, and in one touch frame period (hereinafter referred to as Figure 4 Description) in which touch driving performed during two or more LHBs is referred to as “LHB driving”.

[0087] Figure 3 A timing sequence when one display frame period is temporally divided into a plurality of display driving periods and a plurality of touch driving periods in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0088] Reference Figure 3 , one display frame period can be divided into 16 display driving periods (DP1 to DP16) and 16 touch driving periods (TP1 to TP16) in terms of time.

[0089] In this case, 16 touch driving periods (TP1 ˜ TP16 ) may correspond to 16 LHBs (LHB1 ˜ LHB16 ).

[0090] In the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, display driving and touch driving may be alternately performed in a state where one display frame period is divided into one or more display driving periods and one or more touch driving periods.

[0091] In another example, in the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the touch driving period TP may be performed independently of the display driving period DP.

[0092] Figure 4 A touch driving timing independent of a display driving timing in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0093] Reference Figure 4 , in the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the display driving process and the touch driving process may be performed at different times from each other or simultaneously.

[0094] Therefore, the touch sync signal Tsync may be used to distinguish between the display driving period DP and the touch driving period TP, or to indicate only the touch driving period TP by being separated.

[0095] For example, 16 LHBs (LHB1-LHB16) may correspond to one touch frame period. Here, the touch frame period may mean a period in which a touch from a finger or a stylus pen may be sensed once over the entire area of ​​a display screen.

[0096] Here, an example is shown in which touch driving is performed during a period in which the touch synchronization signal Tsync is maintained at a high level, and in another example, touch driving can be performed during a period in which the touch synchronization signal Tsync is maintained at a low level. Display driving and touch driving can be performed simultaneously or by dividing in time.

[0097] Furthermore, in the touch driving period (LHB1 to LHB16), a touch driving process for sensing a touch from a finger may be performed, or a touch driving process for sensing a touch from a stylus pen may be performed.

[0098] Figure 5 An operation between a touch display device and a stylus pen according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0099] Reference Figure 5 When a touch sensor, such as a touch electrode, is driven to sense a touch from a stylus, the touch display device 100 may send at least one uplink signal to the stylus, wherein the at least one uplink signal includes several types of information for controlling the driving of the stylus or several types of information required to drive the stylus.

[0100] More specifically, the touch circuit TIC of the touch display device 100 can provide at least one uplink signal to one or more of the touch electrodes TE included in the display panel 110, and the at least one uplink signal includes several types of information for controlling the driving of the stylus or several types of information required to drive the stylus.

[0101] Accordingly, the stylus pen adjacent to the display panel 110 may receive at least one uplink signal through the tip of the stylus pen. That is, the stylus pen may receive at least one uplink signal through one or more of the plurality of touch electrodes TE included in the display panel 110.

[0102] The stylus pen may output a downlink signal indicating a position, a tilt, or several types of additional information about the stylus pen in response to at least one uplink signal transmitted from the touch display device 100 .

[0103] The downlink signal output from the stylus pen may be applied to at least one touch electrode TE among the plurality of touch electrodes TE included in the display panel 110 .

[0104] The touch circuit TIC of the touch display device 100 may receive a downlink signal output from the stylus pen through at least one touch electrode TE and obtain a position, a tilt, or several types of additional information about the stylus pen based on the received downlink signal.

[0105] Here, the uplink signal may include, for example, a beacon signal Beacon, a ping signal Ping, and the like.

[0106] The beacon signal Beacon may be a control signal for enabling the touch display device 100 to control driving of the stylus pen or to notify the stylus pen of necessary information, and includes several types of information required to drive the stylus pen.

[0107] For example, the beacon signal Beacon may include one or more of the following information: basic information of the display panel 110 (e.g., status information, identification information, type information such as in-box type, etc.), driving mode information of the display panel 110 (e.g., mode recognition information such as stylus search mode, stylus sensing mode, etc.), characteristic information about the downlink signal (e.g., frequency, number of pulses, etc.), information related to driving timing, multiplexer driving information, power mode information (e.g., information about one or more LHBs that are not driven in the display panel and stylus to reduce power consumption); and may also include information for synchronization between the display panel 110 and the stylus.

[0108] The ping signal Ping may be a control signal for synchronization of a downlink signal.

[0109] The additional information that may be included in the downlink signal may include, for example, one or more of pressure, stylus ID information, button information, battery information, and information for checking and correcting information errors.

[0110] Figure 6 An example of a timing for performing touch driving of a stylus pen in a touch display system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0111] exist Figure 6In the embodiment of the present invention, the display frame period may correspond to the touch frame period, and each touch frame period may include 16 LHBs (LHB1-LHB16). Here, the touch frame period may be a period for sensing both a passive conductive object such as a finger and a stylus pen.

[0112] In the touch frame period, a beacon signal, which is one of uplink signals, may be transmitted one or more times from the display panel 110 to the stylus pen. The beacon signal may be transmitted in any touch driving period among the 16 LHBs (LHB1 to LHB16).

[0113] For example, the beacon signal may be transmitted to the stylus in a first LHB LHB1 and a ninth LHB LHB9 among 16 LHBs ( LHB1 ˜ LHB16 ) included in the touch frame.

[0114] When a beacon signal is transmitted from the display panel 110 to the stylus pen, the stylus pen may output a downlink signal in a preconfigured touch driving period according to a predefined protocol in response to the beacon signal.

[0115] The downlink signal output from the stylus pen may be a downlink signal for enabling the touch display device 100 to sense the position of the stylus pen or to sense data of the stylus pen. Here, the data of the stylus pen may be several types of information about the stylus pen, such as pressure, stylus pen ID, button information, battery information, information for checking and correcting information errors, etc.

[0116] The downlink signal output from the stylus pen may be applied to at least one touch electrode TE among the plurality of touch electrodes TE included in the display panel 110 .

[0117] Meanwhile, the 16 LHBs (LHB1-LHB16) included in the touch frame period may include one or more active driving periods for enabling sensing of the position or data of the stylus. For example, the active driving period may correspond to LHB2 to LHB3 (LHB2-LHB3), LHB5 to LHB7 (LHB5-LHB7), LHB10 to LHB11 (LHB10-LHB11), and LHB13 to LHB15 (LHB13-LHB15) among the 16 LHBs (LHB1-LHB16).

[0118] As such, the stylus may output a downlink signal according to one or more active driving periods (eg, LHB2 ˜ LHB3 , LHB5 ˜ LHB7 , LHB10 ˜ LHB11 , LHB13 ˜ LHB15 ) allocated for sensing the stylus.

[0119] When the downlink signal output from the stylus pen is a downlink signal regarding the position of the stylus pen, the downlink signal may be a signal composed of pulses that swing periodically.

[0120] When a downlink signal output from the stylus pen is a downlink signal of data regarding the stylus pen, the downlink signal may be a signal composed of non-periodic pulses indicating corresponding data.

[0121] Meanwhile, the 16 LHBs (LHB1-LHB16) included in the touch frame period may include one or more passive driving periods for sensing a touch from a finger. For example, the passive driving period may correspond to LHB4, LHB8, LHB12, and LHB16 among the 16 LHBs (LHB1-LHB16).

[0122] As described above, according to the stylus sensing timing defined in the corresponding protocol, when a downlink signal is output from the stylus, the touch circuit TIC may receive the downlink signal through the display panel 110 and perform a stylus sensing process based on the received downlink signal.

[0123] Here, the stylus sensing process may include one or more of a process of sensing a position of the stylus and a process of sensing data of the stylus.

[0124] In addition, according to the finger sensing timing defined in the corresponding protocol, the touch circuit TIC can provide a touch drive signal to at least one of the multiple touch electrodes TE of the display panel 110 and receive a sensing signal from the display panel 110, and thus perform a finger sensing process for sensing a touch from a finger.

[0125] In order to distinguish frames, a vertical blank period Vblank is arranged between touch frame periods for sensing a stylus pen or a finger, and thus an asymmetric phenomenon occurs in which intervals between adjacent LHBs arranged in the touch frame period are unequal.

[0126] Figure 7 An example of an asymmetric phenomenon in which intervals between adjacent LHBs in a touch frame period are unequal in a touch display device is shown.

[0127] Reference Figure 7 In order to distinguish frames, a vertical blank period Vblank is arranged between touch frame periods.

[0128] The 16 LHBs (LHB1 to LHB16) for touch driving may be arranged in the remaining period except the vertical blank period Vblank in the touch frame period. Due to such arrangement, an asymmetric phenomenon occurs in which the intervals between adjacent LHBs among the 16 LHBs (LHB1 to LHB16) arranged in the touch frame period and the intervals between the 16th LHB LHB16 and the first LHB LHB1 in the subsequent touch frame period are not consistent.

[0129] For example, when the beacon signal is included in the first LHB LHB1 and the ninth LHB LHB9, the time interval BBT1 between the beacon signal of the first LHB LHB1 and the beacon signal of the ninth LHB LHB9 is different from the time interval BBT2 between the beacon signal of the ninth LHB LHB9 and the beacon signal of the first LHB LHB1 in the subsequent touch frame period.

[0130] At this time, the time interval BBT1 between the beacon signal of the first LHB LHB1 and the beacon signal of the 9th LHB LHB9 and the time interval BBT2 between the beacon signal of the 9th LHB LHB9 and the beacon signal of the first LHB LHB1 in the subsequent touch frame period have different values ​​due to the vertical blank period Vblank; therefore, the intervals (LT1~LT15) between adjacent LHBs from the first LHB LHB1 to the 16th LHB LHB16 and the interval LT16 between the 16th LHB LHB16 and the first LHB LHB1 in the subsequent touch frame period can be different from each other.

[0131] Due to such asymmetric phenomenon, the associated system for transmitting signals between the touch display device 100 and the stylus becomes complicated. In addition, in order to reduce the LHB asymmetric period, it is necessary to send a plurality of beacon signals Beacon in one touch frame period; therefore, the power consumption of the stylus is increased and the corresponding touch sensing period is reduced, resulting in a decrease in touch sensitivity.

[0132] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, regardless of the vertical blank period Vblank, by equally arranging the intervals between LHBs in the touch frame period, a transmission system for transmitting signals between the touch display device 100 and the stylus pen can be simplified, and the touch sensitivity can be improved while reducing the power consumption of the stylus pen.

[0133] Figure 8 An example of signal timing for explaining a method of arranging LHBs so that intervals between adjacent LHBs in a touch frame period are equal through modulation of a touch sync signal in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0134] Reference Figure 8 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the touch display device 100 arranges LHBs by adjusting the pulse width of the touch synchronization signal Tsync via a pulse width modulation (PWM) generator so that the intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs among the LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) arranged in the touch frame period are equal.

[0135] For this reason, in order for the last LHB (LHB16) arranged within one touch frame period not to circumvent the vertical blank period Vblank, the intervals (LT1 to LT16) between adjacent LHBs are evenly arranged even when located in the vertical blank period Vblank.

[0136] The 16th LHB LHB16 may be used as an active driving period for stylus sensing, as a passive driving period for finger sensing, or as a dummy period for one or more other purposes.

[0137] In this way, in order to make the intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs uniform, the starting time points of the LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) can be delayed sequentially by dividing the time period of the vertical blank period Vblank into the number of LHBs (here 16 LHBs), and then evenly allocating the divided vertical blank periods to the starting time points (for example, falling edges) of each LHB (LHB1~LHB16).

[0138] Fig. 9 Signal timings representing a process of configuring intervals between LHBs to be equal in a touch frame period by modulation of a touch sync signal in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0139] Reference Fig. 9 In the touch display device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the vertical blank period Vblank may be composed of a specific multiple (NH) of the horizontal period. For example, the vertical blank period Vblank may be arranged at a time interval of 5H corresponding to 5 times of one horizontal period 1H.

[0140] One horizontal period 1H can be changed according to the frequency of operation of the touch display device 100. Since the value stored in the memory in the touch display device 100, such as the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), is used to determine the multiple N of the horizontal period H of the vertical blank period Vblank, the vertical blank period Vblank can be determined using one horizontal period 1H for displaying an image in the touch display device 100.

[0141] Since one horizontal period 1H for displaying an image in the touch display device 100 is equal to the data enable input period (DE period) in which the data enable signal DE is applied to the display panel 110 during one frame, one horizontal period 1H can be obtained by measuring the data enable input period (DE period) in which the data enable signal DE is applied to the display panel 110 during one frame.

[0142] For example, when the vertical blank period Vblank is 5H, and one horizontal period 1H is 32 μs, the corresponding vertical blank period Vblank is 160 μs obtained by multiplying 32 μs by 5.

[0143] If 16 LHBs are included in one touch frame period, a time delay ( D1 ˜ D16 ) of 10 μs obtained by dividing 160 μs by 16 may be added to each LHB.

[0144] Therefore, for the touch sync signal Tsync before the LHBs are uniformly arranged, by adding a time delay Dn to each LHB ( LHB1 ˜ LHB16 ) in the touch frame period, a modulated touch sync signal Tsync_PWM in which the LHBs are uniformly arranged may be generated.

[0145] Fig.10 Signal timings when intervals between LHBs are equally arranged in a touch frame period in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0146] Reference Fig.10 In the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM is generated so that the intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs among the 16 LHBs (LHB1~LHB16 and LHB1) arranged in the touch frame period are equal, regardless of the vertical blank period Vblank arranged between the touch frame periods.

[0147] As described above, by dividing the time period of the vertical blank period Vblank into the number of LHBs (here 16 LHBs), and then evenly allocating the divided vertical blank period to the start (for example, falling edge) time points of each LHB (LHB1~LHB16) to modulate the touch synchronization signal Tsync so that the start time points of the LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) are delayed sequentially, a method of generating a modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM so that the intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs among the 16 LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) arranged in the touch frame period are equal can be performed.

[0148] In this case, when beacon signals are included in the first LHB LHB1 and the ninth LHB LHB9, a time interval BBT1 between the beacon signal of the first LHB LHB1 and the beacon signal of the ninth LHB LHB9 may be equal to a time interval BBT2 between the beacon signal of the ninth LHB LHB9 and the beacon signal of the first LHB LHB1 in a continuous touch frame period.

[0149] Therefore, all intervals (LT1-LT8) between adjacent LHBs from the first to ninth LHBs (LHB1-LHB9) may be determined to be equal to intervals (LT9-LT16) between adjacent LHBs from the ninth LHB LHB9 to the first LHB LHB1 included in the continuous touch frame period.

[0150] Therefore, since the time intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs in all LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) included in one touch frame period are equal, the touch display device can arrange the LHBs at equal time intervals (LT=LT1=…=LT16) from the time point when the touch frame period starts, and send an uplink signal to the stylus or receive a downlink signal from the stylus in the corresponding LHB.

[0151] Thus, the associated system for transmitting signals between the touch display device 100 and the stylus pen can be simply configured.

[0152] Furthermore, after the beacon signal Beacon is transmitted at the first LHB LHB1 in one touch frame period, since synchronization may be performed through the interval LT between the LHBs without transmitting the beacon signal Beacon in consecutive LHBs, power consumption of the stylus pen may be reduced.

[0153] Furthermore, even when the beacon signal Beacon is transmitted only at the first LHB LHB1 in one touch frame period, since synchronization can be performed in the touch frame period, touch sensitivity can be improved by enabling the remaining LHBs (LHB2 to LHB16) to be used as a touch sensing period.

[0154] Furthermore, even when noise is included in the LHB LHB1 transmitting the beacon signal Beacon, since the time intervals ( LT1 ˜ LT16 ) of the remaining LHBs ( LHB2 ˜ LHB16 ) are equal, synchronization between the touch display device 100 and the stylus pen may be performed.

[0155] The touch driving method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a stylus driving method implemented by other protocols.

[0156] Fig.11 Another example showing a case in which the intervals between LHBs in a touch frame period are unequal in a touch display device is shown.

[0157] Fig.11 The following situation is shown: a protocol is used that enables the touch display device 100 to send a beacon signal Beacon as an uplink signal for controlling the drive of a stylus pen at the first LHB LHB1, send a check signal Ping at a partial time period of each LHB from the second LHB LHB2 to the 16th LHB LHB16, and receive a downlink signal from the stylus pen at the remaining time period of each LHB from the second LHB LHB2 to the 16th LHB LHB16.

[0158] The stylus receives an uplink signal through one or more of the plurality of touch electrodes TE included in the display panel 110, and in response to the uplink signal outputs a downlink signal indicating the position, tilt, or several types of additional information about the stylus to the display panel 110 during the remaining period of the LHB except for a partial period for sending the inspection signal Ping.

[0159] Similarly, the beacon signal Beacon may include one or more of the following information: basic information of the display panel 110 (e.g., status information, identification information, type information such as in-box type, etc.), driving mode information of the display panel 110 (e.g., mode recognition information such as stylus search mode, stylus sensing mode, etc.), characteristic information about the downlink signal (e.g., frequency, number of pulses, etc.), information related to driving timing, multiplexer driving information, power mode information (e.g., information about one or more LHBs that are not driven in the display panel and stylus to reduce power consumption), and may also include information for synchronization between the display panel 110 and the stylus.

[0160] The ping signal Ping may be a control signal for synchronization of a downlink signal.

[0161] The additional information included in the downlink signal transmitted from the stylus may include, for example, one or more of pressure, stylus ID information, button information, battery information, and information for checking and correcting information errors.

[0162] Even in the case of a signal transmission system according to such a protocol, a vertical blank period Vblank for distinguishing frames is arranged between touch frame periods.

[0163] Even in this case, since the 16 LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) for touch driving are arranged in the remaining periods except the vertical blank period Vblank in the touch frame period, an asymmetric phenomenon occurs in which the intervals between adjacent LHBs among the 16 LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) included in the touch frame period and the interval between the 16th LHB (LHB16) and the first LHB LHB1 included in the continuous touch frame period are not equal.

[0164] Therefore, there is a problem that the system for transmitting signals between the touch display device 100 and the stylus is complicated, and in order to reduce the LHB asymmetric period, it is necessary to send a plurality of beacon signals Beacon in one touch frame period. Therefore, since the power consumption of the stylus is increased and the corresponding touch sensing period is reduced, there is a problem that the touch sensitivity is reduced.

[0165] Thus, even when the beacon signal Beacon is transmitted at the first LHB LHB1 and both the ping signal and the downlink signal are processed in one or more of the second to 16th LHBs LHB2 to LHB16, the intervals between the LHBs in the touch frame period are unequally arranged regardless of the vertical blank period Vblank.

[0166] Fig.12 Another signal timing when the intervals between LHBs are equally arranged in the touch frame period in the touch display device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0167] Reference Fig.12 In the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM is generated so that the intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs among the 16 LHBs (LHB1~LHB16 and LHB1) arranged in the touch frame period are equal, regardless of the vertical blank period Vblank arranged between the touch frame periods.

[0168] As described above, by dividing the time period of the vertical blank period Vblank into the number of LHBs (here 16 LHBs), and then evenly allocating the divided vertical blank period to the start (for example, falling edge) time points of each LHB (LHB1~LHB16) to modulate the touch synchronization signal Tsync so that the start time points of the LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) are delayed sequentially, a method of generating a modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM so that the intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs among the 16 LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) arranged in the touch frame period are equal can be performed.

[0169] In this case, when the beacon signal Beacon is included in the first LHB LHB1, and both the inspection signal Ping and the downlink signal are included in one or more of the second LHB LHB2 to the 16th LHB LHB16, the time interval LT1 between the first LHB LHB1 and the second LHB LHB2 may be equal to the time interval LT2 between the second LHB LHB2 and the third LHB LHB3, and similarly, equal to the interval LT16 between the 16th LHB LHB16 and the first LHB LHB1 included in the continuous touch frame period.

[0170] Therefore, since the time intervals (LT1~LT16) between adjacent LHBs in all LHBs (LHB1~LHB16) included in one touch frame period are equal, the touch display device can arrange the LHBs at equal time intervals (LT=LT1=…=LT16) from the time point when the touch frame period starts, and send an uplink signal to the stylus or receive a downlink signal from the stylus in the corresponding LHB.

[0171] Thus, the associated system for transmitting signals between the touch display device 100 and the stylus pen can be simply configured.

[0172] In addition, since the time intervals (LT1-LT16) between adjacent LHBs in all LHBs (LHB1-LHB16) included in one touch frame period are equal, it is not necessary to send a check signal Ping for synchronization between the touch display device 100 and the stylus pen for each LHB. In this case, since the check signal Ping may only need to be included in the second LHB LHB2, the power consumption of the stylus pen can be reduced.

[0173] In addition, since synchronization can be performed in a touch frame period even when a beacon signal Beacon is sent only at the first LHB LHB1 and a check signal Ping is sent only at the second LHBBLHB2, touch sensitivity can be improved in one touch frame period by enabling the remaining LHBs (LHB3 to LHB16) to be used as touch sensing periods.

[0174] Furthermore, even when noise is included in the LHB LHB1 transmitting the beacon signal Beacon, since the time intervals ( LT1 ˜ LT16 ) of the remaining LHBs ( LHB2 ˜ LHB16 ) are equal, synchronization between the touch display device 100 and the stylus pen may be performed.

[0175] Since intervals between adjacent LHBs are arranged to be equal in a touch frame period, the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may more accurately sense a downlink signal from the stylus pen.

[0176] Fig.13 A signal timing in a case where a downlink signal transmitted from a stylus pen is sensed in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0177] Reference Fig.13 In the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time point of sensing the downlink signal sent from the stylus can be a time point after a preconfigured offset time (Offset) from the start time point of the remaining LHBs (LHB2~LHB8, LHB10~LHB16) that send the downlink signal except for one or more LHBs (LHB1, LHB9) that send the beacon signal Beacon.

[0178] As described above, since the intervals LT between adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are equal, the time point (TS1-TS16) for sensing the downlink signal in each LHB (LHB1-LHB16) can be easily synchronized with the time point of receiving the downlink signal from the stylus.

[0179] That is, since all intervals between adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are equal, the time point TS1 for sensing the first LHB LHB1 may be the offset time, and the time point TS2 for sensing the second LHB LHB2 may be the time point (LT+Offset) at which the offset time has passed from the first interval LT between the first LHB LHB1 and the second LHB LHB2. Similarly, the time point TS16 for sensing the 16th LHB LHB16 may be the time point ((15×LT)+Offset) at which the offset time has passed from the 15th interval (15×LT) between the 15th LHB LHB15 and the 16th LHB LHB16. That is, the time point TSn for sensing the nth LHB LHBn may be set to the time point ((n-1)×LT+Offset) at which the offset time has passed from the (n-1)th interval between the (n-1)th LHB LHBn-1 and the nth LHB LHBn.

[0180] In this way, when the intervals LT between the adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are arranged to be equal, the time point for sensing the downlink signal transmitted from the stylus pen can be simply and accurately determined.

[0181] In the touch display device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the intervals between adjacent LHBs are arranged to be equal in the touch frame period, it is not necessary to separately arrange the beacon signal Beacon in one touch frame period.

[0182] That is, even when the beacon signals Beacon are arranged adjacently in the touch frame period but are not arranged individually in the touch frame period, since the interval LT between the adjacent LHBs can be determined, the influence of noise according to voltage variation can be reduced.

[0183] Fig.14 Signal timings when beacon signals are arranged to be adjacent in a touch frame period in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0184] Reference Fig.14 , in the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM is generated so that intervals (LT1 to LT16) between adjacent LHBs among 16 LHBs (LHB1 to LHB16 and LHB1) arranged in a touch frame period are equal.

[0185] Furthermore, the beacon signal Beacon is arranged to be adjacent in the first LHB LHB1 and the second LHB LHB2.

[0186] In this case, the modulated touch sync signal Tsync_PWM is generated such that intervals ( LT1 ˜ LT16 ) between adjacent LHBs among 16 LHBs ( LHB1 ˜ LHB16 and LHB1 ) arranged in the touch frame period are equal.

[0187] Since the intervals ( LT1 ˜ LT16 ) between adjacent LHBs are equal in all LHBs ( LHB1 ˜ LHB16 ), there is no need to separate the second beacon signal Beacon from the first beacon signal Beacon.

[0188] Therefore, by transmitting the beacon signal at the first LHB LHB1 and the second LHB LHB2, the interval LT between the LHBs can be quickly determined.

[0189] After determining the interval LT between the LHBs, as described above, the time point (TS1 ˜ TS16 ) for sensing the downlink signal for each LHB ( LHB1 ˜ LHB16 ) may be accurately synchronized with the time point of receiving the downlink signal from the stylus.

[0190] That is, since all intervals between adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are equal, the time point TS3 for sensing the third LHB LHB3 may be a time point ((2×LT)+Offset) from the second interval (2×LT) between the second LHB LHB2 and the third LHB LHB3 after the offset time. Similarly, the time point TS16 for sensing the 16th LHB LHB16 may be a time point ((15×LT)+Offset) from the 15th interval (15×LT) between the 15th LHB LHB15 and the 16th LHB LHB16 after the offset time.

[0191] In this way, when the intervals LT between the adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are arranged to be equal, the time point for sensing the downlink signal transmitted from the stylus pen can be simply and accurately determined.

[0192] Thereby, compared with the case where the beacon signal is arranged separately, the influence of noise according to voltage variation can be reduced.

[0193] The touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a stylus pen protocol using both a beacon signal Beacon and a ping signal Ping.

[0194] Fig.15 Signal timing when a downlink signal of a protocol performing synchronization using both a beacon signal and a ping signal is sensed in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0195] Reference Fig.15 In the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time point for sensing the downlink signal sent from the stylus can be a time point after a preconfigured offset time from the start time point of the remaining LHBs (LHB2~LHB16) that send the inspection signal Ping except the LHB LHB1 that sends the beacon signal Beacon.

[0196] As described above, since the intervals LT between adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are equal, the time point (TS1-TS16) for sensing the downlink signal in each LHB (LHB1-LHB16) can be easily synchronized with the time point of receiving the downlink signal from the stylus.

[0197] That is, since all intervals between adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are equal, the time point TS2 for sensing the second LHB LHB2 may be a time point (LT+Offset) after the offset time from the first interval LT between the first LHB LHB1 and the second LHB LHB2. Similarly, the time point TS16 for sensing the 16th LHB LHB16 may be a time point ((15×LT)+Offset) after the offset time from the 15th interval (15×LT) between the 15th LHB LHB15 and the 16th LHB LHB16.

[0198] In this way, when the intervals LT between the adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are arranged to be equal, the time point for sensing the downlink signal transmitted from the stylus pen can be simply and accurately determined.

[0199] In the touch display device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the intervals between adjacent LHBs are arranged to be equal in the touch frame period, it is not necessary to transmit the ping signal Ping through a plurality of LHBs.

[0200] That is, even when the ping signal Ping is transmitted once between the beacon signals Beacon in the touch frame period, since the intervals between the LHBs in the touch frame period can be arranged to be equal, the touch sensing sensitivity can be improved and the influence of noise can be reduced.

[0201] Fig.16 Signal timing when synchronization and sensing of a downlink signal are performed by using a beacon signal and a ping signal only once in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0202] Reference Fig.16 In the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as described above, the time point for sensing the downlink signal sent from the stylus can be a time point after a preconfigured offset time from the start time point of the remaining LHBs (LHB2~LHB16) that send the inspection signal Ping except the LHBBLHB1 that sends the beacon signal Beacon.

[0203] Therefore, since all intervals LT between adjacent LHBs in a touch frame period are equal, the time point (TS1-TS16) for sensing the downlink signal in each LHB (LHB1-LHB16) can be easily synchronized with the time point for receiving the downlink signal from the stylus.

[0204] In this case, since the modulated touch sync signal Tsync_PWM is generated so that all intervals LT between LHBs in the touch frame period are equal, the beacon signal Beacon and the ping signal Ping for determining the interval LT between LHBs may be transmitted only once in respective periods adjacent to each other.

[0205] For example, when a beacon signal Beacon is sent at the first LHB LHB1 and a verification signal Ping is sent at the second LHB LHB2, since all intervals LT between adjacent LHBs in the touch frame period are equal to the interval LT1 between the first LHB LHB1 and the second LHB LHB2, it is no longer necessary to send the verification signal Ping from the touch display device 100 from the third LHB LHB3 to the stylus for synchronization between the touch display device 100 and the stylus.

[0206] Therefore, by reducing the number of ping signals Ping in a touch frame period, touch sensing sensitivity may be improved and the influence of noise may be reduced.

[0207] Meanwhile, in order to sense a stylus or a finger in one or more LHBs, one or more touch driving signals in the form of pulse width modulation (PWM) or direct current (DC) may be applied to one or more touch electrodes TE or a common electrode.

[0208] The check signal Ping and the touch driving signal included in one LHB may have different voltage magnitudes or voltage levels, and generally, the voltage level of the check signal is greater than that of the touch driving signal.

[0209] Therefore, after the check signal Ping is provided from the touch electrode TE to the stylus pen in the LHB, delay and distortion of the signal may occur in a process of changing into a touch driving signal having a low level for touch sensing.

[0210] Fig.17 1 shows a signal timing when a DC touch driving signal is applied at the LHB to which a verification signal is applied in a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0211] Reference Fig.17 , when the verification signal Ping is applied at all LHBs, such signal delay and distortion are not prevented. However, in the touch display device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the verification signal Ping is sent once after the beacon signal Beacon is applied in the touch frame period, the delay and distortion of the signal are reduced by applying a touch drive signal with direct current (DC) at the LHB to which the verification signal Ping is applied.

[0212] That is, since the LHB to which the verification signal Ping is applied corresponds to one of the 16 LHBs, and a touch driving signal having direct current (DC) rather than pulse width modulation (PWM) is applied to the LHB including the verification signal Ping, the corresponding LHB can be used as a stylus-dedicated sensing period.

[0213] Here, since one or more touch driving signals having pulse width modulation (PWM) or direct current (DC) may be applied at the remaining LHB to which the ping signal Ping is not applied, both stylus sensing and finger sensing may be performed.

[0214] Fig.18 A block diagram of a touch display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0215] Reference Fig.18 , the touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may arrange the LHBs using a pulse width modulation (PWM) generator so that intervals between adjacent LHBs are equal in a touch frame period.

[0216] The touch display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a touch circuit TIC for performing touch sensing and stylus sensing by using a signal received through the display panel 110 by driving the display panel 110 in which the touch screen panel TSP is integrated.

[0217] The touch circuit TIC may include a first circuit for receiving a signal via the display panel 110 by driving the display panel 110 , and a second circuit for performing passive touch sensing (eg, finger touch sensing) and active touch sensing using the signal received through the display panel 110 .

[0218] The first circuit may be referred to as a touch driving circuit ROIC, and the second circuit may be referred to as a touch controller TCR.

[0219] The touch driving circuit ROIC may be implemented as an integrated driving circuit SRIC together with a data driving circuit SDIC driving data lines.

[0220] Here, the touch controller TCR is provided in the touch circuit TIC, and the integrated drive circuit SRIC is outside the touch circuit TIC. In another example, the integrated drive circuit SRIC and the touch controller TCR may be implemented in one touch circuit TIC.

[0221] The timing controller T-CON provides timing control signals, such as a vertical synchronization signal Vsync, a touch synchronization signal Tsync, a data enable signal DE, etc., from a host system (not shown) to a pulse width modulation (PWM) generator inside the touch circuit TIC.

[0222] The timing controller T-CON controls the operation of the display panel 110 based on the scan timing control signals such as the gate start pulse GSP, the gate shift clock, the gate output enable signal GOE, etc. In addition, the timing controller T-CON controls the data applied to the display panel 110 based on the data timing control signals such as the source sampling clock SSC, the polarity control signal POL, the source output enable signal SOE, etc.

[0223] The touch circuit TIC may be formed on an external substrate connected to the display panel 110. A touch controller TCR inside the touch circuit TIC is connected to the display panel 110 through a plurality of sensing lines, and the touch circuit TIC may sense the presence or absence or position of a touch from a stylus or a finger based on a capacitance difference between touch electrodes TE formed on the display panel 110.

[0224] The touch controller TCR can send or receive signals to or from the integrated drive circuit SRIC through one or more of a low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI), and a serial interface. Here, as an example, an interface processor (LVDS Tx, LVDS Rx) using an LVDS interface is shown.

[0225] When a capacitance difference occurs between the position touched by the stylus or finger and the non-contact position, the touch circuit TIC can use a method of sensing capacitance difference to sense the presence or absence or position of touch, and generate a touch sensing signal for the presence or absence and position of touch, and send the generated signal to the microcontroller MCU.

[0226] A pulse width modulation (PWM) generator inside the touch circuit TIC is controlled by the touch controller TCR, and uses the vertical synchronization signal Vsync, touch synchronization signal Tsync and data enable signal DE provided from the timing controller T-CON to generate a modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM, a gate low voltage VGL and a common voltage VCOM.

[0227] The modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM is a signal generated to enable the intervals between LHBs to be equally arranged in a touch frame period. The modulated touch synchronization signal Tsync_PWM is provided to the touch power integrated circuit TPIC and the integrated driving circuit SRIC.

[0228] The touch power integrated circuit TPIC generates a touch driving signal TDS having an amplitude between the common voltage VCOM having a low level and the common voltage VCOM having a high level using a common voltage VCOM provided from a pulse width modulation (PWM) generator.

[0229] In addition, the touch power integrated circuit TPIC receives a DC gate low voltage VGL from a pulse width modulation (PWM) generator, and the gate low voltage VGL is a voltage capable of turning on a thin film transistor (TFT) provided in the display panel 110 .

[0230] In addition, a pulse width modulation (PWM) generator may generate a sensing clock CLK and provide the generated clock to the integrated driving circuit SRIC to sense a touch signal from a touch of a stylus pen or a finger applied via the display panel 110 during a touch driving period. The sensing clock CLK provided from the pulse width modulation (PWM) generator may be provided to the integrated driving circuit SRIC through a buffer.

[0231] The microcontroller MCU may be implemented as one integrated circuit (IC) together with the touch circuit TIC, or may be implemented as one integrated circuit (IC) together with the timing controller T-CON.

[0232] As described above, in the touch circuit TIC, the touch display device 100 and the touch driving method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a system for transmitting signals between the touch display device 100 and the stylus pen can be simply configured by evenly arranging the intervals of the touch driving period in the touch frame period.

[0233] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the number of beacon signals in a touch frame period, reduce power consumption of a stylus pen, and improve touch sensitivity by evenly arranging intervals of a touch driving period in a touch frame.

[0234] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, even when noise is included in a period in which a beacon signal is transmitted, since synchronization between a touch display device and a stylus pen may be maintained in one or more remaining periods, accuracy of touch sensing may be improved.

[0235] The above description has been given to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the technical concept of the present invention, and the above description has been provided in the context of a specific application and its requirements. Various modifications, additions and substitutions to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The above description and accompanying drawings provide examples of the technical concept of the present invention for illustrative purposes only. That is, the disclosed embodiments are intended to illustrate the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is consistent with the widest scope consistent with the claims. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted based on the attached claims, and all technical concepts within their equivalent ranges should be interpreted as included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A touch display device, comprising: A display panel, wherein a touch screen panel including a plurality of touch electrodes is integrated on the display panel; as well as a touch circuit configured to generate a touch synchronization signal in which intervals between a plurality of touch drive periods in a touch frame period including a vertical blank period are uniform, and configured to provide a touch drive signal to the display panel according to the generated touch synchronization signal, The touch circuit is configured to generate the touch synchronization signal in which the intervals between the multiple touch drive periods are uniform by dividing the vertical blank period into time intervals equal to the number of the multiple touch drive periods included in the touch frame period and adding the divided time intervals to each touch drive period.

2. The touch display device according to claim 1, wherein: The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal includes a first beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in the touch frame period and a second beacon signal provided in a second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

3. The touch display device according to claim 2, wherein: An interval between the plurality of touch driving periods corresponds to an interval between the first beacon signal and the second beacon signal.

4. The touch display device according to claim 1, wherein: The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal includes a beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in the touch frame period and a verification signal provided in a second touch drive period in the touch frame period, and the verification signal is not provided after the second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

5. The touch display device according to claim 4, wherein: An interval between the plurality of touch driving periods corresponds to an interval between the beacon signal and the polling signal.

6. The touch display device according to claim 4, wherein: The touch driving signal provided in the second touch driving period including the interrogation signal is a direct current signal.

7. The touch display device according to claim 1, wherein: The touch circuit is configured to provide a touch drive signal for sensing a downlink signal provided from the stylus at a time when a specific offset time has passed from at least one of intervals between the plurality of touch drive periods in a touch drive period in which a beacon signal is not provided.

8. A touch circuit, comprising: a pulse width modulation generator configured to generate a touch synchronization signal in which an interval between a plurality of touch driving periods is uniform in a touch frame period including a vertical blank period, and configured to provide the touch synchronization signal to a display panel including a plurality of touch electrodes; a touch controller configured to control operation of the pulse width modulation generator; as well as an interface processor configured to provide an interface signal between the touch controller and a driving circuit of the display panel, The pulse width modulation generator is configured to generate the touch synchronization signal in which the intervals between the multiple touch drive periods are uniform by dividing the vertical blank period into time intervals equal to the number of the multiple touch drive periods included in the touch frame period and adding the divided time intervals to each touch drive period.

9. The touch circuit according to claim 8, coupled to a touch power integrated circuit configured to generate a touch drive signal, wherein: The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal includes a first beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in the touch frame period and a second beacon signal provided in a second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

10. The touch circuit according to claim 8, coupled to a touch power integrated circuit configured to generate a touch drive signal, wherein: The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal includes a beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in the touch frame period and a verification signal provided in a second touch drive period in the touch frame period, and the verification signal is not provided after the second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

11. The touch circuit according to claim 8, wherein: The pulse width modulation generator provides a touch driving signal for sensing a downlink signal provided from the stylus at a time when a specific offset time has passed from at least one of intervals between the plurality of touch driving periods in a touch driving period in which a beacon signal is not provided.

12. A touch driving method, comprising the following steps: generating a touch synchronization signal in which intervals between a plurality of touch driving periods in a touch frame period including a vertical blank period are uniform; as well as Providing a touch drive signal to the display panel according to the touch synchronization signal, in, The step of generating the touch synchronization signal comprises: dividing the vertical blank period into time intervals whose number is equal to the number of the plurality of touch driving periods included in the touch frame period; and The divided time intervals are added to each touch driving period.

13. The touch driving method according to claim 12, wherein: The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal includes a first beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in the touch frame period and a second beacon signal provided in a second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

14. The touch driving method according to claim 13, wherein: An interval between the plurality of touch driving periods corresponds to an interval between the first beacon signal and the second beacon signal.

15. The touch driving method according to claim 12, wherein: The touch drive signal is an uplink signal provided to the stylus through the display panel, and the touch drive signal includes a beacon signal provided in a first touch drive period in the touch frame period and a verification signal provided in a second touch drive period in the touch frame period, and the verification signal is not provided after the second touch drive period in the touch frame period.

16. The touch driving method according to claim 15, wherein: An interval between the plurality of touch driving periods corresponds to an interval between the beacon signal and the polling signal.

17. The touch driving method according to claim 12, wherein: The step of providing the touch driving signal includes sensing a downlink signal provided from the stylus at a time when a specific offset time has passed from at least one of intervals between the plurality of touch driving periods in a touch driving period in which a beacon signal is not provided.

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