Touch sensing device and touch sensing method

Abstract

Touch sensing device and touch sensing method. According to one aspect of this disclosure, the touch sensing device includes: a touch coordinate calculation unit configured to calculate touch coordinates corresponding to a touch label based on the touch intensity of a touch electrode included in the touch label; a representative value calculation unit configured to calculate a representative value of the touch label by correcting a maximum touch intensity value of the touch label based on the coordinates of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinates when a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinates is detected in an edge region of a target touch electrode in the touch electrode; and a touch coordinate transmission unit configured to determine the touch input as a normal touch when the representative value is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and to transmit the touch coordinates to a host system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification relates to a touch sensing device. Background Technology

[0002] With the development towards an information society, the demand for display devices for displaying images is increasing. Recently, various types of display devices have been used, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or organic light-emitting diode (OLEDs).

[0003] In recent years, display devices with touchscreen panels capable of detecting touch input from users' fingers, styluses, etc., have become widely used, eliminating the need for traditional input methods such as buttons, keyboards, and mice. Display devices with such touchscreen panels include touch sensing devices for accurately detecting the presence or absence of a touch and the touch coordinates (touch position).

[0004] The touch sensing device assigns identification information to touch electrodes on the touchscreen panel whose touch intensity is calculated to be greater than or equal to a predetermined touch threshold, and uses these touch electrodes with the same identification information to set touch tags, thereby calculating touch coordinates. In this case, to prevent dead zones, the touch threshold is determined based on the minimum touch intensity occurring at all locations on the touchscreen panel.

[0005] However, as the spacing between the touch electrodes increases, the likelihood of detecting touch input increases in the edge regions of the touch electrodes rather than in their center, and as... Figure 1A As shown, when the central region C of the touch electrode 100 is touched, the touch intensity is calculated to be low when the edge region E of the touch electrode 100 is touched, compared to when the central region C of the touch electrode 100 is touched. This means that the touch threshold must also be set to a low value. Therefore, when the edge region E of the touch electrode 100 is touched, there is an unavoidable problem of difficulty in distinguishing between ghost touches and normal touches due to the low touch threshold.

[0006] Furthermore, when the edge area of ​​the touch electrode is touched, the touch intensity is calculated to be lower compared to when the center area of ​​the touch electrode is touched. Therefore, as... Figure 1B As shown, when touch drawing 110 is performed in a manner that intersects multiple touch electrodes 100a to 100n across multiple frames, a difference in touch intensity inevitably occurs between frame F1, where the central region C of the touch electrode 100a is touched, and frame F2, where the edge region E of the touch electrode 100a is touched, in consecutive frames of touch drawing 110. Therefore, the deviation in touch intensity between frames increases beyond a predetermined threshold, resulting in a problem where it is difficult to accurately distinguish whether the changes in touch intensity occurring in the corresponding touch drawing are due to noise. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure aims to provide a touch sensing device and a touch sensing method capable of correcting a maximum touch intensity value of a touch tag including a corresponding touch electrode when a touch input is detected in an edge area of the touch electrode.

[0008] The present disclosure also aims to provide a touch sensing device and a touch sensing method capable of accurately searching whether noise is generated during touch drawing by correcting the maximum touch intensity value.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a touch sensing device including a touch coordinate calculation unit configured to calculate a touch coordinate corresponding to a touch tag based on touch intensities of touch electrodes included in the touch tag, a representative value calculation unit configured to calculate a representative value of the touch tag by correcting a maximum touch intensity value of the touch tag based on a coordinate of a target touch electrode among the touch electrodes and the touch coordinate when a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinate is detected in an edge area of the target touch electrode, and a touch coordinate transmission unit configured to determine the touch input as a normal touch when the representative value is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, and to transmit the touch coordinate to a host system.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a touch sensing method including calculating a touch coordinate corresponding to a first touch tag of a first frame based on touch intensities of touch electrodes included in the first touch tag, determining whether a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinate is detected in an edge area of a target touch electrode among the touch electrodes, calculating a first representative value of the first touch tag by correcting a maximum touch intensity value of the first touch tag based on a coordinate of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinate when the touch input is detected in the edge area of the target touch electrode, and determining the touch input as a normal touch when the first representative value is greater than or equal to a first threshold value to output the touch coordinate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0012] Figure 1A is a view illustrating a change in touch intensity according to a touch input position in a touch electrode;

[0013] Figure 1B is a view illustrating a change in touch intensity between frames during touch drawing;

[0014] Figure 2is a view illustrating a display system to which a touch sensing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is applied;

[0015] Figure 3A and Figure 3B is a view illustrating Figure 2 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration of a touch screen panel shown in

[0016] Figure 4 is a view illustrating Figure 2 , Figure 3A and Figure 3B is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a touch sensing device shown in

[0017] Figure 5A is a view illustrating Figure 4 is an example of a method of calculating a touch coordinate by a touch coordinate calculation unit shown in

[0018] Figure 5B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method of calculating a touch coordinate by a touch coordinate calculation unit shown in Figure 4 based on an example shown in Figure 5A

[0019] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of calculating a touch input offset rate by a representative value calculation unit shown in Figure 4

[0020] Figure 7 is a view illustrating a change in a representative value between frames calculated by correcting a maximum touch intensity value according to the present disclosure during touch drawing; and

[0021] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a touch sensing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In the specification, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used, as much as possible, to denote the same elements throughout the other drawings. In the following description, detailed description of functions and configurations known to those skilled in the art will be omitted when it is deemed that the basic configuration of the present disclosure is not related thereto. The terms described in the specification should be understood as follows.

[0023] Advantages and features of the present disclosure and a method of achieving the same will be described through embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Further, the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims.

[0024] ​​The shapes, sizes, proportions, angles, and numbers disclosed in the drawings for describing embodiments of the present disclosure are merely examples, and thus the present disclosure is not limited to the illustrated details. The same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same elements. In the following description, detailed descriptions of functions or configurations that are determined to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure will be omitted.

[0025] In the case of using "include", "have", and "comprise" described in the present specification, another part can be added unless "only" is used. Unless otherwise indicated, the singular form can include the plural form.

[0026] In interpreting an element, although not explicitly described, the element is interpreted to include an error range.

[0027] In describing a positional relationship, for example, when the positional relationship between two components is described as "on", "above", "below", and "next to", one or more other components can be disposed between the two components, unless "just" or "directly" is used.

[0028] In describing a temporal relationship, for example, when the temporal order is described as "after", "subsequently", "then", and "before", a discontinuous case can be included, unless "just" or "directly" is used.

[0029] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", and the like can be used herein to describe various elements, the elements should not be limited by these terms. The terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0030] The X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction should not be interpreted as only a geometric relationship in which the relationship therebetween is perpendicular, but can represent a wider directionality within a range in which the elements of the present disclosure functionally operate.

[0031] The term "at least one of" should be understood to include any and all combinations of one or more of the listed items. For example, the meaning of "at least one of a first item, a second item, and a third item" indicates all combinations of two or more of the first item, the second item, and the third item, as well as the first item, the second item, or the third item.

[0032] The features of various embodiments of the present disclosure can be partially or wholly coupled or combined with each other, and can interoperate with each other and be technically driven in various ways as can be sufficiently understood by those skilled in the art. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed independently of each other, or can be executed together in a mutually dependent relationship.

[0033] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a display system to which a touch sensing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied.

[0035] As Figure 2 shown, the display system 200 includes a display panel 210, a gate driver 220, a data driver 230, a timing controller 240, a host system 250, a touch screen panel TSP, and a touch sensing device 260.

[0036] The display panel 210 includes a plurality of gate lines G1 to Gn and a plurality of data lines D1 to Dm disposed to cross each other and define a plurality of pixel regions, and a pixel P disposed in each of the plurality of pixel regions. The plurality of gate lines G1 to Gn can extend in a horizontal direction, and the plurality of data lines D1 to Dm can extend in a vertical direction, but the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto.

[0037] In an embodiment, the display panel 210 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. When the display panel 210 is an LCD panel, the display panel 210 includes a liquid crystal cell connected to a thin film transistor (TFT) and the TFT formed in a pixel region defined by the plurality of gate lines G1 to Gn and the plurality of data lines D1 to Dm.

[0038] The TFT transmits a source signal provided through the data lines D1 to Dm to the liquid crystal cell in response to a scan pulse provided through the gate lines G1 to Gn.

[0039] The liquid crystal cell is composed of a common electrode facing each other and a sub-pixel electrode connected to the TFT with liquid crystal therebetween, and thus can be equivalently expressed as a liquid crystal capacitor Clc. The liquid crystal cell includes a storage capacitor Cst connected to a gate line of a previous stage to maintain a voltage corresponding to a source signal charged in the liquid crystal capacitor Clc until a voltage corresponding to a next source signal is charged.

[0040] Further, the pixel area of the display panel 210 can include red (R), green (G), blue (B), and white (W) sub-pixels. In an embodiment, each of the sub-pixels can be repeatedly formed in a row direction or formed in a 2x2 matrix form. In this case, a color filter corresponding to each color is provided in each of the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) sub-pixels, but a separate color filter is not provided in the white (W) sub-pixel. In an embodiment, the red (R), green (G), blue (B), and white (W) sub-pixels can be formed to have the same area ratio, but can also be formed to have different area ratios.

[0041] Although the display panel 210 is described as an LCD panel in the above-described embodiment, the display panel 210 can also be an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel in other embodiments.

[0042] The gate driver 220 includes a shift register configured to sequentially generate a scan pulse, i.e., a gate high pulse, in response to a gate control signal GCS from the timing controller 240. The TFT is turned on in response to the scan pulse.

[0043] The gate driver 220 can be disposed at one side of the display panel 210, e.g., at the left side of the display panel 210 as illustrated, but in some cases, can be disposed at both sides of the display panel 210 opposite to each other, e.g., both the left and right sides of the display panel 210. The gate driver 220 can include a plurality of gate driver integrated circuits (ICs) (not shown). The gate driver 220 can be formed in the form of a tape carrier package on which a gate driver IC is mounted, but the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto, and the gate driver IC can be directly mounted on the display panel 210.

[0044] The data driver 230 converts a digital image signal RGB' transmitted from the timing controller 240 into an analog source signal, and outputs the analog source signal to the display panel 210. In more detail, the data driver 230 outputs the analog source signal to the data lines D1 to Dm in response to a data control signal DCS transmitted from the timing controller 240.

[0045] The data driver 230 can be disposed at one side of the display panel 210, e.g., at the upper side of the display panel 210, but in some cases, can be disposed at both sides of the display panel 210 opposite to each other, e.g., both the upper and lower sides of the display panel 210. Further, the data driver 230 can be formed in the form of a tape carrier package on which a source driver IC is mounted, but the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto.

[0046] In one embodiment, the data driver 230 can include a plurality of source driver ICs (not shown) configured to convert a digital image signal transmitted from the timing controller 240 into an analog source signal, and output the analog source signal to the display panel 210.

[0047] The timing controller 240 receives various timing signals including a vertical synchronization signal Vsync, a horizontal synchronization signal Hsync, a data enable signal DE, a clock signal CLK, etc. from the host system 250, and generates a data control signal DCS for controlling the data driver 230 and a gate control signal GCS for controlling the gate driver 220. In addition, the timing controller 240 receives an image signal RGB from the host system 250, converts the received image signal RGB into an image signal RGB' in a form that can be processed by the data driver 230, and outputs the converted image signal RGB'.

[0048] In one embodiment, the data control signal DCS can include a source start pulse SSP, a source sampling clock SSC, a source output enable signal SOE, etc., and the gate control signal GCS can include a gate start pulse GSP, a gate shift clock GSC, a gate output enable signal GOE, etc.

[0049] Here, the source start pulse controls a data sampling start timing of a plurality of source driver ICs constituting the data driver 230. The source sampling clock is a clock signal that controls a sampling timing of data in each of the source driver ICs. The source output enable signal controls an output timing of each of the source driver ICs.

[0050] The gate start pulse controls an operation start timing of a plurality of gate driver ICs constituting the gate driver 220. The gate shift clock is a clock signal that is generally input to one or more gate driver ICs and controls a shift timing of a scan signal (a gate pulse). The gate output enable signal specifies timing information of the one or more gate driver ICs.

[0051] The host system 250 can be implemented as one of a navigation system, a set-top box, a digital video disc (DVD) player, a Blu-ray player, a personal computer (PC), a home theater system, a broadcast receiver, and a telephone system. The host system 250 includes a system on chip (SoC) having a built-in scaler to convert a digital image signal RGB of an input image into a format suitable for display on the display panel 210. The host system 250 transmits the digital image signal RGB and a timing signal to the timing controller 240. In addition, the host system 250 analyzes touch coordinates X and Y input from the touch sensing device 260 and outputs the touch coordinates in the form of a row on the display panel 210 or executes an application program associated with the coordinates generated by the user’s touch.

[0052] The touch screen panel TSP is a place where a user’s touch is input, and in one embodiment, as shown in Figure 3A , the touch screen panel TSP can include touch driving lines TX1 to TXj (where j is a natural number greater than or equal to 2) through which a touch driving signal is transmitted, a plurality of touch electrodes 107, and touch sensing lines RX1 to RXi (where i is a natural number greater than or equal to 2) through which a voltage (or charge) of the touch electrodes 107 is transmitted. In this case, each of the touch electrodes 107 includes a mutual capacitor. The touch sensing lines RX1 to RXi can refer to sensing lines of the touch screen panel TSP. In one embodiment, the touch screen panel TSP can be implemented in a form of being embedded in the display panel 210. For example, the touch screen panel TSP can be disposed on the display panel 210 in a manner of being on a cell, or can be disposed in the display panel 210 in a manner of being within a cell.

[0053] In Figure 3A , the touch screen panel TSP is shown as a mutual capacitance type touch screen panel including the touch driving lines TX1 to TXj and the touch sensing lines RX1 to RXi. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and a self-capacitance type touch screen panel as shown in Figure 3B can be applied. In the self-capacitance type touch screen panel, the supply of the touch driving signal and the reception of a change in capacitance caused by a touch of a user or a stylus pen are implemented by one of the touch sensing lines RX1 to RXi.

[0054] Referring again to Figure 2 , the touch sensing device 260 senses a touch occurring on the touch screen panel TSP. In one embodiment, the touch sensing device 260 drives the touch electrodes 107 by providing a touch driving signal to the touch electrodes 107 via the touch driving lines TX1 to TXj, and senses a change in capacitance occurring when the touch electrodes 107 are touched through the touch sensing lines RX1 to RXi.

[0055] The touch sensing device 260 calculates touch raw data TRD based on the obtained capacitance variation, and calculates touch coordinates based on the calculated touch raw data.

[0056] In more detail, the touch sensing device 260 calculates a touch intensity of each of the touch electrodes 107 based on the touch raw data, sets a touch tag with a touch electrode of which the calculated touch intensity is greater than or equal to a threshold value, and then calculates touch coordinates of each touch tag.

[0057] In particular, when a touch input generated on a touch electrode having the greatest touch intensity within a touch tag is detected in an edge region of the touch electrode, the touch sensing device 260 according to the present disclosure corrects the touch intensity of the corresponding touch electrode (i.e., the greatest touch intensity value of the touch tag including the corresponding touch electrode) so as to easily distinguish between a ghost touch and a normal touch. As described above, when the greatest touch intensity value of a touch tag is set by a touch input detected in an edge region of a touch electrode, the touch sensing device 260 according to the present disclosure can easily distinguish between a ghost touch and a normal touch even when the threshold value for determining a ghost touch is set to a large value by increasing the greatest touch intensity value through correction.

[0058] The touch sensing device 260 transmits the touch coordinates X and Y of a touch input determined as a normal touch to the host system 250.

[0059] Hereinafter, a configuration of a touch sensing device according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to Figure 4 A configuration of a touch sensing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail.

[0060] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a touch sensing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 4 As shown, the touch sensing device 260 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a touch driving unit 400, a touch sensing unit 410, a touch controller 420, a touch coordinate calculation unit 430, a representative value calculation unit 440, and a touch coordinate transmission unit 450. In addition, the touch sensing device 260 according to the present disclosure can further include a noise search unit 460 configured to perform a function of searching for noise during touch drawing.

[0061] According to the present embodiment, the touch driving unit 400, the touch sensing unit 410, the touch controller 420, the touch coordinate calculation unit 430, the representative value calculation unit 440, the touch coordinate transmission unit 450, and the noise search unit 460 can be integrated into one readout IC (ROIC).

[0062] The touch drive unit 400 selects a touch drive channel through which a touch drive pulse is output under the control of the touch controller 420, and supplies the touch drive pulse to the touch drive lines TX1 to TXj connected to the selected touch drive channel.

[0063] The touch sensing unit 410 selects a touch sensing channel through which a voltage of a touch electrode is received under the control of the touch controller 420, and receives the voltage of the touch electrode through the touch sensing lines RX1 to RXj connected to the selected touch sensing channel. The touch sensing unit 410 samples the voltage of the touch electrode received through the touch sensing lines RX1 to RXi, and accumulates the sampled voltage in an integrator (not shown). The touch sensing unit 410 converts the voltage accumulated in the integrator into touch raw data TRD as digital data by inputting the accumulated voltage to an analog-digital converter (ADC) (not shown), and then outputs the touch raw data TRD.

[0064] The touch controller 420 generates a touch drive setup signal for setting a touch drive channel through which a touch drive pulse is output from the touch drive unit 400, and generates a touch sensing setup signal for setting a touch sensing channel through which a voltage of a touch electrode is received by the touch sensing unit 410. In addition, the touch controller 420 generates a timing control signal for controlling the operation timing of each of the touch drive unit 400 and the touch sensing unit 410.

[0065] The touch coordinate calculation unit 430 calculates touch coordinates based on the touch raw data TRD input from the touch sensing unit 410. To this end, as shown in FIG. 4, the touch coordinate calculation unit 430 includes a touch raw data receiver 432, a touch intensity calculator 434, a touch tag unit 436, and a touch coordinate calculation unit 438. Figure 4

[0066] The touch raw data receiver 432 receives the touch raw data TRD from the touch sensing unit 410.

[0067] The touch intensity calculator 434 compares the touch raw data received by the touch raw data receiver 432 with reference data, calculates a difference between the touch raw data and the reference data, and calculates the calculated difference as a touch intensity of each of the touch electrodes. In one embodiment, the touch intensity calculator 434 can set an average value of the touch raw data obtained from n frames as the reference data. Here, n frames can be set using initial n frames after the display system 200 is turned on.

[0068] Figure 5A An example of the touch intensity of each of the touch electrodes calculated by the touch intensity calculator 434 is shown.​

[0069] Refer again Figure 4 The touch tag unit 436 assigns the same identification (ID) information to touch electrodes with touch intensity, where each touch intensity is calculated for each touch electrode within a frame and is greater than or equal to a predetermined tag threshold, thereby setting touch electrodes assigned the same ID information as a single touch tag. As an example, when in... Figure 5A In the example shown, when the tag threshold is set to 7, 13 touch electrodes, each with a touch intensity of 7 or greater, can be set as a single touch tag.

[0070] exist Figure 5A The image shows a single touch tag included in a frame, but multiple touch tags can be included in a single frame when multiple touch inputs are generated in a single frame.

[0071] The touch coordinate calculation unit 438 calculates the touch coordinates of the corresponding touch tag based on the touch intensity of each of the touch electrodes included in a touch tag. In one embodiment, the touch coordinate calculation unit 438 can use the following formulas 1 and 2 to calculate the touch coordinates of each touch tag:

[0072] [Formula 1]

[0073]

[0074] [Formula 2]

[0075]

[0076] Where X represents the X-coordinate value of the corresponding touch tag, and Y represents the Y-coordinate value of the touch tag. n This represents the X coordinate value of the nth touch electrode included in the corresponding touch label, and the Y coordinate value is... n This represents the Y-coordinate value of the nth touch electrode included in the corresponding touch label, and W n This indicates the touch intensity of the nth touch electrode included in the corresponding touch label.

[0077] When the touch coordinate calculation unit 438 is based on Figure 5AWhen calculating the touch coordinates of the corresponding touch tag based on the touch intensity shown, result 2580 is obtained by summing all results obtained by multiplying the X coordinate value of each of the touch electrodes included in the corresponding touch tag by the touch intensity of the corresponding touch electrode, and result 366 is obtained by summing all the touch intensities of each of the touch electrodes included in the corresponding touch tag. Therefore, the touch coordinate calculation unit 438 obtains 7.05 as the X coordinate value of the touch coordinates of the corresponding touch tag by substituting the obtained results into Formula 1 above.

[0078] Furthermore, result 2544 is obtained by summing all results obtained by multiplying the Y-coordinate value of each of the touch electrodes included in the corresponding touch label by the touch intensity of the corresponding touch electrode, and result 366 is obtained by summing all the touch intensities of each of the touch electrodes included in the corresponding touch label. Therefore, touch coordinate calculation unit 438 obtains 6.95 as the Y-coordinate value of the touch coordinate of the corresponding touch label by substituting the obtained results into the above formula 2.

[0079] Refer again Figure 4 The representative value calculation unit 440 calculates the representative value of the corresponding touch tag based on the maximum touch intensity value of the touch tag set by the touch coordinate calculation unit 430. In one embodiment, when a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinates calculated by the touch coordinate calculation unit 430 is detected at the center of the target touch electrode included in the touch electrode of the corresponding touch tag, the representative value calculation unit 440 calculates the maximum touch intensity value of the corresponding touch tag as the representative value of the corresponding touch tag.

[0080] However, when a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinates calculated by the touch coordinate calculation unit 430 is detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode, the representative value calculation unit 440 corrects the maximum touch intensity value of the corresponding touch tag and calculates the corrected maximum touch intensity value as the representative value of the corresponding touch tag.

[0081] Therefore, such as Figure 4 As shown, the representative value calculation unit 440 according to this disclosure includes a target touch electrode determiner 442, a determination unit 444, and a maximum value corrector 446.

[0082] The target touch electrode determiner 442 identifies one of the touch electrodes included in the touch label as the target touch electrode for each touch label. In one embodiment, the target touch electrode determiner 442 may identify the touch electrode with the maximum touch intensity among the touch electrodes included in each touch label as the target touch electrode.

[0083] The determining unit 444 determines whether a touch input corresponding to the calculated touch coordinates is detected in the center or edge region of the target touch electrode included in the touch electrode of the corresponding touch label.

[0084] In one embodiment, when the coordinates of the target touch electrode do not match the touch coordinates, the determination unit 444 determines that a touch input has been detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode. Furthermore, when the coordinates of the target touch electrode match the touch coordinates, the determination unit 444 determines that a touch input has been detected in the center region of the target touch electrode.

[0085] More specifically, when the X coordinate value of the touch coordinate is different from the X coordinate value of the target touch electrode or the Y coordinate value of the touch coordinate is different from the Y coordinate value of the target touch electrode, the determining unit 444 determines that a touch input has been detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode.

[0086] It can be seen that in the above Figure 5A The coordinates of the touch electrode with the maximum touch intensity in the touch tag shown are (7, 7), and the coordinates of the touch coordinates calculated for the corresponding touch tag are (7.05, 6.95). Therefore, since the coordinates of the target touch electrode are not equal to the touch coordinates, the determining unit 444 determines that a touch input is detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode.

[0087] When it is determined that a touch input is detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode, the determination unit 444 transmits the determination result to the maximum value corrector 446. When it is determined that a touch input is detected in the center region of the target touch electrode, the determination unit 444 calculates the maximum touch intensity value of the corresponding touch tag as the representative value of the corresponding touch tag.

[0088] When the determination unit 444 receives a determination result indicating that a touch input was detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode, the maximum value corrector 446 calculates the representative value of the corresponding touch tag by correcting the maximum touch intensity value of the touch tag based on the coordinates of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinates.

[0089] In one implementation, the maximum value corrector 446 can calculate a touch input offset rate, which indicates the rate at which the touch input deviates from the center of the target touch electrode, based on the separation distance between the coordinates of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinates, and correct the maximum touch intensity value by summing the maximum touch intensity value with a value obtained by multiplying the calculated touch input offset rate by the maximum touch intensity value.

[0090] More specifically, the maximum value corrector 446 can use the following formula 3 to correct the maximum touch intensity value:

[0091] [Formula 3]

[0092] T R =T MAX +T MAX ×DR,

[0093] Among them, T R T represents the representative value obtained by correcting the maximum touch intensity value. MAX This represents the maximum touch intensity value, and DR represents the touch input offset rate. The touch input offset rate can be calculated using the following formula 4:

[0094] [Formula 4]

[0095]

[0096] Where DR represents the touch input offset rate, D X D represents the separation distance between the X-coordinate value of the target touch electrode and the X-coordinate value of the touch coordinate. Y This represents the separation distance between the Y-coordinate value of the target touch electrode and the Y-coordinate value of the touch coordinate, and D P This indicates the spacing value of the target touch electrodes. In this case, the spacing value of the target touch electrodes can be determined differently depending on the size or resolution of the display panel 210.

[0097] Reference Figure 5A and Figure 5B The example shown is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the maximum value corrector 446 calculates the difference between 7, the X-coordinate value of the target touch electrode, and 7.05, the X-coordinate value of the touch coordinate, as D. X The difference between the Y-coordinate value of the target touch electrode (7) and the Y-coordinate value of the touch coordinate (6.95) is calculated as D. Y And by calculating D X and D Y The sum divided by the spacing value D based on the target touch electrode 600 P 2D P To calculate the touch input offset rate DR for the corresponding touch input.

[0098] The aforementioned touch coordinate calculation unit 430 and representative value calculation unit 440 can be implemented as a microcontroller unit (MCU).

[0099] Refer again Figure 4The touch coordinate transmission unit 450 determines whether a corresponding touch input is a phantom touch or a normal touch by comparing a representative value calculated by the representative value calculation unit 440 with a predetermined first threshold. More specifically, when the representative value calculated by the representative value calculation unit 440 is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the touch coordinate transmission unit 450 determines that the touch input is a normal touch, and when the representative value is less than the first threshold, the touch coordinate transmission unit 450 determines that the touch input is a phantom touch.

[0100] When a normal touch input is determined, the touch coordinate transmission unit 450 transmits the touch coordinates X and Y of the corresponding touch input to the host system 250 according to a predetermined touch coordinate transmission frequency. In this case, the touch coordinate transmission unit 450 can transmit the representative value calculated by the representative value calculation unit 440 together with the touch coordinates X and Y to the host system 250.

[0101] As described above, in the present disclosure, since the maximum touch intensity value of the touch tag including the corresponding touch electrode can be increased even when touch input occurs in the edge region of the touch electrode, touch input and phantom touch can be easily distinguished even when the first threshold for determining phantom touch is set to a large value.

[0102] In addition, such as Figure 4 As shown, the touch sensing device 260 according to this disclosure may further include a noise search unit 460 to search for whether noise is generated during touch drawing.

[0103] When touch drawing is performed by continuous touch input across multiple frames, the noise search unit 460 searches for noise generated during touch drawing by comparing representative values ​​of touch tags included in each frame. In one embodiment, the noise search unit 460 searches for noise generated in a given touch drawing by comparing the deviation between representative values ​​of touch tags included in each frame with a predetermined second threshold.

[0104] More in detail, such as Figure 7 As shown, when touch drawing 710 is performed in the form of multiple touch electrodes 700a to 700d intersecting multiple frames F1 to F10, the noise search unit 460 calculates the deviation between the first representative value 720 of the first touch tag included in the first frame F1 and the second representative value 730 of the second touch tag included in the second frame F2 after the first frame F1, and determines whether the calculated deviation exceeds the second threshold.

[0105] Here, since the center region C of the touch electrode 700a was touched in the first frame F1 of the consecutive frames F1 to F10 of the touch drawing 710, the representative value calculation unit 440 determines the maximum touch intensity value of the first touch tag included in the first frame F1 as the first representative value 720 of the first frame F1.

[0106] However, since the edge region E of the touch electrode 700a was touched in the second frame F2, the maximum touch intensity value 740 of the second touch tag included in the second frame F2 must be corrected based on the touch input offset rate calculated by the representative value calculation unit 440.

[0107] If the correction of the maximum touch intensity value 740 of the second frame F2 is not performed, the deviation between the first representative value 720 of the first frame F1 and the representative value of the second frame F2 increases because the maximum touch intensity value of the second frame F2 is set as the representative value of the second frame F2. Therefore, even if no noise is generated in the touch drawing, the noise search unit 460 determines that noise has been generated in the corresponding touch drawing 710.

[0108] However, in the present disclosure, since the maximum touch intensity value 740 of the second frame F2 is corrected by the representative value calculation unit 440 based on the touch input offset rate, and the value obtained by correcting the maximum touch intensity value 740 is determined as the second representative value 730, the deviation between the first representative value 720 of the first frame F1 and the second representative value 730 of the second frame F2 is reduced, so that the noise search unit 460 can determine that no noise is generated in the corresponding touch drawing 710.

[0109] In the following text, reference will be made to Figure 8 A touch sensing method according to this disclosure is described. Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating a touch sensing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8 The touch sensing method shown can be derived from Figure 4 The touch sensing device shown is used to perform this action.

[0110] First, the touch sensing device obtains raw touch data based on the voltage of the touch electrodes received through the touch sensing line (S800). In one embodiment, the touch sensing device can obtain raw touch data by sampling the voltage of the touch electrodes obtained through the touch sensing line, accumulating the sampled voltage in an integrator, and converting the voltage accumulated in the integrator into digital data by an ADC.

[0111] Subsequently, the touch sensing device calculates the touch intensity of each of the touch electrodes based on the raw touch data obtained in operation S800 (S810). In one embodiment, the touch sensing device may compare the raw touch data and reference data to calculate the difference between the raw touch data and the reference data, and use the calculated difference as the touch intensity of each of the touch electrodes. In this case, the reference data may be set as the average value of the raw touch data obtained from n frames after the display system is powered on.

[0112] Subsequently, the touch sensing device sets a touch tag based on the touch intensity calculated for each touch electrode (S820). More specifically, the touch sensing device assigns the same ID to touch electrodes with touch intensities, each of which is calculated for each touch electrode within a frame and is greater than or equal to a predetermined tag threshold, thereby setting touch electrodes assigned the same ID information as a single touch tag. In this case, when multiple touch inputs are generated in a frame, multiple touch tags can be included in one frame.

[0113] Subsequently, the touch sensing device calculates the touch coordinates of the corresponding touch tag based on the touch intensity of each of the touch electrodes included in a touch tag (S830). More specifically, the touch sensing device can use Formula 1 above to calculate the X-coordinate value of the touch coordinates of the corresponding touch tag, and can use Formula 2 above to calculate the Y-coordinate value of the touch coordinates of the corresponding touch tag. The detailed method for calculating the touch coordinates by the touch sensing device has already been described in Formulas 1 and 2 above, so its detailed description will be omitted.

[0114] Subsequently, the touch sensing device identifies a target touch electrode among the touch electrodes included in the corresponding touch label (S840), and determines whether a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinates calculated in operation S820 is detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode (S850). In one embodiment, the touch sensing device may identify the touch electrode with the maximum touch intensity among the touch electrodes included in each touch label as the target touch electrode.

[0115] According to this embodiment, the touch sensing device can determine whether a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinates is detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode by determining whether the coordinates of the target touch electrode are the same as the touch coordinates. More specifically, when the coordinates of the target touch electrode do not match the touch coordinates, the touch sensing device determines that a touch input has been detected in the edge region of the target touch electrode, and when the coordinates of the target touch electrode match the touch coordinates, the touch sensing device determines that a touch input has been detected in the center region of the target touch electrode.

[0116] When it is determined from the determination result of operation S850 that a touch input is detected in the center area of ​​the target touch electrode, the touch sensing device sets the maximum touch intensity value of the corresponding touch tag to the representative value of the corresponding touch tag (S860).

[0117] However, when it is determined from the determination result of operation S850 that a touch input is detected in the edge area of ​​the target touch electrode, the touch sensing device calculates the representative value of the corresponding touch tag by correcting the maximum touch intensity value of the corresponding touch tag based on the coordinates of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinates (S870).

[0118] In one embodiment, the touch sensing device can calculate a touch input offset rate, which indicates the rate at which the touch input deviates from the center of the target touch electrode, based on the separation distance between the coordinates of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinates, and correct the maximum touch intensity value by summing the maximum touch intensity value with a value obtained by multiplying the calculated touch input offset rate by the maximum touch intensity value.

[0119] The method by which the touch sensing device calculates the representative value of the corresponding touch tag by correcting the maximum touch intensity value has already been described in the sections described with reference to Formulas 3 and 4 above, and therefore its detailed description will be omitted.

[0120] Subsequently, the touch sensing device determines whether the corresponding touch input is a phantom touch or a normal touch based on the representative value calculated in operation S860 or S870 (S880). More specifically, when the representative value is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the touch sensing device determines that the corresponding touch input is a normal touch, and when the representative value is less than the first threshold, the touch sensing device determines that the corresponding touch input is a phantom touch.

[0121] Although Figure 8 Although not shown, the touch sensing device can transmit the touch coordinates of a touch input identified as a normal touch to the host system. In this case, the touch sensing device can transmit a representative value along with the touch coordinates to the host system.

[0122] As described above, in the present disclosure, since the maximum touch intensity value of the touch tag including the corresponding touch electrode can be increased even when touch input is generated in the edge region of the touch electrode, touch input and phantom touch can be easily distinguished even when the first threshold is set to a large value.

[0123] Furthermore, despite Figure 8 Not shown, but when touch drawing is performed by continuous touch input across multiple frames, the touch sensing device according to this disclosure can search for whether noise is generated during touch drawing by comparing representative values ​​of touch labels included in each frame.

[0124] More specifically, when the deviation between representative values ​​of consecutive frames exceeds a second threshold, the touch sensing device can determine that noise has been generated in the corresponding touch drawing, and when the deviation between representative values ​​of consecutive frames does not exceed the second threshold, the touch sensing device can determine that no noise has been generated in the corresponding touch drawing.

[0125] Those skilled in the art will understand that this disclosure can be implemented in other specific forms without altering the technical concept and essential features of this disclosure.

[0126] All the methods and processes disclosed herein can be implemented, at least in part, using one or more computer programs or components. These components can be configured as a series of computer instructions on any conventional computer-readable or machine-readable medium, including volatile and non-volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk, optical storage, or other storage media. The instructions can be configured as software or firmware and can be implemented wholly or partially as hardware configurations such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or any other similar means. The instructions can be configured to be executed by one or more processors or other hardware configurations, and when executed, allow the processors or other hardware configurations to perform all or part of the methods and processes disclosed herein.

[0127] According to this disclosure, when a touch input is detected in the edge region of a target touch electrode with the maximum touch intensity within a touch tag, the maximum touch intensity value can be corrected based on the separation distance between the coordinates of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinates. Therefore, there is an effect that normal touches can be easily distinguished from phantom touches even when the threshold used to distinguish phantom touches is set to a large value.

[0128] Furthermore, according to this disclosure, the maximum touch intensity value of the frame in which touch input is detected in the edge region of the touch electrode during touch drawing can be corrected based on the separation distance between the coordinates of the corresponding touch electrode and the touch coordinates, thereby reducing the deviation between the touch intensities of each frame. Therefore, there is an effect that the generation of noise can be accurately detected during touch drawing.

[0129] Therefore, the above embodiments should be understood as exemplary and not as limiting in every respect. The scope of this disclosure will be defined by the following claims rather than the detailed description above, and all modifications and variations derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be understood to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0130] Cross-reference to related applications

[0131] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0169791, filed on December 18, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein.

Claims

1. A touch sensing apparatus comprising: a touch coordinate calculation unit configured to calculate a touch coordinate corresponding to a touch tag based on touch intensities of touch electrodes included in the touch tag; a representative value calculation unit configured to calculate a representative value of the touch tag by correcting a maximum touch intensity value of the touch tag based on a coordinate of a target touch electrode among the touch electrodes and the touch coordinate when a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinate is detected in an edge area of the target touch electrode; and a touch coordinate transmission unit configured to determine the touch input as a normal touch when the representative value is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, and to transmit the touch coordinate to a host system, wherein the representative value calculation unit calculates a touch input offset rate indicating a ratio at which the touch input deviates from a center of the target touch electrode based on a separation distance between the coordinate of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinate, and corrects the maximum touch intensity value by summing the maximum touch intensity value and a value obtained by multiplying the calculated touch input offset rate by the maximum touch intensity value.

2. The touch sensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The representative value calculation unit determines a touch electrode having a maximum touch intensity among the touch electrodes as the target touch electrode.

3. The touch sensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The representative value calculation unit determines that the touch input is generated in the edge area of the target touch electrode when an X coordinate value of the touch coordinate is different from an X coordinate value of the target touch electrode or a Y coordinate value of the touch coordinate is different from a Y coordinate value of the target touch electrode.

4. The touch sensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The representative value calculating unit calculates the touch input offset rate using the formula to calculate the touch input offset rate, wherein DR denotes the touch input offset rate, D X represents a separation distance between an X coordinate value of the target touch electrode and an X coordinate value of the touch coordinate, D Y represents a separation distance between a Y coordinate value of the target touch electrode and a Y coordinate value of the touch coordinate, and D P represents a pitch value of the target touch electrode.

5. The touch sensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The touch coordinate calculation unit calculates an X coordinate value of the touch coordinate using a formula and calculates a Y coordinate value of the touch coordinate using a formula ​ wherein X denotes the X coordinate value of the touch coordinate, X n Xn represents an X coordinate value of the n-th touch electrode included in the touch label, Y denotes the Y coordinate value of the touch coordinate, Y n represents a Y coordinate value of the nth touch electrode included in the touch tag, and W n represents a touch intensity of the nth touch electrode included in the touch tag. 6.The touch sensing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a noise search unit configured to search for generation of noise in a touch drawing of a continuous touch input using a deviation between a first representative value of a first touch tag included in a first frame and a second representative value of a second touch tag included in a second frame subsequent to the first frame.

7. The touch sensing apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The noise search unit determines that noise is generated in the touch drawing when the deviation exceeds a second threshold value. 8.A touch sensing method comprising: calculating a touch coordinate corresponding to a first touch tag of a first frame based on touch intensities of touch electrodes included in the first touch tag; determining whether a touch input corresponding to the touch coordinate is detected in an edge area of a target touch electrode among the touch electrodes; calculating a first representative value of the first touch tag by correcting a maximum touch intensity value of the first touch tag based on a coordinate of the target touch electrode and the touch coordinate when the touch input is detected in the edge area of the target touch electrode; and determining the touch input as a normal touch to output the touch coordinates when the first representative value is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, wherein, in the calculating of the first representative value, calculating a touch input offset rate based on a separation distance between an X coordinate value of the target touch electrode and an X coordinate value of the touch coordinates, a separation distance between a Y coordinate value of the target touch electrode and a Y coordinate value of the touch coordinates, and a pitch value of the target touch electrode, and correcting the maximum touch intensity value by summing the maximum touch intensity value and a value obtained by multiplying the calculated touch input offset rate by the maximum touch intensity value.

9. The touch sensing method according to claim 8, wherein, determining a touch electrode having a maximum touch intensity among the touch electrodes as the target touch electrode.

10. The touch sensing method according to claim 8, wherein, in the determining, when an X coordinate value of the touch coordinates is different from an X coordinate value of the target touch electrode or a Y coordinate value of the touch coordinates is different from a Y coordinate value of the target touch electrode, determining that the touch input has occurred in the edge region of the target touch electrode.

11. The touch sensing method according to claim 10, wherein, using the formula to calculate the touch input drift rate, wherein DR denotes the touch input offset rate, D X a separation distance between the X coordinate value of the target touch electrode and the X coordinate value of the touch coordinate, D Y represents a separation distance between the Y coordinate value of the target touch electrode and the Y coordinate value of the touch coordinate, and D P represents a pitch value of the target touch electrode.

12. The touch sensing method according to claim 8, wherein, in the calculating of the touch coordinates, The X coordinate value of the touch coordinates is calculated using the formula and the Y coordinate value of the touch coordinates is calculated using the formula The Y coordinate value of the touch coordinates is calculated using the formula Y = (Ymax - Ymin) * (Y - X) / (Xmax - Xmin) wherein X denotes the X coordinate value of the touch coordinates, X n Xn represents an X coordinate value of the n-th touch electrode included in the first touch tag, Y denotes the Y coordinate value of the touch coordinates, Y n represents a Y coordinate value of the n-th touch electrode included in the first touch tag, and W n represents a touch intensity of the nth touch electrode included in the first touch tag. 13.The touch sensing method of claim 8, further comprising searching for generation of noise in touch drawing of continuous touch input using a deviation between the first representative value of the first touch tag and a second representative value calculated for a second touch tag included in a second frame subsequent to the first frame.

14. The touch sensing method according to claim 13, wherein, in the searching for the generation of the noise, when the deviation exceeds a second threshold value, determining that noise is generated in the touch drawing.

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