Operation Method of Driving Circuit of Display and Timing Controller

Abstract

The present invention provides an operation method for a driving circuit of a display and a timing controller. The driving circuit of the display includes a timing controller. The timing controller is coupled to a general-purpose input / output pin of the touch driver. The timing controller receives an indication signal via the general-purpose input / output pin of the touch driver. The timing controller starts a detection period according to a main falling edge of the indication signal. The timing controller determines a current operation state of the touch driver according to the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a circuit and an operation method, and particularly to a driving circuit of a display and an operation method of a timing controller. Background Art

[0002] In a conventional electronic paper display with a touch function, during the period when the electrophoretic display panel of the electronic paper display is not updated, due to the display characteristics of the electrophoretic display panel, the timing controller for driving the electrophoretic display panel may switch from the working mode to the power-saving mode. When the electrophoretic display panel of the electronic paper display is updated, the timing controller does not immediately switch from the power-saving mode to the working mode. Instead, it waits for the main control unit of the electronic device equipped with the electronic paper display to parse the touch data provided by the touch driver, and then the main control unit decides whether to notify or wake up the timing controller to switch from the power-saving mode to the working mode. In other words, during the process of displaying the touch result (such as displaying the touch trajectory) on the electrophoretic display panel of the conventional electronic paper display with a touch function, it takes time to wait for the parsing of the touch data. Therefore, an immediate display change result corresponding to the touch operation cannot be provided, resulting in a poor user experience. In view of this, several solutions of embodiments will be proposed below. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention is directed to an operation method of a driving circuit of a display and a timing controller, which can quickly drive the electrophoretic display panel of the display to display corresponding content according to the type of touch operation on the touch panel of the display.

[0004] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the driving circuit of the display of the present invention includes a timing controller. The timing controller is coupled to the general-purpose input / output pin of the touch driver. The timing controller receives an indication signal via the general-purpose input / output pin of the touch driver. The timing controller starts a detection period according to the main falling edge of the indication signal. The timing controller determines the current operation state of the touch driver according to the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the operation method of the timing controller of the present invention includes the following steps: receiving an indication signal via the general-purpose input / output pin of the touch driver; starting a detection period according to the main falling edge of the indication signal; and determining the current operation state of the touch driver according to the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period.

[0006] Based on the above, the operation method of the driving circuit and the timing controller of the display of the present invention can directly receive the indication signal provided by the touch driver through the timing controller to quickly determine the current operation state of the touch driver, and effectively determine whether to enter the working mode in advance.

[0007] To make the above features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and understandable, specific embodiments are hereinafter given and described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings as follows. Description of the Drawings

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a timing controller and a touch driver according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the operation method of the timing controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] Figure 4 is a signal timing diagram of an indication signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Description of the Reference Numerals

[0013] 30: Electronic device;

[0014] 110, 310: Timing controller;

[0015] 120, 320: Touch driver;

[0016] 300: Driving circuit;

[0017] 311: Counter;

[0018] 312: Decoder;

[0019] 400: Electronic paper display;

[0020] 410: Electrophoretic display panel;

[0021] 420: Touch panel;

[0022] 500: Master control end processing unit;

[0023] 401~407: Time intervals;

[0024] DA: Touch data transmission timing;

[0025] DS1, DS2, DS3: Indication signals;

[0026] DS1_F, DS2_F, DS3_F: Main falling edges;

[0027] DS1_R, DS2_R, DS3_R: Main rising edges;

[0028] F2_1, F2_2, F3_1, F3_2, F3_3, F3_4: Sub falling edges;

[0029] P_1, P_2, P_3: Counting periods;

[0030] S210, S220, S230, S240: Steps. Detailed implementation manners

[0031] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a timing controller and a touch driver according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 1 , the timing controller (TCON) 110 of this embodiment can be coupled (directly coupled) to the general-purpose input / output pins (GPIO pins) of the touch driver 120, and receive the indication signals provided (or generated) by the touch driver 120 through the general-purpose input / output pins. In this embodiment, the timing controller 110 can be further coupled to an electrophoretic display panel (EPD), and the touch driver 120 can be further coupled to a touch panel. The electrophoretic display panel can be integrated with the touch panel to implement an electronic paper display (E-Paper Display) with touch function. In this embodiment, when the electrophoretic display panel displays a static image, for example, the timing controller 110 can operate in a power-saving mode (or sleep mode). In some embodiments of the present invention, the timing controller 110 may not output drive signals (with special signal waveforms) to the electrophoretic display panel in the power-saving mode. And, in some other embodiments of the present invention, it may take some time for the timing controller 110 to switch from the power-saving mode to the working mode.

[0033] When a touch operation occurs on the touch panel, in order to enable the electrophoretic display panel to quickly display content corresponding to the touch operation (such as displaying a touch trajectory), the timing controller 110 of this embodiment needs to switch to operate in the working mode to output a plurality of driving signals to a plurality of electrophoretic cells of the electrophoretic display panel according to the display driving data corresponding to the touch operation. In this regard, before receiving the display driving data corresponding to the touch operation, the timing controller 110 of this embodiment can first quickly pre-determine the current operation state of the touch driver according to the indication signal provided (or generated) by the touch driver 120 received from the general-purpose input / output pin, and decide whether to pre-enter the working mode. Therefore, when the timing controller 110 actually receives the display driving data corresponding to the touch operation, the timing controller 110 that has pre-entered the working mode can immediately drive the electronic paper display to display the corresponding content according to the display driving data.

[0034] Figure 2 is a flowchart of an operation method of a timing controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 the timing controller 110 can execute the following steps S210 to S240. In step S210, the timing controller 110 can receive an indication signal via the general-purpose input / output pin of the touch driver 120. In step S220, the timing controller 110 can start a detection period according to the main falling edge of the indication signal. In this embodiment, when no touch operation occurs on the touch driver 120, the indication signal can be maintained at a high voltage level. When a touch operation occurs on the touch driver 120, the indication signal can be switched to a low voltage level. Therefore, the timing controller 110 of this embodiment can start detecting the indication signal by judging whether the signal waveform of the indication signal has a main falling edge (switched from a high voltage level to a low voltage level), and the timing controller 110 can perform a detection period of a preset (or fixed) time length.

[0035] In step S230, the timing controller 110 can judge the current operation state of the touch driver according to the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period. In this embodiment, the touch driver 120 can preset to provide the indication signal including different numbers of pulse signals according to different touch operation types. Therefore, the timing controller 110 of this embodiment can effectively calculate the number of pulse signals by detecting the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period, and accordingly judge the current operation state of the touch driver 120.

[0036] In step S240, the timing controller 110 may determine whether to switch from the power saving mode to the working mode according to the current operation state of the touch driver 120 determined during the detection. In this embodiment, the current operation state may be, for example, a pen writing state, a pen hovering state, or a finger touching state. In this regard, the timing controller 110 of this embodiment may pre-determine whether to enter the working mode in advance according to the current operation state of the touch driver 120. Alternatively, the timing controller 110 may perform a pre-driving operation in advance according to the current operation state of the touch driver 120 before outputting the corresponding driving signal. Therefore, when the timing controller 110 actually receives the display driving data corresponding to the touch operation, the timing controller 110 may quickly drive the electronic paper display to display the corresponding content.

[0037] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a signal timing diagram of an indication signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4, the electronic device 30 may include a driving circuit 300, a touch driver 320, an electronic paper display 400, and a main control processing unit 500. In this embodiment, the electronic device 30 may be, for example, a tablet or other similar computer device or display device, and the main control processing unit 500 may be, for example, the central processing unit (CPU) or system on a chip (SoC) of the tablet. In this embodiment, the driving circuit 300 includes a timing controller 310. In some other embodiments, the touch driver 320 may be integrated in the driving circuit 300. In this embodiment, the electronic paper display 400 may integrate an electrophoretic display panel 410 and a touch panel 420. The timing controller 310 is coupled to the touch driver 320, the electrophoretic display panel 410, and the main control processing unit 500. The timing controller 310 is used to drive the electrophoretic display panel 410. The touch driver 320 is coupled to and used to drive the touch panel 420. The timing controller 310 further includes a counter 311 and a decoder 312. In this embodiment, the touch driver 320 may be connected to the main control processing unit 500 through, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) interface or an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interface. In some other embodiments of the present invention, the electronic paper display 400 may also be other types of displays, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescent display. Therefore, the electrophoretic display panel 410 may also be, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic electroluminescent display panel.

[0038] In this embodiment, the timing controller 310 may be coupled to the general-purpose input / output pins of the touch driver 320 and is used to receive an indication signal via the general-purpose input / output pins of the touch driver 320. The general-purpose input / output pins may be interrupt pins. In this embodiment, the timing controller 310 and the touch driver 320 are only connected through the general-purpose input / output pins. However, in some other embodiments, a USB interface or an I2C interface for transmitting touch data may further be included between the timing controller 310 and the touch driver 320. In this embodiment, when a user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 420 of the electronic paper display 400, the touch panel 420 may determine whether the user touches with a stylus or a finger, or whether the stylus is suspended above the touch panel 420, so as to correspondingly output different indication signals (such as Figure 4 the indicated indication signals DS1, DS2, DS3) to the timing controller 310 and output corresponding touch data (such as Figure 4The touch data transmission timing diagram DA shown is sent to the main control unit 500.

[0039] In this embodiment, the touch data transmission timing diagram DA is in a state of no signal or no data transmission during time intervals 401, 403, 405, and 407, and is in a data transmission state during time intervals 402, 404, and 406. The touch driver 320 can periodically output touch data to the main control unit 500. In this regard, the touch driver 320 can output corresponding touch data in response to the user touching the touch panel 420 with a stylus or a finger, or using the stylus to hover above the touch panel 420, where the touch data is, for example, in USB data format or I2C data format. In other words, since the touch data conforms to the specifications of a specific format and has a fixed (or minimum) data length, under the condition of a fixed transmission speed, the time length of the touch data transmission timing diagram DA in each of the time intervals 402, 404, and 406 for transmitting data is fixed. For example, the touch data is in I2C data format and has a fixed (or minimum) data length of 11 bytes, and each byte has an acknowledgment bit (ACK bit). Therefore, under the condition of a fixed transmission speed, such as 2.5 microseconds per bit (400 KHz, 2.5 us / per bit), the time length (99 2.5 us = 0.247 ms) of each of the time intervals 402, 404, and 406 can be a fixed 0.247 milliseconds (ms).

[0040] In this embodiment, when no touch operation occurs on the touch driver 320, the indication signals DS1, DS2, and DS3 can be maintained at a high voltage level respectively. When a touch operation occurs on the touch driver 120, the indication signals DS1, DS2, and DS3 can be switched to a low voltage level respectively. In this regard, during the time intervals 402, 404, and 406 corresponding to the touch data transmission timing diagram DA, the touch driver 320 can synchronously switch the voltage level of one of the indication signals DS1, DS2, and DS3 as shown. In this regard, for example Figure 4 shown. Figure 4The time intervals between the main falling edges DS1_F, DS2_F, DS3_F and the main rising edges DS1_R, DS2_R, DS3_R of the indicated signal DS1, DS2, DS3 respectively are synchronized with the time interval 402 of the touch data transmission timing DA. It should be noted that the touch driver 320 can be designed to have waveforms with different numbers of pulse signals for the portions of the indicated signals DS1, DS2, DS3 corresponding to the time intervals 402, 404, 406 according to different touch operations. Moreover, the timing controller 310 can perform pulse signal detection (count the number of pulse signals) on the received indicated signals during a corresponding plurality of detection periods, where the plurality of detection periods are the periods between the main falling edges DS1_F, DS2_F, DS3_F of the indicated signals DS1, DS2, DS3 corresponding to the indicated signals and the main rising edges DS1_R, DS2_R, DS3_R after the main falling edges DS1_F, DS2_F, DS3_F.

[0041] Taking the indication signal DS1 as an example, the indication signal DS1 output by the touch driver 320 through the general-purpose input / output pin may correspond to a pen writing state occurring on the touch panel 420, that is, the user writes on the touch panel 420 with a touch pen. When the timing controller 310 is pre-operated in the power-saving mode and the main falling edge DS1_F (the first time) of the indication signal DS1 is detected by the timing controller 310, the counter 311 of the timing controller 310 starts to count a counting period P_1, wherein the timing controller 310 synchronously performs detection, and the detection period during which the timing controller 310 performs detection is synchronous with the counting period P_1. The counter 311 of the timing controller 310 stops counting when the main rising edge DS1_R of the indication signal DS1 is detected by the timing controller 310. During the counting period P_1 in this example, the timing controller 310 can detect the number of sub-falling edges (quantity) during the detection period (counting period P_1) to determine the current operating state of the touch driver 320. For example, the decoder 312 of the timing controller 310 decodes the digital signal generated by the timing controller 310 according to the number of sub-falling edges, so that the timing controller 310 determines the current operating state of the touch driver 320 according to the decoded signal output by the decoder 312. In this regard, the timing controller 310 can determine that the current operating state of the touch driver 320 is the pen writing state according to the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal DS1 being 0 during the detection period (counting period P_1). Therefore, the timing controller 310 can automatically switch from the power-saving mode to the working mode and can perform pre-driving on the corresponding display content to be performed corresponding to the pen writing state of the touch driver 320. In addition, by analogy, the timing controller 310 performs corresponding detection and judgment operations on the indication signal DS1 during the counting period P_2 and the counting period P_3.

[0042] Taking the indication signal DS2 as an example, the indication signal DS2 output by the touch driver 320 through the general-purpose input / output pin may correspond to a pen hovering state occurring on the touch panel 420, that is, the user is in a hovering state (within a preset range from the touch panel 420 but not touching the touch panel 420) on the touch panel 420 with a touch pen. Therefore, when the timing controller 310 is pre-operated in the power-saving mode and the main falling edge DS2_F (the first time) of the indication signal DS2 is detected by the timing controller 310, the counter 311 of the timing controller 310 starts to count a counting period P_1, wherein the timing controller 310 synchronously performs detection, and the detection period during which the timing controller 310 performs detection is synchronous with the counting period P_1. During the counting period P_1 in this example, the timing controller 310 can detect the number of sub-falling edges (quantity) during the detection period (counting period P_1) to determine the current operating state of the touch driver 320. In this regard, asFigure 4 For the sub - falling edges F2_1 and F2_2 shown, the timing controller 310 can determine that the number of occurrences of the sub - falling edges of the indication signal DS2 during the detection period (counting period P_1) is the first number (the first quantity), for example, 2 times (the number of pulse signals is 2), to determine that the current operating state of the touch driver 320 is the pen - hovering state. Therefore, the timing controller 310 can automatically switch from the power - saving mode to the working mode, and can pre - drive the corresponding display content to be performed corresponding to the pen - hovering state of the touch driver 320. Additionally, by analogy, the timing controller 310 will perform corresponding detection and judgment operations on the indication signal DS2 during the counting period P_2 and the counting period P_3.

[0043] Taking the indication signal DS3 as an example, the indication signal DS3 output by the touch driver 320 through the general - purpose input / output pin can correspond to the finger - touch state occurring on the touch panel 420, that is, the user touches the touch panel 420 with a finger (the finger can be moved or not moved). Therefore, when the timing controller 310 is pre - operating in the power - saving mode and the timing controller 310 detects the main - falling edge DS3_F (the first time) of the indication signal DS3, the counter 311 of the timing controller 310 starts counting a counting period P_1, where the timing controller 310 synchronously performs detection, and the detection period for the timing controller 310 to perform detection is synchronized with the counting period P_1. During the counting period P_1 in this example, the timing controller 310 can detect the number (quantity) of sub - falling edges during the detection period (counting period P_1) to determine the current operating state of the touch driver 320. In this regard, as Figure 4 For the sub - falling edges F3_1, F3_2, F3_3, and F3_4 shown, the timing controller 310 can determine that the number of occurrences of the sub - falling edges of the indication signal DS3 during the detection period (counting period P_1) is the second number (the second quantity), for example, 4 times (the number of pulse signals is 4), to determine that the current operating state of the touch driver 320 is the finger - touch state. Therefore, the timing controller 310 can automatically switch from the power - saving mode to the working mode, and can pre - drive the corresponding display content to be performed corresponding to the finger - touch state of the touch driver 320. Additionally, by analogy, the timing controller 310 will perform corresponding detection and judgment operations on the indication signal DS3 during the counting period P_2 and the counting period P_3.

[0044] Therefore, during the process of the touch driver 320 transmitting touch data to the host processing unit 500, the timing controller 310 can automatically pre-determine whether to switch from the power-saving mode to the working mode in advance according to the indication signal output from the general-purpose input / output pins of the touch driver 320. When the host processing unit 500 outputs corresponding display driving data to the timing controller 310 according to the touch data, the timing controller 310 can operate in the working mode to quickly drive the electrophoretic display panel 410 to display the corresponding display content. However, the number of pulse signals of each of the above-exemplified indication signals during each counting period is not limited to Figure 4 as shown, and the number of the pulse signals can be designed arbitrarily. Moreover, the types of touch operations corresponding to each of the above-exemplified indication signals are not limited to the above, and the types of touch operations can be designed according to different touch operation requirements.

[0045] In summary, for the driving circuit of the display and the operation method of the timing controller according to the present invention, the timing controller can be coupled to the general-purpose input / output pins of the touch driver, so that the timing controller can directly determine the current operation state of the touch driver according to the indication signal provided by the touch driver, and enter the working mode in advance. Therefore, when the timing controller receives the display driving data corresponding to the touch operation, the timing controller can quickly drive the display to display the corresponding content, thereby providing a good user experience effect.

[0046] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A driving circuit for a display, characterized in that, Including: A timing controller, coupled to a general-purpose input / output pin of a touch driver, and configured to receive an indication signal via the general-purpose input / output pin of the touch driver, wherein during a detection period started by a main falling edge of the indication signal switching from a first level to a second level by the timing controller, the timing controller detects the number of sub-falling edges of a pulse signal of the indication signal, and the timing controller determines a current operation state of the touch driver according to the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period, wherein when the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period by the timing controller is 0, it is determined that the current operation state of the touch driver is a pen writing state.

2. The driving circuit for a display according to claim 1, characterized in that, The timing controller includes: A counter, configured to start a counting period when the timing controller detects the main falling edge of the indication signal, wherein the detection period is synchronized with the counting period.

3. The driving circuit for a display according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period by the timing controller is a first number, it is determined that the current operation state of the touch driver is a pen hovering state.

4. The driving circuit for a display according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period by the timing controller is a second number, it is determined that the current operation state of the touch driver is a finger touch state.

5. The driving circuit for a display according to claim 1, characterized in that, The detection period corresponds to a period between the main falling edge of the indication signal and a main rising edge after the main falling edge.

6. The driving circuit for a display according to claim 1, characterized in that, The timing controller determines whether to switch from a power-saving state to a working state according to the current operation state of the touch driver determined during the detection period.

7. The driving circuit for a display according to claim 1, characterized in that, The timing controller includes: A decoder, configured to decode a digital signal generated by the timing controller according to the number of sub-falling edges, so that the timing controller determines the current operation state of the touch driver according to a decoded signal output by the decoder.

8. The driving circuit for a display according to claim 1, characterized in that, The general-purpose input / output pin is an interrupt pin.

9. A method for operating a timing controller, characterized in that, Including: Receiving an indication signal via a general-purpose input / output pin of a touch driver; Starting a detection period according to a main falling edge of the indication signal switching from a first level to a second level; Detecting the number of sub-falling edges of a pulse signal of the indication signal; Determining a current operation state of the touch driver according to the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period; And When the number of sub-falling edges of the indication signal during the detection period is 0, determining that the current operation state of the touch driver is a pen writing state.

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