Touch device

Abstract

A touch device includes a touch screen and a touch controller. The touch controller is configured to process touch sensing signals received from the touch screen to generate touch coordinates for touch events occurring on the touch screen. The touch screen includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes. The first touch sensing electrodes are disposed in a central region of the touch screen, wherein at least a portion of the first touch sensing electrodes are rectangular. The second touch sensing electrodes are disposed in a peripheral region of the touch screen surrounding the central region, wherein each of the second touch sensing electrodes corresponds to a central angle and a plurality of central angles corresponding to the plurality of second touch sensing electrodes are substantially equal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a touch device, and more particularly, to a touch device that can improve edge angle resolution and sensing uniformity of touch detection operation. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a circular surface of a hand-held display device such as a smart watch, a touch screen is traditionally designed by dividing it into a plurality of sensor electrodes along a horizontal axis and a vertical axis. In this way, the shape and size of each sensor electrode disposed in an edge region can be limited by the shape of the touch screen. For example, the uniformity of sensor electrodes located in the edge region of the touch screen is reduced. Since a smart watch needs to support touch actions of sliding on the edge region of the touch screen, the low uniformity of sensor electrodes located in the edge region will reduce the reliability of touch sensing data calculated by the touch device, and will also limit the number of touch points that can be recognized under a unit sliding arc of touch actions. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application provides a touch device for increasing edge angle resolution and sensing uniformity of touch detection operation.

[0004] According to an embodiment of the present application, a touch device includes a touch screen and a touch controller. The touch controller is configured to process touch sensing signals received from the touch screen to generate touch coordinates for touch events occurring on the touch screen. The touch screen includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes. The first touch sensing electrodes are disposed in a center region of the touch screen, wherein at least a portion of the first touch sensing electrodes are rectangular. The second touch sensing electrodes are disposed in an edge region of the touch screen surrounding the center region, wherein each of the second touch sensing electrodes corresponds to a center angle and a plurality of center angles corresponding to the plurality of second touch sensing electrodes are substantially equal.

[0005] In summary, by setting the second touch sensing electrodes disposed in the edge region of the touch screen to have a center angle, the touch device can improve the uniformity of touch sensing electrodes located in the edge region. For example, touch sensing coordinates can be accurately calculated to improve the experience of a user performing touch control actions.

[0006] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present application more comprehensible, embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0007] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present application, and are incorporated and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present application and, together with the specification, serve to explain principles of the present application.

[0008] Figure 1 schematic diagram of a touch device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0009] Figure 2 schematic diagram of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0010] Figure 3 schematic diagram of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 4 schematic diagram of a part of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 5 schematic diagram of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figures 6A to 6C schematic diagram of a cross section of a touch display integrated with a display screen according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] Figures 7A to 7C schematic diagram of a cross section of a touch display integrated with a display screen according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Explanation of symbols

[0016] 100: touch device

[0017] 110, 200, 400, 300, 500: touch screen

[0018] 120: touch controller

[0019] 510: empty area

[0020] BD: boundary

[0021] CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4, CA5, CA6: central angle

[0022] CB: ring-shaped boundary

[0023] CFG: color filter glass

[0024] CG: cover glass

[0025] FP: touched area

[0026] GP: gap

[0027] IAS: inner arc side

[0028] IS1: inner side

[0029] LCD: liquid crystal layer

[0030] LS1, LS2: lateral side

[0031] OAS: outer arc side

[0032] OCA: optical clear adhesive layer

[0033] OLED: organic light emitting diode layer

[0034] OS1: outer side

[0035] POL: polarizer

[0036] RB: rectangular boundary

[0037] S1, S2, S3, S4, S5: straight side

[0038] SA: angle shift

[0039] SENL: sensing layer

[0040] TFTG: thin film transistor glass

[0041] TSE1, TSE10, TSE11, TSE12, TSE13, TSE14, TSE15: first touch sensing electrode

[0042] TSE2, TSE21, TSE22, TSE23, TSE24, TSE25, TSE26 ~ TSE2N-1, TSE2N: second touch sensing electrode DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Throughout the specification (including claims) of this application, the use of the term "coupled (or connected)" includes both direct and indirect coupling or connection. For example, if a first device is coupled (or connected) to a second device, it is understood that a first device can be directly connected to the second device, or indirectly connected to the second device through other devices or via a particular coupling. In addition, the terms such as "first" and "second" are used throughout the specification (including claims) of this application only to name elements for ease of reference, or to distinguish different embodiments or aspects, and are not intended to limit the upper or lower limit of the number of elements, nor the order of the elements. Furthermore, in the drawings and embodiments, elements / components / steps having the same reference numerals represent the same or similar parts. Elements / components / symbols having the same reference numerals in different embodiments can refer to the relevant description.

[0044] Reference is made to Figure 1 , Figure 1A schematic diagram of a touch device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The touch device 100 includes a touch screen 110 and a touch controller 120. The touch controller 120 is configured to process touch sensing signals received from the touch screen 110 and generate touch coordinates for touch events occurring on the touch screen 110. The touch screen 110 includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes TSE2. The first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 are disposed in a central region of the touch screen 110, and the second touch sensing electrodes TSE2 are disposed in an edge region of the touch screen 110. In this embodiment, the central region and the edge region of the touch screen 110 can be divided by a circular boundary CB, and the central region is formed inside the circular boundary CB and the edge region is formed outside the circular boundary CB. That is, the central region is surrounded by the edge region. In some embodiments, the center of the circular boundary CB can be the center of the touch 110. The shape of the touch 110 and the shape of the circular boundary CB can be circular or elliptical.

[0045] In this embodiment, the edge region can be a circular band. The edge region can be evenly divided into a plurality of divided regions, and the second touch sensing electrodes TSE2 can be respectively disposed on the divided regions. Here, the areas of the second touch sensing electrodes TSE2 can be the same.

[0046] On the other hand, at least a portion of the first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 is rectangular, and another portion of the first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 can be any shape. The second touch sensing electrodes TSE2 respectively correspond to a plurality of central angles (e.g., central angles CA1 and CA2), and the central angles are substantially equal. That is, the central angle CA1 is substantially equal to the central angle CA2. Of course, there can be manufacturing errors between the central angles CA1 and CA2.

[0047] Each of the second touch sensing electrodes TSE2 has an outer arc side OAS corresponding to the central angle CA1, and the outer arc side OAS is disposed on an outer side of the touch screen 110. Each of the second touch sensing electrodes TSE2 also has an inner arc side IAS corresponding to the central angle CA1, and the inner arc side IAS is disposed adjacent to the circular boundary CB.

[0048] The size of the central region and the size of the edge region can be adjusted by the designer of the touch device 100 according to the actual needs of the application, and there is no particular limitation here. In addition, the number of the second touch sensing electrodes TSE2 can be adjusted by the designer of the touch device 100 according to the touch resolution, and there is also no particular limitation here.

[0049] In response to the touch event, a finger can touch the touch screen and the finger can cover at least one of the first touch sensing electrode TSE1 and the second touch sensing electrode TSE2. The touched first touch sensing electrode TSE1 and / or the touched second touch sensing electrode TSE2 can respond to the touch sensing signal to the touch controller 120. The touch controller 120 can calculate the touch coordinates based on a Cartesian coordinate system or a polar coordinate system to determine the most effective touch sensing data from the touch sensing signal.

[0050] In detail, the touch controller 120 can determine to use the Cartesian coordinate system or the polar coordinate system according to the sensing amount of each of the touched touch sensing electrodes. If the sensing amount contributed from the first touch sensing electrode TSE1 is greater than the sensing amount contributed from the second touch sensing electrode TSE2, the Cartesian coordinate system can be used, and if the sensing amount contributed from the second touch sensing electrode TSE2 is greater than the sensing amount contributed from the first touch sensing electrode TSE1, the polar coordinate system can be used.

[0051] Further, if the touch controller 120 calculates the touch coordinates based on the Cartesian coordinate system, the touch coordinates can be represented by Equation (1) as shown below, where two touch sensing electrodes are touched:

[0052]

[0053] where X1, Y1, X2, and Y2 are the coordinates of the center of gravity of the touched touch sensing electrodes, dC1 and dC2 are the sensing amounts of the touched touch sensing electrodes, and (Px, Py) is the touch coordinates.

[0054] If the touch controller 120 calculates the touch coordinates based on the polar coordinate system, the touch coordinates can be represented by Equation (2) as shown below, where two touch sensing electrodes are touched:

[0055]

[0056] where θ1 and θ2 are the gravity angles of the touched touch sensing electrodes, dC1 and dC2 are the sensing amounts of the touched touch sensing electrodes, and r1 and r2 are the coordinate radii of the touched touch sensing electrodes, and (Pθ, Pr) is the touch coordinates. Here, the touch coordinates (Pθ, Pr) can be converted into the touch coordinates in the Cartesian coordinate system.

[0057] The conversion scheme between the Cartesian coordinate system and the polar coordinate system is well known to those skilled in the art, and no more explanation is given here.

[0058] It is noted here that the touch controller 120 can be a processor with computing functions. Alternatively, the touch controller 120 can be a hardware circuit designed using a hardware description language (HDL) or any digital circuit design method well known to those skilled in the art, and implemented by a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0059] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application is shown. The touch screen 200 includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes TSE2. In Figure 2 , only a portion of the second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE26 is labeled. Unlike the touch screen 110 in Figure 1 , the touch screen 200 is divided into a center region and a peripheral region by a rectangular boundary RB. The center region is formed within the rectangular boundary RB, and the peripheral region is formed outside the rectangular boundary RB. The peripheral region can be evenly divided into a plurality of divided regions according to center angles (e.g., center angles CA1 to CA6), and the second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE26 can be respectively disposed into the evenly divided regions. In this embodiment, the center angles CA1 to CA6 are substantially equal.

[0060] On the other hand, the center region can be rectangular and divided into a plurality of divided regions in an array form. The first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 are respectively disposed in the divided regions.

[0061] In this embodiment, taking the second touch sensing electrode TSE22 as an example, the second touch sensing electrode TSE22 has an inner arc side IAS and an outer arc side OAS. The inner arc side IAS of the second touch sensing electrode TSE22 is positioned along the boundary BD of the adjacent first touch sensing electrode TSE1. The outer arc side OAS of the second touch sensing electrode TSE22 corresponds to the center angle CA2.

[0062] It is noted here that there are gaps (e.g., a gap GP) between two adjacent first touch sensing electrodes, two adjacent second touch sensing electrodes, and an adjacent first touch sensing electrode and a second touch sensing electrode. The two touch sensing electrodes are not directly connected here.

[0063] Please refer toFigure 3 , Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application is shown. The touch screen 300 includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE23. The first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 are disposed in a central region of the touch screen 300 and are surrounded by the second touch sensing electrodes disposed in the edge region. Unlike the touch screens 110 and 200, the second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE23 are disposed at an oblique angle, taking the second touch sensing electrode TSE21 as an example.

[0064] In detail, the second touch sensing electrode TSE21 has an inner arc side IAS and an outer arc side OAS. The inner arc side IAS of the second touch sensing electrode TSE21 corresponds to the central angle CA2. The outer arc side OAS of the second touch sensing electrode TSE21 corresponds to the central angle CA1. Here, there is an angle shift SA between the central angle CA2 and the central angle CA1, and the angle shift SA is a predetermined angle between the central angle CA2 and the central angle CA1. That is, the central angle CA1 is equivalent to the central angle CA2 rotated by a predetermined angle.

[0065] On the other hand, the second touch sensing electrode TSE21 also has two lateral sides LS1 and LS2. The lateral side LS1 is disposed opposite to the lateral side LS2, and each of the lateral sides LS1 and LS2 is disposed between the inner arc side IAS and the outer arc side OAS. In this embodiment, an inner angle can be formed along the extension line of the two lateral sides LS1 and LS2.

[0066] In this embodiment, by disposing the second touch sensing electrodes at an oblique angle, the number of touch sensing electrodes of the touched region FP can be increased. In this case, the second touch sensing electrodes TSE22 and TSE23 are triggered by the touched region FP. For example, the second touch sensing electrodes TSE22 and TSE23 can respond to two touch sensing signals respectively, and the two touch sensing signals represent the touch regions of two portions of the touched region FP respectively. That is, valid touch sensing data can be generated by the two touch sensing signals.

[0067] Please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a portion of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application is shown. The touch screen 400 includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes TSE10 to TSE15 and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE23. The first touch sensing electrodes TSE10 to TSE15 are disposed in a central region of the touch screen 400, and the second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE23 are disposed in an edge region of the touch screen 400. The central region and the edge region can be divided according to a ring-shaped boundary CB.

[0068] In this embodiment, each of the first touch sensing electrodes TSE10 to TSE15 can have any shape. For example, the first touch sensing electrodes TSE10 and TSE11 are rectangular, and the first touch sensing electrodes TSE12 to TSE15 are all trapezoidal.

[0069] Take the second touch sensing electrode TSE21 as an example. The second touch sensing electrode TSE21 has an outer side OS1 and an inner side IS1. The inner side IS1 is adjacent to the first touch sensing electrodes TSE14 and TSE15, and the outer side OS1 is disposed opposite the inner side IS1. In this embodiment, the outer side OS1 can be a straight line instead of an arc, and the inner side IS1 can be an arc or a straight line. Take the second touch sensing electrodes TSE22 and TSE23 as examples. The outer side of the second touch sensing electrode TSE22 can be formed by two straight sides S1 and S2 to form a polygon. The outer side of the second touch sensing electrode TSE23 can be formed by three straight sides S3, S4 and S5 to form another polygon. That is, the shape of the outer side of each second touch sensing electrode of the present application can be an arc or a polygon, and there is no particular limitation here.

[0070] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a touch screen according to another embodiment of the present application is shown. The touch screen 500 includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE2N. In this embodiment, the touch screen 500 can be divided into a central region and an edge region by a ring-shaped boundary CB. The first touch sensing electrodes TSE1 are disposed in the central region within the ring-shaped boundary CB, and the second touch sensing electrodes TSE21 to TSE2N are disposed in the edge region outside the ring-shaped boundary CB.

[0071] It should be noted here that in this embodiment, an empty region 510 can be set on the edge region of the touch screen 500. No touch sensing electrodes are disposed in the empty region 510. In one touch screen 500, one or more empty regions 510 can be set by the designer of the touch screen 500. The position of the empty region 510 can be determined by the designer according to the needs of the product, and there is no more particular limitation here.

[0072] Please refer to Figures 6A to 6C , Figures 6A to 6C A schematic diagram of a cross section of a touch display screen integrated by a touch screen and a display screen according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The touch screen can be integrated with a liquid crystal display screen to form a touch display screen. The touch screen can be formed as an in-cell touch sensing structure. In Figure 6AIn this embodiment, the touch display screen may include a cover glass CG, a sensing layer SENL, an optically clear adhesive layer OCA, a polarizer POL, and a liquid crystal layer LCD. The sensing layer SENL can be implemented by any of the displays 110, 200, 300, 400, and 500. In this embodiment, the cover glass CG, the sensing layer SENL, the optically clear adhesive layer OCA, the polarizer POL, and the liquid crystal layer LCD overlap each other, and the sensing layer SENL may be disposed between the cover glass CG and the optically clear adhesive layer OCA.

[0073] exist Figure 6B In this design, the touch display screen may have a cover glass CG, an optically clear adhesive layer OCA, a polarizer POL, a sensing layer SENL, and a liquid crystal layer LCD. The cover glass CG, optically clear adhesive layer OCA, polarizer POL, sensing layer SENL, and liquid crystal layer LCD overlap each other. Figure 6A Unlike other sensors, the sensing layer SENL is positioned between the polarizer POL and the liquid crystal layer LCD.

[0074] exist Figure 6C In this design, the touch display screen may have a cover glass CG, an optically transparent adhesive layer OCA, a polarizer POL, a color filter glass CFG, a sensing layer SENL, and a thin-film transistor glass TFTG. The cover glass CG, optically transparent adhesive layer OCA, polarizer POL, color filter glass CFG, sensing layer SENL, and thin-film transistor glass TFTG overlap each other. The sensing layer SENL is disposed between the color filter glass CFG and the thin-film transistor glass TFTG.

[0075] Please refer to Figures 7A to 7C , Figures 7A to 7C A schematic diagram illustrating a cross-section of a touch display screen integrating a touchscreen and a display screen according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The touchscreen may be integrated with an organic light-emitting diode display screen to form the touch display screen. The touchscreen may be formed as an in-cell touch sensing structure. Figure 7A In this embodiment, the touch display screen includes a cover glass CG, a sensing layer SENL, an optically transparent adhesive layer OCA, a polarizer POL, and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) layer. The cover glass CG, sensing layer SENL, optically transparent adhesive layer OCA, polarizer POL, and OLED layer overlap each other. In this embodiment, the sensing layer SENL is disposed between the cover glass CG and the optically transparent adhesive layer OCA.

[0076] exist Figure 7B In this design, the touch display includes an overlapping cover glass (CG), an optically transparent adhesive layer (OCA), a polarizer (POL), a sensing layer (SENL), and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) layer. Figure 7AUnlike, the sensing layer SENL can be disposed between the polarizer POL and the organic light emitting diode layer OLED.

[0077] In Figure 7C In the embodiment, the touch display screen includes a cover glass CG, an optically clear adhesive layer OCA, a polarizer POL, an organic light emitting diode layer OLED, and a sensing layer SENL, which are disposed in a stack. Figure 7A In Figure 7B Unlike, the sensing layer SENL can be disposed below the organic light emitting diode layer OLED.

[0078] In summary, the present application provides a touch device including a touch screen and a touch controller. The touch screen includes a plurality of first touch sensing electrodes disposed in a central region of the touch screen and a plurality of second touch sensing electrodes disposed in an edge region of the touch screen. By setting the second touch sensing electrodes to have the same central angle, uniformity of the second touch sensing electrodes can be increased, and touch sensing accuracy of the touch device can be correspondingly increased.

[0079] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope or spirit of the application. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present application cover modifications and variations of this application provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A touch device, comprising: A touchscreen and a touch controller, the touch controller being configured to process touch sensing signals received from the touchscreen to generate touch coordinates in response to touch events occurring on the touchscreen, wherein the touchscreen includes: A plurality of first touch sensing electrodes are disposed in the central region of the touchscreen, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of first touch sensing electrodes is rectangular; and A plurality of second touch sensing electrodes are disposed in the edge region surrounding the central region of the touchscreen, wherein each of the plurality of second touch sensing electrodes corresponds to each of a plurality of central angles, and the plurality of central angles corresponding to the plurality of second touch sensing electrodes are substantially equal, wherein each of the plurality of second touch sensing electrodes includes an outer arc edge corresponding to each of the plurality of central angles. Each of the plurality of second touch sensing electrodes further includes an inner arc edge corresponding to a second central angle that is the same size as the central angle, and there is an angular offset as a predetermined angle between the second central angle and the central angle, such that the central angle is equivalent to the second central angle rotated by the predetermined angle.

2. The touch device of claim 1, wherein in response to the touch controller determining that the most effective touch sensing data is generated based on touch sensing signals from one of the plurality of first touch sensing electrodes, the touch controller calculates touch coordinates based on a vertical coordinate system.

3. The touch device of claim 1, wherein in response to the touch controller determining that the most effective touch sensing data is generated based on a touch sensing signal from one of the plurality of second touch sensing electrodes, the touch controller calculates the touch coordinates based on a polar coordinate system.

Images