Display device and display device driving method

Abstract

A display device and a display device driving method are provided. The display device includes a display panel and a touch panel. The display panel includes a plurality of scan lines. The scan lines are respectively classified into a plurality of scan areas. The display panel is configured to sequentially scan the scan areas through the scan lines. The touch panel is electrically connected to the display panel and configured to receive touch signals. During a first frame period, when the position of the touch signal corresponds to one of the scan areas, the display panel scans the scan areas using one of the scan areas as a starting point to display images of the scan areas while avoiding delays.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a display device and a driving method, and in particular to a display device with both touch and image display functions. Background Art

[0002] In today's consumer electronics market, reflective displays are widely used to create display screens, such as electronic paper displays. Reflective displays primarily utilize incident light to illuminate a display medium layer, thereby conserving energy. However, with advancements in imaging technology, reflective display features are becoming increasingly diverse, with improvements in color and resolution, as well as the integration of touch functionality. With these improvements, ensuring the display quality of reflective displays has become a major research topic. Summary of the Invention

[0003] One aspect of the present disclosure is a display device comprising a display panel and a touch panel. The display panel comprises a plurality of scan lines. The scan lines are respectively classified into a plurality of scan areas. The display panel is configured to sequentially scan the scan areas through the scan lines. The touch panel is electrically connected to the display panel and configured to receive touch signals. During a first frame period, when the position of the touch signal corresponds to one of the scan areas, the display panel scans the scan areas using one of the scan areas as a starting point to display images of the scan areas.

[0004] In one embodiment, the scanning areas are arranged along a first direction of the display device, and the display panel sequentially scans the scanning areas along the first direction.

[0005] In one embodiment, the scanning areas include at least a first scanning area, a second scanning area, and a third scanning area. The first scanning area, the second scanning area, and the third scanning area are sequentially arranged along a first direction. When the position of the touch signal corresponds to the second scanning area, the display panel sequentially scans the second scanning area and the third scanning area during a first frame period, and does not scan the first scanning area.

[0006] In one embodiment, in the second frame period, when the touch panel does not receive a touch signal, the display panel starts scanning with the first scanning area as a starting point.

[0007] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a method for driving a display device, comprising the following steps: receiving a touch signal through a touch panel in a first frame period, wherein the position of the touch panel corresponds to a display panel of the display device, and the display panel is provided with multiple scanning areas; determining that the position of the touch signal corresponds to one of the scanning areas; and scanning the scanning areas through the display panel, taking one of the scanning areas as a starting point, to display the images of the scanning areas.

[0008] In one embodiment, the scanning areas are arranged along a first direction of the display device, and the method of scanning the scanning areas includes: scanning the scanning areas sequentially along the first direction.

[0009] In one embodiment, the scanning areas include at least a first scanning area, a second scanning area, and a third scanning area, wherein the first scanning area, the second scanning area, and the third scanning area are arranged in sequence along a first direction, and the method of scanning the scanning areas further includes: when the position of the touch signal corresponds to the second scanning area, scanning the second scanning area and the third scanning area in sequence in the first frame period, and not scanning the first scanning area.

[0010] In one embodiment, the display device driving method further includes: in the second frame period, when the touch panel does not receive a touch signal, starting scanning with the first scanning area as a starting point through the display panel.

[0011] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a display device comprising a display panel and a touch panel. The display panel comprises a plurality of scan lines. The scan lines are respectively classified into a plurality of scan areas, each corresponding to a plurality of scan orders. The touch panel is integrated with the display panel and electrically connected to the display panel for receiving touch signals. During a first frame period, when the position of the touch signal corresponds to one of the scan areas, the display panel scans the scan areas whose scan orders are equal to or greater than one of the scan areas.

[0012] In one embodiment, the scanning areas are arranged along a first direction of the display device, and the display panel scans the scanning areas along the first direction according to the scanning orders.

[0013] The present disclosure selectively changes the scanning area according to the presence or absence of a touch signal and the corresponding position. By preferentially scanning the scanning area corresponding to the touch signal, the display panel's screen update speed is improved to avoid screen delay issues. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a display device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a display panel according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a display device driving method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017]

Explanation of symbols

[0018] 100: Display device

[0019] 110: Display panel

[0020] 111: transistor array layer

[0021] 112: Electronic ink layer

[0022] 112a: Electrophoretic particles

[0023] 112b: Electrophoretic particles

[0024] 113: Color filter layer

[0025] 113a: filter unit

[0026] 120: Touch panel

[0027] 130: Processor

[0028] 140: Front light module

[0029] PX: Pixel unit

[0030] R1-R4: Scan area

[0031] G1-Gn: Scan Line

[0032] S301-S304: Steps DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following drawings illustrate various embodiments of the present invention. For clarity, many practical details are included in the following description. However, it should be understood that these practical details are not intended to limit the present invention. In other words, in some embodiments of the present invention, these practical details are not essential. Furthermore, to simplify the drawings, some commonly used structures and components are depicted in simplified schematic form.

[0034] As used herein, when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled," it may refer to being "electrically connected" or "electrically coupled." "Connected" or "coupled" may also refer to the coordinated operation or interaction between two or more elements. Furthermore, while terms such as "first," "second," and so on are used herein to describe different elements, these terms are intended solely to distinguish between elements or operations described using the same technical terms. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, these terms are not intended to specify or imply an order or sequence, nor are they intended to limit the present invention.

[0035] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a display device 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The display device 100 includes at least a display panel 110 and a touch panel 120. The display panel 110 is used to receive an image signal and control a plurality of internal pixel units PX to present an image frame. In one embodiment, the display panel 110 is a reflective display, such as electronic paper, but the present disclosure is not limited to electronic paper and can also be applied to other types of displays. The aforementioned "touch panel 120" is not limited to an independent panel structure, but can also be a "touch device" integrated in the display panel 110, such as an embedded touch panel (in-cell touch), but the structure of the touch panel is used as an example in this embodiment.

[0036] The display panel 110 includes a transistor array layer 111 and an electronic ink layer 112. The transistor array layer 111 (e.g., a thin-film transistor array, or TFT array) generates an electric field based on a control voltage to adjust the positions of multiple electrophoretic particles 112a and 112b in the electronic ink layer 112, thereby displaying different grayscale colors. The electronic ink layer 112 of the present disclosure comprises electrophoretic particles 112a and 112b encapsulated in multiple microcapsules or microcups to form multiple pixel units PX, but the electronic ink layer 112 of the present disclosure is not limited to this structure.

[0037] Continuing from the above, in one embodiment, the display panel 110 may further include a color filter layer 113 (e.g., a color filter array). The color filter layer 113 includes a plurality of filter elements 113a, such as red, green, and blue filter elements. Each filter element 113a corresponds to one or more pixel elements PX. The filter elements 113a are arranged in a specific pattern so that the grayscale image displayed by the electronic ink layer 112 can be transmitted through the color filter layer 113 to form a color image.

[0038] The touch panel 120 is electrically connected to the display panel 110 and is configured to receive touch signals. In one embodiment, the touch panel 120 includes a plurality of touch electrodes configured to detect changes in impedance or capacitance (i.e., touch signals) to determine the location of an external object (e.g., a user's finger or a stylus) in contact with the display device 100.

[0039] Specifically, the display device 100 may further include a processor 130. The processor 130 is electrically connected to the display panel 110 and the touch panel 120, and is used to transmit image signals to the display panel 110. The processor 130 is also used to transmit multiple scanning signals to the multiple first touch electrodes in the touch panel 120, and receive sensing signals from the multiple second touch electrodes in the touch panel 120. When a foreign object contacts the display device 100, the mutual capacitance value (Mutual Capacitance) between the first touch electrode and the second touch electrode will change, and the size of the sensing signal will reflect the change in these mutual capacitance values. Therefore, the processor 130 can calculate the position of the touch position on the X-axis and Y-axis of the display device 100 based on the sensing signal.

[0040] It is particularly important to mention that the touch control principle of the touch panel 120 used in this disclosure is not limited to the above. Since those skilled in the art can understand the structure and principle of the display panel 110 and the touch panel 120, they will not be further described here.

[0041] In addition, Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the processor 130 processes the signals uniformly and drives the display panel 110 and the touch panel 120 accordingly. However, the configuration of the processor 130 is not limited to the following. Figure 1 In some embodiments, the display panel 110 and the touch panel 120 may each include a processor. In other words, in the subsequent sections, the actions of the processor 130 may be performed by the processing units within the display panel 110 and the touch panel 120; similarly, in the subsequent sections, the actions performed by the display panel 110 and the touch panel 120 may also be collectively executed by the processor 130, which then transmits corresponding drive signals to the display panel 110 or the touch panel 120.

[0042] See also Figure 1 and 2 ,in Figure 2Schematic diagram of a display panel 110 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the display panel 110 includes a plurality of scan lines G1-Gn. The display panel 110 is used to control the pixel or transmittance presented by each pixel unit PX through these scan lines G1-Gn. The display panel 110 includes a plurality of display regions R1-R4, and each scan line G1-Gn is classified into one of the display regions. For example, scan lines G1-G3 are located in the first display region R1, and scan lines G4-G6 are located in the second display region R2.

[0043] In some embodiments, display regions R1-R4 are arranged along a first direction (e.g., from top to bottom or from left to right), and the scanning direction of the display panel 110 is also the first direction. The configuration of display regions R1-R4 is stored in the processor 130. For example, the processor 130 configures scan lines G1-G3 to belong to the same region, thereby demarcating the first display region R1. Similarly, the processor 130 can configure the coordinate range corresponding to display regions R1-R4, such that, for example, Y coordinates between 1 and 10 belong to the first scanning region R1.

[0044] When the display panel 110 receives an image signal, the display panel 110 (or the processor 130 ) generates a control voltage according to the image signal and sequentially scans the pixel units PX in each of the display regions R1 - R4 through the scan lines G1 -Gn.

[0045] The above describes how the display device 100 displays an image when it has not received a touch signal. If the display device 100 determines that a touch signal has been received, during the current frame period, the display panel 110 (or processor 130) first determines which scanning region R1-R4 the touch signal corresponds to. After determining the corresponding scanning region, the display panel 110 (or processor 130) begins scanning from the corresponding scanning region to update the image displayed on the display device 100.

[0046] In other words, when the display device 100 does not receive a touch signal, the display panel 110 will scan the scanning areas R1 to R4 in a preset scanning order (e.g., the order from top to bottom is 1, 2, 3...). If the display device 100 determines that a touch signal has been received, then in the current frame period, the display panel 110 will only scan the portion of the scanning area whose scanning order is equal to or greater than the corresponding scanning area. For example, if the touch position corresponds to the second scanning area R2 (i.e., the scanning order is 2), then in the frame period, the display panel 110 will sequentially scan the second scanning area R2, the third scanning area R3 (scanning order is 3), and the fourth scanning area R4 (scanning order is 4) along the set first direction (e.g., the vertical direction). In the frame period, the display panel 110 will not scan the first scanning area R1. Accordingly, it can be ensured that the display panel 110 can update the screen in real time according to the touch signal (e.g., handwriting), reducing the delay in screen update.

[0047] Figure 3 The display device driving method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is described below. In step S301, the display device 100 determines whether the touch panel 120 receives a touch signal. If the touch panel 120 does not receive a touch signal, in step S302, the display panel 110 begins scanning along a first direction (e.g., from top to bottom) starting from the first scanning region R1 to update and display the images of all display regions R1 to R4.

[0048] On the other hand, if the touch panel 120 receives a touch signal, then in step S303, the display panel 110 (or the processor 130) will obtain the scanning area corresponding to the location of the touch signal and update the image of the portion of the display area accordingly. For example, the touch panel 120 (or the processor 130) first obtains the coordinate position based on the touch signal and then finds the corresponding scanning area based on the coordinate position.

[0049] In step S304, after confirming the scanning area corresponding to the touch signal, the display panel 110 (or the processor 130) will start scanning from the corresponding scanning area as the starting point, and scan the subsequent scanning areas in sequence along the first direction to update the screen images of these display areas. For example, the position of the touch signal corresponds to the third scanning area R3 and is closest to the scan line G8. In this case, the display panel 110 (or the processor 130) will start scanning from the first scan line (i.e., scan line G7) of the third scanning area R3 as the starting point and display (update part of the screen). In other words, the display panel 110 will only scan the scan lines G7 to Gn to update and display the screen images on the third scanning area R3 and the fourth scanning area R4.

[0050] After updating the current display image, the display device 100 will re-determine whether a touch signal has been received in the next frame period (i.e., returning to step S301) to determine the scanning method for the next frame period. For example, if a touch signal is received in the first frame period, the display device 100 will only update the portion of the scanning area corresponding to the touch signal location. If no touch signal is received in the second frame period, the display device 100 will revert to scanning the entire scanning area and display (updating the entire screen).

[0051] The display device 100 of the present disclosure selectively changes its scanning mode based on the touch signal, scanning the entire scanning area R1-R4 or only a portion of the scanning area. This ensures that the display device 100 prioritizes updating the screen area where the user performs a touch action, effectively alleviating the delay that may occur when the display panel 110 updates the screen.

[0052] like Figure 1 As shown, in one embodiment, the display device 100 may further include a front light module 140 (Front light module), and the front light module 140 includes a plurality of light emitting elements for providing a front light source. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the display device 100 includes a frontlight module 140. However, in other embodiments, the display device 100 may include only a display panel 110 and a touch panel 120 (each with a processing unit). In other words, the display panel 110 and the touch panel 120 may be packaged as an independent display module for use in any type of electronic device. Similarly, the processor 130 may also be packaged in the display module.

[0053] In addition, although Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the touch panel 120 is disposed on the display panel 110. However, in other embodiments, the positions of the touch panel 120 and the display panel 110 can be adjusted as needed. Figure 1 Similarly, the light source provided in the display device 100 is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. Figure 1 The front light module 140 is shown as a limit.

[0054] The various elements, method steps or technical features in the aforementioned embodiments may be combined with each other and are not limited to the order of description in the text or the order of presentation in the drawings in this disclosure.

[0055] Although the present disclosure has been disclosed above in the form of implementation methods, it is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Anyone skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure shall be determined by the scope defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A display device, characterized in that: Include: A display panel comprising a plurality of scan lines, wherein the scan lines are respectively classified into a plurality of scan areas, and the display panel is used to sequentially scan the scan areas through the scan lines; and A touch panel is electrically connected to the display panel and is used to receive a touch signal. In a first frame period, when the position of the touch signal corresponds to one of the scanning areas, the display panel uses the one of the scanning areas as a starting point to scan the scanning areas to display the images of the scanning areas.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein The scanning areas are arranged along a first direction of the display device, and the display panel scans the scanning areas sequentially along the first direction.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein The scanning areas include at least a first scanning area, a second scanning area, and a third scanning area. The first scanning area, the second scanning area, and the third scanning area are arranged in sequence along the first direction. When the position of the touch signal corresponds to the second scanning area, the display panel scans the second scanning area and the third scanning area in sequence during the first frame period, and does not scan the first scanning area.

4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein In a second frame period, when the touch panel does not receive the touch signal, the display panel starts scanning with the first scanning area as a starting point.

5. A display device driving method, characterized in that: Include: Receiving a touch signal in a first frame period through a touch panel, wherein the position of the touch panel corresponds to a display panel of a display device, and the display panel has a plurality of scanning areas; determining whether the position of the touch signal corresponds to one of the scanning areas; as well as The display panel is used to scan the scanning areas with one of the scanning areas as a starting point to display images of the scanning areas.

6. The display device driving method according to claim 5, wherein: The scanning areas are arranged along a first direction of the display device, and a method of scanning the scanning areas includes: The scanning areas are scanned sequentially along the first direction.

7. The display device driving method according to claim 6, wherein: The scanning areas at least include a first scanning area, a second scanning area, and a third scanning area. The first scanning area, the second scanning area, and the third scanning area are arranged in sequence along the first direction. The method of scanning the scanning areas further includes: When the position of the touch signal corresponds to the second scanning area, the second scanning area and the third scanning area are sequentially scanned in the first frame period, and the first scanning area is not scanned.

8. The display device driving method according to claim 7, wherein: Also includes: In a second frame period, when the touch panel does not receive the touch signal, scanning is started through the display panel with the first scanning area as the starting point.

9. A display device, characterized in that: Include: A display panel comprising a plurality of scan lines, wherein the scan lines are respectively classified into a plurality of scan areas, and the scan areas correspond to a plurality of scan orders; and A touch device is integrated into the display panel and electrically connected to the display panel and is used to receive a touch signal, wherein in a first frame period, when the position of the touch signal corresponds to one of the scanning areas, the display panel scans the scanning areas whose scanning order is equal to or greater than one of the scanning areas.

10. The display device according to claim 9, wherein The scanning areas are arranged along a first direction of the display device, and the display panel scans the scanning areas along the first direction according to the scanning orders.

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