Electronic circuit, electronic device and method for sensing at least one fingerprint image

Abstract

The invention provides an electronic circuit. The electronic circuit comprises a touch control circuit, a fingerprint sensing circuit and a switching circuit, the touch control circuit is configured to receive a touch sensing signal from the panel and determine a touch area according to the touch sensing signal. The fingerprint sensing circuit is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to at least one fingerprint image from a fingerprint sensor disposed in the panel via a fingerprint sensing line. The switching circuit is coupled to the fingerprint sensing circuit. The switching circuit is configured to be coupled to a portion of the fingerprint sensing line, the portion of the fingerprint sensing line being selected according to the determined touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area for a fingerprint sensing operation. Each of the fingerprint sensing lines can be selected as a boundary of the fingerprint sensing area. An electronic device and a method for sensing at least one fingerprint image are also provided.

Description

[0001] This divisional application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application date of July 29, 2020, application number 202010745547.X, and invention name “Electronic circuit, electronic device and method for sensing at least one fingerprint image”. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to an electronic circuit, an electronic device and a sensing method, and more particularly, to an electronic circuit and an electronic device suitable for driving a display panel including a touch sensor and a fingerprint sensor, and a method for sensing at least one fingerprint image. Background Art

[0003] In recent years, the demand for fingerprint sensing has gradually increased. In order to reduce the volume of electronic devices, the fingerprint sensing area may overlap with the display area of ​​the electronic device. For example, the under-display fingerprint identification technique is to embed the fingerprint sensor into the display panel, and the fingerprint sensor can sense or capture the fingerprint image through the display panel. When a touch event such as fingerprint identification occurs, the touch sensing circuit can report it to the application processor of the electronic device through a specified interface. Next, the application processor further controls the display drive circuit to drive the display panel to display an image for fingerprint sensing. On the other hand, the application processor further controls the fingerprint sensing circuit to perform a fingerprint sensing operation. The fingerprint sensing circuit transmits the sensing information to the application processor for fingerprint identification after the fingerprint sensing operation, and then the application processor completes the fingerprint identification according to the sensing information.

[0004] However, the display panel may be divided into a plurality of fingerprint sensing areas in the fingerprint sensing direction X in which the fingerprint sensing lines are arranged, such as Fig.18 shown. Fig.18 Two display panels are shown that are respectively divided into a plurality of fingerprint sensing areas in the fingerprint sensing direction X in the related art. The fingerprint sensing area has also been divided in the scanning direction Y. When manufacturing the electronic device, the division of the fingerprint sensing area is determined and fixedly configured. The size of the fingerprint sensing area in each display panel is constant. In some cases, a finger may touch many fingerprint sensing areas, causing the fingerprint image to cross the touched fingerprint sensing area in the fingerprint sensing direction X. The fingerprint sensing circuit must receive the fingerprint sensing signal zone by zone, so that a cross zone problem occurs when receiving the fingerprint sensing signal of the fingerprint image. In the case of cross-zone reception, the fingerprint sensing circuit must take time to switch and reinitialize. That is, since the fingerprint sensing signal is received zone by zone, the fingerprint sensing circuit may take more time to perform fingerprint sensing and recognition. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention relates to an electronic circuit and an electronic device, which can provide an efficient fingerprint sensing and identification method and provide a good user experience for users. In addition, a method for sensing at least one fingerprint image suitable for an electronic circuit is also provided.

[0006] The present invention provides an electronic circuit suitable for driving a panel including a touch sensor and a fingerprint sensor. The electronic circuit includes a first circuit, a second circuit and a control circuit. The first circuit is configured to receive a touch sensing signal from the touch sensor. The second circuit is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to at least one fingerprint image from the fingerprint sensor via a fingerprint sensing line. The control circuit is configured to determine a touch area according to the touch sensing signal, and select a portion of the fingerprint sensing line according to the determined touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area for a fingerprint sensing operation. Each of the fingerprint sensing lines can be selected as a boundary of the fingerprint sensing area.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic circuit further includes a switch circuit. The switch circuit is coupled to the fingerprint sensing line. The switch circuit is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal from the fingerprint sensing line. The control circuit controls the switch circuit to select the portion of the fingerprint sensing line for fingerprint sensing operation. The second circuit includes a plurality of fingerprint sensing channels coupled to the switch circuit. The fingerprint sensing channel receives the fingerprint sensing signal from the portion of the fingerprint sensing line.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present invention, the number of fingerprint sensing lines is greater than the number of fingerprint sensing channels.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present invention, the switch circuit includes a plurality of switches. The control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn on a portion of the plurality of switches corresponding to the portion of the fingerprint sensing line, so as to establish coupling between the portion of the fingerprint sensing line and the fingerprint sensing channel to perform a fingerprint sensing operation.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn off the remaining switches among the plurality of switches corresponding to the remaining fingerprint sensing lines that are not selected among the fingerprint sensing lines.

[0011] In an embodiment of the invention, the electronic circuit is implemented in a single semiconductor chip.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic circuit is implemented in at least two semiconductor chips. A first semiconductor chip of the at least two semiconductor chips includes a first circuit, and a second semiconductor chip includes a second circuit.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first semiconductor chip further includes at least a portion of a control circuit, and the second semiconductor chip further includes a switch circuit.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present invention, the determined touch area includes a center line, and a middle fingerprint sensing line of the portion of fingerprint sensing lines is located on or near the center line of the determined touch area.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing signal carried on the portion of the fingerprint sensing line is read out at once by the second circuit.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images. The fingerprint sensing channel is grouped into a plurality of parts, and each of the plurality of parts receives a fingerprint sensing signal of a corresponding fingerprint image in the plurality of fingerprint images.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensor is controlled by a fingerprint scan line. The control circuit is further configured to select a portion of the fingerprint scan line for fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images via the same portion of the fingerprint scan line.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images via different portions of the fingerprint scan line.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second circuit generates a fingerprint image according to the fingerprint sensing signal through a remapping operation.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensor comprises a plurality of optical fingerprint sensors distributed in a panel.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing area covers at least a portion of at least one fingerprint image, and the at least a portion includes fingerprint features sufficient for fingerprint recognition.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing area covers the entire range of at least one fingerprint image.

[0024] The present invention provides an electronic device, which includes a panel and an electronic circuit. The panel includes a touch sensor and a fingerprint sensor. The electronic circuit can be configured to be coupled to the panel. The electronic circuit is suitable for receiving a touch sensing signal from the touch sensor, and receiving a fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to at least one fingerprint image from the fingerprint sensor via a fingerprint sensing line of the panel. The electronic circuit includes a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to determine a touch area according to the touch sensing signal, and select a part of the fingerprint sensing line according to the determined touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area for fingerprint sensing operation. Each of the fingerprint sensing lines can be selected as a boundary of the fingerprint sensing area.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic circuit further includes a first circuit, a second circuit and a switch circuit. The first circuit is configured to receive a touch sensing signal from a touch sensor. The second circuit is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal from a fingerprint sensor via a fingerprint sensing line. The switch circuit is coupled to the fingerprint sensing line. The switch circuit is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal from the fingerprint sensing line. The control circuit controls the switch circuit to select the portion of the fingerprint sensing line for fingerprint sensing operation. The second circuit includes a plurality of fingerprint sensing channels coupled to the switch circuit. The fingerprint sensing channel receives a fingerprint sensing signal from the portion of the fingerprint sensing line.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present invention, the number of fingerprint sensing lines is greater than the number of fingerprint sensing channels.

[0027] In an embodiment of the present invention, the switch circuit includes a plurality of switches. The control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn on a portion of the plurality of switches corresponding to the portion of the fingerprint sensing line, so as to establish coupling between the portion of the fingerprint sensing line and the fingerprint sensing channel to perform a fingerprint sensing operation.

[0028] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn off the remaining switches among the plurality of switches corresponding to the remaining fingerprint sensing lines that are not selected among the fingerprint sensing lines.

[0029] In an embodiment of the invention, the electronic circuit is implemented in a single semiconductor chip.

[0030] In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic circuit is implemented in at least two semiconductor chips. A first semiconductor chip of the at least two semiconductor chips includes a first circuit, and a second semiconductor chip includes a second circuit.

[0031] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first semiconductor chip further includes at least a portion of a control circuit, and the second semiconductor chip further includes a switch circuit.

[0032] In an embodiment of the present invention, the determined touch area includes a center line, and a middle fingerprint sensing line of the portion of fingerprint sensing lines is located on or near the center line of the determined touch area.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing signal carried on the portion of the fingerprint sensing line is read out at once by the second circuit.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images. The fingerprint sensing channel is grouped into a plurality of parts, and each of the plurality of parts receives a fingerprint sensing signal of a corresponding fingerprint image in the plurality of fingerprint images.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present invention, the panel includes a scanning circuit. The scanning circuit is configured to control the fingerprint sensor through the fingerprint scanning line. The control circuit is further configured to select a part of the fingerprint scanning line for fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images via the same portion of the fingerprint scan line.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images via different portions of the fingerprint scan line.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second circuit generates a fingerprint image according to the fingerprint sensing signal through a remapping operation.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensor comprises a plurality of optical fingerprint sensors distributed in a panel.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing area covers at least a portion of at least one fingerprint image, and the at least a portion includes fingerprint features sufficient for fingerprint recognition.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing area covers the entire range of at least one fingerprint image.

[0042] The present invention provides a method for sensing at least one fingerprint image, which is suitable for a panel including a touch sensor and a fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor is coupled to a fingerprint sensing line. The method includes: determining a touch area according to a touch sensing signal from the touch sensor; selecting a portion of the fingerprint sensing line to form a fingerprint sensing area for a fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area; and receiving a fingerprint sensing signal via the portion of the fingerprint sensing line. Each of the fingerprint sensing lines can be selected as a boundary of the fingerprint sensing area.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises: controlling the switch circuit to select the portion of the fingerprint sensing lines for the fingerprint sensing operation.

[0044] In an embodiment of the present invention, the switch circuit includes a plurality of switches, and the step of controlling the switch circuit to select the portion of the fingerprint sensing line for the fingerprint sensing operation includes: controlling the switch circuit to turn on a portion of the plurality of switches corresponding to the portion of the fingerprint sensing line; and controlling the switch circuit to turn off the remaining switches of the plurality of switches corresponding to the remaining fingerprint sensing lines that are not selected.

[0045] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensor is further coupled to the fingerprint scan line. The method further comprises: selecting a portion of the fingerprint scan line for the fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area.

[0046] In an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises: generating a fingerprint image according to the fingerprint sensing signal by a remapping operation.

[0047] The present invention provides an electronic circuit, which includes a touch control circuit, a fingerprint sensing circuit and a switch circuit. The touch control circuit is configured to receive a touch sensing signal from a panel and determine a touch area according to the touch sensing signal. The fingerprint sensing circuit is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to at least one fingerprint image from a fingerprint sensor provided in the panel via a fingerprint sensing line. The switch circuit is coupled to the fingerprint sensing circuit. The switch circuit is configured to couple to a portion of the fingerprint sensing line, which is selected according to the determined touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area for a fingerprint sensing operation. Each of the fingerprint sensing lines can be selected as a boundary of the fingerprint sensing area.

[0048] In an embodiment of the present invention, the touch control circuit controls the switch circuit to select the portion of the fingerprint sensing line according to the determined touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area for the fingerprint sensing operation.

[0049] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing circuit comprises a plurality of fingerprint sensing channels coupled to the switch circuit. The fingerprint sensing channels receive fingerprint sensing signals from the portion of fingerprint sensing lines.

[0050] In an embodiment of the present invention, the number of fingerprint sensing lines is greater than the number of fingerprint sensing channels.

[0051] In an embodiment of the present invention, the switch circuit includes a plurality of switches. The touch control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn on a portion of the plurality of switches corresponding to the portion of the fingerprint sensing line, so as to establish coupling between the portion of the fingerprint sensing line and the fingerprint sensing channel to perform a fingerprint sensing operation.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present invention, the touch control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn off the remaining switches among the plurality of switches corresponding to the remaining fingerprint sensing lines that are not selected among the fingerprint sensing lines.

[0053] In an embodiment of the invention, the electronic circuit is implemented in a single semiconductor chip.

[0054] In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic circuit is implemented in at least two semiconductor chips. A first semiconductor chip of the at least two semiconductor chips includes at least a portion of the touch control circuit, and a second semiconductor chip includes a fingerprint sensing circuit.

[0055] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second semiconductor chip further includes a switching circuit.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present invention, the determined touch area includes a center line, and a middle fingerprint sensing line of the portion of fingerprint sensing lines is located on or near the center line of the determined touch area.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing signal carried on the portion of the fingerprint sensing line is read out at once by the fingerprint sensing circuit.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present invention, the touch control circuit controls the fingerprint sensing circuit to sense multiple fingerprint images. The fingerprint sensing channel is grouped into multiple parts, and each of the multiple parts receives a fingerprint sensing signal of a corresponding fingerprint image in the multiple fingerprint images.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensor is controlled by a fingerprint scan line. The touch control circuit is further configured to select a portion of the fingerprint scan line for fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area.

[0060] In an embodiment of the present invention, the touch control circuit controls the fingerprint sensing circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images via the same portion of the fingerprint scanning line.

[0061] In an embodiment of the present invention, the touch control circuit controls the fingerprint sensing circuit to sense a plurality of fingerprint images via different portions of the fingerprint scanning line.

[0062] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing circuit generates a fingerprint image according to the fingerprint sensing signal through a remapping operation.

[0063] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensor comprises a plurality of optical fingerprint sensors distributed in a panel.

[0064] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing area covers at least a portion of at least one fingerprint image, and the at least a portion includes fingerprint features sufficient for fingerprint recognition.

[0065] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing area covers the entire range of at least one fingerprint image.

[0066] In order to make the above content easier to understand, several embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0069] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the display panel shown;

[0070] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 a schematic block diagram of the electronic circuit shown;

[0071] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of a display panel for fingerprint sensing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0072] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram showing an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0073] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the detailed structure of the switch circuit 118 is shown;

[0074] Figure 7 is a diagram showing a method for selecting a Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the method of fingerprint sensing line shown;

[0075] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating steps in a method for sensing at least one fingerprint image according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0076] Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing steps in a method for fingerprint identification according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0077] Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B is a schematic diagram showing a method for selecting a fingerprint sensing line and a fingerprint scanning line according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0078] Fig.11 , Fig.12 and Fig.13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a remapping operation according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0079] Fig.14 and Fig.15 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of a display panel to sense multiple fingerprint images according to different embodiments of the present invention;

[0080] Fig.16 is a schematic diagram showing a converter circuit of a fingerprint sensing circuit configured to sense multiple fingerprint images according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0081] Fig.17 is a schematic diagram illustrating control of a scanning circuit configured to sense multiple fingerprint images according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0082] Fig.18 Two display panels are shown which are respectively divided into a plurality of fingerprint sensing areas in a fingerprint sensing direction X in the related art.

[0083] [Explanation of Symbols]

[0084] 100, 200: Electronic devices

[0085] 110: Electronic circuits

[0086] 112: Display driver circuit

[0087] 114: Touch sensing circuit

[0088] 116: Fingerprint sensing circuit

[0089] 117, 118: Switching circuit

[0090] 119: Wire Circuit

[0091] 120: Display panel

[0092] 121: Timing controller

[0093] 122: Display pixels

[0094] 123: Other controllers or processors

[0095] 124: Touch sensor

[0096] 126: Fingerprint sensor

[0097] 130: Control circuit

[0098] 141: Touch Controller

[0099] 143, 163: Converter circuit

[0100] 161: Digital Circuits

[0101] 165_1, 165_2: Gate driver

[0102] 201, 203: Scanning circuit

[0103] 230: Application Processor

[0104] 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406: Fingerprint sensing area

[0105] CH1, CH49, CH50, CH200: Fingerprint sensing channels

[0106] CHP1: Fingerprint sensing channel section / first part

[0107] CHP2: Fingerprint sensing channel section / second part

[0108] CL: Center vertical line

[0109] FPI_1, FPI_2, FPI_3, FPI_4, FPI_5, FPI_6, FPI_7: Fingerprint images

[0110] FPI_71: The first part of the fingerprint image

[0111] FPI_72: The second part of the fingerprint image

[0112] FSL, FSL_553, FSL_652, FSL_653, FSL_752, RX1, RX50, RX200, RX201, RX249, RX529~RX728, RX1000: Fingerprint sensing line

[0113] GDL: Display scan lines

[0114] GSL, ROW960~ROW1056: Fingerprint scanning line

[0115] IF1: Interface circuit / first interface circuit

[0116] IF2: Interface circuit / second interface circuit

[0117] IF3: Interface circuit / third interface circuit

[0118] S1: Touch sensing signal

[0119] S3: Fingerprint sensing signal

[0120] S4: driving signal

[0121] S5: Control signal

[0122] S100, S110, S120, S200, S210, S220, S230, S240: Steps

[0123] SDL: Display data lines

[0124] STV1, STV2, STV3, STV4, STV5, STV6, STV7, STV8, STV9, STV10, STV11, STV12, STV13, STV14, STV15, STV16, STV17, STV18, STV19, STV20: Scanning signal

[0125] SW: Switch

[0126] TSA, TSA1, TSA2, TSA6: Touch area

[0127] TSL: Touch Sense Line

[0128] X, Y: direction DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0129] The following embodiments are provided to explain the present invention in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the provided embodiments, and the provided embodiments can be appropriately combined. The terms "coupled / coupled" or "connected / connected" used in the specification (including claims) of this application may refer to any direct or indirect connection means. For example, "a first device is coupled to a second device" should be interpreted as "a first device is directly connected to a second device" or "a first device is indirectly connected to a second device via other devices or connection means". In addition, the term "signal" may refer to current, voltage, charge, temperature, data, electromagnetic waves, or any one or more signals.

[0130] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The electronic device 100 of this embodiment includes an electronic circuit 110 and a display panel 120. The display panel 120 includes a touch sensor and a fingerprint sensor. The electronic circuit 110 can be configured to be coupled to the display panel 120. The electronic circuit 110 is suitable for driving the display panel 120.

[0131] In this embodiment, the electronic device 100 may be an electronic device with a display function, a touch sensing function, and a fingerprint sensing function. In one embodiment, the electronic device 100 may be, but is not limited to, a smart phone, a non-smart phone, a wearable electronic device, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a notebook computer, and other portable electronic devices that can operate independently and have a display function, a touch sensing function, and a fingerprint sensing function. In one embodiment, the electronic device 100 may be, but is not limited to, a portable or non-portable electronic device in a vehicle intelligent system. In one embodiment, the electronic device 100 may be, but is not limited to, a smart home appliance, such as a television, a computer, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a telephone, an induction cooker, a table lamp, etc.

[0132] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the display panel is shown. Figure 2, the display panel 120 of this embodiment includes multiple display pixels 122, multiple touch sensors 124 and multiple fingerprint sensors 126. The electronic circuit 110 drives and controls the display panel 120 to perform display operations, touch sensing operations and fingerprint sensing operations. Specifically, the electronic circuit 110 drives and controls the display pixels 122 to display images via the display scan lines GDL and the display data lines SDL. The electronic circuit 110 also drives and controls the touch sensors 124 to sense touch events of the display panel 120 via the touch scan lines and the touch sensing lines TSL. In one embodiment, the touch sensor 124 can be a touch sensing electrode in the touch sensing stage, and the touch sensor 124 can be a common electrode in the display stage. In this embodiment, as Figure 2 As shown, the touch sensor 124 of the display panel 120 may be an in-cell touch sensor. For the in-cell touch sensor, the display panel 120 inherently does not have a touch scan line, and the touch drive signal may be directly transmitted to the touch sensor 124 through the touch sensing line TSL. For other types of touch sensors, the display panel 120 may have a touch scan line for transmitting a touch drive signal. The electronic circuit 110 also drives and controls the fingerprint sensor 126 to sense the fingerprint image on the display panel 120 via the fingerprint scan line GSL and the fingerprint sensing line FSL.

[0133] In one embodiment, the display panel 120 may be an in-pixel fingerprint, touch and display panel with a fingerprint sensor and a touch sensor embedded therein, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the electronic circuit 110 may drive and control the electronic device 100 to perform an in-display fingerprint recognition operation, i.e., a fingerprint identification operation. In one embodiment, the fingerprint sensor 126 may be an optical fingerprint sensor.

[0134] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 Schematic block diagram of the electronic circuit shown. Figure 2 and Figure 3, the electronic circuit 110 may include a display driving circuit 112, a fingerprint sensing circuit 116, and a touch sensing circuit 114. The display driving circuit 112 is configured to drive and control the display pixel 122 to display an image via the display scan line GDL and the display data line SDL. The display driving circuit 112 generates a display driving signal to drive the display data line SDL of the display panel 120. The display driving circuit 112 may include a timing controller 121, a display driver, and other functional circuits for display operation. The display driving circuit 112 may also include other controllers or processors 123 for other control activities of the display operation. The touch sensing circuit 114 is configured to drive and control the touch sensor 124 to sense a touch event of the display panel 120 via the touch sensing line TSL. The touch sensing circuit 114 may include a touch controller 141, an analog front end (AFE) circuit, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuit, and other functional circuits for touch sensing operations. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 is configured to drive and control the fingerprint sensor 126 to sense the fingerprint on the display panel 120 via the fingerprint scanning line GSL and the fingerprint sensing line FSL. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 receives a fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to a fingerprint image from the fingerprint sensor 126, and may also process the fingerprint sensing signal to obtain a fingerprint image. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 may include a digital circuit 161, an AFE circuit, an ADC circuit, and other functional circuits for fingerprint sensing operations.

[0135] In one embodiment, when the electronic circuit 110 is implemented as a single-chip integrated circuit that can drive and control the display panel 120 to perform display operations, touch sensing operations, and fingerprint sensing operations, the electronic circuit 110 may include a control circuit 130, and the control circuit 130 may be a micro-controller based core to perform all control activities of the display operation, touch sensing operation, and fingerprint sensing operation. The control circuit 130 may include at least one of the timing controller 121, the touch controller 141, the digital circuit 161, and other controllers or processors 123 of the display driver circuit 112.

[0136] The display driving circuit 112, the touch sensing circuit 114 and the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 communicate with each other via a signal transmission interface (e.g., a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI), an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) interface, a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) and / or other similar or suitable interfaces).

[0137] about Figure 3 The hardware structure of the components in the illustrated embodiment, the timing controller 121, the touch controller 141 and the digital circuit 161 may be a processor with computing capabilities. Alternatively, the timing controller 121, the touch controller 141 and the digital circuit 161 may be designed by a hardware description language (HDL) or any other digital circuit design method familiar to a person skilled in the art, and may be a hardware circuit implemented by a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In addition, referring to the common knowledge in the art, sufficient teachings, suggestions and implementation instructions for the hardware structure of the display driving circuit 112, the touch sensing circuit 114 and the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 may be obtained, and no further description will be given below.

[0138] Figure 4 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of a display panel for fingerprint sensing according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the electronic circuit 110 can drive and control the display panel 120 to sense one or more fingerprint images FPI_1, FPI_2, FPI_3 and FPI_4 on the display panel 120. In this embodiment, the fingerprint sensing lines FSL extend in the direction Y (e.g., the vertical direction) and are arranged in the direction X (e.g., the horizontal direction), such as Figure 2 As shown. The display panel 120 is not pre-divided into a plurality of fingerprint sensing areas in the direction X for fingerprint sensing. That is, the display panel 120 does not have a fingerprint sensing area predetermined for the fingerprint sensing line FSL in the arrangement direction X. Fig.18 In the related art shown, the display panel is fixedly divided into a plurality of fingerprint sensing areas in the direction X in advance for fingerprint sensing. The fingerprint sensing areas 401, 402, 403, and 404 of this embodiment can be flexibly formed for fingerprint sensing by selecting a portion of the fingerprint sensing lines FSL among the plurality of fingerprint sensing lines FSL arranged throughout the display panel 120. Each of the fingerprint sensing lines FSL can be selected as a boundary of the fingerprint sensing areas 401, 402, 403, and 404.

[0139] Specifically, the control circuit of the touch sensing circuit 114 (eg, the touch controller 141) determines one or more touch areas TSA corresponding to the fingerprint images FPI_1, FPI_2, FPI_3, and FPI_4 according to the touch sensing signal. Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the range (Size / Range) of each of the touch areas TSA may be determined. The range of the touch area TSA may be determined by the touch area of ​​the finger or may be a predetermined value. Alternatively, as another embodiment, the touch controller 141 may only determine the coordinate information indicating the position of each of the touch areas TSA, and inform the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 of the coordinate information. In this case, the range of the touch area TSA is a predetermined value. The determined touch area TSA defines the fingerprint sensing area of ​​the fingerprint image. The fingerprint sensing area may cover a portion or the entire range of the fingerprint image, and the portion or the entire range of the fingerprint image input includes fingerprint features sufficient for fingerprint recognition. The touch controller 141 informs the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 to select a portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL and a portion of the fingerprint scanning line GSL for fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area TSA. A portion of the fingerprint sensing lines FSL collocated with the touch area TSA on the display panel 120 is selected from the plurality of fingerprint sensing lines FSL arranged throughout the display panel 120. In this embodiment, the selected portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL can flexibly form a single fingerprint sensing area 401, 402, 403 or 404 whose range is determined by the touch area TSA, so that for the horizontal direction (X direction) of the fingerprint image FPI_1, FPI_2, FPI_3 or FPI_4, only a single-turn receiving operation of the fingerprint sensing signal is required in the fingerprint sensing channel. Therefore, this solves the cross-region problem when receiving the fingerprint sensing signal of the fingerprint image FPI_1, FPI_2, FPI_3 or FPI_4 in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the fingerprint sensing time is shortened.

[0140] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram showing an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5, the electronic device 200 of this embodiment includes an electronic circuit 110, a display panel 120 and an application processor 230. The electronic circuit 110 includes a touch sensing circuit 114, a fingerprint sensing circuit 116, a plurality of interface circuits IF1, IF2 and IF3 and a plurality of switch circuits 117 and 118. The first interface circuit IF1 includes a circuit for transmitting and receiving signals arranged in the touch sensing circuit 114 and / or the fingerprint sensing circuit 116. The touch sensing circuit 114 communicates with the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 via the first interface circuit IF1. The second interface circuit IF2 is coupled between the touch sensing circuit 114 and the application processor 230. The touch sensing circuit 114 transmits touch information to the application processor 230 via the second interface circuit IF2. For simplicity and clarity, in Figure 5 The display driving circuit 112 is not shown in detail.

[0141] The display panel 120 includes scanning circuits 201 and 203. The scanning circuits 201 and 203 are coupled to the fingerprint sensor 126 via the fingerprint scanning line GSL. The fingerprint scanning line GSL ( Figure 5 ) extends in the direction X. The scanning circuits 201 and 203 are configured to initiate fingerprint scanning of the fingerprint sensing area 405 via the corresponding fingerprint scanning lines GSL to control the fingerprint sensor 126 of the fingerprint sensing area 405 to perform a fingerprint sensing operation.

[0142] In the present embodiment, the electronic circuit 110 cooperates with the display panel 120 and the application processor 230 to perform a fingerprint recognition operation, i.e., a fingerprint identification operation or a fingerprint authentication operation. The third interface circuit IF3 is coupled between the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 and the application processor 230. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 outputs a fingerprint image to the application processor 230 via the third interface circuit IF3 to perform a fingerprint recognition operation. With reference to the common knowledge in the art, sufficient instructions, suggestions and implementation instructions for the fingerprint recognition operation can be obtained, which will not be repeated in the following text. In addition, the interface circuits IF1, IF2 and IF3 can be a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI), an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interface, a serial peripheral interface (SPI) and / or other similar or suitable interfaces, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0143] The touch sensing circuit 114 is configured to receive a touch sensing signal S1 from the touch sensor 124. The touch sensing circuit 114 includes a touch controller 141 and a converter circuit 143. The converter circuit 143 includes an analog front end (AFE) circuit, a sample and hold (S / H) circuit, and an analog / digital converter (ADC) circuit. The converter circuit 143 receives the touch sensing signal S1 from the touch sensor 124 via the switch circuit 117. The switch circuit 117 is used to multiplex the touch sensing signal S1 and the display driving signal (e.g., the voltage signal of the common electrode) in the corresponding touch sensing phase and the display driving phase. The converter circuit 143 converts the touch sensing signal S1 in an analog format into a touch sensing signal S1 in a digital format, and transmits the touch sensing signal S1 in a digital format to the touch controller 141. With reference to the common knowledge in the art, sufficient teachings, suggestions, and implementation instructions for the operation and hardware structure of the converter circuit 143 can be obtained, and will not be repeated in detail below.

[0144] The touch controller 141 receives a touch sensing signal S1 from the converter circuit 143. The touch controller 141 determines a touch area TSA according to the touch sensing signal S1. In the present embodiment, the range of the touch area TSA may correspond to N fingerprint sensing channels in the X direction and cover multiple fingerprint scanning areas in the Y direction. The touch controller 141 informs the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 to select a portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL and a portion of the fingerprint scanning line GSL for fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area TSA. For example, the fingerprint sensing line FSL and the fingerprint scanning line GSL corresponding to the fingerprint sensing area 405 are selected to perform the fingerprint sensing operation. In the present embodiment, the number of selected fingerprint sensing lines FSL is N, corresponding to N fingerprint sensing channels, where N is a positive integer.

[0145] The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal S3 corresponding to the fingerprint image FPI_5 from the fingerprint sensor 126 via a selected portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL and the switch circuit 118. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 includes a digital circuit 161, a converter circuit 163, and gate drivers 165_1 and 165_2.

[0146] The converter circuit 163 converts the fingerprint sensing signal S3 in analog format into the fingerprint sensing signal S3 in digital format, and transmits the fingerprint sensing signal S3 in digital format to the digital circuit 161. The converter circuit 163 includes a plurality of fingerprint sensing channels coupled to the switch circuit 118. The fingerprint sensing channel receives the corresponding fingerprint sensing signal S3 from the selected portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL. In one embodiment, the fingerprint sensing signal S3 carried on the selected portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL is read out and received by the fingerprint sensing channel at one time. Each of the fingerprint sensing channels may include an AFE circuit and / or an ADC circuit. In this embodiment, the converter circuit 163 may include N fingerprint sensing channels, and the display panel 120 may include M fingerprint sensing lines FSL, where N and M are positive integers, and M is greater than N. That is, the number of fingerprint sensing lines FSL is greater than the number of fingerprint sensing channels. With reference to the common knowledge in the art, sufficient teachings, suggestions and implementation instructions for the operation and hardware structure of the converter circuit 163 can be obtained, and will not be repeated in the following.

[0147] The touch controller 141 communicates with the digital circuit 161 via the first interface circuit IF1. The digital circuit 161 controls the switch circuit 118 to select a portion of the fingerprint sensing lines for fingerprint sensing operation via the control signal S5. For example, N fingerprint sensing lines juxtaposed with the touch area TSA on the display panel 120 are selected from the M fingerprint sensing lines arranged throughout the display panel 120. The switch circuit 118 is coupled to the fingerprint sensor 126 via the fingerprint sensing line FSL. The switch circuit 118 is configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal S3 from the fingerprint sensor 126 via the selected fingerprint sensing line FSL. The switch circuit 118 may include a plurality of switches, and each of the switches corresponds to a fingerprint sensing line FSL, such as Figure 6 As shown. The digital circuit 161 controls the switch circuit 118 to turn on a portion of the multiple switches corresponding to the N fingerprint sensing lines to establish coupling between the N fingerprint sensing lines and the N fingerprint sensing channels to perform fingerprint sensing operations. On the other hand, the digital circuit 161 controls the switch circuit 118 to turn off the remaining switches of the multiple switches corresponding to the remaining fingerprint sensing lines that are not selected in the fingerprint sensing lines. For example, the switches corresponding to the MN fingerprint sensing lines that are not selected are turned off.

[0148] The digital circuit 161 controls the gate drivers 165_1 and 165_2 to drive the scanning circuits 201 and 203 via the driving signal S4 to start the fingerprint scanning of the fingerprint sensing area 405. In one embodiment, the display panel 120 may include a gate driver, and the number of gate drivers is not intended to limit the present invention. With reference to the common knowledge in the art, sufficient teachings, suggestions and implementation instructions for the operation and hardware structure of the gate drivers 165_1 and 165_2 and the scanning circuits 201 and 203 can be obtained, and no further description will be given below.

[0149] In the present embodiment, the determined touch area TSA defines a fingerprint sensing area 405 covering the fingerprint image. According to the determined touch area TSA, a portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL and a portion of the fingerprint scanning line GSL are selected for the fingerprint sensing operation. By turning on a portion of the switches corresponding to the portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL, the portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL is coupled to the fingerprint sensing channel, so that the fingerprint sensing channel receives the fingerprint sensing signal S3. A portion of the fingerprint sensing lines FSL juxtaposed with the touch area TSA on the display panel 120 is selected from the plurality of fingerprint sensing lines FSL arranged throughout the display panel 120. In the present embodiment, the selected portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL can flexibly form a single fingerprint sensing area 405 whose range is determined by the touch area TSA, and the fingerprint sensing signal S3 carried on the selected portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL can be read out at one time, so that for the horizontal direction X of the fingerprint image FPI_5, only a one-time operation of receiving the fingerprint sensing signal is required in the fingerprint sensing channel. Therefore, the time of fingerprint sensing is shortened.

[0150] In one embodiment, the electronic circuit 110 is implemented in a single semiconductor chip. In one embodiment, the electronic circuit 110 is implemented in at least two semiconductor chips. The at least two semiconductor chips include a first semiconductor chip and a second semiconductor chip. The first semiconductor chip includes a touch sensing circuit 114. The second semiconductor chip includes a fingerprint sensing circuit 116. The second semiconductor chip may also include a switch circuit 118.

[0151] about Figure 5 The hardware structure of the components in the illustrated embodiment, the touch controller 141 and the digital circuit 161 may be a processor with computing capabilities. Alternatively, the touch controller 141 and the digital circuit 161 may be designed by a hardware description language (HDL) or any other digital circuit design method familiar to those skilled in the art, and may be a hardware circuit implemented by a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0152] Figure 6is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the detailed structure of the switch circuit 118. Figure 6 , the switch circuit 118 is controlled by the digital circuit 161. The switch circuit 118 includes a plurality of switches SW. Each switch SW can be controlled individually. The digital circuit 161 determines which switches to turn on or off according to the touch area TSA. The turned-on switch SW establishes coupling between the fingerprint sensing line FSL and the fingerprint sensing channel to perform a fingerprint sensing operation.

[0153] In the present embodiment, the electronic circuit 110 further includes a wire circuit 119 coupled between the switch circuit 118 and the converter circuit 163 to reduce the circuit area. The wire circuit 119 groups the fingerprint sensing lines FSL into a plurality of groups, and the groups are correspondingly connected to the fingerprint sensing channels in the converter circuit 163. For example, the converter circuit 163 can be designed to have 200 fingerprint sensing channels, and the number of fingerprint sensing lines FSL is 1000. The 1st fingerprint sensing line, the 201st fingerprint sensing line, the 401st fingerprint sensing line, the 601st fingerprint sensing line, and the 801st fingerprint sensing line are connected to each other in the same group via the corresponding switch SW and the wire circuit 119, and are coupled to the first fingerprint sensing channel. Similarly, the 2nd fingerprint sensing line, the 202nd fingerprint sensing line, the 402nd fingerprint sensing line, the 602nd fingerprint sensing line, and the 802nd fingerprint sensing line are connected to each other in the same group via the corresponding switch SW and the wire circuit 119, and are coupled to the second fingerprint sensing channel. The connection relationship between the remaining fingerprint sensing lines and the remaining fingerprint sensing channels can be deduced in the same manner. By controlling the corresponding switches SW, the fingerprint sensing lines FSL in the same group will not be short-circuited at the same time.

[0154] In the above embodiments, the number of fingerprint sensing lines FSL, the number of fingerprint sensing channels, and the connection relationship between the fingerprint sensing lines FSL and the fingerprint sensing channels are for illustration only, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0155] Figure 7 is a diagram showing a method for selecting a Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the fingerprint sensing line method shown. Figure 6 and Figure 7For example, the converter circuit 163 may be designed to have 200 fingerprint sensing channels, and the number of fingerprint sensing lines FSL is 1000. When the touch controller 141 determines the touch area TSA (where the coordinates (X, Y) are (652, 305), indicating the center or a position close to the center of the touch area) and informs the digital circuit 161 of the coordinate information, the digital circuit 161 selects 200 fingerprint sensing lines FSL from among the 1000 fingerprint sensing lines FSL arranged throughout the display panel 120 for fingerprint sensing, and each of the fingerprint sensing lines may be selected as a boundary of the fingerprint sensing area. For example, the digital circuit 161 controls the switch circuit 118 to select the 553rd fingerprint sensing line FSL_553 to the 752nd fingerprint sensing line FSL_752 according to the X-coordinate information of the touch area TSA to form the fingerprint sensing area 405 for fingerprint sensing, wherein the 553rd fingerprint sensing line FSL_553 and the 752nd fingerprint sensing line FSL_752 can be selected and selected as the boundary of the fingerprint sensing area 405. In other words, the fingerprint sensing lines of the boundary of the fingerprint sensing area 405 can be determined according to the touch area TSA.

[0156] In this embodiment, the touch area TSA includes the entire range of the fingerprint image FPI_5 and has a central vertical line CL passing through the center or close to the center of the touch area TSA. The middle fingerprint sensing line FSL_652 or FSL_653 among the selected fingerprint sensing lines FSL_553 to FSL_752 is located on or near the central vertical line CL of the determined touch area TSA. In this embodiment, the fingerprint sensing line FSL_652 is located on the central vertical line CL of the determined touch area TSA, and the fingerprint sensing line FSL_653 is located near the central vertical line CL of the determined touch area TSA.

[0157] On the other hand, according to the determined Y coordinate information of the touch area TSA, the digital circuit 161 further controls the gate driver 165_1 and / or 165_2 to drive the scanning circuit 201 and / or 203 via the driving signal S4 to start the fingerprint scanning of the fingerprint sensing area 405 .

[0158] Figure 8 is a flow chart showing steps in a method for sensing at least one fingerprint image according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 and Figure 8 In this embodiment, the method for sensing at least one fingerprint image is at least suitable for Figure 5The electronic device 200 shown in the figure is not limited thereto. Taking the electronic device 200 as an example, in step S100, the electronic circuit 110 determines the touch area TSA according to the touch sensing signal S1 from the touch sensor 124. In step S110, the electronic circuit 110 selects a portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL to form a fingerprint sensing area 405 for fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined touch area TSA. In step S120, the electronic circuit 110 receives the fingerprint sensing signal S3 via the portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL.

[0159] exist Figures 1 to 7 The method for sensing at least one fingerprint image described in the embodiments of the present invention has been sufficiently taught, suggested and implemented in the illustrated embodiments, and therefore no further description is provided herein.

[0160] Fig. 9 FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing detailed steps in a method for fingerprint recognition according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 and Fig. 9 In this embodiment, the method for fingerprint recognition is at least suitable for Figure 5 The electronic device 200 shown in the figure, but the present invention is not limited to this. Taking the electronic device 200 as an example, in step S200, the touch controller 141 performs a touch sensing operation according to the touch sensing signal S1 from the touch sensor 124 to determine the touch area TSA. In step S210, the digital circuit 161 controls the switch circuit 118 to select a portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL for the fingerprint sensing operation. In step S220, the digital circuit 161 selects a portion of the fingerprint scanning line GSL according to the determined touch area TSA for the fingerprint sensing operation. In step S230, the digital circuit 161 receives the fingerprint sensing signal S3 via the portion of the fingerprint sensing line FSL. In step S240, the application processor 230 receives the fingerprint image from the digital circuit 161 and performs a fingerprint recognition operation.

[0161] exist Figures 1 to 7 The method for fingerprint recognition described in the embodiments of the present invention has been fully taught, suggested and implemented in the illustrated embodiments, and therefore no further description is provided herein.

[0162] Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B is a schematic diagram showing a method for selecting a fingerprint sensing line and a fingerprint scanning line according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B, the converter circuit 163 can be designed to have 200 fingerprint sensing channels, and the number of fingerprint sensing lines FSL is 1000. The number of fingerprint sensing lines FSL and the number of fingerprint sensing channels are for illustrative purposes, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The touch controller 141 determines the coordinates (X, Y) of the touch area TSA6 to be (629, 992), and informs the digital circuit 161 of the coordinate information. The digital circuit 161 selects the fingerprint sensing lines RX529 to RX728 for sensing the fingerprint image FPI_6 via the switch circuit 118 according to the X coordinate information of the touch area TSA6, and the fingerprint sensing lines RX529 and RX728 are selected as the boundaries of the fingerprint sensing area 406. Therefore, the fingerprint sensing lines are flexibly selected to form the fingerprint sensing area 406 whose range is determined by the touch area TSA6. The digital circuit 161 selects and drives the fingerprint scanning lines ROW960 to ROW1056 according to the Y coordinate information of the touch area TSA6. The fingerprint sensing signals carried on the fingerprint sensing lines RX529 to RX728 are read out at once.

[0163] exist Fig. 10B In the embodiment, the method for selecting the fingerprint scanning lines ROW960 to ROW1056 is further described in detail. In this embodiment, the display panel 120 includes a plurality of scanning areas in the Y direction. The determined touch area TSA6 may cover three scanning areas located between the fingerprint scanning lines ROW960 to ROW1056. Figure 5 As shown, the digital circuit 161 drives the gate driver 165_1 and / or 165_2 to output scanning signals STV5 to STV7 to the scanning circuit 201 and / or 203 according to the Y coordinate information of the touch area TSA6. The scanning signals STV5 to STV7 correspond to the three scanning areas covered by the touch area TSA6, respectively, so that the scanning circuit 201 and / or 203 starts scanning the fingerprint scanning lines ROW960 to ROW1056. In this embodiment, the number of scanning signals is used for illustration, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In response to the scanning signals STV5 to STV7, the scanning circuit 201 and / or 203 starts scanning the fingerprint sensing area 406 row by row from the fingerprint scanning lines ROW960 to ROW1056. The scanning circuit 201 and / or 203 can complete the scanning operation based on the scanning signals STV5 to STV7.

[0164] Fig.11 , Fig.12 and Fig.13 is a schematic diagram showing a remapping operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 11 to 13, the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 generates a fingerprint image FPI_7 according to the fingerprint sensing signal S3 through a remapping operation. The converter circuit 163 can be designed to have 200 fingerprint sensing channels, and the number of fingerprint sensing lines is 1000. The number of fingerprint sensing lines and the number of fingerprint sensing channels are for illustrative purposes only, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0165] In this embodiment, the digital circuit 161 selects the fingerprint sensing lines RX50 to RX249 for fingerprint sensing, and the fingerprint sensing lines RX50 and RX249 are selected as the boundaries of the fingerprint sensing area. The fingerprint sensing signal S3 carried on the fingerprint sensing lines RX50 to RX249 is read out at one time by the converter circuit 163. The converter circuit 163 receives the fingerprint sensing signal S3 from the fingerprint sensing lines RX50 to RX249 in a one-time receiving manner. That is, the converter circuit 163 receives the fingerprint sensing signal S3 from all the selected fingerprint sensing lines RX50 to RX249 at the same time during the same fingerprint sensing phase. After the signal conversion operation, the converter circuit 163 is as follows: Fig.12 As shown, the fingerprint sensing signal S3 is transmitted from the fingerprint sensing channels CH1 to CH200 to the digital circuit 161 .

[0166] In this embodiment, the first part FPI_71 of the fingerprint image FPI_7 is sensed via the fingerprint sensor connected to the fingerprint sensing lines RX50 to RX200 and transmitted to the fingerprint sensing channels CH50 to CH200. The second part FPI_72 of the fingerprint image FPI_7 is sensed via the fingerprint sensor connected to the fingerprint sensing lines RX201 to RX249 and transmitted to the fingerprint sensing channels CH1 to CH49. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 is as shown in FIG. Fig.13 The fingerprint image FPI_7 is shown to be generated according to the fingerprint sensing signal S3 through a remapping operation. The second portion FPI_72 is moved from the left side to the right side of the first portion FPI_71 to generate a remapped fingerprint image FPI_7.

[0167] Fig.14 and Fig.15 is a schematic diagram showing that a display panel can operate to sense multiple fingerprint images according to different embodiments of the present invention. Fig.14 and Fig.15 , the electronic circuit 110 can drive and control the display panel 120 to simultaneously sense a plurality of fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 on the display panel 120. The fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 can be located in different rows, such as Fig.14 As shown, or fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 may be located in the same row, such as Fig.15 shown.

[0168] exist Fig.14In the embodiment, the touch controller 141 informs the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 to sense the fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 via different parts of the fingerprint scanning line GSL. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 simultaneously receives fingerprint sensing signals corresponding to the fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 from all selected fingerprint sensing lines during the same fingerprint sensing phase.

[0169] exist Fig.15 In the embodiment, the touch controller 141 informs the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 to sense the fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 via the same portion of the fingerprint scanning line GSL. The fingerprint sensing circuit 116 simultaneously receives fingerprint sensing signals corresponding to the fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 from all selected fingerprint sensing lines during the same fingerprint sensing phase.

[0170] Fig.16 1 is a schematic diagram showing a converter circuit of a fingerprint sensing circuit configured to sense multiple fingerprint images according to an embodiment of the present invention. In order to sense multiple fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2, the converter circuit 163 may be designed to have N fingerprint sensing channels to receive and process corresponding fingerprint sensing signals.

[0171] exist Fig.16 , the N fingerprint sensing channels are grouped into two parts CHP1 and CHP2. Each part includes a part of the fingerprint sensing channels for receiving and processing the corresponding fingerprint sensing signal. For example, if N is an even number, the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 may select the fingerprint sensing lines RX(n+1) to RX(n+N / 2) to sense the fingerprint image FPI_1, and the fingerprint sensing lines RX(n+1) and RX(n+N / 2) are selected as the boundaries of the fingerprint sensing area. The fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to the fingerprint image FPI_1 is transmitted to the first part CHP1 having N / 2 fingerprint sensing channels. On the other hand, the fingerprint sensing circuit 116 selects the fingerprint sensing lines RX(m+1) to RX(m+N / 2) to sense the fingerprint image FPI_2, and the fingerprint sensing lines RX(m+1) and RX(m+N / 2) are selected as the boundaries of the fingerprint sensing area. The fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to the fingerprint image FPI_2 is transmitted to the second part CHP2 having N / 2 fingerprint sensing channels. The fingerprint sensing signals carried on the selected portions RX(n+1) to RX(n+N / 2) and RX(m+1) to RX(m+N / 2) of the fingerprint sensing lines can be read out at once by the converter circuit 163. In one embodiment, the number of fingerprint sensing channels of the two portions CHP1 and CHP2 does not have to be equal. In addition, the total number of fingerprint sensing channels of CHP1 and CHP2 can be less than or equal to N.

[0172] Fig.17is a schematic diagram illustrating control of a scanning circuit configured to sense multiple fingerprint images according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.17 , the electronic circuit 110 controls the display panel 120 to sense the multiple fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2. The electronic circuit 110 determines the coordinates of the touch areas TSA1 and TSA2 corresponding to the fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2. The fingerprint sensing areas 401 and 402 are defined by the touch areas TSA1 and TSA2, respectively. If the multiple fingerprint images FPI_1 and FPI_2 do not overlap in the X direction, the electronic circuit 110 may control the scanning circuits 201 and / or 203 to scan the fingerprint sensing areas 401 and 402 in the Y direction during the same fingerprint sensing phase. The fingerprint sensing areas 401 and 402 may be scanned simultaneously to shorten the sensing time.

[0173] In summary, in an embodiment of the present invention, the fingerprint sensing area of ​​the display panel is not determined in advance for each of the fingerprint sensing lines, and the fingerprint sensing area covering the fingerprint image is defined by the touch area. A portion of the fingerprint sensing line and a portion of the fingerprint scanning line are selected according to the touch area for fingerprint sensing operation. A portion of the switches corresponding to the portion of the fingerprint sensing line is turned on to couple the portion of the fingerprint sensing line to the fingerprint sensing channel. A portion of the fingerprint sensing lines juxtaposed with the touch area on the display panel is selected from the plurality of fingerprint sensing lines arranged throughout the display panel. The selected fingerprint sensing lines can flexibly form a single fingerprint sensing area whose range is determined by the touch area, and the fingerprint sensing signal carried on the selected fingerprint sensing line can be read out at one time, so that when sensing one horizontal row of the fingerprint image, only a one-time operation of receiving the fingerprint sensing signal is required in the fingerprint sensing channel. The time of fingerprint sensing is shortened. Therefore, the process of fingerprint sensing and identification is more efficient, so that users have a good user experience.

[0174] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, the present invention is intended to cover modifications and variations as long as the modifications and variations fall within the scope of the above claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic circuit, adapted to process fingerprint data from a panel, the panel comprising a touch sensor and a fingerprint sensor, the electronic circuit comprising: A first circuit configured to receive a touch sensing signal from the touch sensor; a second circuit configured to receive a fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to at least one fingerprint image from the fingerprint sensor via a fingerprint sensing line; as well as The control circuit is configured to: determining a fingerprint touch area according to the touch sensing signal; as well as selecting a subset of the fingerprint sensing lines based on the determined fingerprint touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area for fingerprint sensing operation and including at least one boundary, wherein the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines is selected based on the at least one boundary of the fingerprint sensing area, wherein the fingerprint sensing signals carried on the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines are simultaneously read out by the second circuit, The at least one boundary of the fingerprint sensing area includes a first fingerprint sensing line and a second fingerprint sensing line, and the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines includes all fingerprint sensing lines located between the first fingerprint sensing line and the second fingerprint sensing line.

2. The electronic circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: a switching circuit coupled to the fingerprint sensing line and configured to receive the fingerprint sensing signal from the fingerprint sensing line, wherein the control circuit controls the switch circuit to select the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines for the fingerprint sensing operation, The second circuit includes a plurality of fingerprint sensing channels coupled to the switch circuit, and the fingerprint sensing channels receive the fingerprint sensing signals from the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines. 3 . The electronic circuit according to claim 2 , wherein the number of the fingerprint sensing lines is greater than the number of the fingerprint sensing channels.

4. The electronic circuit according to claim 3, wherein the switch circuit comprises a plurality of switches, and the control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn on a subset of the plurality of switches to establish coupling between the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines and the fingerprint sensing channel to perform the fingerprint sensing operation, wherein the subset of the plurality of switches corresponds to the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines. 5 . The electronic circuit according to claim 4 , wherein the control circuit controls the switch circuit to turn off switches corresponding to the remaining fingerprint sensing lines that are not selected among the fingerprint sensing lines among the plurality of switches. The electronic circuit according to claim 2 , wherein the electronic circuit is implemented in a single semiconductor chip. 7 . The electronic circuit according to claim 2 , wherein the electronic circuit is implemented in at least two semiconductor chips, wherein a first semiconductor chip of the at least two semiconductor chips includes the first circuit and a second semiconductor chip includes the second circuit. 8 . The electronic circuit according to claim 7 , wherein the first semiconductor chip further comprises at least a portion of the control circuit, and the second semiconductor chip further comprises the switch circuit.

9. The electronic circuit according to claim 2, The control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of the fingerprint images, the fingerprint sensing channels are divided into a plurality of groups, and each of the plurality of groups receives the fingerprint sensing signal from a corresponding fingerprint image.

10. The electronic circuit according to claim 1, wherein the determined fingerprint touch area includes a center line, and a middle fingerprint sensing line of the subset of fingerprint sensing lines is located on or near the center line of the determined fingerprint touch area.

11. The electronic circuit of claim 1 , wherein the fingerprint sensor is controlled by fingerprint scan lines, and the control circuit is further configured to select the subset of the fingerprint scan lines for the fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined fingerprint touch area.

12. The electronic circuit according to claim 1, wherein the second circuit generates the fingerprint image according to the fingerprint sensing signal through a remapping operation.

13. The electronic circuit of claim 1, wherein the fingerprint sensing area covers at least a portion of the fingerprint image, the at least a portion including fingerprint features sufficient for fingerprint recognition.

14. An electronic device comprising: Panel, including touch sensor and fingerprint sensor; as well as an electronic circuit coupled to the panel and adapted to receive a touch sensing signal from the touch sensor and a fingerprint sensing signal corresponding to at least one fingerprint image from the fingerprint sensor via a fingerprint sensing line of the panel, wherein the electronic circuit comprises a control circuit, and the control circuit is configured to determine a fingerprint touch area according to the touch sensing signal and select a subset of the fingerprint sensing lines based on the determined fingerprint touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area, the fingerprint sensing area being used for fingerprint sensing operation and comprising at least one boundary, wherein the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines is selected based on the at least one boundary of the fingerprint sensing area, wherein the fingerprint sensing signals carried on the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines are simultaneously read out by a second circuit, The at least one boundary of the fingerprint sensing area includes a first fingerprint sensing line and a second fingerprint sensing line, and the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines includes all fingerprint sensing lines located between the first fingerprint sensing line and the second fingerprint sensing line.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the electronic circuit further comprises: a first circuit configured to receive the touch sensing signal from the touch sensor; the second circuit being configured to receive the fingerprint sensing signal from the fingerprint sensor via the fingerprint sensing line; as well as a switching circuit coupled to the fingerprint sensing line and configured to receive the fingerprint sensing signal from the fingerprint sensing line, wherein the control circuit controls the switch circuit to select the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines for the fingerprint sensing operation, The second circuit includes a plurality of fingerprint sensing channels coupled to the switch circuit, and the fingerprint sensing channels receive the fingerprint sensing signals from the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines. The electronic device according to claim 15 , wherein the number of the fingerprint sensing lines is greater than the number of the fingerprint sensing channels.

17. An electronic device according to claim 16, wherein the switching circuit comprises a plurality of switches, and the control circuit controls the switching circuit to turn on a subset of the plurality of switches to establish coupling between the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines and the fingerprint sensing channel to perform the fingerprint sensing operation, wherein the subset of the plurality of switches corresponds to the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines.

18. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the electronic circuit is implemented in a single semiconductor chip. 19 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the electronic circuit is implemented in at least two semiconductor chips, wherein a first semiconductor chip of the at least two semiconductor chips includes the first circuit, and a second semiconductor chip includes the second circuit. 20 . The electronic device according to claim 19 , wherein the first semiconductor chip further includes at least a portion of the control circuit, and the second semiconductor chip further includes the switch circuit.

21. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the control circuit controls the second circuit to sense a plurality of the fingerprint images, and the fingerprint sensing channels are divided into a plurality of groups, and each of the plurality of groups receives the fingerprint sensing signal from a corresponding fingerprint image. 22 . The electronic device according to claim 14 , wherein the determined fingerprint touch area comprises a center line, and a middle fingerprint sensing line of the subset of fingerprint sensing lines is located on or near the center line of the determined fingerprint touch area.

23. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the panel comprises: The scanning circuit is configured to control the fingerprint sensor through fingerprint scanning lines, and the control circuit is further configured to select a subset of the fingerprint scanning lines for the fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined fingerprint touch area.

24. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the fingerprint sensor comprises a plurality of optical fingerprint sensors distributed in the panel.

25. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the fingerprint sensing area covers at least a portion of the at least one fingerprint image, the at least a portion including fingerprint features sufficient for fingerprint recognition.

26. A method for sensing at least one fingerprint image from a panel, the panel comprising a touch sensor and a fingerprint sensor, wherein the fingerprint sensor is coupled to a fingerprint sensing line, the method comprising: determining a fingerprint touch area according to a touch sensing signal from the touch sensor; Selecting a subset of the fingerprint sensing lines based on the determined fingerprint touch area to form a fingerprint sensing area, wherein the fingerprint sensing area is used for fingerprint sensing operation and includes at least one boundary, and the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines is selected based on the at least one boundary of the fingerprint sensing area; and receiving a fingerprint sensing signal via the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines, wherein the fingerprint sensing signals carried on the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines are read out simultaneously, The at least one boundary of the fingerprint sensing area includes a first fingerprint sensing line and a second fingerprint sensing line, and the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines includes all fingerprint sensing lines located between the first fingerprint sensing line and the second fingerprint sensing line.

27. The method for sensing at least one fingerprint image from a panel according to claim 26, further comprising: Controlling the switch circuitry selects the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines for the fingerprint sensing operation.

28. The method for sensing at least one fingerprint image from a panel according to claim 27, wherein the switching circuit comprises a plurality of switches, and the step of controlling the switching circuit to select the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines for the fingerprint sensing operation comprises: controlling the switch circuit to turn on a subset of the plurality of switches, wherein the subset of the plurality of switches corresponds to the subset of the fingerprint sensing lines; as well as The switch circuit is controlled to turn off switches corresponding to the remaining fingerprint sensing lines among the plurality of switches that are not selected.

29. The method for sensing at least one fingerprint image from a panel according to claim 26, wherein the fingerprint sensor is further coupled to a fingerprint scan line, the method further comprising: A subset of the fingerprint scan lines is selected for the fingerprint sensing operation according to the determined fingerprint touch area.

30. The method for sensing at least one fingerprint image from a panel according to claim 26, further comprising: The fingerprint image is generated according to the fingerprint sensing signal through a remapping operation.

Images