Touch controller, signal transmission method, chip and electronic equipment
Through the reuse signal as a driver signal, the existing touch controller's power consumption is solved, and the power consumption is reduced, especially when there is no touch operation.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411448448.X
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-16
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-24
AI Technical Summary
Existing touch controllers consume higher power when transmitting signals, especially when there is no touch operation, resulting in increased power consumption.
By multiplexing the beacon signal as the driving signal, the types of signals transmitted by the driving module to the transmitting electrode are reduced, thereby reducing power consumption.
Realize the power consumption of the touch controller without increasing the complexity of the driving module, especially when there is no touch operation.
Smart Images
Figure CN119356546A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to the field of touch control technology, and in particular to a touch controller, a signal transmission method, a chip and an electronic device. Background Art
[0002] With the development of touch control technology, many devices are provided with touch sensors and touch controllers connected to the touch sensors. The touch controller can measure the capacitance change corresponding to the electrodes of the touch sensor, and the capacitance change is used to determine the touch position. Summary of the invention
[0003] The present application provides a touch controller, a signal transmission method, a chip and an electronic device for obtaining a signal for determining a touch position. The technical solution is as follows:
[0004] In a first aspect, a touch controller is provided. The touch controller includes: a driving module connected to a transmitting electrode of a touch sensor, and used to transmit a beacon signal to the transmitting electrode, wherein the beacon signal includes reference information transmitted to a stylus, and the reference information is used for the stylus to perform an operation corresponding to the reference information; a sensing module connected to at least one of a first resistor or a receiving electrode of the touch sensor, and used to obtain at least one of a first voltage difference signal across the first resistor or a sensing signal transmitted by the receiving electrode, wherein the first resistor is located between the driving module and the transmitting electrode, and the sensing signal is generated based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal is used to determine a touch position.
[0005] Exemplarily, the driving module is also connected to the receiving electrode and is also used to transmit a beacon signal to the receiving electrode; the sensing module is also connected to the second resistor and is also used to obtain a second voltage difference signal across the second resistor, the second resistor is located between the driving module and the receiving electrode, and the second voltage difference signal is used to determine the touch position.
[0006] Exemplarily, the sensing module is used to obtain a first voltage difference signal in a first time period, and to obtain a second voltage difference signal in a second time period, where the second time period is different from the first time period.
[0007] Exemplarily, the driving module includes a shift register, and the shift register is used to serialize the reference information based on the reference clock signal to obtain the beacon signal.
[0008] Exemplarily, the sensing module is further used to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the demodulated first voltage difference signal or the demodulated sensing signal is used to determine the touch position.
[0009] Exemplarily, the touch controller also includes an equalizing filter, which is respectively connected to the driving module and the sensing module; the equalizing filter is used to receive the beacon signal transmitted by the driving module, perform equalizing filtering on the beacon signal, and transmit the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering to the sensing module, and the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering is used by the sensing module to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal.
[0010] In a second aspect, a signal transmission method is provided, which is applied to any touch controller in the first aspect. The method includes: transmitting a beacon signal to a transmitting electrode through a driving module, the beacon signal includes reference information transmitted to the stylus, and the reference information is used for the stylus to perform an operation corresponding to the reference information; obtaining at least one of a first voltage difference signal across a first resistor or a sensing signal transmitted by a receiving electrode through a sensing module, the first resistor is located between the driving module and the transmitting electrode, the sensing signal is generated based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal is used to determine a touch position.
[0011] Exemplarily, the driving module is also connected to the receiving electrode, and the sensing module is also connected to a second resistor, and the second resistor is located between the driving module and the receiving electrode. The method also includes: transmitting a beacon signal to the receiving electrode through the driving module; acquiring a second voltage difference signal across the second resistor through the sensing module, and the second voltage difference signal is used to determine the touch position.
[0012] Exemplarily, obtaining a first voltage difference signal across a first resistor through a sensing module includes: obtaining a first voltage difference signal across a first time period through the sensing module; obtaining a second voltage difference signal across a second resistor through the sensing module includes: obtaining a second voltage difference signal across a second time period through the sensing module, the second time period being different from the first time period.
[0013] Exemplarily, the driving module includes a shift register, and the method further includes: serializing the reference information based on the reference clock signal through the shift register to obtain a beacon signal.
[0014] Exemplarily, the method further includes: demodulating at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal by the sensing module, and using at least one of the demodulated first voltage difference signal or the demodulated sensing signal to determine the touch position.
[0015] Exemplarily, the touch controller also includes an equalizing filter, which is respectively connected to the driving module and the sensing module; before the sensing module demodulates at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal, it also includes: receiving the beacon signal transmitted by the driving module through the equalizing filter, performing equalizing filtering on the beacon signal, and transmitting the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering to the sensing module, and the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering is used for the sensing module to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal.
[0016] In a third aspect, a chip is provided, the chip comprising any touch controller in the first aspect.
[0017] In a fourth aspect, an electronic device is provided, the electronic device includes a chip, the chip includes any one of the touch sensors and touch sensors in the first aspect; or, the electronic device includes a touch sensor and a chip, the chip includes any one of the chips in the first aspect.
[0018] The technical solution provided by this application brings at least the following beneficial effects:
[0019] In the technical solution provided by the present application, the beacon signal is multiplexed as a driving signal. Therefore, the driving module does not need to transmit another signal other than the beacon signal to the transmitting electrode as a driving signal, the driving module transmits fewer signals to the transmitting electrode, and the power consumption of the driving controller is lower. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a touch sensor and a touch controller in the related art;
[0021] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a touch sensor, a touch controller and an active stylus in the related art;
[0022] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of state changes of a touch controller provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0023] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of an implementation environment provided by an embodiment of the present application;
[0024] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a touch sensor and a touch controller provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0025] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another touch sensor and touch controller provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0026] Figure 7 It is a flow chart of a signal transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the implementation methods of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0028] With the development of touch technology, many devices are equipped with touch sensors. The touch sensor uses orthogonal transmitting electrodes and receiving electrodes to generate mutual capacitance at the intersection of the transmitting electrode and the receiving electrode. In addition, there is self-capacitance between the transmitting electrode and the system reference, and there is also self-capacitance between the receiving electrode and the system reference, and the system reference can be ground (GND). When the user performs a touch operation, both the mutual capacitance and the self-capacitance will change. Thus, by measuring at least one of the mutual capacitance or the self-capacitance, the touch position can be determined based on at least one of the change in the mutual capacitance or the change in the self-capacitance between the two measurements. The touch sensor can be a projected capacitive touch (PCAP) sensor. The user can perform a touch operation by using an active stylus, and the touch position can be any position that can cause a change in self-capacitance and a change in mutual capacitance.
[0029] In the related art, the touch sensor is connected to the touch controller, and the touch controller can measure the self-capacitance to obtain the change in self-capacitance, which is used to determine the touch position. For example, when a user performs a touch operation through an active stylus, the self-capacitance will change. The touch controller can also measure the mutual capacitance at the intersection of each pair of orthogonal transmitting electrodes and receiving electrodes to obtain the change in mutual capacitance, which is used to determine the touch position. For example, when a user performs a touch operation through an active stylus, the mutual capacitance at the intersection of the transmitting electrode and the receiving electrode will change. The touch controller can measure both self-capacitance and mutual capacitance.
[0030] In the related art, the change in self-capacitance can be obtained by applying a voltage signal to the electrodes of the touch sensor and measuring the current signal on the electrodes. Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a touch sensor and a touch controller in the related art. Figure 1 As shown, the touch controller includes a signal generator, a first driver, a second driver, a first pad, a second pad, a resistor, an amplifier, a demodulator, a low-pass filter (LPF) and a memory. The size of the resistor is determined according to the difference in the lines where the two drivers are located. The connection relationship of the components included in the touch controller is as follows Figure 1 shown.
[0031] The touch sensor includes an orthogonally arranged transmitting electrode and a receiving electrode, and the transmitting electrode and the receiving electrode are coupled. There is a self-capacitance between the transmitting electrode and the ground, and there is also a self-capacitance between the receiving electrode and the ground. The signal generator generates a voltage signal and transmits a driving signal to both the first driver and the second driver. The first driver is connected to the transmitting electrode through the first pad and transmits the driving signal to the transmitting electrode. The second driver transmits a voltage signal to the resistor, and the resistor is used to convert the voltage signal into a current signal, so that the current signal on the receiving electrode can be measured.
[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the voltage difference signal across the resistor is input into the amplifier, and the voltage difference signal is caused by the user performing a touch operation. The voltage difference signal is amplified using an amplifier, and the amplified voltage difference signal is transmitted to the demodulator. The voltage signal can also be transmitted to the demodulator, so that the demodulator uses the same voltage signal as that applied to the transmitting electrode to demodulate the amplified voltage difference signal. The LPF filters the demodulated voltage difference signal, and the filtered voltage difference signal can be stored in the memory. The processor can obtain the stored filtered voltage difference signal from the memory, calculate the current signal based on the filtered voltage difference signal and the resistance value of the resistor, and calculate the change in self-capacitance based on the voltage difference signal and the current signal.
[0033] In the related art, the transmitting electrode of the touch sensor can be driven to measure the sensing signal on the receiving electrode, and the mutual capacitance can be calculated based on the acquired sensing signal. For example, a predetermined noise-free carrier signal is transmitted to the transmitting electrode, the sensing signal on the receiving electrode is acquired, and then the sensing signal is amplified, the sensing signal is demodulated using the same signal as the carrier signal transmitted to the transmitting electrode, the demodulated signal is filtered, the signal obtained by filtering is proportional to the mutual capacitance, the mutual capacitance is calculated based on the signal obtained by filtering, and then the change in the mutual capacitance is determined.
[0034] Exemplarily, the voltage signal is a carrier signal, and there is no noise in the voltage signal. The related technology can apply a voltage signal to all transmitting electrodes of the touch sensor to avoid being affected by the mutual capacitance when measuring the change in self-capacitance.
[0035] Figure 2 1 is a schematic diagram of a touch sensor, a touch controller and an active stylus in the related art. The active stylus may be a stylus defined by the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI). Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the touch controller includes a signal generator, a first pad, a second pad, an amplifier, a demodulator, an LPF, and a memory. The connection relationship of the components included in the touch controller is as follows: Figure 2As shown. The touch sensor includes an orthogonally arranged transmitting electrode and a receiving electrode, and the transmitting electrode and the receiving electrode are coupled. There is a mutual capacitance at the intersection of the transmitting electrode and the receiving electrode. The transmitting electrode is connected to the first pad, and the first pad can be connected to the signal generator ( Figure 2 not shown).
[0036] The active stylus transmits a driving signal to the transmitting electrode, and the driving signal is used to generate a sensing signal on the receiving electrode. The amplifier amplifies the sensing signal, and the amplified sensing signal is transmitted to the demodulator. The signal generator generates a signal identical to the driving signal transmitted by the active stylus, and transmits the generated signal to the demodulator, which uses the received signal to demodulate the amplified sensing signal. The LPF filters the demodulated signal, and the filtered signal can be stored in the memory. The processor can obtain the stored filtered signal from the memory, calculate the mutual capacitance based on the obtained signal, and then determine the change in the mutual capacitance.
[0037] The amplifier, demodulator and LPF corresponding to one receiving electrode may be referred to as a receiver channel. The touch controller may include multiple receiver channels, so that the touch controller may simultaneously receive sensing signals from multiple receiving electrodes, thereby improving the efficiency of acquiring sensing signals.
[0038] In addition, the active stylus may also have a two-way communication function. For example, the touch controller transmits an uplink signal to the active stylus, and the uplink signal includes at least one of timing synchronization information or a control command. The active stylus sends a downlink signal to the touch controller, and the downlink signal includes but is not limited to: the position and inclination of the active stylus relative to the screen, or the tip pressure and button status of the active stylus.
[0039] Many active stylus protocols, including USI, define a control frame for performing capacitance measurements and active stylus activities in a time-division multiplexed manner. The capacitance measurements are performed by the touch controller, and the active stylus activities are performed by the active stylus, and the active stylus activities include but are not limited to performing at least one of timing synchronization operations or transmitting signals to the touch sensor. The content included in the control frame starts with an uplink beacon and can be transmitted via a beacon signal. That is, the uplink beacon can be transmitted via a beacon signal. The beacon signal is usually driven together on all electrodes of the touch sensor to maximize the transmission of the beacon signal to the active stylus.
[0040] The beacon signal needs to be transmitted all the time so that the active stylus in contact with the screen can receive the beacon signal and respond correctly based on the beacon signal. However, the need for the beacon signal to be transmitted all the time places high demands on power consumption, which is a more important indicator for mobile devices using batteries.
[0041] In addition, the touch controller needs to monitor the capacitance change caused by the user's touch operation at all times. Many touch controllers will adopt a dual-state strategy to reduce overall power consumption. Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the state change of a touch controller provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown, the working state of the touch controller includes a first state and a second state. The first state is a simplified measurement state used only for detecting potential touches. The power consumption of the first state is relatively low. The first state can also be called an armed state. When a potential touch is detected, the working state of the touch controller switches to the second state. The second state is used to perform a complete touch detection operation to determine a more accurate touch position. The power consumption of the second state is higher than that of the first state. Figure 3 As shown, in the absence of touch, the working state of the touch controller is switched to the first state to reduce the power consumption of the touch controller.
[0042] In the absence of touch, the operation of the first state and the transmission of the beacon signal may consume 5 milliwatts (mW) of power, which is considerable in the operation of the touch controller. When the electronic device where the touch sensor is located is paired with an active stylus and a touch operation occurs, the power consumption of the touch controller will increase. Regulation of the electrodes of the touch sensor (regardless of whether a touch operation performed using an active stylus occurs) is one way to control the power consumption of the touch controller.
[0043] Based on the above description, it can be seen that the power consumption of the touch controller in the related art is relatively high. The embodiment of the present application provides a touch controller with relatively low power consumption, and the touch controller can obtain a signal for determining a touch position.
[0044] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of an implementation environment provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the implementation environment includes a touch controller 10 and a touch sensor 20, and the touch controller 10 is connected to the touch sensor 20. The touch sensor 20 can be set in the screen, and the touch controller 10 can transmit a signal to the stylus through the touch sensor 20, or receive a signal transmitted by the stylus through the touch sensor 20. For example, the touch controller 10 can transmit a signal to the stylus through the electrodes of the touch sensor 20. For another example, the touch controller 20 receives a signal transmitted by the stylus through the electrodes of the touch sensor 20. The touch controller 10 can be called a touch control integrated circuit (IC) or a touch control chip.
[0045] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a touch controller and a touch sensor provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the touch controller 10 includes: a driving module 101, connected to the transmitting electrode 201 of the touch sensor 20, and used to transmit a beacon signal to the transmitting electrode 201, the beacon signal includes reference information transmitted to the stylus, and the reference information is used for the stylus to perform an operation corresponding to the reference information; a sensing module 102, connected to the first resistor 103 or at least one of the receiving electrodes 202 of the touch sensor 20, and used to obtain at least one of the first voltage difference signal across the first resistor 103 or the sensing signal transmitted by the receiving electrode 202, the first resistor 103 is located between the driving module 101 and the transmitting electrode 201, the sensing signal is generated based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal is used to determine the touch position. Figure 5 The connection between the sensing module 102 and the first resistor 103 is taken as an example, and the connection relationship between the sensing module 102 and the receiving electrode 202 is not shown.
[0046] That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the beacon signal also serves as a driving signal transmitted to the transmitting electrode 201 of the touch sensor 20. Exemplarily, the reference information is a beacon, and the beacon includes but is not limited to at least one of control information or timing synchronization information, the control information is used for the stylus to perform the operation corresponding to the control information, and the timing synchronization information is used for the stylus to perform the timing synchronization operation. The stylus can be an active stylus. Of course, the beacon can also include other information, for example, the beacon also includes at least one of information of the screen where the touch sensor 20 is located or power mode information.
[0047] Exemplarily, the beacon signal is obtained based on a wide band code, and the wide band code includes reference information. Among them, the wide band code is a code with a wide frequency range for transmission. That is to say, in the case where a code is a wide band code, this code can be transmitted within a wider frequency range. The length and complexity of the wide band code correspond to the stylus standard adopted by the stylus, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the form of the wide band code. Exemplarily, the length of the beacon signal is the same or similar to the length of the driving signal used to measure capacitance in the related art, or the length of the beacon signal is greater than the length of the driving signal used to measure capacitance in the related art. In the case where the length of the beacon signal is the same or similar to the length of the driving signal in the related art, a capacitance measurement operation can be performed once by transmitting a beacon signal. In the case where the length of the beacon signal is greater than the length of the driving signal in the related art, multiple capacitance measurement operations can be performed by transmitting a beacon signal once.
[0048] In the embodiment of the present application, the beacon signal has good resistance to noise from other noise sources (such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen driver).
[0049] Exemplarily, the driving module 101 includes a shift register, and the shift register is used to serialize the reference information based on the reference clock signal to obtain the beacon signal. By using the shift register to obtain the beacon signal, the method of obtaining the beacon signal is relatively simple.
[0050] Exemplarily, the reference clock signal is a clock signal generated by a clock signal generator, or a clock signal obtained by dividing the clock signal generated by the clock signal generator. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific frequency of the reference clock signal.
[0051] In a possible implementation, the driving module 101 is also connected to the receiving electrode 202, and is also used to transmit a beacon signal to the receiving electrode 202; the sensing module 102 is also connected to the second resistor, and is also used to obtain a second voltage difference signal across the second resistor, the second resistor is located between the driving module 101 and the receiving electrode 202, and the second voltage difference signal is used to determine the touch position.
[0052] Exemplarily, the first voltage difference signal is used to determine the change in self-capacitance between the transmitting electrode 201 and the system reference, the sensing signal is used to determine the change in mutual capacitance between the transmitting electrode 201 and the receiving electrode 202, and the second voltage difference signal is used to determine the change in self-capacitance between the receiving electrode 202 and the system reference. Both the change in self-capacitance and the change in mutual capacitance can be used to determine the touch position.
[0053] In a possible implementation, when the touch controller 10 is in the first state (i.e., the simplified measurement state), the beacon signal is multiplexed as a drive signal. Exemplarily, the drive module 101 transmits a beacon signal to the transmitting electrode 201 and the receiving electrode 202 at the same time. In this case, the sensing module 102 can obtain at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the second voltage difference signal. Alternatively, the drive signal 101 transmits a beacon signal to the transmitting electrode 201 and does not transmit a beacon signal to the receiving electrode 202. In this case, the sensing module 102 can obtain at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal.
[0054] Exemplarily, in the case where the sensing module 102 acquires the first voltage difference signal and the second voltage difference signal, the sensing module 102 is used to acquire the first voltage difference signal in a first time period and acquire the second voltage difference signal in a second time period, and the second time period is different from the first time period. By acquiring the first voltage difference signal and the second voltage difference signal in different time periods, the circuit for acquiring the voltage difference signal in the sensing module 102 can be reused, thereby reducing the circuit area. Exemplarily, in the case where the length of the beacon signal is greater than the length of the driving signal in the related art, by transmitting the beacon signal once, at least one operation of acquiring the first voltage difference signal and at least one operation of acquiring the second voltage difference signal are performed.
[0055] In a possible implementation, the sensing module 102 is further used to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal, and the demodulated first voltage difference signal or at least one of the demodulated sensing signals is used to determine the touch position. By using the beacon signal to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal, the drive controller does not need to generate an additional signal for demodulation, and the power consumption of the drive controller is low.
[0056] Exemplarily, when the sensing module 102 acquires the second voltage difference signal, the sensing module 102 is further configured to demodulate the second voltage difference signal based on the beacon signal, and the demodulated second voltage difference signal is used to determine the touch position.
[0057] In a possible implementation, the touch controller 10 further includes an equalizing filter, which is connected to the driving module 101 and the sensing module 102 respectively; the equalizing filter is used to receive the beacon signal transmitted by the driving module 101, perform equalizing filtering on the beacon signal, and transmit the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering to the sensing module 102, and the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering is used by the sensing module 102 to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal. By setting the equalizing filter between the driving module 101 and the sensing module 102, the beacon signal can be equalized and filtered during the process of being transmitted to the sensing module 102, thereby reducing the noise in the beacon signal transmitted to the sensing module 102.
[0058] Exemplarily, when the sensing module 102 acquires the second voltage difference signal, the beacon signal after equalization filtering is also used by the sensing module 102 to demodulate the second voltage difference signal.
[0059] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of another structure of a touch sensor and a touch controller provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6As shown, the driving module includes a clock signal generator 1011, a frequency divider 1012, a shift register 1013, an amplifier 1014, a first resistor 103 and a third pad 1015. The frequency divider 1012 is connected to the clock signal generator 1011 and the shift register 1013, respectively, the amplifier 1014 is connected to the shift register 1013 and the first resistor 103, respectively, and the third pad 1015 is connected to the first resistor 103 and the transmitting electrode 201, respectively. The sensing module includes an amplifier 1021, a band-pass filter (BPF) 1022, an analog digital converter (ADC) 1023, a demodulator 1024, an accumulator filter 1025 and a memory 1026. The amplifier 1021 is connected to both ends of the first resistor 103 , the BPF 1022 is connected to the amplifier 1021 and the ADC 1023 , respectively, the demodulator 1024 is connected to the ADC 1023 and the accumulating filter 1025 , respectively, and the accumulating filter 1025 is also connected to the memory 1026 .
[0060] like Figure 6 As shown, the touch controller 10 further includes a frequency divider 104 and an equalizing filter 105. The frequency divider 104 is connected to the clock signal generator 1011, the equalizing filter 105 and the ADC 1023 respectively, and the equalizing filter 105 is connected to the shift register 1013 and the demodulator 1024 respectively. For any transmitting electrode 201 of the touch sensor 20, this transmitting electrode 201 corresponds to an amplifier 1014 and a sensing module. Therefore, as Figure 6 As shown, the amplifier 1014 and the sensing module corresponding to the transmitting electrode 201 can be implemented in the same circuit module. Figure 6 Taking the connection between the driving module and the transmitting electrode 201 as an example, the driving module can also be connected to the receiving electrode 202. The way in which the driving module is connected to the receiving electrode 202 is the same as the way in which the driving module is connected to the transmitting electrode 201. Figure 6 It is not shown again and will not be described in detail here.
[0061] Exemplarily, each transmitting electrode 201 corresponds to an equalizing filter 105, but if the response of each electrode is sufficiently different, the equalizing filter 105 can also be used on each electrode. The electrode includes but is not limited to at least one of a transmitting electrode or a receiving electrode.
[0062] based on Figure 6 In the structure shown, the operation of acquiring the signal for determining the touch position includes but is not limited to the following steps 601 to 604.
[0063] Step 601, use the clock signal generator 1011 to generate a common clock; use the divider 1012 to divide the common clock to obtain a reference clock signal; serialize the reference information through the shift register 1013, wherein the shift register 1013 is driven by the reference clock signal; the amplifier 1014 amplifies the output of the shift register 1013 to obtain a beacon signal, and transmits the beacon signal to the transmitting electrode 201.
[0064] For details on using the clock signal generator 1011 to generate a common clock and using the frequency divider 1012 to divide the common clock, please refer to the description in the relevant technology and will not be repeated here.
[0065] Exemplarily, the reference information is input into the shift register 1013, that is, the multiple bits included in the reference information are input into the shift register 1013, and one bit corresponds to one bit of the shift register 1013. The shift register 1013 shifts one bit at each rising edge of the reference clock signal, and outputs a waveform corresponding to one bit included in the reference information. Alternatively, the reference information is input into the shift register 1013, and the shift register 1013 shifts one bit at each falling edge of the reference clock signal, and outputs a waveform corresponding to one bit included in the reference information.
[0066] In step 602, the beacon signal transmitted by the amplifier 1014 is transmitted to the transmitting electrode 201 through the first resistor 103. The first voltage difference signal at both ends of the first resistor 103 is amplified by the amplifier 1021, the amplified first voltage difference signal is filtered by the BPF 1022, and the filtered first voltage difference signal is sampled by the ADC 1023 to obtain a digital signal. The filtered first voltage difference signal transmitted by the BPF 1022 is an analog signal, and the ADC 1023 runs on the frequency division of the same common clock, which is obtained by dividing the common clock by the frequency divider 104. According to the Nyquist theorem, the sampling frequency of the ADC 1023 can be 4 to 5 times the frequency of the common clock.
[0067] For step 602, reference may be made to the description in the related art and will not be repeated here.
[0068] In step 603 , the digital signal from the ADC 1023 is demodulated using the beacon signal passed through the equalization filter 105 so that the frequencies of the first voltage difference signal and the beacon signal can match. The demodulation operation is performed by the demodulator 1024 .
[0069] For step 603, reference may be made to the description in the related art and will not be repeated here.
[0070] In step 604, the demodulated first voltage difference signal is filtered by accumulating the previous samples corresponding to the transmitting electrode 201, and the filtering operation is performed by the accumulator filter 1025, and the filtered first voltage difference signal is stored in the memory 1026. The process of using the accumulator filter 1025 for accumulator filtering can refer to the description of using the accumulator filter for accumulator filtering in the related art, which will not be described in detail here.
[0071] Steps 601 to 604 are described by taking the acquisition of the first voltage difference signal and processing the first voltage difference signal as an example. The acquisition and processing of the second voltage difference signal are the same in principle and will not be described in detail here.
[0072] Exemplarily, after executing step 601, the following steps 605 to 607 may also be executed to obtain the sensing signal and process the sensing signal. Steps 602 to 604 may be executed before or after steps 605 to 607, or may be executed synchronously with steps 605 to 607, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.
[0073] In step 605, the beacon signal is transmitted to the receiving electrode 202 through the screen, so that a sensing signal is generated on the receiving electrode 202. The sensing signal transmitted by the receiving electrode 202 is amplified by the amplifier 1021, the amplified sensing signal is filtered by the BPF 1022, and the filtered sensing signal is sampled by the ADC 1023 to obtain a digital signal. Among them, the filtered sensing signal transmitted by the BPF 1022 is an analog signal, and the ADC 1023 runs on the frequency division of the same common clock, which is obtained by dividing the common clock by the frequency divider 104.
[0074] For step 605, reference may be made to the description in the related art and will not be repeated here.
[0075] In step 606 , the digital signal from the ADC 1023 is demodulated using the beacon signal passed through the equalization filter 105 so that the frequencies of the sensing signal and the beacon signal can be matched. The demodulation operation is performed by the demodulator 1024 .
[0076] For step 606, reference may be made to the description in the related art and will not be repeated here.
[0077] In step 607, the demodulated sensing signal is filtered by accumulating the previous samples corresponding to the transmitting electrode 201. The filtering operation is performed by the accumulator filter 1025, and the filtered sensing signal is stored in the memory 1026. The process of using the accumulator filter 1025 for accumulator filtering can refer to the description of using the accumulator filter for accumulator filtering in the related art, which will not be described in detail here.
[0078] In the embodiment of the present application, the beacon signal is multiplexed as a driving signal. Therefore, the driving module does not need to transmit another signal other than the beacon signal to the transmitting electrode as a driving signal, and the driving module transmits fewer signals to the transmitting electrode, that is, the number of times the touch sensor is driven is less, and the power consumption of the driving controller is lower. Among them, the process of driving the touch sensor can also be regarded as the process of charging and discharging the capacitance corresponding to the electrode of the touch sensor.
[0079] The embodiment of the present application also provides a signal transmission method. Figure 7 is a flow chart of a signal transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present application, the method comprises Figures 4 to 6 The touch controller 10 shown performs Figure 7 As shown, the method includes but is not limited to step 701 to step 702.
[0080] Step 701: Transmit a beacon signal to a transmitting electrode through a driving module. The beacon signal includes reference information transmitted to the stylus. The reference information is used for the stylus to perform an operation corresponding to the reference information.
[0081] For example, the operation corresponding to the reference information includes at least one of a timing synchronization operation and a control operation.
[0082] Exemplarily, the driving module includes a shift register, and the method further includes: serializing the reference information based on the reference clock signal through the shift register to obtain a beacon signal.
[0083] Step 702: Acquire, through a sensing module, at least one of a first voltage difference signal across a first resistor or a sensing signal transmitted by a receiving electrode, wherein the first resistor is located between a driving module and a transmitting electrode, and the sensing signal is generated based on a beacon signal, and the first voltage difference signal or at least one of the sensing signals is used to determine a touch position.
[0084] Exemplarily, the driving module is also connected to the receiving electrode, and the sensing module is also connected to a second resistor, and the second resistor is located between the driving module and the receiving electrode. The method also includes: transmitting a beacon signal to the receiving electrode through the driving module; acquiring a second voltage difference signal across the second resistor through the sensing module, and the second voltage difference signal is used to determine the touch position.
[0085] In one possible implementation, obtaining a first voltage difference signal across a first resistor through a sensing module includes: obtaining the first voltage difference signal across a first time period through the sensing module; obtaining a second voltage difference signal across a second resistor through the sensing module includes: obtaining the second voltage difference signal across a second time period through the sensing module, the second time period being different from the first time period.
[0086] Exemplarily, the method further includes: demodulating at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal by the sensing module, and using at least one of the demodulated first voltage difference signal or the demodulated sensing signal to determine the touch position.
[0087] Exemplarily, the method further includes: demodulating the second voltage difference signal based on the beacon signal by the sensing module, and using the demodulated second voltage difference signal to determine the touch position.
[0088] Exemplarily, the touch controller also includes an equalizing filter, which is respectively connected to the driving module and the sensing module; before the sensing module demodulates at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal, it also includes: receiving the beacon signal transmitted by the driving module through the equalizing filter, performing equalizing filtering on the beacon signal, and transmitting the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering to the sensing module, and the beacon signal after the equalizing filtering is used for the sensing module to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal.
[0089] Exemplarily, the touch controller also includes an equalizing filter, which is respectively connected to the driving module and the sensing module; before the sensing module demodulates the second voltage difference signal based on the beacon signal, it also includes: receiving the beacon signal transmitted by the driving module through the equalizing filter, performing equalizing filtering on the beacon signal, transmitting the beacon signal after equalizing filtering to the sensing module, and the beacon signal after equalizing filtering is used for the sensing module to demodulate the second voltage difference signal.
[0090] In the embodiment of the present application, the beacon signal is multiplexed as a driving signal. Therefore, the driving module does not need to transmit another signal other than the beacon signal to the transmitting electrode as a driving signal, and the driving module transmits fewer signals to the transmitting electrode, that is, the number of times the touch sensor is driven is less, and the power consumption of the driving controller is lower.
[0091] In an exemplary embodiment, a chip is further provided, and the chip includes any one of the above touch controllers.
[0092] In an exemplary embodiment, an electronic device is also provided, and the electronic device may include a chip, and the chip includes any of the above-mentioned touch controllers and touch sensors; or, the electronic device includes a touch sensor and a chip, and the chip includes any of the above-mentioned touch controllers. Electronic devices may have relatively large differences due to different configurations or performances. For example, the electronic device may also include one or more processors, and the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor is used to determine the touch position based on at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal. The processor can also be used to determine the touch position based on the second voltage difference signal. The electronic device may also have components such as a memory, a wired or wireless network interface, a keyboard, and an input and output interface for storage and input and output. The electronic device may also include other components for realizing the functions of the device, which will not be repeated here.
[0093] It should be noted that the information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.), data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) and signals involved in this application are all authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use and processing of relevant data must comply with relevant laws, regulations and standards of relevant countries and regions.
[0094] It should be understood that the "plurality" mentioned in this article refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.
[0095] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way can be interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein.
[0096] The embodiments described in the above exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Instead, they are only examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.
[0097] The above are merely exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. A touch controller, characterized in that: The touch controller comprises: A driving module connected to the transmitting electrode of the touch sensor, and used to transmit a beacon signal to the transmitting electrode, wherein the beacon signal includes reference information transmitted to the stylus pen, and the reference information is used for the stylus pen to perform an operation corresponding to the reference information; A sensing module is connected to a first resistor or at least one of the receiving electrodes of the touch sensor, and is used to obtain a first voltage difference signal across the first resistor or at least one of the sensing signals transmitted by the receiving electrode, wherein the first resistor is located between the driving module and the transmitting electrode, and the sensing signal is generated based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal is used to determine the touch position.
2. The touch controller according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving module is also connected to the receiving electrode and is also used to transmit the beacon signal to the receiving electrode; The sensing module is also connected to a second resistor and is used to obtain a second voltage difference signal across the second resistor, where the second resistor is located between the driving module and the receiving electrode, and the second voltage difference signal is used to determine the touch position.
3. The touch controller according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sensing module is used to obtain the first voltage difference signal in a first time period and obtain the second voltage difference signal in a second time period, and the second time period is different from the first time period.
4. The touch controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The driving module includes a shift register, and the shift register is used to serialize the reference information based on a reference clock signal to obtain the beacon signal.
5. The touch controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The sensing module is further used to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the demodulated first voltage difference signal or the demodulated sensing signal is used to determine the touch position.
6. The touch controller according to claim 5, characterized in that: The touch controller further includes an equalizing filter, and the equalizing filter is connected to the driving module and the sensing module respectively; The equalizing filter is used to receive the beacon signal transmitted by the driving module, perform equalizing filtering on the beacon signal, and transmit the beacon signal after equalizing filtering to the sensing module. The beacon signal after equalizing filtering is used by the sensing module to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal.
7. A signal transmission method, characterized in that: The method is applied to the touch controller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and the method comprises: Transmitting a beacon signal to the transmitting electrode through the driving module, wherein the beacon signal includes reference information transmitted to the stylus pen, and the reference information is used by the stylus pen to perform an operation corresponding to the reference information; At least one of a first voltage difference signal across the first resistor or a sensing signal transmitted by the receiving electrode is acquired through the sensing module, the first resistor is located between the driving module and the transmitting electrode, the sensing signal is generated based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal is used to determine the touch position.
8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The driving module is further connected to the receiving electrode, the sensing module is further connected to a second resistor, and the second resistor is located between the driving module and the receiving electrode. The method further includes: transmitting the beacon signal to the receiving electrode through the driving module; A second voltage difference signal across the second resistor is acquired through the sensing module, and the second voltage difference signal is used to determine the touch position.
9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The step of acquiring a first voltage difference signal across two ends of the first resistor by using the sensing module includes: Acquiring the first voltage difference signal in a first time period by the sensing module; The step of acquiring a second voltage difference signal across the second resistor by the sensing module includes: The second voltage difference signal is acquired by the sensing module in a second time period, where the second time period is different from the first time period.
10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: The driving module includes a shift register, and the method further includes: The reference information is serialized by the shift register based on a reference clock signal to obtain the beacon signal.
11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The sensing module demodulates at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal, and at least one of the demodulated first voltage difference signal or the demodulated sensing signal is used to determine the touch position.
12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The touch controller further includes an equalizing filter, which is connected to the driving module and the sensing module respectively; before the sensing module demodulates at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal based on the beacon signal, the touch controller further includes: The beacon signal transmitted by the driving module is received through the equalizing filter, the beacon signal is equalized and filtered, and the beacon signal after the equalization filtering is transmitted to the sensing module, and the beacon signal after the equalization filtering is used by the sensing module to demodulate at least one of the first voltage difference signal or the sensing signal.
13. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes the touch controller according to any one of claims 1-6.
14. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises a chip, wherein the chip comprises the touch controller and the touch sensor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6; or, the electronic device comprises a touch sensor and a chip, wherein the chip comprises the touch controller as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.