Panel driving device and panel driving method

Abstract

The invention provides a panel driving device and a panel driving method. The panel driving device is suitable for a panel structure with an electromagnetic sensor and a touch sensing and display layer. The panel driving device comprises an electromagnetic sensing device and a touch display integration device. The electromagnetic sensing device is used for controlling the electromagnetic sensor. The touch display integration device is directly coupled to the electromagnetic sensing device and is used for controlling the touch sensing and display layer. The electromagnetic sensing device enables a blocking signal to be transmitted to the touch display integration device in the electromagnetic sensing period. The touch display integration device disables the touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer according to the enabling period of the blocking signal. The electromagnetic sensing device enables electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor during the electromagnetic sensing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a panel driving technology with touch control and electromagnetic sensing functions, and more particularly to a panel driving device and a panel driving method. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the input devices for consumer electronic products are mainly touch panels, and some products also use styluses as another input device. Operating electronic products with fingers is intuitive and convenient, but it may not be suitable for all occasions. If you need to input on a small electronic product panel or want to input content accurately, it is more convenient to use a stylus to write input.

[0003] On the other hand, as panels become thinner and lighter, many devices installed on the panels are being studied in a way of integration. However, the display screen, touch panel and stylus sensing module on the panel may interfere with each other due to being too close to each other, which may cause the touch point to shake at the least, or even cause the stylus to break the line when drawing, or the touch to be insensitive. Therefore, how to make the display screen, touch panel and stylus sensing module still operate normally when they are very close to each other is one of the research directions. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention is directed to a panel driving device and a panel driving method, which adopts time multiplexing to avoid touch sensing and electromagnetic sensing from operating at the same time, thereby avoiding mutual interference between touch sensing and electromagnetic sensing.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a panel driving device is applicable to a panel structure having an electromagnetic sensor and a touch sensing and display layer. The panel driving device includes an electromagnetic sensing device and a touch display integration device. The electromagnetic sensing device is used to control the electromagnetic sensor. The touch display integration device is directly coupled to the electromagnetic sensing device to control the touch sensing and display layer. The electromagnetic sensing device enables a blocking signal to the touch display integration device during electromagnetic sensing. The touch display integration device disables touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer according to the enabling period of the blocking signal. The electromagnetic sensing device enables electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor during the electromagnetic sensing period.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a panel driving method is applicable to a panel structure having an electromagnetic sensor and a touch sensing and display layer. The panel driving method comprises: enabling a blocking signal during an electromagnetic sensing period; disabling touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer during an enabling period of the blocking signal; and enabling electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor during the electromagnetic sensing period.

[0007] Based on the above, the panel driving device and the panel driving method described in the embodiments of the present invention utilize the electromagnetic sensing device in the panel driving device to actively provide a blocking signal to the touch display integration device during the electromagnetic sensing period, so that the touch display integration device disables touch sensing during the electromagnetic sensing period. Therefore, timing multiplexing is used to avoid touch sensing and electromagnetic sensing from operating at the same time, thereby avoiding mutual interference between touch sensing and electromagnetic sensing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a panel structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a panel driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a panel driving method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of signals corresponding to a panel and a panel driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Description of Reference Numerals

[0013] 110A, 110B: Panel structure

[0014] 112: Glass layer

[0015] 114: Touch panel

[0016] 115, 117: Polarizer

[0017] 116-1: Liquid crystal display layer

[0018] 116-2: Touch sensing and display layer

[0019] 118: Backlight module

[0020] 119:Electromagnetic sensor layer

[0021] 200: Panel drive device

[0022] 210: Host device

[0023] 220: Touch display integrated device

[0024] 230: Electromagnetic sensing device

[0025] S310-S370: Steps of the panel driving method

[0026] 410~480: Arrow

[0027] Dframe1, Dframe2: display frame

[0028] DG11~DG13, DG21~DG23: Display group

[0029] TE: Touch Enable Period

[0030] TDdis: Touch disabled time

[0031] DDrv: Display period

[0032] dPenS: proximity detection signal

[0033] Sdis: blocking signal

[0034] TP1, TP2: time points

[0035] EMREN: Electromagnetic sensing period

[0036] TIS: Touch interrupt signal

[0037] TSS: Touch Sense Signal DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0039] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a panel structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 There are two panel structures 110A and 110B. Figure 1 The panel structure 110A includes a glass layer 112, a touch panel 114, polarizers 115 and 117, a liquid crystal display layer 116-1, a backlight module 118, and an electromagnetic sensor (EMR) layer 119. The touch panel 114 may be a capacitive touch panel, and a user may input information into an electronic product through the touch panel 114 by using a finger. The polarizers 115 and 117, the liquid crystal display layer 116-1, and the backlight module 118 serve as a display screen for the electronic product. The electromagnetic sensor layer 119 is used to sense the approach, touch, and distance of a stylus or a corresponding touch component, thereby realizing information input from the stylus or the touch component.

[0040] because Figure 1 The distance D1 between the touch panel 114 and the electromagnetic sensor layer 119 is relatively large, so there is less interference between the two. Figure 1 The touch panel 114 and the liquid crystal display layer 116-1 in the panel structure 110A can be integrated with each other. Figure 1The touch sensing and display layer 116-2 in the panel structure 110B makes the panel thinner, but also makes Figure 1 The distance D2 between the touch sensing and display layer 116 - 2 and the electromagnetic sensor layer 119 is further shortened, resulting in the touch sensing and display layer 116 - 2 and the electromagnetic sensor layer 119 interfering with each other. Figure 1 Components with the same reference numerals in the panel structures 110A and 110B have the same functions.

[0041] The touch sensing and display layer 116 - 2 is controlled by a touch display integration device (eg, a touch / display integration (TDDI) chip), and the electromagnetic sensor layer 119 is controlled by an electromagnetic sensing device. These two devices do not communicate with each other.

[0042] Therefore, the embodiments corresponding to the present invention establish a communication channel between the aforementioned touch display integration device and the electromagnetic sensing device, so that the electromagnetic sensing device can use a signal to notify the touch display integration device, so that the touch display integration device knows when the electromagnetic sensing device will start and end the electromagnetic sensing of the stylus. At this time, the touch display integration device will suspend its own touch sensing function to avoid mutual interference between the electromagnetic sensing and touch sensing functions. The following embodiments consistent with the present invention are provided for reference.

[0043] Figure 2 2 is a schematic diagram of a panel driving device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The panel driving device 200 is applicable to a panel structure having an electromagnetic sensor and a touch sensing and display layer, for example, Figure 1 Panel structure 110B. The panel driving device 200 is coupled to the corresponding driven panel to implement the embodiment of the present invention. The panel driving device 200 includes a host device 210, a touch display integration device 220 and an electromagnetic sensing device 230. The host device 210 is coupled to the electromagnetic sensing device 230 and the touch display integration device 220. The host device 210 is used to maintain the operation of the panel driving device 200. The host device 210 of this embodiment can be a mainboard, a central processing unit, etc. of a consumer electronic device (such as a tablet device, a portable computer, a mobile phone).

[0044] In some embodiments, the host device 210 may not have sufficient computing power and the overall system may be unstable. If the host device 210 is used to perform the driving method of the embodiment of the present invention, it is easy to cause problems such as untimely switching and pauses that reduce the user's writing experience. Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention mainly uses Figure 2 The electromagnetic sensing device 230 directly implements timing multiplexing of the blocking signal Sdis provided by the touch display integration device 220 .

[0045] The touch display integration device 220 is directly coupled to the electromagnetic sensing device 230. The touch display integration device 220 is used to control the touch sensing and display layer (eg, Figure 1 The electromagnetic sensing device 230 is used to control the electromagnetic sensor in the control panel structure (for example, Figure 1 The touch display integrated device 220 can be implemented using a touch panel integrated (TDDI) chip.

[0046] The electromagnetic sensing device 230 of this embodiment is directly coupled to the touch display integration device 220 using a general purpose input and output (GPIO) pin. The electromagnetic sensing device 230 uses the general purpose input and output pin to provide the blocking signal Sdis of this embodiment to the touch display integration device 220.

[0047] The electromagnetic sensing device 230 enables the blocking signal Sdis to the touch display integration device 220 during the electromagnetic sensing period. The touch display integration device disables the touch sensing and touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer according to the enabling period of the blocking signal Sdis. In addition, the electromagnetic sensing device 230 enables the electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor during the aforementioned electromagnetic sensing period. In this way, timing multiplexing can be used to avoid the touch sensing controlled by the touch display integration device 220 and the electromagnetic sensing controlled by the electromagnetic sensing device 230 from operating at the same time. The detailed panel driving method and the corresponding signals in the panel driving device 200 are shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 , so that those who apply this embodiment can better understand it.

[0048] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a panel driving method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of signals corresponding to a panel and a panel driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 and Figure 4 can be Figure 2 The middle panel driving device 200 is implemented. To describe this embodiment in detail, Figure 3 Steps S310, S320, S330, S350 and S360 are performed by Figure 2 The electromagnetic sensing device 230 performs, Figure 3 Steps S340, S3450, and S370 are performed by Figure 2 The touch display integration device 220 executes.

[0049] Here is an explanation Figure 4 The first three rows. Figure 4The first three rows present the actions of multiple display frames, display groups and touch sensing and display layers. Each display frame includes one or more display groups, for example, display frame Dframe1 includes three display groups DG11, DG12 and DG13; display frame Dframe2 includes three display groups DG21, DG22 and DG23. Each display group includes one or more touch periods and display periods DDrv. The touch periods planned in a display group can be divided into touch enabling periods TE and touch disabling periods TDdis. In the touch enabling period TE, Figure 2 The touch display integrated device 220 will Figure 1 The touch sensing and display layer 116-2 detects the touch position of the finger and sends the corresponding coordinate command to the host device 210. This operation is called "touch sensing". On the other hand, during the touch disabled period TDdis, Figure 2 The touch display integration device 220 will suspend the aforementioned touch sensing due to the enabling of the touch interrupt signal TIS, and stop sending the coordinate command to the host device 210 .

[0050] Please also refer to Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 In step S310, the electromagnetic sensor 230 detects whether the stylus or the corresponding touch component is on the panel structure (such as Figure 1 In the present embodiment, when the stylus pen or the corresponding touch component approaches the writing range of the panel structure (for example, both approach to 5 to 25 mm), the electromagnetic sensor 230 will enable the proximity detection signal dPenS.

[0051] In step S320, when the proximity detection signal dPenS is enabled, Figure 2 The electromagnetic sensing device 230 enters the electromagnetic sensing period EMREN and enables the blocking signal Sdis (as shown by arrow 410). In step S330, Figure 2 The electromagnetic sensing device 230 enables electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor (eg, Figure 4 Arrow 420 and Figure 4 The first delay period (100 ms) is set to prevent electromagnetic sensing from being interfered with by touch sensing too early, which may cause the stylus sensing to be offset.

[0052] Alternatively, in step S340, Figure 2After receiving the enabled blocking signal Sdis, the touch display integration device 220 enables the touch interrupt signal TIS (as shown by arrow 430), and disables the touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer in step S345 (as shown by arrows 440-1 to 440-4). Disabling touch sensing means replacing the touch sensing and display layer from the original touch enable period TE to the touch disable period TDdis, and at this time the touch sensing signal TSS changes from enable to disable. In other words, the touch sensing and display layer was originally controlled to alternately perform display driving (i.e., display period DDrv) and touch sensing (i.e., touch enable period TE). During the enable period of the blocking signal Sdis, the display driving (display period DDrv) is still performed, but the touch sensing period changes from enable (touch enable period TE) to disable (touch disable period TDdis).

[0053] When the stylus or the corresponding touch component is away from the sensing range of the electromagnetic sensor in the panel structure, the electromagnetic sensor 230 disables the proximity detection signal dPenS (step S350 ), ends the electromagnetic sensing period EMRE and disables the blocking signal Sdis (step S355 ) (as indicated by arrow 450 ).

[0054] When the blocking signal Sdis is disabled, in step S360, Figure 2 The electromagnetic sensing device 230 disables the electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor at the time point TP2 when the blocking signal dPenS is switched from enabled to disabled (as indicated by arrow 460). And, in step S370, Figure 2 The touch display integrated device 220 switches the touch interrupt signal TIS from enable to disable (as shown by arrow 470) after a second delay period (e.g., 50ms) after the time point TP2 when the blocking signal dPenS is switched from enable to disable, and switches the touch sensing signal TSS from disable to enable (as shown by arrow 480) to restore touch sensing. The second delay period (50ms) is set before starting touch sensing to ensure that there is no interference caused by system delay. Figure 3 After steps S360 and S370 are completed, the process returns to step S310.

[0055] In summary, the panel driving device and the panel driving method described in the embodiments of the present invention utilize the electromagnetic sensing device in the panel driving device to actively provide a blocking signal to the touch display integration device during the electromagnetic sensing period, so that the touch display integration device disables touch sensing during the electromagnetic sensing period. Therefore, timing multiplexing is used to avoid touch sensing and electromagnetic sensing from operating at the same time, thereby avoiding mutual interference between touch sensing and electromagnetic sensing.

[0056] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A panel driving device, characterized in that: The panel driving device is suitable for a panel structure having an electromagnetic sensor and a touch sensing and display layer, and the panel driving device includes: an electromagnetic sensing device for controlling the electromagnetic sensor; and A touch display integrated device is directly coupled to the electromagnetic sensing device to control the touch sensing and display layer. The electromagnetic sensing device is capable of blocking a signal from being sent to the touch display integrated device during the electromagnetic sensing period. The touch display integration device disables the touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer according to the enabling of the blocking signal, The electromagnetic sensing device enables electromagnetic sensing by the electromagnetic sensor during the electromagnetic sensing period.

2. The panel driving device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electromagnetic sensing device detects whether the stylus pen is within the sensing range of the panel structure according to the electromagnetic sensor to enable a proximity detection signal. When the proximity detection signal is enabled, the electromagnetic sensing device enables the blocking signal and starts the electromagnetic sensing period, The electromagnetic sensing device enables the electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor at a start time point of the electromagnetic sensing period and after a first delay period, and, The electromagnetic sensing device disables the electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor when the proximity detection signal is disabled.

3. The panel driving device according to claim 2, characterized in that: After receiving the enabling blocking signal, the touch display integrated device disables the touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer. The touch-display integrated device enables the touch sensing of the touch-sensing and display layer after receiving the disabled blocking signal.

4. The panel driving device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touch display integration device controls the touch sensing and display layer to perform display driving and touch sensing alternately. The touch display integration device still performs display driving during the enabling period of the blocking signal, but disables the touch sensing period, and, The touch display integration device restores the touch sensing enable after a second delay period after the time point when the enable is converted to the disable in the blocking signal.

5. The panel driving device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electromagnetic sensing device is directly coupled to the touch display integration device by using a universal input and output pin, and the electromagnetic sensing device provides the blocking signal to the touch display integration device by using the universal input and output pin.

6. The panel driving device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The host device is coupled to the electromagnetic sensing device and the touch display integration device, and the host device maintains the operation of the panel driving device.

7. A panel driving method, characterized in that: The panel driving method is applicable to a panel structure having an electromagnetic sensor and a touch sensing and display layer, and the panel driving method includes: enabling a blocking signal during electromagnetic sensing; disabling touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer according to the enabling period of the blocking signal; and Electromagnetic sensing by the electromagnetic sensor is enabled during the electromagnetic sensing period.

8. The panel driving method according to claim 7, characterized in that: Enabling the blocking signal during the electromagnetic sensing includes: Detecting whether the stylus pen is within the sensing range of the panel structure according to the electromagnetic sensor to enable a proximity detection signal; When the proximity detection signal is enabled, entering the electromagnetic sensing period and enabling the blocking signal; enabling the electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor at a start time point of the electromagnetic sensing period and after a first delay period; and When the proximity detection signal is disabled, the electromagnetic sensing of the electromagnetic sensor is disabled.

9. The panel driving method according to claim 7, characterized in that: After obtaining the enabling blocking signal, disabling the touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer, After obtaining the disabled blocking signal, the touch sensing of the touch sensing and display layer is enabled.

10. The panel driving method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The touch sensing and display layer is controlled to perform display driving and touch sensing alternately, During the enabling period of the blocking signal, the display driving is still performed, but the touch sensing period is disabled, and, A second delay period passes after the time point when the enable is converted to the disable in the blocking signal to restore the touch sensing enable.

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