Driver circuit for changing frequency and method for operating same

Abstract

The invention relates to a driver circuit for changing frequency and a method for operating the same. And a driving circuit including a sensor driver and a display driver. The sensor driver outputs a touch signal, and the display driver receives a first interface signal from the processor and outputs a feedback signal to the processor. When a first frequency of the first interface signal matches a second frequency of a touch signal received from the sensor driver, a feedback signal indicative of a third frequency is output. The third frequency is different from the first frequency.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0118317 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on September 6, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] One or more embodiments described herein relate to a driving circuit for changing a frequency, a method for operating the same, and a display device including the same. Background Art

[0004] Displays are used in many electronic devices. Examples of displays include liquid crystal display devices and organic light emitting display devices. Many of these devices include touch sensors.

[0005] In operation, the touch signals provided to the electrodes of the touch sensor may act as electrical interference (EMI) (or noise) to components within the touch sensor, the display device, and / or components of the host electronic device. This noise may reduce the reliability of operations performed by the touch sensor, the display device, and / or the electronic device. Summary of the invention

[0006] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display driver that changes the frequency of an internal signal of a display device to prevent interference with the frequency of a touch signal, and also provide a method for operating the same and a display device including the same.

[0007] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a driving circuit includes: a sensor driver that outputs a touch signal; and a display driver that receives a first interface signal from a processor and, when a first frequency of the first interface signal matches a second frequency of the touch signal received from the sensor driver, outputs a feedback signal indicating a third frequency to the processor, the third frequency being different from the first frequency.

[0008] The display driver receives a second interface signal generated based on the third frequency from the processor, and a time point at which a logic level of the second interface signal changes and a time point at which a logic level of the touch signal changes are different.

[0009] The display driver includes: a frequency counter that calculates a first frequency of a first interface signal and a second frequency of a touch signal; a comparator that outputs a change signal according to whether the first frequency and the second frequency match; and a frequency generator that generates a feedback signal indicating a third frequency when receiving the change signal.

[0010] When the first frequency and the second frequency match, the comparator outputs a change signal to the frequency generator.

[0011] The frequency generator generates a third frequency by adding a difference frequency to the first frequency.

[0012] The frequency generator generates a third frequency by subtracting the difference frequency from the first frequency.

[0013] The frequency counter calculates a first frequency by counting the number of switchings of the reference clock signal during a first reference time, and calculates a second frequency by counting the number of switchings of the reference clock signal during a second reference time.

[0014] The frequency counter includes: an oscillator that generates a reference clock signal; and a counter that counts the number of switchings of the reference clock signal during a first reference time and counts the number of switchings of the reference clock signal during a second reference time.

[0015] The display driver communicates with the processor via the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) protocol.

[0016] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for operating a display driver that communicates with a processor and a sensor driver is provided, including: receiving a first interface signal from the processor; receiving a touch signal from the sensor driver; comparing whether a first frequency of the first interface signal and a second frequency of the touch signal match; and when the first frequency and the second frequency match, outputting a feedback signal indicating a third frequency different from the first frequency to the processor.

[0017] The method may further include: after outputting the third frequency to the processor, receiving a second interface signal generated based on the third frequency from the processor, wherein a time point at which a logic level of the second interface signal changes and a time point at which a logic level of the touch signal changes are different.

[0018] The method may further include: calculating a first frequency of the first interface signal when the first interface signal is received from the processor; and calculating a second frequency of the touch signal when the touch signal is received from the display driver.

[0019] Generating the third frequency may include generating the third frequency by adding the difference frequency to the first frequency.

[0020] Generating the third frequency may include generating the third frequency by subtracting the difference frequency from the first frequency.

[0021] The display driver communicates with the processor via the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) protocol.

[0022] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a display device includes: a display driver that displays an image on a display portion based on a first interface signal received from a processor; and a sensor driver that generates sensing data by detecting a touch of an adjacent sensor portion by a touch signal, wherein when a first frequency of the first interface signal and a second frequency of the touch signal received from the sensor driver match, the display driver outputs a feedback signal indicating a third frequency to the processor, and the third frequency is different from the first frequency.

[0023] The display driver receives a second interface signal generated based on the third frequency from the processor, and a time point at which a logic level of the second interface signal changes and a time point at which a logic level of the touch signal changes are different.

[0024] The display driver includes: a frequency counter that calculates a first frequency of a first interface signal and a second frequency of a touch signal; a comparator that outputs a change signal according to whether the first frequency and the second frequency match; and a frequency generator that generates a feedback signal indicating a third frequency when receiving the change signal.

[0025] When the first frequency and the second frequency match, the comparator outputs a change signal to the frequency generator.

[0026] The frequency generator generates a third frequency by adding a difference frequency to the first frequency.

[0027] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the display driver may be connected to a first wiring and a second wiring, the first wiring connecting the display driver to the processor and the second wiring connecting the display driver to the touch sensor, wherein the first wiring overlaps the second wiring.

[0028] According to one or more embodiments, the device includes a drive circuit connected to a first wiring and a second wiring, the first wiring connecting the drive circuit to the processor, and the second wiring connecting the drive circuit to the touch sensor. The first wiring may overlap with the second wiring. When the first frequency of the first interface signal propagated by the first wiring is equal to the second frequency of the touch signal propagated by the second wiring, the drive circuit may generate a feedback signal, and may receive a second interface signal having a third frequency in response to the feedback signal propagated by the first wiring, the third frequency being different from the first frequency.

[0029] The feedback signal may include information indicating a target frequency corresponding to the third frequency. The driving circuit may include a comparator configured to compare the first frequency and the second frequency, and generate the feedback signal when the comparator indicates that the first frequency is equal to the second frequency.

[0030] According to the driving circuit, the method for operating the same, and the display device including the same of the present disclosure, the display device can prevent interference generated when a touch is detected by making the frequencies of the touch signal and the interface signal different. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 A block diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0032] Figure 2 A block diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] Figure 3 A block diagram showing the structure of a display driver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 4 The embodiment according to the present disclosure is shown Figure 3 Timing diagram of the operation of the frequency counter.

[0035] Figure 5 A timing diagram of an implementation of a first interface signal and a touch signal according to an implementation of the present disclosure is shown.

[0036] Figure 6 A timing diagram illustrating an implementation of a second interface signal and a touch signal according to an implementation of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method for operating a display driver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0038] Figure 8 A flowchart of a method for operating a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure.

[0040] In the drawings, parts or portions not related to the present disclosure are omitted to clarify the description of the present disclosure, and the same reference numerals denote the same constituent elements throughout the specification.

[0041] In addition, the terms such as "unit" and "module" used below or the functional blocks shown in the drawings can be implemented in the form of software configuration, hardware configuration or a combination thereof. In order to clearly describe the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure, the detailed description of repeated constituent elements is omitted.

[0042] Figure 1 A block diagram of a display device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0043] refer to Figure 1 The display device 1 includes a panel 10 and a driving circuit 20 for driving the panel 10. In addition, the display device 1 may further include a processor or may be connected to a processor that may be located outside the panel 10, for example.

[0044] The panel 10 may include a display unit 110 for displaying an image and a sensor unit 120 for sensing an input, which may take the form of, for example, touch, application of pressure, hovering, biometric information (or biometric characteristics, such as fingerprints), etc. For example, the display unit 110 may include pixels PX, and the sensor unit 120 may include a sensor SC arranged to overlap at least some of the pixels PX. In this embodiment, the sensor SC may include a first sensor TX (or drive electrode) and a second sensor RX (or sensing electrode). In one embodiment (for example, when the sensor unit 120 operates in a self-capacitance mode), the sensor SC may be configured as a type of sensor that does not distinguish between the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX.

[0045] The driving circuit 20 may include a display driver (D-IC) 210 for driving the display unit 110 and a sensor driver (T-IC) 220 for driving the sensor unit 120. In some embodiments, the display unit 110 and the sensor unit 120 may be manufactured separately from each other, and then may be arranged and / or combined so that at least one area thereof overlaps with each other. In one embodiment, the display unit 110 and the sensor unit 120 may be manufactured integrally. For example, the sensor unit 120 may be formed directly on at least one substrate (e.g., an upper substrate and / or a lower substrate or a thin film encapsulation layer of a display panel) or other insulating layers or various functional films (e.g., an optical layer or a passivation layer) forming the display unit 110.

[0046] At the same time, Figure 1 , the sensor unit 120 is shown as being disposed on the front surface (e.g., the upper surface on which an image is displayed) of the display unit 110, but the position of the sensor unit 120 is not limited thereto. For example, in another embodiment, the sensor unit 120 may be disposed on the rear surface or a corresponding surface of the display unit 110. In another embodiment, the sensor unit 120 may be disposed on at least one edge region of the display unit 110.

[0047] The display unit 110 may include a display substrate 111 and a plurality of pixels PX formed on the display substrate 111. The pixels PX may be disposed in a display area DA of the display substrate 111.

[0048] The display substrate 111 may include a display area DA in which an image is displayed and a non-display area NDA outside the display area DA (e.g., adjacent to the display area DA). In some embodiments, the display area DA may be disposed in a central area of ​​the display unit 110, and the non-display area NDA may be disposed in an edge (or frame) area of ​​the display unit 110 so as to partially or completely surround the display area DA.

[0049] The display substrate 111 may be a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate, and its material or physical properties are not particularly limited. For example, the display substrate 111 may be a rigid substrate made of glass or tempered glass or a flexible substrate formed of a film made of plastic or metal material.

[0050] The display area DA includes a scan line SL and a data line DL connected to a corresponding pixel PX in the pixel PX. The pixel PX is selected by a scan signal of a conduction level provided from the scan line SL. When the pixel PX is selected by the scan signal, the pixel PX can receive a data signal from the data line DL to emit light having a brightness corresponding to the data signal. When combined with the light emitted from other pixels PX, an image can be displayed in the display area DA. In the present disclosure, the structure and driving method of the pixel PX are not particularly limited. For example, the pixel PX can have various structures (e.g., the arrangement of sub-pixels) and can be driven by various driving methods.

[0051] In the non-display area NDA, various wirings may be included and connected to the pixels PX and / or internal circuit parts of the display area DA. For example, in the non-display area NDA, a plurality of wirings for providing various power and control signals to the display area DA may be provided. In addition, one or more drivers (e.g., a scan driver, an emission driver, etc.) may be further provided in the non-display area NDA.

[0052] In the present disclosure, the type of the display unit 110 is not particularly limited. For example, the display unit 110 can be implemented as a self-luminous type display panel such as an organic light-emitting display panel. However, when the display unit 110 is implemented as a self-luminous type, each of the pixels PX is not limited to the case of only including organic light-emitting elements. For example, the light-emitting element of each of the pixels PX may include an organic light-emitting diode, an inorganic light-emitting diode, and a quantum dot / well light-emitting diode. A plurality of light-emitting elements may be provided in each of the pixels PX. In this case, the plurality of light-emitting elements may be connected in series, in parallel, or in series / in parallel. Alternatively, the display unit 110 may be implemented as a non-luminous type display panel such as a liquid crystal display panel. When the display unit 110 is implemented as a non-luminous type, the display device 1 may additionally include a light source such as a backlight unit.

[0053] The sensor unit 120 includes a sensor substrate 121 and a plurality of sensors SC formed on the sensor substrate 121. The sensors SC may be disposed in a sensing area SA on the sensor substrate 121. As shown, the sensing area SA overlaps all or a portion of the display area DA.

[0054] The sensor substrate 121 may include a sensing area SA capable of sensing a touch input, etc., and a peripheral area NSA outside the sensing area SA (e.g., adjacent to or surrounding the sensing area SA). In some embodiments, the sensing area SA may be configured to overlap with at least one area of ​​the display area DA. For example, the sensing area SA may be set to an area corresponding to the display area DA (e.g., an area overlapping the display area DA), and the peripheral area NSA may be set to an area corresponding to the non-display area NDA (e.g., an area overlapping the non-display area NDA). In this case, when a touch input, etc. is provided on the display area DA, the touch input may be detected by the sensor unit 120.

[0055] The sensor substrate 121 may be a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate, and may be configured as at least one insulating film. In addition, the sensor substrate 121 may be a transparent or translucent transmissive substrate, but is not limited thereto. In the present disclosure, the material and physical properties of the sensor substrate 121 are not particularly limited. For example, the sensor substrate 121 may be a rigid substrate made of glass or tempered glass or a flexible substrate formed of a thin film made of plastic or metal material. In addition, in some embodiments, at least one substrate (e.g., a display substrate 111, an encapsulation substrate, and / or a thin film encapsulation layer) forming the display unit 110 or at least one layer of an insulating film or a functional film disposed on the inner and / or outer surfaces of the display unit 110 may be used as the sensor substrate 121.

[0056] The sensing area SA is an area that can react to touch input (ie, corresponds to an active area of ​​the sensor unit 120). To this end, a sensor SC for sensing touch input, etc. may be provided in the sensing area SA. In some embodiments, the sensor SC may include a first sensor TX and a second sensor RX.

[0057] For example, the corresponding first sensor TX may extend in the first direction DR1 and may be arranged in the second direction DR2. The second direction DR2 may be different from the first direction DR1. For example, the second direction DR2 may be a direction crossing the first direction DR1. In another embodiment, the extending direction and the arrangement direction of the first sensor TX may have different configurations.

[0058] For example, each second sensor RX may extend in the second direction DR2 and may be arranged in the first direction DR1. In another embodiment, the extending direction and the arrangement direction of the second sensors RX may have different configurations. Figure 1 , each of the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX is shown in a diamond shape, but may be configured in various other shapes such as a circle, a quadrangle, a triangle, and a mesh form.

[0059] In some embodiments, each of the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX may have electrical conductivity by including at least one of a metal material, a transparent conductive material, and / or various other conductive materials. For example, the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX may include at least one of various metal materials such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), neodymium (Nd), copper (Cu), and platinum (Pt) or alloys thereof. In this case, the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX may be configured in a grid form, for example. In addition, the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX may include materials such as silver nanowires (AgNW), indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), antimony zinc oxide (AZO), indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (SnO 2 ), at least one of various transparent conductive materials of carbon nanotubes and graphene. In addition, the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX may have conductivity by including at least one of various conductive materials. In addition, each of the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX may be made of a single layer or a multilayer, and its cross-sectional structure is not particularly limited.

[0060] In the peripheral area NSA of the sensor unit 120 , sensor lines for electrically connecting the first sensor TX and the second sensor RX to the sensor driver 220 , etc. may be provided according to a predetermined arrangement.

[0061] The driving circuit 20 may include a display driver 210 for driving the display unit 110 and a sensor driver 220 for driving the sensor unit 120. In this embodiment, the display driver 210 and the sensor driver 220 may be configured by integrated chips independent of each other. In another embodiment, at least a portion of the display driver 210 and the sensor driver 220 may be integrated together in one integrated circuit (IC).

[0062] The display driver 210 is electrically connected to the display unit 110 to drive the pixels PX. For example, the display driver 210 may include a data driver and a timing controller, and a scan driver may be separately installed in the non-display area NDA of the display unit 110. In another embodiment, the display driver 210 may include all or at least some of the data driver, the timing controller, and the scan driver. The display driver 210 may receive image data and control signals from the processor.

[0063] The sensor driver 220 is electrically connected to the sensor unit 120 to drive the sensor unit 120. The sensor driver 220 may generate sensing data by sensing a touch adjacent to the sensor unit 120 by a touch signal. The sensor driver 220 may include a sensor transmitter and a sensor receiver. In some embodiments, the sensor transmitter and the sensor receiver may be integrated into one IC, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0064] The sensor driver 220 may provide a control signal to the sensor transmitter and the sensor receiver so that the sensor unit 120 may sense a touch. The sensor transmitter may provide a touch signal to the first sensor TX (and / or the second sensor RX), and the sensor receiver may receive a sensing signal corresponding to the touch signal from the second sensor RX (and / or the first sensor TX).

[0065] Figure 2 A block diagram of a display device 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0066] refer to Figure 2 The display device 2 may include a panel 10, a driving circuit 20 and a processor 30. Figure 1 The panel 10 and the driving circuit 20 are similarly described Figure 2 The panel 10 and the driving circuit 20 are shown in FIG. 1 , and redundant descriptions will be simplified or omitted.

[0067] The processor 30 may control operations of the display driver 210 and the sensor driver 220. For example, the processor 30 may correspond to at least one of a graphic processing unit (GPU), a central processing unit (CPU), and an application processor (AP).

[0068] The processor 30 may output a grayscale and a timing signal for each display frame period to the display driver 210. The processor 30 may analyze the sensing data received from the sensor driver 220 to perform an operation corresponding to the touch input.

[0069] The processor 30 may communicate with each of the display driver 210 and the sensor driver 220 through at least one communication interface. For example, the processor 30 may communicate with the display driver 210 through a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) protocol. The display driver 210 may display an image on the display portion of the panel 10 based on the interface signal IS1 or IS2 received from the processor 30.

[0070] In one embodiment, the processor 30 may communicate with the sensor driver 220 through an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interface or a serial peripheral interface (SPI). According to the structure of the display device 2, the wiring through which the touch signal TS is transmitted from the sensor driver 220 to the panel 10 and the wiring through which the first interface signal IS1 is transmitted from the processor 30 to the display driver 210 may overlap, for example, in a layout view. The first interface signal IS1 may be a signal for the processor 30 to control the display driver 210. The touch signal TS may be a signal output by the sensor driver 220 to the panel 10 to sense a touch provided to the panel 10.

[0071] When the first interface signal IS1 and the touch signal TS have the same frequency (in a structure in which the wiring through which the first interface signal IS1 and the touch signal TS are transmitted overlap), interference may be generated by the first interface signal IS1 when a touch is sensed based on the touch signal TS. As a result, the accuracy of the operation of sensing a touch provided to the panel 10 may be adversely affected.

[0072] To prevent this, the display driver 210 may detect whether the first interface signal IS1 and the touch signal TS have the same frequency, and may then perform a frequency change operation based on the result. For example, when the first frequency of the first interface signal IS1 and the second frequency of the touch signal TS are the same, the display driver 210 may notify the processor 30 of a target frequency TF different from the first frequency.

[0073] The display driver 210 may notify the processor 30 of the target frequency TF by outputting a feedback signal indicating the target frequency TF to the processor 30. The target frequency TF may have one of various digital or analog forms. For example, the display driver 210 may output a pulse signal having the target frequency TF to the processor 30. As another example, the display driver 210 may output a data bit indicating the target frequency TF to the processor 30.

[0074] The processor 30 may output the second interface signal IS2 at the target frequency TF to the display driver 210. For example, since the display driver 210 and the processor 30 communicate through the second interface signal IS2 having a frequency different from that of the touch signal TS, even if wiring through which the second interface signal IS2 and the touch signal TS are transmitted overlaps, interference through the second interface signal IS2 may be prevented.

[0075] Figure 3 A block diagram showing the structure of the display driver 210 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0076] refer to Figure 3 , the display driver 210 may include a frequency counter 211, a comparator 212, and a frequency generator 213. The frequency counter 211 may receive the first interface signal IS1 from the processor 30. The frequency counter 211 may receive the touch signal TS from the sensor driver 220.

[0077] The frequency counter 211 may generate a first frequency FQ1 by calculating the frequency of the first interface signal IS1. The frequency counter 211 may generate a second frequency FQ2 by calculating the frequency of the touch signal TS. The frequency counter 211 may notify the comparator 212 of the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2.

[0078] The comparator 212 may compare whether the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 match. When the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 match, the comparator 212 may output a change signal CR to the frequency generator 213. When the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 do not match, the comparator 212 may not output a change signal CR to the frequency generator 213.

[0079] When the frequency generator 213 receives the change signal CR, it can generate a target frequency TF. The frequency generator 213 can generate the target frequency TF by adding a predetermined difference frequency to the first frequency FQ1 or subtracting a predetermined difference frequency from the first frequency FQ1. In one embodiment, the target frequency TF can be a frequency that generates a predetermined amount (e.g., minimum) interference at the second frequency FQ2 of the touch signal TS. The frequency generator 213 can notify the processor 30 of the target frequency TF.

[0080] Figure 4 Shown for Figure 3 FIG. 2 is a timing diagram of the operation of the frequency counter 211.

[0081] refer to Figure 4, shows the operation of the frequency counter 211 to calculate the frequency of the first interface signal IS1 based on the reference clock signal RC. The frequency counter 211 can calculate the frequency of the first interface signal IS1 by counting the number of switching times (or the number of rising edges or falling edges) of the reference clock signal RC during the reference time RT. For example, the reference time RT may correspond to a multiple of the period of the first interface signal IS1. In an embodiment, the frequency counter 211 may include an oscillator that generates the reference clock signal RC and a counter that counts the number of switching times (or the number of rising edges) of the reference clock signal RC during the reference time RT.

[0082] Figure 4 Only the operation of the frequency counter 211 to calculate the frequency of the first interface signal IS1 is shown. The frequency counter 211 can calculate the frequency of the touch signal TS in a similar manner (e.g., based on the reference clock signal RC). For example, the frequency counter 211 can calculate the frequency of the touch signal TS by counting the number of switching times (or the number of rising edges) of the reference clock signal RC within a time corresponding to a multiple of the period of the touch signal TS.

[0083] Figure 5 A timing diagram of an embodiment of the first interface signal IS1 and the touch signal TS is shown.

[0084] refer to Figure 3 and Figure 5 , shows a first interface signal IS1 received by the display driver 210 from the processor 30 and a touch signal TS received by the display driver 210 from the sensor driver 220 .

[0085] The first interface signal IS1 may have a first frequency FQ1, and the touch signal TS may have a second frequency FQ2. The period of the first interface signal IS1 may correspond to the length of the period between the time point t1 and the time point t2. The period of the touch signal TS may be the length of the segment between the time point t1 and the time point t2. For example, when the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 are the same, the period of the first interface signal IS1 and the period of the touch signal TS may be the same. The time point t1 may be the time point when the display driver 210 receives the first interface signal IS1 and the touch signal TS.

[0086] With reference to time point t2, the logic level of the first interface signal IS1 may change (e.g., from a low level to a high level). For example, time point t2 may be the time point of the rising edge of the first interface signal IS1. With reference to time point t2, the logic level of the touch signal TS may change (e.g., from a low level to a high level). For example, time point t2 may be the time point of the rising edge of the touch signal TS.

[0087] When the time points at which the corresponding logic levels of the first interface signal IS1 and the touch signal TS change are the same, interference caused by the first interface signal IS1 may be generated when a touch is detected based on the touch signal TS. Therefore, according to one or more embodiments, the display device 2 may control the second interface signal IS2 to have a frequency different from the second frequency FQ2 of the touch signal TS.

[0088] Figure 6 A timing diagram of an embodiment of the second interface signal IS2 and the touch signal TS is shown.

[0089] refer to Figure 3 and Figure 6 , shows the second interface signal IS2 received by the display driver 210 from the processor 30 and the touch signal TS received by the display driver 210 from the sensor driver 220.

[0090] The second interface signal IS2 may have a target frequency TF, and the touch signal TS may have a second frequency FQ2 different from the target frequency TF. The period of the second interface signal IS2 may be the length of the period between the time point t3 and the time point t4. The period of the touch signal TS may be the length of the segment between the time point t3 and the time point t5. Therefore, the second interface signal IS2 and the touch signal TS have different frequencies. As a result, the period of the second interface signal IS2 and the period of the touch signal TS may be different. The time point t3 may be the time point when the display driver 210 receives the second interface signal IS2 and the touch signal TS.

[0091] Referring to time point t4, the logic level of the second interface signal IS2 may change (e.g., from a low level to a high level). For example, time point t4 may be the time point of the rising edge of the second interface signal IS2. Referring to time point t5, the logic level of the touch signal TS may change (e.g., from a low level to a high level). For example, time point t5 may be the time point of the rising edge of the touch signal TS.

[0092] After the display driver 210 receives the second interface signal IS2, since the corresponding logic levels of the second interface signal IS2 and the touch signal TS are different, interference caused by the second interface signal IS2 may be reduced or prevented when a touch is sensed based on the touch signal TS.

[0093] When the interference between the touch signal TS and the second interface signal IS2 is reduced or prevented by changing the frequency of the first interface signal IS1 to the frequency of the second interface signal IS2, it is not necessary to design the structure of the display device 2 so that the wiring through which the touch signal TS is transmitted and the wiring through which the second interface signal IS2 is transmitted do not overlap. That is, the structure of the display device 2 can be designed so that the wiring of the touch signal TS and the interface signal IS1 or IS2 overlaps. Therefore, the dead zone inside the display device 2 can be reduced, which in turn can allow the size of the display device 2 to be reduced.

[0094] Figure 7 2 is a flowchart of a method for operating the display driver 210 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 and Figure 7 , a method for performing a frequency changing operation by the display driver 210 is shown.

[0095] In operation S110 , the display driver 210 may receive a first interface signal IS1 from the processor 30 .

[0096] In operation S120 , the display driver 210 may receive a touch signal TS from the sensor driver 220 .

[0097] In operation S130, the display driver 210 may compare whether the first frequency FQ1 of the first interface signal IS1 and the second frequency FQ2 of the touch signal TS match. For example, the display driver 210 may calculate the first frequency FQ1 of the first interface signal IS1 and the second frequency FQ2 of the touch signal TS. When the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 match, the display driver 210 may perform operation S140. When the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 do not match, the display driver 210 may terminate the frequency changing operation.

[0098] In operation S140, the display driver 210 may generate a target frequency TF different from the first frequency FQ1. In this embodiment, the display driver 210 may generate the target frequency TF by adding a predetermined difference frequency to the first frequency FQ1 or subtracting a predetermined difference frequency from the first frequency FQ1. (In another embodiment, the processor 30 may generate the target frequency TF based on a notification signal from the display driver 210 indicating that the frequencies of the touch signal TS and the first interface signal IS1 are the same).

[0099] In operation S150, the display driver 210 may notify the processor 30 of the generated target frequency TF. For example, the display driver 210 may output a feedback signal indicating the target frequency TF to the processor 30. Then, the processor 30 may generate a second interface signal IS2 at the target frequency TF and transmit the second interface signal IS2 to the display driver 210 to drive the display panel.

[0100] Figure 8 A flowchart of a method for operating the display device 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0101] refer to Figure 2 and Figure 8 , a method of operating a display device 2 including a display driver 210, a sensor driver 220, and a processor 30 is shown.

[0102] In operation S210 , the processor 30 may output the first interface signal IS1 to the display driver 210 .

[0103] In operation S220, the sensor driver 220 may output the touch signal TS to the display driver 210. Although operation S220 has been described as being performed after operation S210, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and operation S210 may be performed after operation S220, or operation S210 and operation S220 may be performed simultaneously.

[0104] In operation S230 , the display driver 210 may calculate a first frequency FQ1 of the first interface signal IS1 and a second frequency FQ2 of the touch signal TS.

[0105] In operation S240 , the display driver 210 may compare whether the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 match.

[0106] In operation S250 , when the first frequency FQ1 and the second frequency FQ2 match, the display driver 210 may generate a target frequency TF.

[0107] In operation S260, the display driver 210 may inform the processor 30 of the target frequency TF. For example, the display driver 210 may output a feedback signal indicating the target frequency TF to the processor 30.

[0108] In operation S270 , the processor 30 may generate a second interface signal IS2 at a target frequency TF.

[0109] In operation S280 , the processor 30 may output the second interface signal IS2 to the display driver 210 .

[0110] Method described herein, technology and / or operation can be performed by the code or instruction to be performed by a computer, processor, controller or other signal processing device.Computer, processor, controller or other signal processing device can be those described herein, or the element except the element described herein.Because the algorithm of the basis of formation method (or the operation of computer, processor, controller or other signal processing device) is described in detail, the code or instruction for realizing the operation of method embodiment can convert computer, processor, controller or other signal processing device into the special processor for performing the method herein.

[0111] In addition, another embodiment may include a computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) for storing the above code or instructions. The computer-readable medium may be a volatile or non-volatile memory or other storage device, which may be detachably or fixedly coupled to a computer, processor, controller, or other signal processing device to execute the code or instructions for performing the operations of the method embodiments or apparatus embodiments herein.

[0112] The controllers, processors, frequency counters, comparators, generators, and other signal generation and signal processing features of the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented, for example, in non-transitory logic that may include hardware, software, or both. When implemented at least in part in hardware, the controllers, processors, frequency counters, comparators, generators, and other signal generation and signal processing features may be, for example, any of a variety of integrated circuits including, but not limited to, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, combinations of logic gates, systems on chips, microprocessors, or other types of processing or control circuits. In some embodiments, these features may be implemented by neural networks, machine learning logic, or other forms of artificial intelligence.

[0113] When implemented at least in part with software, controllers, processors, frequency counters, comparators, generators, and other signal generation and signal processing features may include, for example, a memory or other storage device for storing codes or instructions to be executed by, for example, a computer, processor, microprocessor, controller, or other signal processing device. The computer, processor, microprocessor, controller, or other signal processing device may be those described herein, or an element other than the elements described herein. Because the algorithm forming the basis of the method (or the operation of a computer, processor, microprocessor, controller, or other signal processing device) is described in detail, the code or instructions for implementing the operation of the method embodiment can convert a computer, processor, controller, or other signal processing device into a special processor for performing the method described herein.

[0114] Although some embodiments described herein are performed when the wiring of the interface signal and the wiring of the touch signal overlap, the display device and method described herein may be applied to other cases (eg, when the two wirings do not overlap).

[0115] The technical scope of the present disclosure can be determined by the technical scope of the attached claims. All changes or modifications made within the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents will be interpreted as being included within the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments can be combined to form additional embodiments.

Claims

1. A driving circuit, comprising: A sensor driver configured to output a touch signal; as well as A display driver is configured to receive a first interface signal from a processor and output a feedback signal indicating a third frequency to the processor when a first frequency of the first interface signal matches a second frequency of the touch signal received from the sensor driver, wherein the third frequency is different from the first frequency.

2. The driving circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The display driver is configured to receive a second interface signal generated based on the third frequency from the processor, and A time point at which the logic level of the second interface signal changes is different from a time point at which the logic level of the touch signal changes.

3. The driving circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The display driver comprises: a frequency counter configured to calculate the first frequency of the first interface signal and the second frequency of the touch signal; a comparator configured to output a change signal according to whether the first frequency and the second frequency match; and A frequency generator is configured to generate the feedback signal indicating the third frequency when receiving the change signal.

4. The driving circuit according to claim 3, wherein: The comparator is configured to output the change signal to the frequency generator when the first frequency and the second frequency match.

5. The driving circuit according to claim 3, wherein: The frequency generator is configured to generate the third frequency by adding a deficit frequency to the first frequency.

6. The driving circuit according to claim 3, wherein: The frequency generator is configured to generate the third frequency by subtracting a deficit frequency from the first frequency.

7. The driving circuit according to claim 3, wherein: The frequency counter is configured to calculate the first frequency by counting the number of switchings of the reference clock signal during a first reference time, and to calculate the second frequency by counting the number of switchings of the reference clock signal during a second reference time.

8. The driving circuit according to claim 7, wherein: The frequency counter comprises: an oscillator configured to generate the reference clock signal; and A counter is configured to count the number of toggles of the reference clock signal during the first reference time and to count the number of toggles of the reference clock signal during the second reference time.

9. The driving circuit according to claim 1, wherein: The display driver is configured to communicate with the processor via a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) protocol.

10. A method for operating a display driver, the display driver communicating with a processor and a sensor driver, the method comprising: receiving a first interface signal from the processor; receiving a touch signal from the sensor driver; comparing whether a first frequency of the first interface signal matches a second frequency of the touch signal; and When the first frequency and the second frequency match, a feedback signal indicating a third frequency different from the first frequency is output to the processor.

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