Display device and driving method thereof

Abstract

A display device is provided, comprising a display panel comprising a touch screen, a driver and a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to generate an active area setting value for driving the display panel by distinguishing an active area based on a data signal of a previous frame and a data signal of a current frame, a first touch area setting value for driving a low frequency driving area at a first driving frequency, and a second touch area setting value for deriving an expected touch coordinate based on a previous touch coordinate and a current touch coordinate and for driving an area corresponding to the expected touch coordinate at a second driving frequency, to generate a control signal for synchronously controlling the touch screen and the display panel, and to change a driving frequency of the low frequency driving area from the first driving frequency to the second driving frequency which is faster than the first driving frequency when the current touch coordinate on the touch screen corresponds to the low frequency driving area on the display panel.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2025-0056386, filed on April 29, 2025, which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to a display device and a driving method thereof. Background Technology

[0003] With the advancement of information technology, the market for display devices, which serve as a connection medium between users and information, is expanding. As a result, the use of display devices such as light-emitting diode (LED) display devices, quantum dot (QDD) display devices, and liquid crystal display (LCD) devices is increasing.

[0004] Each of the display devices mentioned above includes: a display panel, including sub-pixels; a driver, outputting drive signals for driving the display panel; and a power supply, generating power to be supplied to the display panel or the driver.

[0005] In such a display device, when driving signals (e.g., scan signals and data signals) are supplied to subpixels formed in the display panel, the selected subpixels transmit light or directly emit light, making it possible to display an image. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Therefore, this disclosure relates to a display device and a driving method thereof, which substantially eliminates one or more problems caused by the limitations and disadvantages of related technologies.

[0007] This disclosure provides a display device and its driving method for setting the MFP driving area using touch coordinates.

[0008] Additional advantages, objects, and features of this disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of this disclosure. The objects and other advantages of this disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the written description, its claims, and the accompanying drawings.

[0009] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposes of this disclosure, as embodied and generally described herein, a display device includes: a display panel including a touchscreen; a driver configured to drive the touchscreen and the display panel; and a control unit configured to control the driver, wherein the control unit is configured to: generate an active region setting value for driving the display panel by distinguishing active regions based on data signals of a previous frame and data signals of a current frame; generate a first touch region setting value for driving a low-frequency driving region at a first driving frequency; derive expected touch coordinates based on previous touch coordinates and current touch coordinates and generate a second touch region setting value for driving a region corresponding to the expected touch coordinates at a second driving frequency faster than the first driving frequency; generate control signals for synchronously controlling the touchscreen and the display panel based on the active region setting value, the first touch region setting value, and the second touch region setting value; and change the driving frequency of the low-frequency driving region from the first driving frequency to the second driving frequency when the current touch coordinates on the touchscreen correspond to the low-frequency driving region on the display panel.

[0010] The control unit can change part or all of the low-frequency driving area to a second driving frequency based on the current touch coordinates corresponding to the low-frequency driving area.

[0011] The control unit may include: an active area setting unit configured to generate an active area setting value; a touch area setting unit configured to generate a first touch area setting value and a second touch area setting value; a control area setting unit configured to generate a device control signal based on the active area setting value, the first touch area setting value, and the second touch area setting value; and a control signal generation unit configured to generate a panel control signal and a touch control signal for synchronously driving the display panel and the touch screen based on the device control signal.

[0012] The control unit can divide the display panel into multiple active areas and drive at least one of the divided active areas at multiple different drive frequencies.

[0013] The control unit can generate control signals to drive the area displaying a still image on the display panel at a first driving frequency and drive the area displaying a moving image on the display panel at a second driving frequency.

[0014] The display device may further include a touch driver configured to drive a touchscreen, wherein the touch driver senses the area driven at the first driving frequency in fewer frame units than the area driven at the second driving frequency.

[0015] The control unit can continuously store previous touch coordinates, derive expected touch coordinates by performing data processing on multiple stored previous and current touch coordinates based on modeling values, and prepare modeling values ​​based on the movement position and movement speed of the coordinates.

[0016] In another aspect of this disclosure, a driving method for a display device includes: generating an active region setting value for driving a display panel by distinguishing active regions of the display panel based on data signals of a previous frame and data signals of a current frame; generating a first touch region setting value for driving a low-frequency driving region on the display panel at a first driving frequency; deriving expected touch coordinates on a touchscreen based on previous touch coordinates and current touch coordinates, and generating a second touch region setting value for driving a region corresponding to the expected touch coordinates at a second driving frequency faster than the first driving frequency; generating a control signal for synchronously controlling the touchscreen and the display panel based on the active region setting value, the first touch region setting value, and the second touch region setting value; and changing the driving frequency of the low-frequency driving region from the first driving frequency to the second driving frequency when the current touch coordinates on the touchscreen correspond to the low-frequency driving region on the display panel.

[0017] Based on the current touch coordinates corresponding to the low-frequency driving area, part or all of the low-frequency driving area can be changed to the second driving frequency.

[0018] The area displaying a still image on the display panel can be driven at a first driving frequency, and the area displaying a moving image on the display panel can be driven at a second driving frequency.

[0019] It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and illustrative, and are intended to provide further explanation of the claimed disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. In the drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating an LED display device including a touchscreen; Figure 2 and Figure 3 This is a diagram used to describe the configuration of a gate in-panel (GIP) type gate driver; Figure 4 It shows that based on including Figure 1 The diagram shows an example of a smartphone implemented using a touchscreen LED display device. Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the touchscreen; Figure 6 These are diagrams illustrating a display panel and a touchscreen, respectively, for the purpose of describing an LED display device including a touchscreen according to an embodiment. Figure 7 This is a first example diagram used to describe the driving method according to an embodiment. Figure 8 This is a second example diagram used to describe the driving method according to an embodiment, and Figure 9 This is a diagram used to describe a method for predicting changes in a user's touch input; Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a timing controller for implementing an LED display device including a touchscreen, according to an embodiment. Figure 11 This is a diagram used to describe the operation of a timing controller according to an embodiment. Figure 12 This is a diagram according to an embodiment for facilitating understanding of a region setting method based on a timing controller operation; Figure 13 It is a diagram used to describe the changes in touch frames based on the area of ​​the display panel, including the touchscreen. Figure 14 This diagram is used to describe the problems that may occur when a display panel is driven at a low frequency. Figure 15 It is a graph used to describe the differences in drawing performance based on the driving frequency of display panels and touchscreens; and Figure 16 This is a diagram used to describe a display panel including a touchscreen according to a comparative example. Figure 17 This is a diagram used to describe a display panel including a touch screen according to an embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Where possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts.

[0022] The display device according to this disclosure can be implemented as a television, video player, personal computer (PC), home theater system, automotive electronics, smartphone, etc., but is not limited thereto. The display device according to this disclosure can be implemented as a light-emitting display (LED) device, a quantum dot display (QDD) device, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, etc. However, for ease of description, an LED display device based on direct light emission from inorganic or organic light-emitting diodes is described below as an example.

[0023] Additionally, the LED display devices described below may include touchscreens capable of receiving touch input using a user's finger, pen, etc. Touchscreens may be implemented using capacitive methods, but are not limited to these.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating an LED display device including a touchscreen, and Figure 2 and Figure 3 This is a diagram used to describe the configuration of the GIP gate driver.

[0025] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, a display device including a touch screen may include a timing controller 120, a gate driver 130, a data driver 140, a display panel 150, a touch screen 170, a power supply 180, and a touch driver 190.

[0026] The image supply unit (integrated or host system) 110 can output image data signals supplied from an external source or image data signals stored in internal memory, as well as various drive signals. The image supply unit 110 can supply data signals and various drive signals to the timing controller 120.

[0027] The timing controller 120 can output gate timing control signal GDC for controlling the operation timing of gate driver 130, data timing control signal DDC for controlling the operation timing of data driver 140, and various synchronization signals (vertical synchronization signal Vsync and horizontal synchronization signal Hsync).

[0028] The timing controller 120 can supply the data signal DATA and the data timing control signal DDC supplied from the image supply 110 to the data driver 140 together. The timing controller 120 can be formed as an integrated circuit (IC) and mounted on a printed circuit board, but is not limited thereto.

[0029] Gate driver 130 can output a gate signal (or gate voltage) in response to a gate timing control signal GDC supplied from timing controller 120. Gate driver 130 can supply gate signals to sub-pixels included in display panel 150 via gate lines GL1 to GLm (where m is an integer greater than or equal to 2).

[0030] The gate driver 130 can be formed as an IC, or it can be formed directly on the display panel 150 in a GIP structure, but is not limited thereto. However, for ease of description, the GIP gate driver is described below as follows: Figure 2 and Figure 3 Examples are shown in the text.

[0031] The GIP gate driver 130 may include shift registers 130a and 130b formed in a GIP structure on one and the other side of the non-active region NA of the display panel 150. The shift registers 130a and 130b may be formed in thin film form on the non-active region NA of the display panel 150 using GIP technology.

[0032] The GIP gate driver 130 can output a gate signal that enables or disables the transistors formed in the active region AA of the display panel 150. The GIP gate driver 130 can operate based on signals and voltages output from the timing controller 120, the power supply 180, and the level shifter 160.

[0033] The level shifter 160 can generate the gate control signals required to drive the GIP gate drivers 130, 130a and 130b based on the signals and voltages output from the timing controller 120 and the power supply 180.

[0034] The data driver 140 can sample and latch the data signal DATA in response to the data timing control signal DDC supplied from the timing controller 120, and can convert the digital data signal into an analog data voltage based on the gamma reference voltage and output the converted analog data voltage.

[0035] The data driver 140 can supply data voltage to the sub-pixels included in the display panel 150 via data lines DL1 to DLn (where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2). The data driver 140 can be formed as an IC and mounted on the display panel 150 or on a printed circuit board, but is not limited thereto.

[0036] Power supply 180 can generate high-potential and low-potential voltages based on an externally supplied input voltage, and can output the generated voltages through the high-potential voltage line EVDD and the low-potential voltage line EVSS. Power supply 180 can not only generate and output high-potential and low-potential voltages, but also generate and output the voltages required to drive gate driver 130 or data driver 140.

[0037] The display panel 150 can be manufactured based on a substrate that is rigid or flexible, such as glass, silicon, or polyimide. The display panel 150 may include a plurality of sub-pixels SP for displaying images. The sub-pixels SP may emit light directly toward the upper substrate, lower substrate, or both of the upper and lower substrates of the display panel 150.

[0038] Subpixels SP can emit light of one of the colors such as red, green, blue, or white. Display panel 150 can display images based on pixels that each include red, green, and blue subpixels, or pixels that each include red, green, blue, and white subpixels.

[0039] The touchscreen 170 may be located on, included in, or integrally formed with the display panel 150. The touchscreen 170 can receive touch input using a user's finger, pen, etc. As a configuration for touch sensing, the touchscreen 170 may include first touch driving lines TX1 to TXq (where q is an integer greater than or equal to 2) and second touch driving lines RX1 to RXr (where r is an integer greater than or equal to 2).

[0040] Touch driver 190 can drive and sense touch screen 170 in response to touch control signals supplied from timing controller 120. Touch driver 190 may include a first touch driver 193 and a second touch driver 195 for driving and sensing touch screen 170.

[0041] The first touch driver 193 can apply signals to the first touch driving lines TX1 to TXq to drive the touch screen 170. The second touch driver 195 can sense the second touch driving lines RX1 to RXr to sense the touch screen 170.

[0042] Meanwhile, in the above description, the timing controller 120, gate driver 130, data driver 140, and touch driver 190 are each described as a single component. However, according to the implementation method of the LED display device, one or more of the timing controller 120, gate driver 130, data driver 140, and touch driver 190 can be integrated into a single IC.

[0043] Figure 4 It shows that based on including Figure 1 The diagram shows an example of a smartphone implemented using a touchscreen LED display device. Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the touchscreen.

[0044] like Figure 4 As shown, including Figure 1 The LED display device of the touchscreen shown can be implemented as a smartphone 100, etc. The smartphone 100 can receive input from the user USR using a finger, pen, etc., and can execute an application corresponding to the input and display the application on the display panel.

[0045] like Figure 5 As shown, the touch screen 170 may include a touch sensor defined between a plurality of first touch drive lines TX1 to TXq (where q is an integer greater than or equal to 2) arranged in the vertical direction and a plurality of second touch drive lines RX1 to RXr (where r is an integer greater than or equal to 2) arranged in the horizontal direction.

[0046] A touch sensor TSA for performing touch sensing in the touchscreen 170 can be defined in the intersection area of ​​a first touch driving line and a second touch driving line. The touchscreen 170 can be implemented in a capacitive manner that can determine the presence of a touch based on whether a change in capacitance occurs, but is not limited thereto.

[0047] Figure 6 These are diagrams illustrating a display panel and a touchscreen, respectively, for the purpose of describing an LED display device including a touchscreen according to an embodiment. Figure 7 This is a first example diagram used to describe the driving method according to an embodiment. Figure 8 This is a second example diagram used to describe the driving method according to an embodiment, and Figure 9 This is a diagram used to describe a method for predicting changes in a user's touch input.

[0048] like Figure 6 As shown, the LED display device including a touch screen according to the embodiment can divide the active area of ​​the display panel 150 displaying an image into multiple display portions, and can drive the multiple divided display portions at one or more different driving frequencies (multiple driving frequencies).

[0049] For example, the display panel 150 may include a first active region AA1 driven at a first driving frequency (e.g., 1Hz), a second active region AA2 driven at a second driving frequency (e.g., 120Hz), and a third active region AA3 driven at the first driving frequency (e.g., 1Hz, or a driving frequency between 1Hz and 120Hz). Meanwhile, Figure 6 The driving frequencies shown are for illustrative purposes only, and various frequency bands can be selected.

[0050] The first active region AA1 and the third active region AA3, driven at a low driving frequency such as a first driving frequency (e.g., 1 Hz), can correspond to the region used to display still images, and the second active region AA2, driven at a high driving frequency such as a second driving frequency (e.g., 120 Hz), can correspond to the region used to display moving images.

[0051] The touchscreen 170 can also be divided into three touch areas corresponding to the display panel 150. In addition, the area of ​​the touchscreen 170 corresponding to the first active area AA1 and the third active area AA3 can be defined as the first driving frequency driving area LFDA (low frequency driving area), and the area corresponding to the second active area AA2 can be defined as the second driving frequency driving area NFDA (normal frequency or high frequency driving area).

[0052] At the same time, Figure 6Previously, an example was described where the display panel 150 was vertically divided into an upper region, a middle region, and a lower region, and driven accordingly. However, the display panel 150 can also be horizontally divided into a left region, a central region, and a right region, and driven accordingly, or it can be divided and driven in a hybrid form of vertical and horizontal division. However, for ease of description, it will be described as follows below. Figure 6 The example shown is a partition.

[0053] As can be understood from the above description, the display panel 150 and the touch screen 170 can be driven at various frequencies, and the driving frequencies used to drive the display panel 150 and the touch screen 170 can be synchronized, and the driving frequencies can be changed in a synchronized state, as described below.

[0054] like Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the display panel 150 may include a first active region AA1 and a third active region AA3 driven at a first driving frequency (e.g., 1Hz), and a second active region AA2 driven at a second driving frequency (e.g., 120Hz).

[0055] The touchscreen 170 may include a first driving frequency driving region LFDA that operates at a first driving frequency (e.g., 1 Hz) of the display panel 150 and a second driving frequency driving region NFDA that operates at a second driving frequency (e.g., 120 Hz) of the display panel 150.

[0056] according to Figure 7 In the first example, the user can touch a portion of the first drive frequency drive area LFDA of the touchscreen 170 corresponding to the first active area AA1 of the display panel 150 during the (N-1)th frame.

[0057] In this scenario, during the Nth frame corresponding to the frame following the (N-1)th frame, the first driving frequency driving region LFDA of the touchscreen 170 corresponding to the first active region AA1 of the display panel 150 can be changed, causing the entire region to become a new second driving frequency driving region NFDA2 (or extended to a second driving frequency driving region). Furthermore, the first active region AA1 of the display panel 150 can operate based on the same second driving frequency (e.g., 120Hz) as the second driving frequency of the new second driving frequency driving region NFDA2.

[0058] As in Figure 8 In the second example, the user can touch a portion of the first driving frequency driving area LFDA of the touch screen 170 corresponding to the first active area AA1 of the display panel 150 during the (N-1)th frame.

[0059] In this scenario, during the Nth frame corresponding to the frame following the (N-1)th frame, a portion of the first driving frequency driving area LFDA of the touchscreen 170 corresponding to the first active area AA1 of the display panel 150 can be changed to a new second driving frequency driving area NFDA2 (or extended to a second driving frequency driving area). Accordingly, a portion of the first active area AA1 of the display panel 150 (the untouched area and its surrounding area) can operate based on a first driving frequency (e.g., 1Hz) that is the same as the first driving frequency of the first driving frequency driving area LFDA, and another portion (the touched area and its surrounding area) can operate based on a second driving frequency (e.g., 120Hz) that is the same as the second driving frequency of the new second driving frequency driving area NFDA2.

[0060] Meanwhile, the first driving frequency driving area LFDA of the touch screen 170 can be as follows: Figure 7 In the first example, the user touches the device to change the driving region to a new second driving frequency, NFDA2 (or expand it to a second driving frequency driving region), or it can be done as follows: Figure 8 In the second example, the user touches the reset (reduces the first drive frequency drive area).

[0061] As from Figure 7 and Figure 8 As can be understood from the two examples shown, the LED display device including a touch screen according to the embodiments can drive a portion of the touch screen 170 at a low frequency corresponding to the area of ​​the display panel 150 displaying still images in order to reduce power consumption.

[0062] However, when a user touch occurs in an area driven at a low frequency, the area driven at a low frequency can be changed to a normal frequency or high frequency driving condition so that the device can smoothly sense and reflect the user touch input during operation.

[0063] Additionally, based on changes in user touch input (e.g., the movement path of a finger), it is possible to... Figure 7 The diagram shows changing the driving frequency of the entire first driving frequency driving region LFDA of the touchscreen 170, or it can be done as follows: Figure 8 The first driving frequency of the touchscreen 170 is changed to the driving frequency of a portion of the LFDA driving region.

[0064] like Figure 9 As shown, changes in user touch input (e.g., the movement path of a finger) can be predicted based on the touch input in frame (N-1) (MFP DA in frame (N-1)) and the touch input in frame N (MFP DA in frame N).

[0065] The touch input at frame (N-1) (MFP DA of frame (N-1)) and the touch input at frame (MFP DA of frame N) may include the previous touch coordinates PCD, the current touch coordinates CCD, and the expected touch coordinates ECD. Here, note that the previous touch coordinates PCD represents a total of three previous touch values ​​considered from frame (N-1) to frame (N-3).

[0066] By continuously storing previous touch coordinate PCDs and performing data processing on multiple stored previous touch coordinate PCDs and current touch coordinate CCDs based on modeled values ​​(values ​​modeled by the coordinate's movement position, movement speed, etc.), changes in user touch input can be predicted, and the expected touch coordinate ECD can be derived based on this prediction. However, the method for predicting changes in user touch input is merely an example and is not limited to it.

[0067] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a timing controller for implementing an LED display device including a touchscreen, according to an embodiment. Figure 11 This is a diagram used to describe the operation of a timing controller according to an embodiment. Figure 12 This is a diagram of a region setting method for facilitating understanding of operation based on a timing controller, according to an embodiment.

[0068] like Figure 10 As shown, the timing controller 120 for implementing an LED display device including a touch screen, according to an embodiment, may include an active area setting unit 122, a touch area setting unit 127, and a control signal generation unit 128.

[0069] The active area setting unit 122 can perform data processing on the data signals of the previous frame and the current frame supplied from an external device (e.g., a host system) to set an active area for driving the display panel based on multiple driving frequencies.

[0070] The active region setting unit 122 may include a first active region setting unit 122a and a second active region setting unit 122b. The first active region setting unit 122a may perform image processing on the data signal of the previous frame and the data signal of the current frame to generate an image processing result value. The second active region setting unit 122b may generate an active region setting value DMFP based on the image processing result value by distinguishing active regions on the display panel where the image changes (e.g., moving images) and active regions where the image does not change (e.g., still images).

[0071] The touch area setting unit 127 can convert the current touch coordinates on the touch screen into gate signal information on the display panel, and then determine whether the current touch coordinates correspond to an area corresponding to an LRR (low refresh rate) area (or low frequency drive area). In this case, when the current touch coordinates correspond to an LRR area, the touch area setting unit 127 can generate a first touch area setting value MFP1 for driving the corresponding area at a first drive frequency.

[0072] In addition, the touch area setting unit 127 can derive the expected touch coordinates by performing data processing on the previous touch coordinates (or touch coordinate data) and the current touch coordinates, and can generate a second touch area setting value MFP2 for driving the area corresponding to the expected touch coordinates at a second driving frequency.

[0073] The touch area setting unit 127 may include a first touch area setting unit 124, a second touch area setting unit 125, and a control area setting unit 126. The touch area setting unit 127 may receive touch coordinates from the touch driver. While the control area setting unit 126 is shown as an example included in the touch area setting unit 127, the control area setting unit 126 may also be separated into independent components, similar to the control signal generation unit 128.

[0074] The first touch area setting unit 124 may include: a first-1 touch area setting unit 124a, which converts the current touch coordinates on the touch screen into gate signal information on the display panel; a first-2 touch area setting unit 124b, which determines whether the current touch coordinates correspond to an area corresponding to the LRR area (or low frequency drive area); and a first-3 touch area setting unit 124c, which generates a first touch area setting value MFP1 for driving the corresponding area at a first drive frequency when the current touch coordinates correspond to the LRR area.

[0075] The second touch area setting unit 125 may include: a second-first touch area setting unit 125a, which stores previous touch coordinates (or touch coordinate data) and current touch coordinates; a second-second touch area setting unit 125b, which derives expected touch coordinates by performing data processing on the previous touch coordinates (or touch coordinate data) and current touch coordinates; and a second-third touch area setting unit 125c, which generates a second touch area setting value MFP2 for driving the area corresponding to the expected touch coordinates at a second driving frequency.

[0076] The control area setting unit 126 can generate a device control signal CNS for synchronously driving the display panel and the touch screen based on the active area setting value DMFP generated by the active area setting unit 122, the first touch area setting value MFP1 generated by the first touch area setting unit 124, and the second touch area setting value MFP2 generated by the second touch area setting unit 125.

[0077] The control signal generation unit 128 can generate control signals for controlling the display panel and the touch screen based on the device control signal CNS generated by the control area setting unit 126. The control signal generation unit 128 may include a panel control signal generation unit 128a and a touch control signal generation unit 128b.

[0078] The panel control signal generation unit 128a can generate a panel control signal CON1 for controlling the gate driver and data driver driving the display panel based on the device control signal CNS. The touch control signal generation unit 128b can generate a touch control signal CON2 for controlling the touch driver driving the touch screen based on the device control signal CNS.

[0079] like Figure 10 , Figure 11 and Figure 12 As shown, the active area setting unit 122, touch area setting unit 127, control area setting unit 126 and control signal generation unit 128 included in the timing controller 120 can operate according to the following process.

[0080] The active area setting unit 122 can receive the data signal (display data) of the current frame to be displayed on the display panel from the host system (slave host) (S110), and can store the data signal of the previous frame supplied from it (S120).

[0081] The active area setting unit 122 can perform data processing (S130) on the data signal of the previous frame and the data signal of the current frame to generate an active area setting value DMFP for setting (which can be defined as a display MFP area setting mode) and driving the active area of ​​the display panel based on multiple driving frequencies (S140).

[0082] The touch area setting unit 127 can receive the touch coordinates of the touch screen from the touch driver (from the T-MCU) (S150), and can store the previous touch coordinates (previous coordinate data) and the current touch coordinates (current coordinate data) (S160 and S170).

[0083] Touch area setting unit 127 can convert the current touch coordinates on the touch screen into gate signal information on the display panel (converted into gate information) (S180), and can determine whether the current touch coordinates correspond to LRR. The area corresponding to the (low refresh rate) area (or low frequency drive area) (S200).

[0084] In this case, at the current touch coordinates and LRR When the area corresponds (yes), a first touch area setting value MFP1 (which can be defined as MFP1 area setting mode) can be generated for driving the corresponding area at a first driving frequency (S220). However, in the current touch coordinates and LRR If the area does not correspond (No), the process can return to the step of receiving the touch coordinates of the touch screen from the touch driver (from the T-MCU) (S150).

[0085] The touch area setting unit 127 can perform data processing (S190) on the previous touch coordinates (previous coordinate data) and the current touch coordinates (current coordinate data) to derive the expected touch coordinates (S210), and can generate a second touch area setting value MFP2 (which can be defined as MFP2 area setting mode) for driving the area corresponding to the expected touch coordinates at a second driving frequency (S230).

[0086] The control area setting unit 126 can set an integrated control area (MFP area setting) for synchronously driving the display panel and the touch screen in an integrated manner based on the active area setting value DMFP generated by the active area setting unit 122 and the first touch area setting value MFP1 and the second touch area setting value MFP2 generated by the touch area setting unit 127 (S240).

[0087] The control area setting unit 126 can generate a device control signal CNS based on integrated control area setting information (which can be defined as an MFP area setting method). By generating a device control signal CNS that sets the integrated control area by synchronizing the touch coordinate data of the touch screen with the active area of ​​the display panel, the control area setting unit 126 can improve the performance of the touch screen, as will be described below.

[0088] The control signal generation unit 128 can generate a panel control signal CON1 for controlling the gate driver and the data driver based on the device control signal CNS generated by the control area setting unit 126, and can drive the display panel (display driver) based on this signal (S250).

[0089] By referring together Figure 12 (a) shows the active region setting (displaying MFP region setting) method. Figure 12 (b) and Figure 12 (c) shows the first touch area setting (MFP1 area setting) method. Figure 12 (d) and Figure 12 (e) shows the second touch area setting (MFP2 area setting) method and Figure 12 The integrated control area setting (MFP area setting) method shown in (f) can be easily understood from the above description.

[0090] Figure 13 It is a diagram used to describe the changes in touch frames based on the area of ​​the display panel, including the touchscreen. Figure 14 This diagram is used to describe the problems that may occur when a display panel is driven at a low frequency. Figure 15 It is a graph used to describe the differences in drawing performance based on the driving frequency of the display panel and the touch screen.

[0091] like Figure 13 As shown, according to the above integrated control area setting (MFP area setting) method, the first driving frequency driving area LFDA (low frequency driving area) and the second driving frequency driving area NFDA (normal frequency or high frequency driving area) can be distinguished on the display panel (150+170) including the touch screen.

[0092] Referring to the touch frames of the second driving frequency driving region NFDA, the touchscreen 170 can be sensed in each frame (e.g., from the first frame (1) to the Nth frame (N), where N=120). Conversely, referring to the touch frames of the first driving frequency driving region LFDA, the touchscreen 170 can be sensed at predetermined frame intervals (e.g., the first frame (1), the 60th frame (60), and the Nth frame (N)), and can be unsensed during the remaining frames. That is, sensing can be performed in the first driving frequency driving region LFDA with fewer frame units than in the second driving frequency driving region NFDA.

[0093] at the same time, Figure 13 An example is shown where, as the touch position moves from the lower area to the middle area on the display panel (150+170) including the touchscreen, the lower area becomes the first drive frequency driven area (LFDA), and the middle area becomes the second drive frequency driven area (NFDA). This can be understood by sequentially following the positions of the previous touch coordinate (PCD), the current touch coordinate (CCD), and the expected touch coordinate (ECD).

[0094] Figure 14This demonstrates that a touchscreen can be driven at a normal or high frequency, while a display panel can be driven at a low frequency. In the case of a touchscreen, touch data can be generated and sent based on the sensed touch data in each touch frame. Conversely, in a display panel, due to the low-frequency drive, refreshes for image display can occur only in specific frames, such as frame 1 or frame 120, and the remaining frames can be skipped.

[0095] In cases such as the example above, even though each touch frame on the touchscreen generates touch data based on the sensed touch data, the display panel is refreshed intermittently, and therefore the touch response may appear slow or delayed due to this effect.

[0096] Meanwhile, in the above description, refreshing means performing the operation of applying data voltage and gate signal to the display panel used for image display, and skipping means not performing the operation of applying data voltage and gate signal to the display panel in order to reduce power consumption.

[0097] like Figure 15 As shown, when in the form of, for example Figure 15 When drawing is performed on a display panel 150+170, including a touchscreen, in the form of (a), the drawing can be in the form of, for example... Figure 15 (b) or Figure 15 It appears in the form of (c).

[0098] Figure 15 (b) is an example that can appear in the second drive frequency drive area NFDA (normal frequency or high frequency drive area) of the display panel 150+170 including the touch screen. Figure 15 (c) is an example that can appear in the first driving frequency driving area LFDA (low frequency driving area) of the display panel 150+170 including the touch screen.

[0099] Figure 16 This is a diagram used to describe a display panel including a touchscreen according to a comparative example. Figure 17 This is a diagram used to describe a display panel including a touch screen according to an embodiment.

[0100] like Figure 16 As shown, when a touch is made in the first driving frequency driving area LFDA (low frequency driving area) from the first touch time Touch-T1 to the second touch time Touch-T2, the display panel 150+170 including the touch screen according to the comparative example is then touched, and then... Figure 15 When a drawing is performed in form (a), the drawing may appear in a slanted form that differs from the actual drawing form, for example... Figure 15 (c).

[0101] In the comparative example of the touchscreen-included display panel 150+170, even if the first driving frequency driving area LFDA (low-frequency driving area) is touched during the first touch time Touch-T1, the driving frequency of the first driving frequency driving area LFDA will not change thereafter. That is, in the comparative example of the touchscreen-included display panel 150+170, even if the driving frequency of the area where the touch occurs is slower, the driving frequency will not change to a faster driving frequency, so the touch response speed can be considered to be slower.

[0102] like Figure 17 As shown, when a touch is made on a display panel 150+170 including a touchscreen according to an embodiment during the first touch time Touch-T1 to the second touch time Touch-T2, the touch occurs in the first driving frequency driving region LFDA (low frequency driving region), and then... Figure 15 When performing a drawing in form (a), the drawing can appear in the same or similar form as the actual drawing, for example... Figure 15 (b).

[0103] In the display panel 150+170 including a touchscreen according to an embodiment, when a touch occurs in the first driving frequency driving region LFDA (low-frequency driving region) during the first touch time Touch-T1, the first driving frequency driving region LFDA subsequently expands to the second driving frequency driving region NFDA, and the driving frequency of the corresponding region changes. That is, in the display panel 150+170 including a touchscreen according to an embodiment, since the driving frequency of the area where the touch occurs is slower, the driving frequency changes to a driving frequency faster than the current driving frequency, and therefore the touch response speed can be considered to appear faster. Furthermore, since the touch response speed appears faster, the touch resolution (expressiveness) can be considered improved.

[0104] As described above, this disclosure improves touch performance by setting an integrated control area capable of synchronizing the driving information of the touchscreen and the driving information of the display panel when driving the display panel, including the touchscreen, based on multiple driving frequencies, and by changing the driving conditions of the device based on the integrated control area. Furthermore, this disclosure enhances device performance by changing the driving area and driving frequency of the display panel, including the touchscreen, according to image characteristics and whether a user touch occurs. Moreover, when driving the area where a user touch occurs at a low frequency, this disclosure improves touch response speed by changing the driving frequency of that area to a driving frequency faster than the current driving frequency.

[0105] This disclosure improves touch performance by setting an integrated control area capable of synchronizing the driving information of the touchscreen and the driving information of the display panel when driving the display panel, including the touchscreen, based on multiple driving frequencies, and by changing the driving conditions of the device based on the integrated control area. Furthermore, this disclosure enhances device performance by changing the driving area and driving frequency of the display panel, including the touchscreen, according to image characteristics and whether a user touch occurs. Moreover, when driving the area where a user touch occurs at a low frequency, this disclosure improves touch response speed and touch resolution (expressiveness) by changing the driving frequency of that area to a driving frequency faster than the current driving frequency.

[0106] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to this disclosure without departing from its spirit or scope. Therefore, this disclosure is intended to cover such modifications and variations, provided they fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising: The display panel includes a touch screen. A driver configured to drive the touchscreen and the display panel; as well as Control unit, configured to control the driver. The control unit is configured as follows: The system generates active area setting values ​​for driving the display panel by distinguishing active areas of the display panel based on data signals from previous frames and data signals from the current frame; generates first touch area setting values ​​for driving a low-frequency driving area at a first driving frequency; and derives expected touch coordinates based on previous touch coordinates and current touch coordinates, and generates second touch area setting values ​​for driving the area corresponding to the expected touch coordinates at a second driving frequency faster than the first driving frequency. Based on the active area setting value, the first touch area setting value, and the second touch area setting value, control signals are generated for synchronously controlling the touchscreen and the display panel. When the current touch coordinates on the touch screen correspond to the low-frequency driving area on the display panel, the driving frequency of the low-frequency driving area is changed from the first driving frequency to the second driving frequency.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit changes part or all of the low-frequency driving region to the second driving frequency based on the current touch coordinates corresponding to the low-frequency driving region.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit includes: An active region setting unit is configured to generate the active region setting value; A touch area setting unit, configured to generate a first touch area setting value and a second touch area setting value; A control area setting unit, configured to generate a control signal from a device based on the active area setting value, the first touch area setting value, and the second touch area setting value; and A control signal generation unit is configured to generate panel control signals and touch control signals for synchronously driving the display panel and the touch screen based on the device control signals.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit divides the display panel into multiple active regions and drives at least one of the divided active regions at multiple different driving frequencies.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit generates the control signal such that the area displaying a still image on the display panel is driven at the first driving frequency, and the area displaying a moving image on the display panel is driven at the second driving frequency.

6. The display device of claim 5, further comprising a touch driver configured to drive the touchscreen. in, The touch driver senses the region driven at the first driving frequency in fewer frame units than the region driven at the second driving frequency.

7. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit continuously stores the previous touch coordinates, and derives the expected touch coordinates by performing data processing on multiple stored previous touch coordinates and the current touch coordinates based on modeling values, wherein the modeling values ​​are prepared based on the movement position and movement speed of the coordinates.

8. A driving method for a display device, the method comprising: Generate an active area setting value for driving the display panel by distinguishing the active area of ​​the display panel based on the data signal of the previous frame and the data signal of the current frame; Generate a first touch area setting value for driving a low-frequency driving area on the display panel at a first driving frequency; Based on previous and current touch coordinates, the expected touch coordinates on the touchscreen are derived, and a second touch area setting value is generated for driving the area corresponding to the expected touch coordinates at a second drive frequency that is faster than the first drive frequency. Based on the active area setting value, the first touch area setting value, and the second touch area setting value, control signals are generated for synchronously controlling the touch screen and the display panel; as well as When the current touch coordinates on the touch screen correspond to the low-frequency driving area on the display panel, the driving frequency of the low-frequency driving area is changed from the first driving frequency to the second driving frequency.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, Based on the current touch coordinates corresponding to the low-frequency driving area, a portion or all of the low-frequency driving area is changed to the second driving frequency.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The area displaying a still image on the display panel is driven at the first driving frequency, and the area displaying a moving image on the display panel is driven at the second driving frequency.

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