Touch input device

Abstract

To provide prevent display panel flicker caused by driving of a touch sensor.SOLUTION: A touch input device includes a touch sensor and a control unit for controlling the touch sensor. The touch sensor includes a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes. The first electrode is disposed along a first direction, and the second electrode is disposed along a second direction different from the first direction. The second electrode includes a second a electrode pattern disposed immediately adjacent to the first electrode, and a second b electrode pattern disposed at a prescribed distance apart from the first electrode and not immediately adjacent to the first electrode. The control unit controls different driving signals to be applied simultaneously to at least two or more second electrodes among the plurality of second electrodes. The driving signal applied to the second b electrode pattern is equivalent to the driving signal applied to the second a electrode pattern whose phase is reversed by 180 degrees. Furthermore, the control unit detects a touch position of an object located on the touch sensor based on signals received from the plurality of first electrodes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a touch input device, and more particularly, to preventing the occurrence of flicker of a display panel due to driving of a touch sensor, reducing the driving time of the touch sensor, reducing the power consumption of the touch input device, and being able to drive an external stylus pen or sense a pen signal from the stylus pen.

Background Art

[0002] Various types of input devices are used for operating a computing system. For example, input devices such as buttons, keys, joysticks, and touchscreens are used. Due to the easy and convenient operation of the touchscreen, the use of the touchscreen during the operation of the computing system is increasing. A touch sensor can be provided in a display device and used as a type of information input device. As an example, the touch sensor can be attached to one surface of the display panel or manufactured integrally with the display panel for use. A user can input information by touching the touch sensor while viewing an image displayed on the screen of the display device.

[0003] FIG. 1 is a drawing schematically showing a conventional octa-layered structure.

[0004] Octa (OCTA), which is a type of touchscreen panel technology, is an abbreviation for On Cell Touch AMOLED. As shown in FIG. 1, it is a type of Touch Screen Panel (TSP) in which a touch sensor is directly vapor-deposited on the cell of an AMOLED display. That is, it is a technology that internalizes the touchscreen function of a smartphone / tablet in an OLED panel. Since there is no reinforced glass between the cell and the touch sensor, there is an effect of higher clarity than that of existing general TSPs.

[0005] Y-OCTA is a touch screen panel with a touch sensor directly vapor-deposited on a cell. Y-OCTA is named by adding the "Y" of "YOUM", the brand name of Samsung Display's flexible OLED, to "OCTA". The Y-OCTA technology is applied to the thin film encapsulation (TFE) process in the OLED manufacturing process. A touch screen is realized by patterning an aluminum metal mesh sensor used as a touch sensor between an organic material for thin film encapsulation and a polarizer. Y-OCTA can solve the visibility problem that occurs at the curved edge by attaching the polarizer closer to the cover window. Also, by removing the support film, the thickness of the panel can be reduced, and the lamination process can be omitted to lower the price.

[0006] A touch input device equipped with a conventional Y-OCTA touch screen panel has problems in a low ground mass (LGM) situation. The problems are that when the touch sensor is driven with a single layer or a double layer with a driving electrode and a receiving electrode implemented, when a predetermined touch occurs in a state where the user does not hold the touch input device with their hand (floating state), a signal that should be normally sensed from the perspective of the touch input device disappears, or a signal that should be sensed is divided and touched at two or more points and the signal is sensed.

[0007] In addition, a touch input device equipped with a conventional in-cell touch screen panel has a flicker problem in the display panel due to the driving of the touch sensor. Conventionally, in order to solve such a flicker problem, dithering is used for each frame, the driving voltage of the touch sensor is lowered, or an attempt is made to change the frequency of the driving signal of the touch sensor according to the frame rate information received from the display driving chip (DDI) during VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) operation. However, such attempts have not been able to completely solve the flicker problem.

[0008] Ultimately, a touch input device equipped with a conventional in-cell touch screen panel has the problem of malfunctioning in the LGM situation and the reality that the flicker problem cannot be eliminated.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a touch input device capable of preventing the occurrence of flicker in the display panel due to the driving of the touch sensor.

[0010] In addition, it is to provide a touch input device capable of shortening the touch driving time and reducing power consumption.

[0011] In addition, it is to provide a touch input device capable of removing noise signals caused by LGM when the touch input device is in the LGM state.

[0012] In addition, it is to provide a touch input device capable of preventing the occurrence of flicker in the display screen due to multi-driving of the touch sensor.

[0013] Another object is to provide a touch input device capable of driving an external stylus pen or sensing a pen signal from the stylus pen.

[0014] Another object is to provide a touch input device capable of preventing malfunction of touch in the LGM state when the touch input device is in the LGM state.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0015] A touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a touch sensor and a control unit that controls the touch sensor. The touch sensor includes a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes. The first electrodes are arranged along a first direction, and the second electrodes are arranged along a second direction different from the first direction. The touch sensor includes a second a electrode pattern arranged immediately adjacent to the first electrode and a second b electrode pattern arranged at a predetermined distance away from the first electrode without being immediately adjacent to the first electrode. The control unit controls at least two or more of the plurality of second electrodes to have different drive signals applied thereto simultaneously. The drive signal applied to the second b electrode pattern is obtained by inverting the phase of the drive signal applied to the second a electrode pattern by 180 degrees. The control unit detects the touch position of an object located on the touch sensor based on the received signals from the plurality of first electrodes.

[0016] A touch input device according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a touch sensor and a control unit that controls the touch sensor. The touch sensor includes a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes. The first electrodes are arranged along a first direction, and the second electrodes are arranged along a second direction different from the first direction. The second electrodes include a second a electrode pattern that forms a mutual capacitance with the first electrodes and a second b electrode pattern that does not form a mutual capacitance with the first electrodes. The control unit controls at least two or more of the plurality of second electrodes to have different drive signals applied thereto simultaneously. However, the drive signal applied to the second b electrode pattern is a signal obtained by inverting the phase of the drive signal applied to the second a electrode pattern by 180 degrees. The control unit detects a touch position of an object located on the touch sensor based on received signals from the plurality of first electrodes.

[0017] Here, the control unit can output a differential signal obtained by subtracting two received signals from each other among the received signals, and detect the touch position of the object based on the differential signal.

[0018] Here, the control unit may include an integrator that integrates the differential signal to restore the received signal, and a sign processing unit that converts the sign of the value of the change amount of the capacitance with a negative (-) sign among the restored received signals to a positive (+) sign.

[0019] Here, the control unit may include a baseline adjustment unit for reducing the baseline of the differential signal to 1 / 2.

[0020] Here, the control unit can control different drive signals to be applied simultaneously to all of the plurality of second electrodes.

[0021] Here, at least a part of other first electrodes arranged adjacent to the first electrodes may be arranged between the second b electrode pattern and the first electrodes.

[0022] Here, each of the plurality of first electrodes has a shape extending in a first direction and has a number of openings arranged along the first direction. The second a - electrode pattern of the plurality of second electrodes is disposed within a number of openings of the first electrodes located at odd positions along the second direction, and the second b - electrode pattern of the plurality of second electrodes is disposed within a number of openings of the first electrodes located at even positions along the second direction. It may include a first connection pattern that electrically connects the second a - electrode patterns arranged along the second direction and a second connection pattern that electrically connects the second b - electrode patterns arranged along the second direction.

[0023] Here, the touch sensor may further include a dummy pattern disposed within the openings formed inside each of the second a - and second b - electrode patterns, where each of the second a - and second b - electrode patterns has an opening formed inside.

[0024] Here, the first connection pattern may be arranged so as not to overlap with the second b - electrode pattern disposed between two second a - electrode patterns connected by the first connection pattern.

[0025] Here, each of the plurality of first electrodes has a shape extending in a first direction and has a number of openings arranged along the first direction. The second a - electrode pattern of the plurality of second electrodes is disposed within a number of openings of the first electrodes located at odd positions along the second direction, and the second b - electrode pattern of the plurality of second electrodes is disposed within a number of openings of the first electrodes located at even positions along the second direction. A part of the second a - electrode pattern is disposed in one of two adjacent openings of the first electrodes located at odd positions, and the remaining part is disposed in the other one. A part of the second b - electrode pattern is disposed in one of two adjacent openings of the first electrodes located at even positions, and the remaining part is disposed in the other one. It may include a first connection pattern that electrically connects the second a - receiving electrode patterns arranged along the second direction and a second connection pattern that electrically connects the second b - electrode patterns arranged along the second direction.

[0026] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, a touch input device includes a plurality of first touch electrodes, a plurality of second touch electrodes arranged to intersect the plurality of first touch electrodes, a plurality of first pen electrodes arranged adjacent to respective ones of the first touch electrodes, and a plurality of second pen electrodes arranged adjacent to respective ones of the second touch electrodes. The touch input device further includes a touch sensor and a control unit. The control unit is electrically connected to the plurality of first to second touch electrodes and is electrically connected to the plurality of first pen electrodes or the second pen electrodes to control the touch sensor. Each of the first touch electrodes includes a pair of electrode portions. Among the pair of electrode portions, a first electrode portion is arranged adjacent to at least a partial touch electrode of at least one of the plurality of second touch electrodes, and a second electrode portion is arranged adjacent to at least the remaining touch electrode of at least one of the plurality of second touch electrodes. One ends of the plurality of first pen electrodes are electrically connected to each other, and one ends of the plurality of second pen electrodes are electrically connected to each other. The control unit controls to simultaneously apply a first driving signal to the first electrode portion of the first touch electrode and a second driving signal to the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode. The second driving signal is the same as the first driving signal with a phase shift of 180 degrees.

[0027] Here, the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode are alternately arranged along one direction. The plurality of first electrode portions arranged along the one direction are electrically connected to each other and connected to the control unit. The plurality of second electrode portions arranged along the one direction may be electrically connected to each other and connected to the control unit.

[0028] Here, the first electrode portion of the first touch electrode is arranged to surround at least a part or all of one of the first pen electrodes, the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode is arranged to surround at least a part or all of another one of the first pen electrodes, and the second touch electrode may be arranged to surround at least a part or all of one of the second pen electrodes.

[0029] Here, the plurality of first touch electrodes may be arranged in a layer different from the plurality of second touch electrodes.

[0030] Here, the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion include a first pattern portion, a second pattern portion, and a connection pattern portion disposed between the first and second pattern portions. The first pattern portion may have an inverted triangular shape, the second pattern portion may have a triangular shape, and the connection pattern portion may have a rectangular shape.

[0031] Here, the second touch electrode may include a plurality of patterns arranged in one direction, and the first touch electrode may be disposed between the plurality of patterns.

[0032] Here, the plurality of first touch electrodes may be arranged in the same layer as the plurality of second touch electrodes.

[0033] Here, the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode are alternately arranged along one direction, and include a connection pattern portion that electrically connects the plurality of first electrode portions arranged along the one direction to each other. The connection pattern portion may be arranged so as not to overlap the second touch electrode.

[0034] Here, the second touch electrode may be arranged so as to surround at least a part or all of the first pen electrode.

[0035] Here, the first electrode portion and the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode are alternately arranged along one direction, and the second touch electrode may be arranged so as to surround the first electrode portion or the second electrode portion of the plurality of first touch electrodes arranged along another direction perpendicular to the one direction.

[0036] Here, it includes a connection pattern portion that electrically connects the plurality of first electrode portions arranged along the one direction to each other, and the connection pattern portion may be arranged so as not to overlap the plurality of second electrode portions arranged along the one direction.

[0037] Here, it may further include a display panel having the touch sensor disposed therein.

[0038] Here, it may further include a display panel disposed above or below the touch sensor.

[0039] Here, the control unit is configured to operate in any one of a touch drive / sensing mode for sensing the presence or absence of an object touch and / or the touch position of the touch sensor, a pen drive mode for driving a stylus pen, and a stylus sensing mode for sensing the touch position of the stylus pen. In the touch drive / sensing mode, the control unit is configured such that the first and second drive signals are applied to at least one or more of the plurality of first touch electrodes, and is configured to receive a sensing signal from the plurality of second touch electrodes. In the pen drive mode, the control unit is configured such that a pen drive signal for driving the stylus pen is applied to at least one type of electrode among the plurality of first touch electrodes, the plurality of first pen electrodes, the plurality of second touch electrodes, and the plurality of second pen electrodes. In the stylus sensing mode, the control unit may be configured to receive a pen sensing signal emitted from the stylus pen through a combination of any one type of electrode among the plurality of first touch electrodes and the plurality of first pen electrodes and any one type of electrode among the plurality of second touch electrodes and the plurality of second pen electrodes.

Advantages of the Invention

[0040] When the touch input device according to the embodiment of the present invention is used, there is an advantage that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of flicker in the display panel due to the driving of the touch sensor.

[0041] In addition, all drive electrodes can be driven simultaneously, the drive time can be shortened, the turn-on time of the AFE (Analog Front End) can be reduced, and there is an advantage that power consumption can be reduced.

[0042] In addition, when the touch input device is in the LGM state, there is an advantage that noise signals caused by LGM can be removed.

[0043] In addition, there is an advantage that the occurrence of flicker in the display panel due to multi-driving of the touch sensor can be prevented.

[0044] In addition, there is an advantage that an external stylus pen can be driven or a pen signal can be sensed from the stylus pen.

[0045] In addition, there is an advantage that malfunction of touch in the LGM state can be prevented.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0046]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0047] The detailed description of the present invention described below refers to the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which the present invention may be implemented. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail so that those skilled in the art can implement the present invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different from each other but do not have to be mutually exclusive. For example, the specific shapes, structures, and characteristics described herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention in relation to one embodiment. Also, it should be understood that the position or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment can be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the detailed description below is not intended to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims together with all ranges equivalent to what the claims claim, provided that they are properly described. Similar reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same or similar functions across various aspects. Touch input devices according to various embodiments of this document may include, as an electronic device, for example, at least one of a smartphone, a tablet personal computer, a vehicle display device, a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-book reader, a laptop personal computer, a netbook computer, a mobile medical device, a camera, or a wearable device. Here, the wearable device may include at least one of an accessory type (e.g., a watch, a ring, a bracelet, an anklet, a necklace, glasses, contact lenses, or a head-mounted device (HMD)), a fabric or clothing integrated type (e.g., electronic clothing), a body-attached type (e.g., a skin pad or a tattoo), or a bio-implantable type (e.g., an implantable circuit).

[0048] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a touch input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 2, a touch input device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a touch sensor 10, a sensing unit 11, a driving unit 12, and a control unit 13.

[0050] The driving unit 12 applies a driving signal (or TX signal) to the touch sensor 10 under the control of the control unit 13, and the sensing unit 11 receives a sensing signal (or RX signal) received from the touch sensor 10.

[0051] The driving unit 12 can sequentially supply driving signals to a plurality of driving electrodes of the touch sensor 10.

[0052] The sensing unit 11 receives signals output from a plurality of receiving electrodes of the touch sensor 10. Here, the signals may include information on the capacitance change amount between adjacent driving electrodes and receiving electrodes, an LGM noise signal, a display noise signal, and the like.

[0053] The sensing unit 11 can subtract two signals out of the signals output from the plurality of receiving electrodes to output a subtraction signal, and can perform analog-to-digital conversion on the output subtraction signal and output it. For this reason, the sensing unit 11 may include a comparator and an ADC.

[0054] The control unit 13 can detect the presence or absence of a touch and / or the touch position based on the digital signal output from the sensing unit 11.

[0055] In FIG. 2, the sensing unit 11, the driving unit 12, and the control unit 13 are shown separately for convenience of explanation, but are not limited thereto. For example, at least one or two or more of the sensing unit 11, the driving unit 12, and the control unit 13 may be implemented as one module, unit, chip, and the sensing unit 11, the driving unit 12, and the control unit 13 may be implemented as one module, unit, chip.

[0056] The touch input device 1 shown in FIG. 2 may include a display panel. In this case, the touch sensor 10 may be disposed on the display panel, such as in the OCTA method, or may be disposed within the display panel, such as in the in-cell method. In some cases, the touch sensor 10 may also be disposed under the display panel.

[0057] As an example, the touch sensor 10 may be directly formed on the outer surface (e.g., the upper surface of the upper substrate or the lower surface of the lower substrate) or the inner surface (e.g., the lower surface of the upper substrate or the upper surface of the lower substrate) of the upper substrate and / or the lower substrate of the display panel. The touch sensor 10 may be coupled to the display panel to form a touch screen.

[0058] The touch sensor 10 includes a plurality of electrodes of a predetermined shape, and the predetermined electrodes include a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes. Here, if a driving signal is applied to the plurality of first electrodes, the plurality of first electrodes may become a plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2,... and the plurality of second electrodes may become a plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3,....

[0059] The plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2,... and the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3,... may be arranged to intersect each other. A predetermined mutual capacitance cm may be formed between the plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2,... and the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3,..., particularly at their intersection portions.

[0060] Each driving electrode Tx0, Tx1, Tx2,... may extend in a first axial direction, and each receiving electrode Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3,... may extend in a second axial direction different from the first axial direction. Here, the second axial direction may be a direction perpendicular to the first axial direction.

[0061] Among a plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, …, some of the receiving electrodes Rx0a, Rx1a, Rx2a, Rx3a, … may be arranged such that mutual capacitances cm are formed with some of the driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, namely, Tx0, Tx2, Tx4, Tx6, …. Among the remaining receiving electrodes Rx0b, Rx1b, Rx2b, Rx3b, … of the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, mutual capacitances cm may be formed with the remaining driving electrodes Tx1, Tx3, Tx5, Tx7, … of the plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, ….

[0062] Among a plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, …, some of the receiving electrodes Rx0a, Rx1a, Rx2a, Rx3a, … may be arranged to be immediately adjacent to some of the driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, namely, Tx0, Tx2, Tx4, Tx6, …, and may be arranged to be separated by a predetermined distance from the remaining driving electrodes Tx1, Tx3, Tx5, Tx7, … without being immediately adjacent. Here, at least one or more other electrodes may be arranged between some of the receiving electrodes Rx0a, Rx1a, Rx2a, Rx3a, … and the remaining driving electrodes Tx1, Tx3, Tx5, Tx7, …. The other electrodes may be some of the driving electrodes Tx0, Tx2, Tx4, Tx6, ….

[0063] Among the remaining receiving electrodes Rx0b, Rx1b, Rx2b, Rx3b, … of the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, mutual capacitances cm may be formed with the remaining driving electrodes Tx1, Tx3, Tx5, Tx7, … of the plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, and may be arranged to be separated by a predetermined distance from some of the driving electrodes Tx0, Tx2, Tx4, Tx6, … without being immediately adjacent. Here, at least one or more other electrodes may be arranged between the remaining receiving electrodes Rx0b, Rx1b, Rx2b, Rx3b, … and some of the driving electrodes Tx0, Tx2, Tx4, Tx6, …. The other electrodes may be the remaining driving electrodes Tx1, Tx3, Tx5, Tx7, ….

[0064] If a drive signal is applied to some of the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx2, Tx4, Tx6, …, a first signal is output from some of the receiving electrodes Rx0a, Rx1a, Rx2a, Rx3a, … that form the mutual capacitance cm therewith, and a second signal is output from the remaining receiving electrodes Rx0b, Rx1b, Rx2b, Rx3b, … that do not substantially form the mutual capacitance cm therewith. The sensing unit 11 can subtract the second signal from the output first signal and output it to the control unit 13. The control unit 13 can detect the touch position of the object based on the signal from the sensing unit 11. Here, the first signal includes information on the amount of change in the mutual capacitance due to the object, display noise (e.g., Zebra noise), the amount of change due to an image change, LGM noise in a floating state, noise due to the cathode re-transmission phenomenon (the phenomenon that as the resistance (RELVSS) of the ELVSS layer increases (i.e., as the GND becomes weaker), a signal of a high-frequency component is also transmitted to the RX sensor and added to the main signal), etc. On the other hand, the second signal hardly contains information on the amount of change in the mutual capacitance due to the object, but contains the remaining noise information (display noise (e.g., Zebra noise), the amount of change due to an image change, LGM noise in a floating state, noise due to the cathode re-transmission phenomenon, etc.). Therefore, since the sensing unit 11 subtracts the second signal from the first signal, the signal input to the control unit 13 may contain only the information on the amount of change in the mutual capacitance due to the object and no noise information.

[0065] Conversely, if drive signals are applied to the remaining drive electrodes Tx1, Tx3, Tx5, Tx7, …, a second signal is output from the remaining receiving electrodes Rx0b, Rx1b, Rx2b, Rx3, … that form the mutual capacitance cm therewith, and a first signal is output from some of the receiving electrodes Rx0a, Rx1a, Rx2a, Rx3a, … that do not substantially form the mutual capacitance cm therewith. The sensing unit 11 can subtract the first signal from the output second signal and output it to the control unit 13. The control unit 13 can detect the touch position of the object based on the signal from the sensing unit 11. Here, since the second signal includes information on the amount of change in the mutual capacitance due to the object, the signal input to the control unit 13 after the first signal is subtracted from the second signal contains no noise information and only contains information on the amount of change in the mutual capacitance due to the object.

[0066] The plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … and the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … may be arranged together in the same layer (1 layer), or may be arranged in different double layers (2 layers) respectively. Also, some of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … may be arranged in a layer different from the rest, and some of the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … may also be arranged in a layer different from the rest. The plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … and the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … may have a diamond pattern, circular, elliptical, or polygonal shape.

[0067] The plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … and the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … may be formed of a metal mesh and patterned on the thin film encapsulation (TFE) layer of the display panel.

[0068] With reference to the following drawings, various embodiments of the touch sensor 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

[0069] FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of an embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the touch sensor shown in FIG. 3 separated by layer, and FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining the electrical connection of the plurality of receiving electrodes shown in FIG. 4.

[0070] Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention may be disposed on or inside the display panel.

[0071] The touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes. Among the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes, the electrode to which a driving signal is applied may be a driving electrode, and the remaining electrodes may be receiving electrodes. Hereinafter, it will be described that the plurality of first electrodes are a plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3,... and the plurality of second electrodes are a plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4,....

[0072] The plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3,... may include a 0th driving electrode TX0, a 1st driving electrode TX1, a 2nd driving electrode TX2, and a 3rd driving electrode TX3. Here, the plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3,... correspond to the plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2,... shown in FIG. 2.

[0073] The plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4,... may include a 0th receiving electrode RX0, a 1st receiving electrode RX1, a 2nd receiving electrode RX2, a 3rd receiving electrode RX3, and a 4th receiving electrode RX4. Here, the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4,... correspond to the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4,... shown in FIG. 2.

[0074] A plurality of drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, … are arranged along the second direction (or the vertical direction), and each extends along a first direction (or the horizontal direction) perpendicular to the second direction. A plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4, … may be arranged along the second direction. Here, conversely, a plurality of drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, … may be arranged along the first direction (or the horizontal direction), and a plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4, … may be arranged along the second direction (or the vertical direction).

[0075] A predetermined capacitance may be formed between the plurality of drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, … and the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4, …. Such capacitance changes when a touch input occurs at or around that location. Therefore, by detecting the amount of change in capacitance from the signals output from the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4, …, the presence or absence of touch and the touch input can be detected.

[0076] Each of the plurality of drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, … may have the shape of a rectangular pattern or a bar pattern extending in the first direction and may have a plurality of openings O arranged along the first direction inside.

[0077] One receiving electrode may be arranged in each opening O. The shape of each opening O corresponds to the shape of one receiving electrode arranged inside. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the remaining openings among the plurality of openings O except those arranged at the left and right edges may have a rhombus shape, and the openings arranged at the left and right edges may have a triangular shape. Although not shown in the drawings, all the openings O may have a rhombus shape. Or, the plurality of openings O may have various shapes such as a polygon, a rectangle, a circle, or an ellipse.

[0078] Each of the receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4, … includes a plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX0b, RX1a, RX1b, RX2a, RX2b, RX3a, RX3b, RX4a, RX4b and connection patterns P0, P1, P2, P3, P4. Here, among the plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX0b, RX1a, RX1b, RX2a, RX2b, RX3a, RX3b, RX4a, RX4b, some of the receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a correspond to some of the receiving electrodes Rx0a, Rx1a, Rx2a, Rx3a, … shown in FIG. 2, and the remaining receiving electrode patterns RX0b, RX1b, RX2b, RX3b, RX4b can correspond to the remaining receiving electrodes Rx0b, Rx1b, Rx2b, Rx3b, … shown in FIG. 2.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 4(a), the plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, … and the plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX0b, RX1a, RX1b, RX2a, RX2b, RX3a, RX3b, RX4a, RX4b may be arranged together in the first layer. Here, the plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, … arranged in the first layer and the plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX0b, RX1a, RX1b, RX2a, RX2b, RX3a, RX3b, RX4a, RX4b can be implemented by a metal mesh. As shown in FIG. 4(b), the plurality of connection patterns P0a, P0b, P1a, P1b, P2a, P2b, P3a, P3b, P4a, P4b may be arranged in the second layer. The second layer is a layer different from the first layer in FIG. 4(a) and is electrically insulated from the first layer. Here, the plurality of connection patterns P0a, P0b, P1a, P1b, P2a, P2b, P3a, P3b, P4a, P4b can be implemented by a metal mesh. The first layer in FIG. 4(a) may be arranged on the second layer in FIG. 4(b), and vice versa.

[0080] The plurality of receiving electrode patterns included in each receiving electrode can be divided into at least two groups. The receiving electrode patterns in one group are alternately arranged one by one with the receiving electrode patterns in another group. The receiving electrode patterns in one group are electrically separated from the receiving electrode patterns in another group. Here, the receiving electrode patterns in one group can be named as the first receiving electrode patterns, and the receiving electrode patterns in another group can be named as the second receiving electrode patterns.

[0081] The plurality of connection patterns included in each receiving electrode includes a first connection pattern that electrically connects the first receiving electrode patterns in one group and a second connection pattern that electrically connects the second receiving electrodes in another group.

[0082] For example, the 0th receiving electrode RX0 may include a plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX0b and a plurality of connection patterns P0. The plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX0b may include a first group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a and a second group of receiving electrode patterns RX0b that are alternately arranged one by one along the second direction. The first group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a and the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX0b can be electrically separated from each other. The 0th connection pattern P0 may include a first connection pattern P0a that electrically connects the receiving electrode patterns RX0a in the first group and a second connection pattern P0b that electrically connects the receiving electrode patterns RX0b in the second group.

[0083] The first receiving electrode RX1 may include a plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX1a, RX1b and a plurality of connection patterns P1. The plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX1a, RX1b may include a first group of receiving electrode patterns RX1a and a second group of receiving electrode patterns RX1b that are alternately arranged one by one along the second direction. The first group of receiving electrode patterns RX1a and the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX1b can be electrically separated from each other. The first connection pattern P1 may include a first connection pattern P1a that electrically connects the first group of receiving electrode patterns RX1a and a second connection pattern P1b that electrically connects the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX1b.

[0084] The second receiving electrode RX2 may include a plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX2a, RX2b and a plurality of connection patterns P2. The plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX2a, RX2b may include a first group of receiving electrode patterns RX2a and a second group of receiving electrode patterns RX2b that are alternately arranged one by one along the second direction. The first group of receiving electrode patterns RX2a and the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX2b can be electrically separated from each other. The second connection pattern P2 may include a first connection pattern P2a that electrically connects the first group of receiving electrode patterns RX2a and a second connection pattern P2b that electrically connects the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX2b.

[0085] The third receiving electrode RX3 may include a plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX3a, RX3b and a plurality of connection patterns P3. The plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX3a, RX3b may include a first group of receiving electrode patterns RX3a and a second group of receiving electrode patterns RX3b that are alternately arranged one by one along the second direction. The first group of receiving electrode patterns RX3a and the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX3b can be electrically separated from each other. The third connection pattern P3 may include a first connection pattern P3a that electrically connects the first group of receiving electrode patterns RX3a and a second connection pattern P3b that electrically connects the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX3b.

[0086] The fourth receiving electrode RX4 may include a plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX4a, RX4b and a plurality of connection patterns P4. The plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX4a, RX4b may include a first group of receiving electrode patterns RX4a and a second group of receiving electrode patterns RX4b that are alternately arranged one by one along the second direction. The first group of receiving electrode patterns RX4a and the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX4b can be electrically separated from each other. The fourth connection pattern P4 may include a first connection pattern P4a that electrically connects the first group of receiving electrode patterns RX4a and a second connection pattern P4b that electrically connects the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX4b.

[0087] The plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX0b, RX1a, RX1b, RX2a, RX2b, RX3a, RX3b, RX4a, RX4b are arranged inside a plurality of openings O of the plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, …. One receiving electrode pattern is arranged inside one opening O. The shape of each receiving electrode pattern corresponds to the shape of the corresponding opening.

[0088] In any receiving electrode RX1, between the receiving electrode pattern RX1a in the first group and the receiving electrode pattern RX1b in the second group that are arranged adjacent to each other, a part of the driving electrode TX0 immediately adjacent to the periphery of the receiving electrode pattern RX1a in the first group and a part of the driving electrode TX1 immediately adjacent to the periphery of the receiving electrode pattern RX1b in the second group are arranged together.

[0089] Any driving electrode TX0 is arranged immediately adjacent to the periphery of one group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a, and another driving electrode TX1 arranged immediately adjacent to the periphery of the receiving electrode patterns RX0b, RX1b, RX2b, RX3b, RX4b of the other group is arranged by the said arbitrary driving electrode TX0 so as to be separated from the one group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a.

[0090] Each of the connection patterns P0a, P0b, P1a, P1b, P2a, P2b, P3a, P3b, P4a, P4b may have the shape of a bar pattern extending along the second direction and includes at least one conductive via v. The conductive vias v may be arranged at both ends of each of the connection patterns.

[0091] In the first receiving electrode RX0, each of the first connection patterns P0a electrically connects two adjacent receiving electrode patterns RX0a among the first group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a via the conductive via v, and is arranged to overlap under the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX0b arranged between the two adjacent receiving electrode patterns RX0a. Each of the second connection patterns P0b electrically connects two adjacent receiving electrode patterns RX0b among the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX0b via the conductive via v, and is arranged to overlap under the first group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a arranged between the two adjacent receiving electrode patterns RX0b. The first connection patterns P1a, P2a, P3a, P4a and the second connection patterns P1b, P2b, P3b, P4b of the remaining receiving electrodes RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4 are also arranged in the same manner as described above.

[0092] Hereinafter, the operation when a driving signal is applied to at least one of the plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3 will be described in detail. For convenience of explanation, the operation of the first receiving electrode RX1 and the operation of the sensing unit 11 in FIG. 2 will be specifically described.

[0093] If drive signals are sequentially or simultaneously applied to a plurality of drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, two sensing signals are output via a first connection pattern P1. The first signal is a signal output via the first connection pattern P1a, and the second signal is a signal output via the second connection pattern P1b. Therefore, two-channel first and second signals are output for each of the receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4. The first and second signals are output simultaneously, and the output first and second signals can be output to the sensing unit 11 in FIG. 2.

[0094] Depending on the drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3,... to which the drive signal is applied, either one of the first signal and the second signal may become an active channel signal (or, active reception signal ARX), and the other remaining one may become a dummy channel signal (or, dummy reception signal DRX). Specifically, if a drive signal is applied to the drive electrodes (TX0 or / and TX2) where the reception electrode pattern RX1a of the first group is arranged, the first signal output via the first connection pattern P1a becomes an active channel signal, and the second signal output via the second connection pattern P1b becomes a dummy channel signal. On the contrary, if a drive signal is applied to the drive electrodes (TX1 or / and TX3) where the reception electrode pattern RX1b of the second group is arranged, the second signal output via the second connection pattern P1b becomes an active channel signal, and the first signal output via the first connection pattern P1a becomes a dummy channel signal.

[0095] For example, as shown in FIG. 3, assuming that an object (dotted line) is close to or in contact with the intersection point of the first drive electrode TX1 and the first reception electrode RX1, if a drive signal is applied to the first drive electrode TX1, the capacitance (or, mutual active capacitance) formed between the reception electrode pattern RX1b belonging to the second group of the first reception electrode RX1 and the first drive electrode TX1 changes. The second signal including information on the changing capacitance change amount is output as an active channel signal via the second connection pattern P1b.

[0096] On the other hand, the capacitance (or dummy capacitance) formed between the receiving electrode patterns RX1a belonging to the first group of the first receiving electrode RX1 also changes. The first signal including information on the amount of capacitance change is output as a dummy channel signal via the first connection pattern P1a.

[0097] The sensing unit 11 shown in FIG. 2 subtracts the first signal output via the first connection pattern P1a from the second signal output via the second connection pattern P1b, thereby canceling all or most of the cathode retrace transmission noise signal, LGM noise signal, and display noise signal input to the receiving electrode pattern RX1b belonging to the second group and the receiving electrode pattern RX1a belonging to the first group.

[0098] FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of another embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the touch sensor shown in FIG. 6 separated by layer, and FIG. 8 is a drawing for explaining the electrical connection of the plurality of receiving electrodes shown in FIG. 6.

[0099] The touch sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is different from the touch sensor according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 in a plurality of receiving electrodes RX0', RX1', RX2', RX3', RX4'. In particular, the structures of the plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX1a' included in each of the receiving electrodes RX0', RX1', RX2', RX3', RX4' are different. Hereinafter, the structure of the plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX1a' will be described in detail, and the remaining configuration will be replaced with the content described above.

[0100] The plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX1a' included in each of the receiving electrodes RX0', RX1', RX2', RX3', RX4' have an opening O' inside and include a dummy pattern DX1a disposed inside the opening O'. Here, the dummy pattern DX1a may have a shape corresponding to the opening O'.

[0101] The dummy pattern DX1a is not electrically connected to the connection patterns P0a, P0b, P1a, P1b, P2a, P2b, P3a, P3b, P4a, and P4b. The dummy pattern DX1a maintains an electrically floating state.

[0102] The operation of the touch sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is the same as the operation of the touch sensor according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. Therefore, a touch input device including a touch sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 also has an advantage that it can remove various noises that may occur during touch sensing, such as cathode retrace noise signals, display noises, and LGM noises.

[0103] FIG. 9 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the touch sensor shown in FIG. 9 separated by layer.

[0104] The touch sensor according to still another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 9 to 10 is different from the touch sensor according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 in a plurality of receiving electrodes RX0'', RX1'', RX2'', RX3'', RX4''. In particular, the arrangement structures and forms of the plurality of connection patterns P0', P1', P2', P3', P4' included in each receiving electrode RX0'', RX1'', RX2'', RX3'', RX4'' are different. Hereinafter, the arrangement structures and forms of each connection pattern P0', P1', P2', P3', P4' will be described in detail, and the remaining configurations will be replaced with the above-described content.

[0105] Each connection pattern P0', P1', P2', P3', P4' includes a first connection pattern P0a', P1a', P2a', P3a', P4a' and a second connection pattern P0b', P1b', P2b', P3b', P4b'.

[0106] Each of the first connection patterns P0a’, P1a’, P2a’, P3a’, P4a’ electrically connects two reception electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a of the first group, and is arranged so as not to overlap with the reception electrode patterns RX0b, RX1b, RX2b, RX3b, RX4b of the second group arranged between the two reception electrode patterns. For example, at least a part of each of the first connection patterns P0a’, P1a’, P2a’, P3a’, P4a’ is arranged between the reception electrode patterns RX0b, RX1b, RX2b, RX3b, RX4b of the second group and the drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3 arranged immediately adjacent to the reception electrode patterns RX0b, RX1b, RX2b, RX3b, RX4b of the second group so as not to overlap with the reception electrode patterns RX0b, RX1b, RX2b, RX3b, RX4b of the second group. On the other hand, the remaining part may be arranged so as to overlap with the drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3.

[0107] Each of the second connection patterns P0b’, P1b’, P2b’, P3b’, P4b’ electrically connects two reception electrode patterns RX0b, RX1b, RX2b, RX3b, RX4b of the second group, and is arranged so as not to overlap with the reception electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a of the first group arranged between the two reception electrode patterns. For example, at least a part of each of the second connection patterns P0b’, P1b’, P2b’, P3b’, P4b’ is arranged between the reception electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a of the first group and the drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3 arranged immediately adjacent to the reception electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a of the first group so as not to overlap with the reception electrode patterns RX0a, RX1a, RX2a, RX3a, RX4a of the first group. On the other hand, the remaining part may be arranged so as to overlap with the drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3.

[0108] Another touch sensor according to still another embodiment of the present invention has an advantage that it can reduce the capacitance value between the first connection pattern and the second group of receiving electrode patterns, or between the second connection pattern and the first group of receiving electrode patterns, as compared with the touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0109] On the other hand, although not shown in a separate drawing, the dummy pattern DX1a shown in FIGS. 7 to 8 may also be applied to a touch sensor according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[0110] FIG. 11 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 12 is a plan view of the touch sensor shown in FIG. 11 separated by layers.

[0111] The touch sensor according to still another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 11 to 12 is different from the touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 in a plurality of receiving electrodes RX0''', RX1''', RX2''', RX3'''. In particular, the structures and arrangement forms of the plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX0a-2, RX0b-1, RX0b-2, RX1a-1, RX1a-2, RX1b-1, RX1b-2, RX2a-1, RX2a-2, RX2b-1, RX2b-2, RX3a-1, RX3a-2, RX3b-1, RX3b-2 included in each receiving electrode RX0''', RX1''', RX2''', RX3''' and the plurality of connection patterns P0'', P1'', P2'', P3'' are different. Hereinafter, the structures and arrangement forms of the receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX0a-2, RX0b-1, RX0b-2, RX1a-1, RX1a-2, RX1b-1, RX1b-2, RX2a-1, RX2a-2, RX2b-1, RX2b-2, RX3a-1, RX3a-2, RX3b-1, RX3b-2 and the connection patterns P0'', P1'', P2'', P3'' will be described in detail, and the remaining configuration will be replaced with the content described above.

[0112] A plurality of receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX0a-2, RX0b-1, RX0b-2, RX1a-1, RX1a-2, RX1b-1, RX1b-2, RX2a-1, RX2a-2, RX2b-1, RX2b-2, RX3a-1, RX3a-2, RX3b-1, RX3b-2 of the respective receiving electrodes RX0''', RX1''', RX2''', RX3''' include a first group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX0a-2, RX1a-1, RX1a-2, RX2a-1, RX2a-2, RX3a-1, RX3a-2 and a second group of receiving electrode patterns RX0b-1, RX0b-2, RX1b-1, RX1b-2, RX2b-1, RX2b-2, RX3b-1, RX3b-2 that are alternately arranged one by one along the second direction. The first group of receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX0a-2, RX1a-1, RX1a-2, RX2a-1, RX2a-2, RX3a-1, RX3a-2 and the second group of receiving electrode patterns RX0b-1, RX0b-2, RX1b-1, RX1b-2, RX2b-1, RX2b-2, RX3b-1, RX3b-2 can be electrically separated from each other.

[0113] Each of the receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX0a-2, RX1a-1, RX1a-2, RX2a-1, RX2a-2, RX3a-1, RX3a-2 in the first group includes a first receiving electrode pattern RX0a-1, RX1a-1, RX2a-1, RX3a-1 and a second receiving electrode pattern RX0a-2, RX1a-2, RX2a-2, RX3a-2. The first receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX1a-1, RX2a-1, RX3a-1 and the second receiving electrode patterns RX0a-2, RX1a-2, RX2a-2, RX3a-2 are respectively arranged in two adjacent openings O in the first direction from the driving electrodes TX0, TX2. Among the plurality of openings O of each of the driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, one first or second receiving electrode pattern is arranged in the openings located at both ends, and in the remaining openings, one of the receiving electrodes RX0''', RX1''', RX2''', RX3''' and the second receiving electrode pattern of the receiving electrode pattern of the first group of one receiving electrode and the first receiving electrode pattern of the receiving electrode pattern of the first group of the other receiving electrode are arranged together but separated from each other.

[0114] Each of the connection patterns P0'', P1'', P2'', P3'' includes a first connection pattern P0a'', P1a'', P2a'', P3a'' that electrically connects the receiving electrode patterns RX0a-1, RX0a-2, RX1a-1, RX1a-2, RX2a-1, RX2a-2, RX3a-1, RX3a-2 in the first group and a second connection pattern P0b'', P1b'', P2b'', P3b'' that electrically connects the receiving electrode patterns RX0b-1, RX0b-2, RX1b-1, RX1b-2, RX2b-1, RX2b-2, RX3b-1, RX3b-2 in the second group.

[0115] Each of the first connection patterns P0a'', P1a'', P2a'', P3a'' and the second connection patterns P0b'', P1b'', P2b'', P3b'' is configured and arranged to connect two adjacent receiving electrode patterns for each group to each other with the shortest distance. For example, each of the first connection patterns P0a'', P1a'', P2a'', P3a'' and the second connection patterns P0b'', P1b'', P2b'', P3b'' may have one end connected to one side of the lower end of one of the receiving electrode patterns of two adjacent receiving electrode patterns in any one group, and the other end connected to one side of the upper end of the other remaining receiving electrode pattern. The remaining part except for the one end and the other end has a form extending along the second direction, and is arranged so as not to overlap with the receiving electrode patterns of other groups arranged between the one receiving electrode pattern and the other remaining receiving electrode pattern, and to overlap the opening O of the driving electrode with the widest possible cross-sectional area.

[0116] In addition, each of the first connection patterns P0a'', P1a'', P2a'', P3a'' further includes a reception connection pattern that electrically connects the first reception electrode pattern and the second reception electrode pattern of the reception electrode patterns of the first group, and each of the second connection patterns P0b'', P1b'', P2b'', P3b'' further includes a reception connection pattern that electrically connects the first reception electrode pattern and the second reception electrode pattern of the reception electrode patterns of the second group.

[0117] Such a touch sensor according to still another embodiment of the present invention, compared with the touch sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, has an advantage that the capacitance value between the first connection pattern and the reception electrode patterns of the second group, or between the second connection pattern and the reception electrode patterns of the first group can be reduced, and the resistance value of each connection pattern can also be reduced.

[0118] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a touch input device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0119] The touch input device shown in FIG. 13 has the following differences compared to the touch input device shown in FIG. 2. Specifically, the touch sensor 10' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 13 includes electrodes of a predetermined shape, and the predetermined electrodes include a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes. In the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of first electrodes become a plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, and the plurality of second electrodes become a plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, but in the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 13, the plurality of first electrodes become a plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, and the plurality of second electrodes become a plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …

[0120] In other words, compared to the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 2, in the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 13, the plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … are changed to the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, and the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … are changed to the plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …

[0121] Whether the plurality of first electrodes become a plurality of driving electrodes as shown in FIG. 2 or a plurality of receiving electrodes as shown in FIG. 13 can be determined according to the control of the control unit 13. If a driving signal is applied to the plurality of first electrodes in the control unit 13, the plurality of first electrodes can become a plurality of driving electrodes, and if a driving signal is applied to the plurality of second electrodes, the plurality of second electrodes can become a plurality of driving electrodes.

[0122] The plurality of driving electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … and the plurality of receiving electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … can be arranged to cross each other. Each driving electrode Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … can extend in the second axis direction, and each receiving electrode Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … can extend in a first axis direction different from the first axis direction. Here, the first axis direction may be a direction perpendicular to the second axis direction.

[0123] Among a plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, some drive electrodes Tx0a, Tx1a, Tx2a, Tx3a, … may be arranged such that mutual capacitances cm are formed with some of the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, i.e., Rx0, Rx2, Rx4, Rx6, …. Among the remaining drive electrodes Tx0b, Tx1b, Tx2b, Tx3b, … of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, mutual capacitances cm may be formed with the remaining reception electrodes Rx1, Rx3, Rx5, Rx7, … of the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, ….

[0124] Among a plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, some drive electrodes Tx0a, Tx1a, Tx2a, Tx3a, … may be arranged to be immediately adjacent to some of the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, i.e., Rx0, Rx2, Rx4, Rx6, …, and may be arranged to be separated by a predetermined distance from the remaining reception electrodes Rx1, Rx3, Rx5, Rx7, … without being immediately adjacent. Here, at least one or more other electrodes may be arranged between some drive electrodes Tx0a, Tx1a, Tx2a, Tx3a, … and the remaining reception electrodes Rx1, Rx3, Rx5, Rx7, …. The other electrodes may be some of the reception electrodes Rx0, Rx2, Rx4, Rx6, ….

[0125] Among the remaining drive electrodes Tx0b, Tx1b, Tx2b, Tx3b, … of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, …, they may be arranged to be immediately adjacent to the remaining reception electrodes Rx1, Rx3, Rx5, Rx7, … of the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, and may be arranged to be separated by a predetermined distance from some of the reception electrodes Rx0, Rx2, Rx4, Rx6, … without being immediately adjacent. Here, at least one or more other electrodes may be arranged between the remaining drive electrodes Tx0b, Tx1b, Tx2b, Tx3b, … and some of the reception electrodes Rx0, Rx2, Rx4, Rx6, …. The other electrodes may be the remaining reception electrodes Rx1, Rx3, Rx5, Rx7, ….

[0126] The drive signals applied to the remaining drive electrodes Tx0b, Tx1b, Tx2b, Tx3b, … may be inverted drive signals obtained by inverting only the phase by 180 degrees in the drive signals applied to some of the drive electrodes Tx0a, Tx1a, Tx2a, Tx3a, …. For example, in the two drive electrodes Tx0a and Tx0b of the 0th drive electrode TX0, the drive signal applied to Tx0b is an inverted drive signal obtained by inverting the drive signal applied to Tx0a.

[0127] The touch input device shown in FIG. 13 enables multi-driving in which drive signals are simultaneously applied to all the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, Tx3, … of the touch sensor 10’. There is an advantage that no flicker problem occurs in the display panel even when such multi-driving is performed. Further, since multi-driving of all the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, Tx3, … is possible, the driving time for performing mutual sensing can be reduced. Furthermore, since the turn-on time of the analog front end (AFE) can also be reduced, power consumption can be further reduced.

[0128] Prior to explaining below how the effects of the touch input device shown in FIG. 13 occur, problems that may occur when multi-driving is performed with the touch input device shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 14.

[0129] FIG. 14(a) graphically shows that multi-driving is performed for each of the four drive electrodes in the touch input device shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 14(b) is an example of drive signals (or drive codes) applied to the four drive electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3 that are simultaneously driven during the multi-driving of FIG. 14(a).

[0130] As shown in Fig. 14(a), when drive signals are simultaneously applied to four of the 20 drive electrodes Tx0 to Tx19, namely TX0, TX1, TX2, and TX3, during an arbitrary time interval (0 to T1) as shown in Fig. 14(b), the total sum of the drive signals (Drive sum) becomes "2". At this time, if the drive voltage applied to each drive electrode is, for example, 10 [V], the total drive voltage corresponding to 2 * 10 [V], i.e., 20 [V], will affect the display panel, and flicker may occur on the display screen. Furthermore, as the number of simultaneously driven drive electrodes becomes larger than 4, the total sum of the drive signals (Drive sum) becomes even larger, so the total drive voltage becomes even larger, that is, the flicker on the display screen may become more severe.

[0131] On the contrary, in the touch input device shown in Fig. 13, even if the control unit 13 controls to simultaneously apply drive signals to four or more, or all, of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2,..., there is an advantage that the flicker problem in the display panel described above does not occur. This will be specifically described with reference to Fig. 15.

[0132] Fig. 15(a) graphically shows the multi-driving of all drive electrodes in the touch input device shown in Fig. 13, and Fig. 15(b) is an example of the drive signals (or drive codes) applied to all the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, Tx3,... that are simultaneously driven during the multi-driving in Fig. 15(a).

[0133] As shown in Fig. 15(a), when drive signals shown in Fig. 15(b) are simultaneously applied to all drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … of the touch sensor 10’ during a predetermined time interval (0 to T1), the overall sum (drive sum) of the drive signals is always “0”. This is because the drive signals simultaneously applied to some drive electrodes Tx0a, Tx1a, Tx2a, Tx3a, … and the drive signals simultaneously applied to the remaining drive electrodes Tx0b, Tx1b, Tx2b, Tx3b, … have the same magnitude and only the phase is inverted by 180 degrees. Thus, since the overall sum (Drive sum) of the drive signals becomes 0, it has no effect on the display panel. Therefore, there is an advantage that no flicker occurs on the display screen when the display panel is driven.

[0134] Also, as shown in Fig. 15(a), in the touch input device shown in Fig. 13, since the control unit 13 can drive all or four or more of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, … simultaneously, the mutual drive time can be shortened to 1 / 5 compared to the graph in Fig. 14(a). Furthermore, the turn-on time of the analog front end (AFE) can be reduced, and the power consumption of the touch input device can be decreased.

[0135] Also, in the touch input device shown in Fig. 13, although the control unit 13 can detect the position of an object using the reception signals output from the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, …, the position of the object can be detected using a differential signal obtained by differential sensing of the reception signals. Here, the control unit 13 can restore the reception signals output from the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, … by integrating and performing sign processing on the differential signal. This will be specifically described later with reference to Fig. 16.

[0136] Fig. 16 is a drawing for explaining a predetermined process in which the control unit 13 of the touch input device shown in Fig. 13 processes the reception signals from the touch sensor 10’.

[0137] In FIG. 16, it is assumed that the change amount (Delta cm / diff) of the mutual capacitance between the 0th drive electrode TX0 and the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7 is “Delta cm example”, and it is assumed that a predetermined change amount of mutual capacitance corresponding to d1, d2, d3, d4 has occurred in each of the 2nd to 5th reception electrodes Rx2, Rx3, Rx4, Rx5.

[0138] The control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 controls to apply a predetermined drive signal to the 0th drive electrode TX0. Here, the drive signal applied to the 0a drive electrode Tx0a and the drive signal applied to the 0b drive electrode Tx0b are inverted drive signals that differ only in phase by 180 degrees from each other.

[0139] Then, the control unit 13 receives reception signals from the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7 (diff example in single-ended reception). Specifically, the control unit 13 can receive a signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of “d1” from the 2nd reception electrode RX2, and a signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of “d3” from the 4th reception electrode RX4. On the other hand, the control unit 13 can receive a signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of “-d2” from the 3rd reception electrode RX3, and a signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of “-d4” from the 5th reception electrode Rx5.

[0140] Next, the control unit 13 outputs a differential signal from the reception signals from the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7 (diff example during differential reception). Specifically, the control unit 13 outputs a differential signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of "d1" obtained by subtracting the reception signal from the first reception electrode RX1 from the reception signal from the second reception electrode RX2, and outputs a differential signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of "-(d2 + d1)" obtained by subtracting the reception signal from the second reception electrode RX2 from the reception signal from the third reception electrode RX3, and outputs a signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of "(d3 + d2)" obtained by subtracting the reception signal from the third reception electrode RX3 from the reception signal from the fourth reception electrode RX4, and can output a differential signal having a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance of "-(d4 + d3)" obtained by subtracting the reception signal from the fourth reception electrode RX4 from the reception signal from the fifth reception electrode Rx5.

[0141] Next, the control unit 13 can restore the reception signals from the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7 by integrating and performing sign processing on the differential signal. Specifically, the control unit 13 can obtain a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance identical to that in the "diff example during single-ended reception" by integrating the differential signal. Then, the control unit 13 performs sign processing to change the negative (-) sign of some of the restored reception signals to a positive (+) sign, and can obtain a value of the change amount of the mutual capacitance identical to that in the "Delta cm example". Here, the control unit 13 may further include an integrator for integrating the received differential signal and a sign processor for sign processing.

[0142] During the process of the signal processing of the control unit 13 described above, during the process in which the differential signal described above is output, it is possible to cancel display noise (e.g., zebra noise), the change amount due to image change, LGM noise in the floating state, noise due to cathode retrace, etc.

[0143] FIG. 17 is a drawing for explaining the baseline setting in the control unit 13 of the touch input device shown in FIG. 13.

[0144] In FIG. 17, the value of the mutual capacitance between the 0th drive electrode TX0 and the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7 is defined as "cm".

[0145] The control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 is controlled to apply a predetermined drive signal to the 0th drive electrode TX0. Here, the drive signals applied to the 0a drive electrode Tx0a and the 0b drive electrode Tx0b are inverted drive signals that differ only in phase by 180 degrees from each other.

[0146] When the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 receives reception signals from the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7, the baseline (baseline at the time of single-ended reception) is all constant in cm, but the signs are the first reception electrode RX1, the third reception electrode RX3, the fifth reception electrode Rx5, and the seventh reception electrode Rx7 where the mutual capacitance is formed with the 0b drive electrode Tx0b. The baselines of the received signals from have negative (-) values.

[0147] On the other hand, when the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 outputs a differential signal from the reception signals from the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, Rx5, Rx6, Rx7, the baseline (baseline at the time of differential reception) is increased by twice that in the case of the "baseline at the time of single-ended reception". Therefore, the control unit 13 may further include a baseline adjustment unit for reducing the baseline to 1 / 2 times the baseline of the "baseline at the time of single-ended reception".

[0148] FIG. 18 is a partial plan view of an embodiment of the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 13.

[0149] One embodiment of the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 18 is the same as one embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 3 in terms of the structure of a plurality of electrodes, but differs in that the driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, TX4 to which a driving signal is applied and the receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3 from which a received signal is output are configured oppositely.

[0150] Referring to FIG. 18, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can control a predetermined driving signal to be simultaneously applied in connection patterns P0, P1, P2, P3, P4,... of a plurality of driving electrodes TX0, TX1, TX2, TX3, TX4,.... Here, the driving signal applied to the second connection pattern P0b of each connection pattern P0 is an inverted driving signal whose phase is inverted by 180 degrees with respect to the driving signal applied to the first connection pattern P0a.

[0151] As described with reference to FIG. 16, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can receive a received signal having information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance from a plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3,... and output a differential signal from the received received signal. Then, the differential signal can be integrated to restore the received signals received from the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3,... again, and the touch position of the object can be determined based on the information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance obtained by processing the signs of the restored received signals.

[0152] FIG. 19 is a partial plan view of another embodiment of the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 13.

[0153] Another embodiment of the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 19 is the same as one embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 6 in terms of the structure of a plurality of electrodes, but differs in that the driving electrodes to which a driving signal is applied and the receiving electrodes from which a received signal is output are configured oppositely.

[0154] Referring to FIG. 19, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can control such that a predetermined drive signal is simultaneously applied in connection patterns P0, P1, P2, P3, P4,... of a plurality of drive electrodes TX0’, TX1’, TX2’, TX3’, TX4’,.... Here, the drive signal applied to the second connection pattern P0b of each connection pattern P0 is an inverted drive signal whose phase is inverted by 180 degrees with respect to the drive signal applied to the first connection pattern P0a.

[0155] As described with reference to FIG. 16, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can receive a reception signal having information on the change amount of the mutual capacitance from a plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3,... and output a differential signal from the received reception signal. Then, the differential signal can be integrated to restore the received reception signals from the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3,... again, and the touch position of the object can be determined based on the information on the change amount of the mutual capacitance obtained by processing the signs of the restored reception signals.

[0156] FIG. 20 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10’ shown in FIG. 13.

[0157] Still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10’ shown in FIG. 20 has the same structure of a plurality of electrodes as still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 9, but is different in that the drive electrodes to which the drive signal is applied and the reception electrodes from which the reception signal is output are configured oppositely.

[0158] Referring to FIG. 20, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can control such that a predetermined drive signal is simultaneously applied to connection patterns P0’, P1’, P2’, P3’, P4’,... of a plurality of drive electrodes TX0’’, TX1’’, TX2’’, TX3’’, TX4’’,.... Here, the drive signal applied to the second connection pattern P0b of each connection pattern P0’ is an inverted drive signal whose phase is inverted by 180 degrees with respect to the drive signal applied to the first connection pattern P0a.

[0159] As described through FIG. 16, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can receive reception signals having information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance from a plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, …, and output a differential signal from the received reception signals. Then, the differential signal can be integrated to restore the reception signals received from the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, … again, and the touch position of the object can be determined based on the information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance obtained by processing the signs of the restored reception signals.

[0160] FIG. 21 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 13.

[0161] Still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10' shown in FIG. 21 has the same structure of a plurality of electrodes as still another embodiment of the touch sensor 10 shown in FIG. 11, but is different in that the driving electrodes to which driving signals are applied and the reception electrodes from which reception signals are output are configured oppositely.

[0162] Referring to FIG. 21, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can control a predetermined driving signal to be applied simultaneously in connection patterns P0'', P1'', P2'', P3'', … of a plurality of driving electrodes TX0''', TX1''', TX2''', TX3''', …. Here, the driving signal applied to the second connection pattern P0b of each connection pattern P0'' is an inverted driving signal whose phase is inverted by 180 degrees from the driving signal applied to the first connection pattern P0a.

[0163] As described through FIG. 16, the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 13 can receive reception signals having information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance from a plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, …, and output a differential signal from the received reception signals. Then, the differential signal can be integrated to restore the reception signals received from the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, … again, and the touch position of the object can be determined based on the information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance obtained by processing the signs of the restored reception signals.

[0164] Figure 22 is a schematic block diagram of a touch input device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[0165] A touch input device according to still another embodiment of the present invention includes a touch sensor 100 and a control unit 300.

[0166] The control unit 300 controls the touch sensor 100.

[0167] The control unit 300 applies a drive signal (or Tx signal) to the drive electrodes (or Tx electrodes) of the touch sensor 100 and receives a sense signal (or Rx signal) from the reception electrodes (or Rx electrodes) of the touch sensor 100.

[0168] The control unit 300 can sequentially supply drive signals to a plurality of drive electrodes of the touch sensor 100, or can simultaneously supply a predetermined drive signal to at least two or more of the plurality of drive electrodes. The former is called a sequential drive method, and the latter is also called a multi-drive method.

[0169] The control unit 300 receives sense signals output from a plurality of reception electrodes of the touch sensor 100. Here, the sense signals may include information on the capacitance change amount between each reception electrode and an adjacent drive electrode, an LGM noise signal, a display noise signal, and the like.

[0170] The control unit 300 can perform analog-to-digital conversion on the sense signals output from the plurality of reception electrodes and output digital sense signals.

[0171] The control unit 300 can output a signal obtained by differentiating two signals among the sensing signals output from a plurality of receiving electrodes, and can output the output signal after analog-to-digital conversion. Therefore, the control unit 300 may include a comparator and an ADC. Such a control unit 300 can detect the presence or absence of a touch and / or the touch position based on the output digital signal.

[0172] In FIG. 22, the control unit 300 can be implemented as one module, unit, or chip. However, without being limited thereto, the control unit 300 may be divided into a sensing unit that receives a sensing signal from the receiving electrodes of the touch sensor 100, a driving unit that applies a driving signal to the driving electrodes of the touch sensor 100, and a control unit that controls the sensing unit and the driving unit. Alternatively, at least two of the sensing unit, the driving unit, and the control unit may be implemented as one module, unit, or chip.

[0173] Although not shown separately, the touch input device shown in FIG. 22 may include a display panel (not shown). Like the OCTA method shown in FIG. 1, the touch sensor 100 may be disposed on the cells of the display panel, or may be disposed within the cells of the display panel like the in-cell method. Depending on the case, the touch sensor 100 may be disposed under the display panel. As an example, the touch sensor 100 may be directly formed on the outer surface (e.g., the upper surface of the upper substrate or the lower surface of the lower substrate) or the inner surface (e.g., the lower surface of the upper substrate or the upper surface of the lower substrate) of the upper substrate and / or the lower substrate of the display panel. The touch sensor 100 may be coupled to the display panel to form a touch screen panel (TSP).

[0174] A number of scan lines (or gate lines) and a number of data lines may be arranged on the display panel. Sub-pixels can be located in the region where the scan lines and the data lines intersect.

[0175] The display panel may include an active area in which a number of sub-pixels are arranged, and an inactive area located outside the active area. The active area may constitute a display screen of the touch input device. The display screen may have a rectangular shape in which the vertical length is longer than the horizontal length.

[0176] The touch input device shown in FIG. 22 may include a gate driving circuit, a data driving circuit, and a display control unit for driving various signal lines arranged on the display panel for driving the display panel.

[0177] The gate driving circuit is controlled by the display control unit, sequentially outputs a display scan signal on a number of scan lines arranged on the display panel, and can control the driving timing of a number of sub-pixels.

[0178] The data driving circuit can receive video data from the display control unit and convert the video data into data voltages in analog form. The data driving circuit outputs data voltages (Vdata) to respective data lines in accordance with the timing at which scan signals are applied via the scan lines, and can control each sub-pixel to express brightness according to the video data.

[0179] The display control unit can supply various control signals to the gate driving circuit and the data driving circuit, and control the operations of the gate driving circuit and the data driving circuit. The display control unit may be separately configured from the control unit 300 shown in FIG. 22, or may be integrally configured.

[0180] The touch sensor 100 includes a plurality of electrodes (or a plurality of sensors) having a predetermined shape, and the predetermined electrodes include a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes. Here, if a driving signal is applied to the plurality of first electrodes, the plurality of first electrodes can become a plurality of driving electrodes, and the plurality of second electrodes can become a plurality of receiving electrodes.

[0181] A plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, Tx3, …, Tx16, Tx17, Tx18, Tx19 and a plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, …, Rx35, Rx36, Rx37 can be arranged so as to cross each other. A predetermined mutual capacitance cm may be formed between the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, Tx3, …, Tx16, Tx17, Tx18, Tx19 and the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, …, Rx35, Rx36, Rx37, particularly at these crossing portions.

[0182] Each of the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, Tx3, …, Tx16, Tx17, Tx18, Tx19 can be arranged in the first axis direction, and each of the reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, …, Rx35, Rx36, Rx37 can be arranged in a second axis direction different from the first axis direction. Here, the second axis direction may be a direction perpendicular to the first axis direction.

[0183] Each of the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2, Tx3, …, Tx16, Tx17, Tx18, Tx19 includes a pair of electrode portions. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 23.

[0184] FIG. 23 is an enlarged view of portion A shown in FIG. 22.

[0185] Referring to FIG. 23, each of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2 includes a first drive electrode portion Tx0a, Tx1a, Tx2a and a second drive electrode portion Tx0b, Tx1b, Tx2b.

[0186] The first drive electrode portions Tx0a, Tx1a, Tx2a may be arranged such that a mutual capacitance cm is formed with some of the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3, i.e., reception electrodes Rx0, Rx2, and may be arranged such that substantially no mutual capacitance cm is formed with the remaining reception electrodes Rx1, Rx3, or no mutual capacitance cm is formed at all. Here, the meaning that substantially no mutual capacitance cm is formed means a relatively small mutual capacitance value compared to the mutual capacitance cm with some of the reception electrodes Rx0, Rx2.

[0187] The second drive electrode portions Tx0b, Tx1b, and Tx2b may be arranged such that mutual capacitance cm is formed with the remaining receiving electrodes Rx1 and Rx3 among the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, and RX3, and may be arranged such that almost no mutual capacitance cm is formed or no mutual capacitance cm is formed at all with the partial receiving electrodes Rx0 and Rx2. Here, the meaning that almost no mutual capacitance cm is formed means a relatively small mutual capacitance value as compared with the mutual capacitance cm with the remaining receiving electrodes Rx1 and Rx3.

[0188] The first drive electrode portions Tx0a, Tx1a, and Tx2a may be arranged immediately adjacent to a part of the receiving electrodes Rx0 and Rx2 among the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, and RX3, and may be arranged not immediately adjacent to the remaining receiving electrodes Rx1 and Rx3 and separated by a predetermined distance.

[0189] Here, at least one or more other electrodes may be arranged between the first drive electrode portions Tx0a, Tx1a, and Tx2a and the remaining receiving electrodes Rx1 and Rx3. The other electrodes can be at least one of the partial receiving electrodes Rx0 and Rx2.

[0190] The second drive electrode portions Tx0b, Tx1b, and Tx2b may be arranged immediately adjacent to the remaining receiving electrodes Rx1 and Rx3 among the plurality of receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, and RX3, and may be arranged not immediately adjacent to the partial receiving electrodes Rx0 and Rx2 and separated by a predetermined distance. Here, at least one or more other electrodes may be arranged between the second drive electrode portions Tx0b, Tx1b, and Tx2b and the partial receiving electrodes Rx0 and Rx2. The other electrodes can be at least one of the remaining receiving electrodes Rx1 and Rx3.

[0191] In each of the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, and Tx2, the second drive signal applied to the second drive electrode portions Tx0b, Tx1b, and Tx2b may be the same as the first drive signal applied to the first drive electrode portions Tx0a, Tx1a, and Tx2a except that the phase is shifted by 180 degrees. Therefore, if a predetermined drive signal is applied to each of the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, and Tx2, the predetermined drive signal is applied to the first drive electrode portions Tx0a, Tx1a, and Tx2a of each of the drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, and Tx2, and an inverted drive signal in which only the phase of the predetermined drive signal is inverted by 180 degrees may be applied to the second drive electrode portions Tx0b, Tx1b, and Tx2b.

[0192] If a multi-drive signal is applied to at least two or more of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, and Tx2 by the control unit 300, signals (or sensing signals) are output from each of the receiving electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, and RX3. The output signals may include the value of the difference between the amount of change in capacitance (first capacitance information) between one of the drive electrodes immediately adjacent to the receiving electrode and the amount of change in capacitance (second capacitance information) between the receiving electrode and another electrode not immediately adjacent to the receiving electrode, among the first drive electrode portion and the second drive electrode portion.

[0193] The control unit 300 can detect the presence or absence of touch and / or the touch position of the object based on the output signals. Here, the output signals cancel out information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance due to the object, display noise (e.g., Zebra noise), the amount of change due to image change, LGM noise in the floating state, and noise due to the cathode re-transmission phenomenon (a phenomenon in which, as the resistance (RELVSS) of the ELVSS layer increases (i.e., as the GND becomes weaker), signals of higher frequency components are also transmitted to the receiving electrodes of the touch sensor and added to the main signal). Therefore, the output signals may include only information on the amount of change in mutual capacitance due to almost most objects.

[0194] The plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2 and the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3 may be arranged together in the same layer (1 layer), or may be respectively arranged in different double layers (2 layers). Also, a part of the plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2 may be arranged in a layer different from the rest, and a part of the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3 may also be arranged in a layer different from the rest. The plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2 and the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3 may have a diamond pattern, circular, elliptical, or polygonal shape.

[0195] The plurality of drive electrodes Tx0, Tx1, Tx2 and the plurality of reception electrodes RX0, RX1, RX2, RX3 are composed of a metal mesh and may be patterned on the thin film encapsulation (TFE) layer of the display panel.

[0196] The touch sensor 100 shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 can prevent the occurrence of flicker when the display panel is driven. The flicker can occur more prominently as the magnitude of the voltage of the drive signal simultaneously applied to the drive electrodes of the touch sensor 100 increases. In particular, according to the multi-drive method in which drive signals are simultaneously applied to various drive electrodes, the larger the total sum of the drive signals simultaneously applied during a certain period of time, the more prominent the occurrence of the flicker becomes.

[0197] However, the touch sensor 100 shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 has a pair of first and second drive electrode portions for each drive electrode, and since the first drive signal applied to the first drive electrode portion and the second drive signal applied to the second drive electrode portion are 180 degrees out of phase with each other, the sum of the drive signals simultaneously applied during a certain period of time is always 0, so there is an advantage that the occurrence of the flicker is reduced or hardly occurs.

[0198] FIG. 24 is a schematic block diagram of a touch input device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0199] The touch input device according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 24 is different in the touch sensor 100' as compared with the touch input device shown in FIG. 22. The touch input device including the touch sensor 100' and the control unit 300 can not only detect the position of the same object as the finger located on the screen, but also output a drive signal for driving the stylus pen, sense the signal emitted from the stylus pen, and detect the position of the stylus pen located on the screen.

[0200] The touch sensor 100' includes a plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9, a plurality of pen drive electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, a plurality of touch reception electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5, and a plurality of pen reception electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5. Here, the plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 correspond to the plurality of drive electrodes Tx1, Tx2, …, Tx38, Tx39 in FIG. 22, and the plurality of touch reception electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 correspond to the plurality of reception electrodes Rx0, Rx1, Rx2, Rx3, …, Rx35, Rx36, Rx37.

[0201] Each touch drive electrode FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 is an electrode to which a touch drive signal for sensing an object such as a finger or a conductive member is applied.

[0202] Each pen driving electrode STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9 is arranged adjacent to the touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and is spaced apart from the touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 by a predetermined distance. Each pen driving electrode STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9 may be arranged in the same direction as the scan lines of a display panel (not shown). Each pen driving electrode STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9 can have a pen driving signal for driving a stylus pen applied thereto, or can receive or sense a pen signal from the stylus pen. The pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9 can also be named the first pen driving / receiving electrodes.

[0203] One end of each of the plurality of pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9 is electrically connected via a conductive pattern. Here, the conductive pattern may be a metal mesh or a silver trace.

[0204] Each touch receiving electrode FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 is arranged in a direction different from the direction in which the touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 are arranged. Each touch receiving electrode FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 is an electrode from which a touch sensing signal for sensing an object such as a finger or a conductive member is output.

[0205] Each pen receiving electrode SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 is arranged adjacent to the touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 and is disposed at a predetermined interval from the touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5. Each pen receiving electrode SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 may be arranged in a direction different from that of the pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9. Each pen receiving electrode SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 can have a pen driving signal for driving a stylus pen applied thereto or can sense a pen signal from the stylus pen. The pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 can also be named as second pen driving / receiving electrodes.

[0206] One end of each of the plurality of pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 is electrically connected via a conductive pattern. Here, the conductive pattern may be a metal mesh or a silver trace.

[0207] The plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 and the plurality of pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 are arranged on the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and the plurality of pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, and may be arranged at a predetermined interval from the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and the plurality of pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9.

[0208] The number of the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and the number of the plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 can increase or decrease depending on the size of the screen of the touch input device and the relative lengths of the major axis and the minor axis.

[0209] A plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and a plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 basically sense the touch of an object such as a finger and a conductive member. For this purpose, the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 operate as touch driving electrodes to which a touch driving signal is applied, and the plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 can operate as touch sensing electrodes (or touch receiving electrodes) to which a touch sensing signal is received. Of course, it can also operate conversely.

[0210] Each of the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 includes a pair of first driving electrode portions FTx0a, FTx1a, …, FTx9a and second driving electrode portions FTx0b, FTx1b, …, FTx9b.

[0211] The first driving electrode portions FTx0a, FTx1a, …, FTx9a and the second driving electrode portions FTx0b, FTx1b, …, FTx9b may be alternately arranged one by one in one direction.

[0212] The first driving electrode portions FTx0a, FTx1a, …, FTx9a form mutual capacitances with some of the receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx2, FRx4 among the plurality of receiving driving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5, or are arranged adjacent to each other, and the mutual capacitances with the remaining receiving electrodes FRx1, FRx3, FRx5 are hardly formed or are arranged not adjacent to each other.

[0213] The second driving electrode portions FTx0b, FTx1b, …, FTx9b form mutual capacitances with the remaining receiving electrodes FRx1, FRx3, FRx5 among the plurality of receiving driving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5, or are arranged adjacent to each other, and the mutual capacitances with some of the receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx2, FRx4 are hardly formed or are arranged not adjacent to each other.

[0214] A first drive signal and a second drive signal may be applied to each pair of first and second drive electrode portions of the touch drive electrodes, respectively, either simultaneously or sequentially. Here, the first drive signal and the second drive signal may be pulse signals or sine signals whose phases are shifted by 180 degrees from each other.

[0215] The touch sensor 100' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24 includes a pair of first and second drive electrode portions for each of a plurality of touch drive electrodes, and the control unit 300 controls to apply first and second drive signals having phases opposite to each other by 180 degrees to the first and second drive electrode portions simultaneously. Therefore, as described above with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23, there is an advantage that the occurrence of flicker in the display panel can be significantly reduced or prevented.

[0216] On the other hand, in order for the touch sensor 100' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24 to drive and sense a stylus pen, a plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1,..., FTx8, FTx9, a plurality of pen drive electrodes STx0, STx1,..., STx8, STx9, a plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1,..., FRx4, FRx5, and a plurality of pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1,..., SRx4, SRx5 can be used in various combinations.

[0217] The various combinations are as shown in [Table 1] below.

[0218] In [Table 1] below, "1" refers to a plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1,..., FTx8, FTx9, "2" refers to a plurality of pen drive electrodes STx0, STx1,..., STx8, STx9, "3" refers to a plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1,..., FRx4, FRx5, and "4" refers to a plurality of pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1,..., SRx4, SRx5.

[0219]

Table 1

[0220] Referring to [Table 1] above, in various combinations (No.1 to No.32), a plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and a plurality of touch reception electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 sense the touch of an object such as a finger.

[0221] One or two of the plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9, the plurality of pen drive electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, the plurality of touch reception electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5, and the plurality of pen reception electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 can operate as a stylus drive electrode for driving a stylus pen. A current loop for driving a stylus pen can be formed using one or two patterns of the plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9, the plurality of pen drive electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, the plurality of touch reception electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5, and the plurality of pen reception electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5. The X-axis drive may be any one type of electrode among the plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and the plurality of pen drive electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, and the Y-axis drive may be any one type of electrode among the plurality of touch reception electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 and the plurality of pen reception electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5. The stylus pen can be driven by either one of the X-axis drive and the Y-axis drive, or both.

[0222] Among the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9, the plurality of pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, the plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5, and the plurality of pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5, two of them can operate as sensing electrodes for sensing a stylus pen signal emitted from a stylus pen. Since both X-axis sensing and Y-axis sensing are required to sense the stylus pen signal, two patterns among the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9, the plurality of pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, the plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5, and the plurality of pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5 are used. The X-axis sensing may be any one type of electrode among the plurality of touch driving electrodes FTx0, FTx1, …, FTx8, FTx9 and the plurality of pen driving electrodes STx0, STx1, …, STx8, STx9, and the Y-axis sensing may be any one type of electrode among the plurality of touch receiving electrodes FRx0, FRx1, …, FRx4, FRx5 and the plurality of pen receiving electrodes SRx0, SRx1, …, SRx4, SRx5.

[0223] In the above [Table 1], the “uplink signal magnitude” means the magnitude of the driving signal for driving the stylus pen. The “downlink signal magnitude” means the magnitude of the stylus pen signal received from the stylus pen. The “stylus additional channel” means whether an additional channel for the stylus pen must be configured in addition to touch sensing.

[0224] FIG. 25 shows a first embodiment of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24.

[0225] Referring to FIG. 25, the touch input device according to the first embodiment includes a touch sensor 100a and a control unit 300. The touch sensor 100a includes a number of first to fourth patterns 101a, 102a, 103a, 104a.

[0226] The first pattern 101a is arranged in a large number along the first direction and the second direction that are perpendicular to each other. Here, the first direction may be the major axis direction of the screen of the touch input device, and the second direction may be the minor axis direction of the screen of the touch input device.

[0227] The large number of first patterns 101a include a large number of first pattern portions 101o and a large number of second pattern portions 101e.

[0228] One first pattern portion 101o and one second pattern portion 101e are alternately arranged along the first direction.

[0229] The large number of first pattern portions 101o arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by a large number of conductive patterns, and the large number of second pattern portions 101e arranged along the first direction are also electrically connected by a large number of conductive patterns.

[0230] On the other hand, the large number of first pattern portions 101o arranged along the second direction are not electrically connected to each other. Also, the large number of second pattern portions 101e arranged along the second direction are not electrically connected to each other.

[0231] Each of the first pattern portion 101o and the second pattern portion 101e includes an upper pattern portion, a lower pattern portion, and a connecting pattern portion that connects between the upper pattern portion and the lower pattern portion. Here, the upper pattern portion may have an inverted triangular shape with an empty interior, the lower pattern portion may have a triangular shape with an empty interior, and the connecting pattern portion may have a square shape with an empty interior. The upper pattern portion, the lower pattern portion, and the connecting pattern portion may be integrally formed.

[0232] Each of the first pattern portion 101o and the second pattern portion 101e may have an opening in which at least one second pattern 102a is arranged. The shape of the opening may correspond to the shape of each of the first pattern portion 101o and the second pattern portion 101e.

[0233] One first pattern part 101o has a structure that surrounds at least a part or all of one second pattern 102a and is electrically insulated from each other. One second pattern part 101e also has a structure that surrounds at least a part or all of one second pattern 102a and is electrically insulated from each other.

[0234] A number of first patterns 101a arranged along the first direction form an electrical path in the first direction. A number of first patterns 101a arranged along the first direction have two channels (or terminals). One channel is a channel in which a number of first pattern parts 101o arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by a conductive pattern, and the remaining one channel is a channel in which a number of second pattern parts 101e arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by a conductive pattern. The two channels may be electrically connected to the control unit 300 respectively.

[0235] At least one or more second patterns 102a are arranged inside each of the number of first pattern parts 101o and the number of second pattern parts 101e.

[0236] A number of second patterns 102a arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by a number of conductive patterns. Two second patterns 102a adjacent to each other along the first direction may be electrically connected by one conductive pattern.

[0237] Among a number of second patterns 102a arranged along the first direction, the second pattern arranged at one side end may be electrically connected to the control unit 300, and the second pattern 102a arranged at the other side end is electrically connected to the second pattern arranged along the second direction via the conductive pattern 102m.

[0238] The first pattern 101a and the second pattern 102a may be arranged in the same layer. The first pattern 101a and the second pattern 102a can be formed in the same layer using a metal mesh.

[0239] The third pattern 103a has a shape extending along the second direction (or the minor axis).

[0240] The third pattern 103a may include a number of diamond pattern portions and connection pattern portions that connect between two adjacent diamond pattern portions among the number of diamond pattern portions.

[0241] The third pattern 103a can have an opening in which the fourth pattern 104a is disposed.

[0242] The third pattern 103a may have a structure that surrounds at least a part or all of the fourth pattern 104a. The third pattern 103a is disposed at a predetermined interval from the fourth pattern 104a. Through this, it is electrically insulated.

[0243] The fourth pattern 104a is disposed adjacent to the third pattern 103a, has a shape extending along the second direction, and is disposed inside the third pattern 103a.

[0244] The fourth pattern 104a may include a number of diamond pattern portions and connection pattern portions that connect between two adjacent diamond pattern portions among the number of diamond pattern portions.

[0245] A number of such third patterns 103a and fourth patterns 104a are arranged along the first direction.

[0246] One end of a number of the third patterns 103a is electrically connected to the control unit 300, and the other end may be electrically open.

[0247] One end of a majority of the fourth patterns 104a may be electrically open as shown in FIG. 25 and may be connected to the control unit 300 differently from FIG. 25. The other ends of a majority of the fourth patterns 104a are electrically connected via the conductive pattern 104m. Here, the other ends electrically connected to each other may be grounded. If the other ends of a majority of the fourth patterns 104a are electrically connected to each other, capacitance is added for each fourth pattern 104a, so the overall impedance will decrease and may have an effect similar to when the other ends of a majority of the fourth patterns 104a are grounded.

[0248] The third pattern 103a and the fourth pattern 104a may be arranged in the same layer. The third pattern 103a and the fourth pattern 104a can be formed in the same layer using a metal mesh. Here, the first pattern 101a and the second pattern 102a may be arranged in the first layer, and the third pattern 103a and the fourth pattern 104a may be arranged in a second layer different from the first layer.

[0249] The control unit 300 is electrically connected to the touch sensor 100a and controls the touch sensor 100a. The connection between the control unit 300 and the touch sensor 100a may be electrically connected via a conductive pattern.

[0250] By the control unit 300, a majority of the first patterns 101a may become the plurality of touch drive electrodes FTx0 to FTx0 shown in FIG. 24, a majority of the third patterns 103a may become the plurality of touch reception electrodes FRx0 to FRx5 shown in FIG. 24, a majority of the second patterns 102a may become the plurality of pen drive electrodes STx0 to STx9 shown in FIG. 24, and a majority of the fourth patterns 104a may become the plurality of pen reception electrodes SRx0 to SRx5 shown in FIG. 24.

[0251] The control unit 300 may include a number of drive circuit units and sensing circuit units.

[0252] A number of drive circuit units may include a drive circuit unit for touch drive and a drive circuit unit for stylus drive.

[0253] The plurality of sensing circuit units may include a sensing circuit unit for touch sensing and a sensing circuit unit for stylus sensing. Here, some of the plurality of sensing circuit units can perform both touch sensing and stylus sensing together.

[0254] The control unit 300 can control the touch sensor 100a to operate in any one of a touch drive / sensing mode, a pen drive mode, and a stylus sensing mode.

[0255] The control unit 300 can electrically connect a plurality of drive / sensing circuit units to the touch sensor 100a according to each mode. For this purpose, the control unit 300 may include a plurality of switches for electrically connecting the plurality of drive / sensing circuit units and the touch sensor 100a.

[0256] FIGS. 26 to 28 are drawings for explaining the touch sensor 100a shown in FIG. 25 used in No. 1 of [Table 1] above.

[0257] FIG. 26 is a drawing showing the case where the touch input device shown in FIG. 25 operates in the touch drive / sensing mode (or, 2D sensing mode), FIG. 27 is a drawing showing the case where the touch input device shown in FIG. 25 operates in the pen drive mode (or, stylus drive mode, or stylus uplink mode), and FIG. 28 is a drawing showing the case where the touch input device shown in FIG. 25 operates in the stylus sensing mode (or, stylus downlink mode).

[0258] Referring to FIG. 26, in the touch drive / sensing mode, the control unit 300 can electrically connect the drive circuit units 310 and 31' for touch drive to a number of first patterns 101a of the touch sensor 100a. The first patterns 101a arranged along the first direction have a first pattern portion 101o and a second pattern portion 101e. The control unit 300 can electrically connect the first drive circuit unit 310 to the first pattern portion 101o arranged along the first direction, and can electrically connect the second drive circuit unit 310' to the second pattern portion 101e arranged along the first direction. Here, the second drive circuit unit 310' can output by inverting only the phase of the drive signal output from the first drive circuit unit 310 by 180 degrees.

[0259] The control unit 300 can electrically connect the sensing circuit unit 330 for touch sensing to a number of third patterns 103a of the touch sensor 100a.

[0260] The control unit 300 can apply a first drive signal to the first pattern portion 101o arranged along the first direction and a second drive signal (an inverted signal of the first drive signal) to the second pattern portion 101e, and can receive the sensing signals received from a number of third patterns 103a. The sensing circuit unit 330 of the control unit 300 can output information on the capacitance change amount included in the input sensing signals at a predetermined voltage value. The control unit 300 can process the output voltage value to detect the presence or absence of touch and / or the touch position.

[0261] The sensing signals output from each of the third patterns 103a include the value of the difference between the change amount of the first capacitance between the third pattern 103a and the first pattern portion 101o and the change amount of the second capacitance between the third pattern 103a and the second pattern portion 101e. Therefore, the display noise and the LGM noise are canceled out in the output sensing signals, and as described above with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23, the occurrence of flicker in the display panel can be significantly reduced or prevented.

[0262] On the other hand, in order to prevent capacitive coupling from occurring between the first pattern 101a and the second pattern 102a, the control unit 300 can also control so that the reference potential is applied to a number of second patterns 102.

[0263] Referring to FIG. 27, in the pen driving mode, the control unit 300 can electrically connect the drive circuit unit 340 for driving the stylus pen to the second pattern 102a arranged along the first direction.

[0264] The control unit 300 can control the pen drive signals output from each of the drive circuit units 340, 340' connected to the second pattern 102a arranged along the first direction. For example, the control unit 300 controls so that a pulse signal of a predetermined frequency is output from the first drive circuit unit 340, controls so that no pulse signal is output from the second drive circuit unit 340', and controls so that a pulse signal opposite to the pulse signal output from the first drive circuit unit 340 is output from the third drive circuit unit 340''. In this case, a current loop is formed by at least one or more second patterns 102 electrically connected to the first drive circuit unit 340 and at least one or more second patterns electrically connected to the third drive circuit unit 340''. A magnetic field is generated by the formed current loop, and the stylus pen in the vicinity can be resonantly driven by the magnetic field.

[0265] The control unit 300 can control such that pulse signals opposite to each other are output to any two or more of a number of drive circuit units 340, 340', 340'' electrically connected to a number of second patterns 102a. Therefore, the control unit 300 can variously change and set the size and position of the current loop. For example, when the control unit 300 detects the position of a proximity stylus pen, it can control such that pulse signals opposite to each other are output from two drive circuit units electrically connected to the second patterns around the position of the stylus pen. When the position of the stylus pen cannot be detected, it can also control such that pulse signals opposite to each other are output from two drive circuit units electrically connected to the second patterns located around the outermost peripheries on both sides among the number of second patterns 102a.

[0266] Referring to FIG. 28, in the stylus sensing mode, the control unit 300 can electrically connect the sensing circuit units 350, 350' for stylus sensing to a number of first patterns 101a and a number of third patterns 103a of the touch sensor 100a, respectively. Here, since the first pattern 101a arranged along the first direction among the number of first patterns 101a is composed of two channels, the first sensing circuit unit 350 can be electrically connected in parallel to the two channels. The second sensing circuit unit 350' may be electrically connected to each of the third patterns 103a.

[0267] In the stylus sensing mode, if a stylus pen approaches an arbitrary position on the touch sensor 100a, an induced current is generated in a part of the second patterns 102a and a part of the fourth patterns 104a located around the stylus pen among the number of second patterns 102a and the number of fourth patterns 104a by the pen signal output from the stylus pen. This is due to the fact that the number of second patterns 102a and the number of fourth patterns 104a form a current loop.

[0268] A part of the induced current generated in the multiple second patterns 102a flows to and through the first pattern 101a by capacitive coupling between the second pattern 102a and the first pattern 101a, generating an induced voltage. Also, a part of the induced current generated in the multiple fourth patterns 104a flows to and through the third pattern 103a by capacitive coupling between the fourth pattern 104a and the third pattern 103a, generating an induced voltage.

[0269] The control unit 300 can sense the induced voltages generated in the first pattern 101a and the third pattern 103a via the first and second sensing units 350, 350' and detect the position of the stylus pen.

[0270] Figures 26 to 28 show the sensing of the touch position of an object using the touch sensor 100a of FIG. 25 by the method of No. 1 in [Table 1] above and the driving and sensing of the stylus pen. However, the touch sensor 100a of FIG. 25 can also be used by any one of the methods of No. 2 to No. 32 in [Table 1] above.

[0271] FIG. 29 is a second embodiment of the touch sensor 100' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24.

[0272] Referring to FIG. 29, the touch sensor 100b includes multiple first to fourth patterns 101b, 102b, 103b, 104b. The multiple first to fourth patterns 101b, 102b, 103b, 104b are arranged together in the same layer, different from the touch sensor 100a shown in FIG. 25. For reference, in the touch sensor 100a shown in FIG. 25, the first and second patterns 101a, 102a are arranged together in the first layer, and the third and fourth patterns 103a, 104a are arranged together in a second layer different from the first layer.

[0273] Since the majority of the first and second patterns 101b and 102b have the same structure and arrangement as the majority of the first and second patterns 101a and 102a of the touch sensor 100a shown in FIG. 25, instead of a specific description, the following will detail the majority of the third and fourth patterns 103b and 104b in place of the above-described content.

[0274] The third pattern 103b is arranged in a large number along the first direction and the second direction. One first pattern 101b is arranged between the large number of third patterns 103b arranged along the second direction. The third pattern 103b may be arranged one by one on both sides with the connection pattern portion of the first pattern 101b as the center.

[0275] The third pattern 103b has a rectangular, polygonal, circular or elliptical shape. The third pattern 103b has an opening in which one fourth pattern 104b is arranged. The third pattern 103b may be in a closed curve shape with the opening formed therein. The third pattern 103b may be arranged so as to surround at least a part or all of one fourth pattern 104b.

[0276] The large number of third patterns 103b arranged along the second direction are electrically connected via a conductive pattern. Two third patterns adjacent to each other along the second direction may be electrically connected by one conductive pattern. On the other hand, the large number of third patterns 103b arranged along the first direction are not electrically connected to each other. The large number of third patterns arranged along different second directions adjacent to each other on the first direction side are also electrically connected via a conductive pattern.

[0277] Each of the large number of fourth patterns 104b is arranged inside one third pattern 103b. One fourth pattern 104b is surrounded by one third pattern 103b. The shape of the fourth pattern 104b may correspond to the shape of the opening of the third pattern portion 103b. The fourth pattern 104b may have a rectangular, polygonal, circular or elliptical shape. The fourth pattern 104b may be a plate shape without an opening inside.

[0278] A number of fourth patterns 104b arranged along the second direction are electrically connected via conductive patterns. Two fourth patterns adjacent to each other along the second direction may be electrically connected by one conductive pattern. Among the number of fourth patterns 104b arranged along the second direction, the fourth pattern arranged at one side end may be electrically connected to the control unit 300 shown in FIG. 25, and the fourth pattern 104b arranged at the other side end is electrically connected to the number of fourth patterns arranged along the first direction via the conductive pattern 104m. Through this, it can be configured in the same way as the electrical connection path of the fourth pattern 104a shown in FIG. 25.

[0279] The touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29 can replace the touch sensor 100a shown in FIG. 25. Therefore, the touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29 can also sense the touch position of an object and drive and sense a stylus pen in various ways described in the above [Table 1]. Specifically, the touch sensor 100a shown in FIGS. 26 to 28 can be replaced with the touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29. The touch input device having the touch sensor 100b and the control unit 300 can perform the same touch drive / sensing mode of FIG. 26, pen drive mode of FIG. 27, and stylus sensing mode of FIG. 28 described above. Further, the touch sensor 100b in FIG. 29 can also be used in any one of the methods from No. 2 to No. 32 in the above [Table 1].

[0280] FIG. 30 is a modified example of the touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29 as a third embodiment of the touch sensor 100' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24.

[0281] The structures and shapes of the first to fourth patterns 101b, 102b, 103b, and 104b of the touch sensor 100b’ shown in FIG. 30 are the same as those of the first to fourth patterns 101b, 102b, 103b, and 104b of the touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29. Therefore, the description of the structures and shapes of the first to fourth patterns 101b, 102b, 103b, and 104b is replaced by the content described above.

[0282] The difference between the touch sensor 100b’ shown in FIG. 30 and the touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29 is a conductive pattern 101om that electrically connects two first pattern portions 101o adjacent to each other in the first direction and two second pattern portions 101e adjacent to each other in the first pattern 101b.

[0283] The conductive pattern 101om is arranged in a detour without intersecting the third and fourth patterns 103b and 104b. Further, the conductive pattern 101om may be arranged so as to intersect a conductive pattern that electrically connects two adjacent third and fourth patterns 103b and 104b along the second direction.

[0284] The conductive pattern that electrically connects two first pattern portions 101o adjacent to each other in the first direction and two second pattern portions 101e adjacent to each other in the touch sensor 100b of FIG. 29 has a shape in which the remaining portion except for both ends extends linearly in the first direction, so that it has a portion overlapping with the third and fourth patterns 103b and 104b. A predetermined capacitance may be formed between the conductive pattern and the third and fourth patterns 103b and 104b in the overlapping portion. The predetermined capacitance may affect touch sensing or stylus sensing sensitivity and may also affect the operating frequency bandwidth.

[0285] The back side, the conductive pattern 101om in FIG. 30, does not overlap with the third and fourth patterns 103b and 104b and is arranged to bypass the third pattern 103b. As a result, the capacitance described above is not formed, which has the advantages of reducing the influence on the sensitivity of touch sensing or stylus sensing and also reducing the influence on the operating frequency bandwidth.

[0286] On the other hand, since the conductive pattern in FIG. 29 is shorter in length than the conductive pattern 101om in FIG. 30, it has the advantage that the resistance of the conductive pattern in FIG. 29 is even smaller than that of the conductive pattern 101om in FIG. 30.

[0287] FIG. 31 is a fourth embodiment of the touch sensor 100' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24.

[0288] Referring to FIG. 31, the touch sensor 100c includes a number of first to fourth patterns 101c, 102c, 103c, and 104c. The number of first to fourth patterns 101c, 102c, 103c, and 104c are arranged together in the same layer, identically to the touch sensors 100b and 100b' shown in FIGS. 29 and 30.

[0289] Since the number of third and fourth patterns 103c and 104c has the same structure and arrangement form as the number of third and fourth patterns 103b and 104b of the touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29, instead of the specific description above, the following will describe in detail the number of first and second patterns 101c and 102c.

[0290] Each of the number of second patterns 102c is arranged to surround at least a part or all of one third pattern 103c. One second pattern 102b has an opening inside which one third pattern 103c is arranged.

[0291] Each of the plurality of first patterns 101c is arranged to surround at least a part or all of one second pattern 102c. One first pattern 101c has an opening in which one second pattern 102c is arranged.

[0292] One second pattern 102c is arranged inside one first pattern 101c, one third pattern 103c is arranged inside one second pattern 102c, and one fourth pattern 104c is arranged inside one third pattern 103c.

[0293] The first pattern 101c may have a shape corresponding to that of the second pattern 102c, and the third pattern 103c may have a shape corresponding to that of the fourth pattern 104c. Or, the first to fourth patterns 101c, 102c, 103c, 104c may have corresponding shapes to each other.

[0294] The first and second patterns 101c, 102c may be rectangular in shape, but are not limited thereto, and may have a polygonal, circular or elliptical shape.

[0295] The first pattern 101c includes a first pattern portion 101o arranged in odd numbers along the first direction and a second pattern portion 101e arranged in even numbers along the first direction.

[0296] The first pattern portions 101o arranged along the first direction are electrically connected via a conductive pattern 101om, and the second pattern portions 101e arranged along the first direction are electrically connected via a conductive pattern.

[0297] The conductive pattern 101om that electrically connects two first pattern portions 101o arranged along the first direction to each other is arranged adjacent to one side of the second pattern portion 101e arranged between the two first pattern portions 101o.

[0298] Also, a conductive pattern that electrically connects two second pattern portions 101e arranged along the first direction is disposed adjacent to the other side of the first pattern portion disposed between the two second pattern portions 101e.

[0299] With such an arrangement of the conductive pattern 101om, the touch sensor 100c shown in FIG. 31 can minimize the length of the conductive pattern 101om and thus minimize the resistance, and since the conductive pattern 101om does not overlap with other patterns, the capacitance can also be minimized. That is, the touch sensor 100c shown in FIG. 31 has the advantage of minimizing the resistance of the touch sensor 100b shown in FIG. 29 and the advantage of minimizing the capacitance of the touch sensor 100b' shown in FIG. 30.

[0300] A number of second patterns 102c arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by a number of conductive patterns. Two second patterns adjacent to each other along the first direction may be electrically connected by one conductive pattern. The second pattern disposed at one end among the number of second patterns 102c arranged along the first direction may be electrically connected to the control unit 300 shown in FIG. 25, and the second pattern 102c disposed at the other end is electrically connected to a number of second patterns arranged along the second direction via a conductive pattern 102m. Through this, it may be configured in the same manner as the electrical connection path of the second pattern 102a shown in FIG. 25.

[0301] The touch sensor 100c shown in FIG. 31 can replace the touch sensor 100a shown in FIG. 25. Therefore, the touch sensor 100c shown in FIG. 31 can also sense the touch position of an object and drive and sense a stylus pen in various ways described in the above [Table 1]. Specifically, the touch sensor 100a shown in FIGS. 26 to 28 can be replaced with the touch sensor 100c shown in FIG. 31. Such a touch input device having the touch sensor 100c and the control unit 300 can similarly perform the touch drive / sensing mode of FIG. 26, the pen drive mode of FIG. 27, and the stylus sensing mode of FIG. 28 described above. Further, the touch sensor 100c in FIG. 31 can be used in any one of the methods No. 2 to No. 32 in the above [Table 1].

[0302] FIG. 32 is a fifth embodiment of the touch sensor 100' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24.

[0303] Referring to FIG. 32, the touch sensor 100d includes a number of first to fourth patterns 101d, 102d, 103d, 104d. The number of first to fourth patterns 101d, 102d, 103d, 104d are arranged together in the same layer.

[0304] The first pattern 101d is arranged in a number along the first direction and the second direction perpendicular to each other. Here, the first direction may be the long axis direction of the screen of the touch input device, and the second direction may be the short axis direction of the screen of the touch input device.

[0305] The first pattern 101d includes a first pattern portion 101o and a second pattern portion 101e. The number of first patterns 101d includes a number of first pattern portions 101o and a number of second pattern portions 101e, and one first pattern portion 101o and one second pattern portion 101e are alternately arranged along the first direction.

[0306] A number of first pattern portions 101o arranged along a first direction are electrically connected by conductive patterns, and a number of second pattern portions 101e arranged along the first direction are also electrically connected by conductive patterns. Here, the number of first pattern portions 101o arranged along a second direction are not electrically connected to each other. Also, the number of second pattern portions 101e arranged along the second direction are not electrically connected to each other.

[0307] Each of the first pattern portion 101o and the second pattern portion 101e may have a rectangular shape. In the case of a rectangular shape, it may be a polygon having at least four sides or more. Although not shown in the drawings, each of the first pattern portion 101o and the second pattern portion 101e may have an elliptical or circular shape.

[0308] Each of the first pattern portion 101o and the second pattern portion 101e may have an opening in which at least one second pattern 102d is disposed. The shape of the opening may correspond to the shape of each of the first pattern portion 101o and the second pattern portion 101e.

[0309] One first pattern portion 101o has a structure that surrounds at least a part or all of one second pattern 102d and is electrically insulated from each other, and one second pattern portion 101e also has a structure that surrounds at least a part or all of one second pattern 102b and is electrically insulated from each other.

[0310] A number of first patterns 101d arranged along the first direction form the same electrical path as the first pattern 101 shown in FIG. 24. A number of first patterns 101d arranged along the first direction have two input / output channels (or terminals). One channel is a channel in which a number of first pattern portions 101o arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by conductive patterns, and the remaining one channel is a channel in which a number of second pattern portions 101e arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by conductive patterns. The two channels may be electrically connected to the control unit 300 shown in FIG. 25.

[0311] The second pattern 102d is disposed at least one or more inside each of the multiple first pattern portions 101o and the multiple second pattern portions 101e.

[0312] The multiple second patterns 102d arranged along the first direction are electrically connected by multiple conductive patterns. Two second patterns adjacent to each other along the first direction may be electrically connected by one conductive pattern. Among the multiple second patterns 102d arranged along the first direction, the second pattern disposed at one end may be electrically connected to the control unit shown in FIG. 25, and the second pattern 102d disposed at the other end is electrically connected to the multiple second patterns arranged along the second direction via the conductive pattern 102m. Through this, it may be configured the same as the electrical connection path of the second pattern 102a shown in FIG. 25.

[0313] Each of the multiple third patterns 103d has a shape extending along the second direction (or the minor axis). One third pattern 103d surrounds the multiple first patterns arranged along the second direction.

[0314] Each of the third patterns 103d located at an odd number in the first direction among the multiple third patterns 103d has multiple openings in which the multiple first pattern portions 101o arranged along the second direction are disposed. One first pattern portion 101o is disposed in each opening.

[0315] Each of the third patterns located at an even number in the first direction among the multiple third patterns 103d has multiple openings in which the multiple second pattern portions 101e arranged along the second direction are disposed. One second pattern portion 101e is disposed in each opening.

[0316] Each third pattern 103d may include a third external pattern 103o, multiple third internal patterns 103i, and multiple third connection patterns 103c.

[0317] The third external pattern 103o may have a shape corresponding to the outer contour shape of the third pattern 103d and may be in the shape of a closed curve extending along the second direction. A number of third internal patterns 103i and a number of third connection patterns 103c are arranged inside one third external pattern 103o.

[0318] A number of third internal patterns 103i are arranged along the second direction within one third external pattern 103o. One third internal pattern 103i has a rectangular or elliptical shape and has an opening inside which one first pattern portion 101o or one second pattern portion 101e is arranged. The shape of the opening may correspond to the external shape of the third internal pattern 103i.

[0319] A number of third connection patterns 103c electrically connect between a number of third internal patterns 103i arranged along the second direction, and electrically connect between the third internal patterns located at both side ends among the number of third internal patterns 103i arranged along the second direction and the first external pattern 103o.

[0320] Each of a number of fourth patterns 104d has a shape extending along the second direction and is arranged adjacent to the third pattern 103d.

[0321] The other ends of a number of fourth patterns 104d are electrically connected to each other by a conductive pattern 104m.

[0322] Each fourth pattern 104d is arranged within one third pattern 103d. More specifically, the fourth pattern 104d may be arranged in an opening (or, inner opening) defined by the third external pattern 103o, a number of third internal patterns 103i, and a number of third connection patterns 103c of the third pattern 103d.

[0323] The fourth pattern 104d may include a fourth upper pattern 104u and a fourth lower pattern 104l. A predetermined space is formed between the third external pattern 103o and the multiple third internal patterns 103i, and the predetermined space is divided into two openings by a plurality of third connection patterns 103c. However, the fourth upper pattern 104u may be disposed in the upper opening of the two openings, and the fourth lower pattern 104l may be disposed in the lower opening of the two openings. The shapes of the fourth upper pattern 104u and the fourth lower pattern 104l may correspond to the shapes of the upper opening and the lower opening respectively.

[0324] The fourth upper pattern 104u and the fourth lower pattern 104l may extend along the first direction and be electrically connected by a conductive pattern that intersects the third connection pattern 103c.

[0325] The touch sensor 100d shown in FIG. 32 can replace the touch sensor 100a shown in FIG. 25. Therefore, the touch sensor 100d shown in FIG. 32 can also sense the touch position of an object and drive and sense a stylus pen in various ways described in the above [Table 1]. Specifically, the touch sensor 100a shown in FIGS. 26 to 29 can be replaced with the touch sensor 100d shown in FIG. 32. Such a touch input device having the touch sensor 100d and the control unit 300 can similarly perform the touch drive / sensing mode of FIG. 26, the pen drive mode of FIG. 27, and the stylus sensing mode of FIG. 28 described above. Furthermore, the touch sensor 100d in FIG. 32 can be used in any one of the methods from No. 2 to No. 32 in the above [Table 1].

[0326] FIG. 33 shows a sixth embodiment of the touch sensor 100' of the touch input device shown in FIG. 24.

[0327] The structures and shapes of the first to fourth patterns 101d, 102d, 103d, and 104d of the touch sensor 100d’ shown in FIG. 33 are the same as those of the first to fourth patterns 101d, 102d, 103d, and 104d of the touch sensor 100d shown in FIG. 32. Therefore, the description of the structures and shapes of the first to fourth patterns 101d, 102d, 103d, and 104d is replaced by the content described above.

[0328] The difference between the touch sensor 100d’ shown in FIG. 33 and the touch sensor 100d shown in FIG. 32 is that there are a conductive pattern 101om that electrically connects two first pattern portions 101o adjacent to each other in the first direction of the first pattern 101d, and a conductive pattern that electrically connects two second pattern portions 101e adjacent to each other.

[0329] The conductive pattern 101om does not intersect the second pattern 102d and is arranged in a detour.

[0330] In the touch sensor 100d of FIG. 32, the conductive pattern 101om that electrically connects two first pattern portions 101o adjacent to each other in the first direction of the first pattern 101d and the conductive pattern that electrically connects two second pattern portions 101e adjacent to each other have a shape that extends linearly in the first direction, so they have a portion that overlaps with the second pattern 102d. A predetermined capacitance may be formed between the conductive pattern and the second pattern 102d in the overlapping portion. The predetermined capacitance may affect touch sensing or stylus sensing sensitivity and may also affect the operating frequency bandwidth.

[0331] On the contrary, since the conductive pattern 101om in FIG. 33 is arranged to detour around the second pattern 102d without overlapping the second pattern 102d, the above-described capacitance is not formed, which has the advantage of reducing the influence on touch sensing or stylus sensing sensitivity and also reducing the influence on the operating frequency bandwidth.

[0332] On the other hand, since the conductive pattern in FIG. 32 is shorter in length than the conductive pattern 101om in FIG. 33, the conductive pattern in FIG. 32 has the advantage that its resistance is smaller than that of the conductive pattern 101om in FIG. 33.

[0333] As described above, the features, structures, effects, etc. described in the embodiments are included in one embodiment of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to only one embodiment. Furthermore, the features, structures, effects, etc. exemplified in each embodiment can be combined or modified and implemented in other embodiments by those with ordinary knowledge in the field to which the embodiments belong. Therefore, the content related to such combinations and modifications should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

[0334] Also, as described above, the embodiments have been mainly described, but this is merely an example and does not limit the present invention. It will be understood that those with ordinary knowledge in the field to which the present invention belongs can make various modifications and applications not exemplified above without departing from the essential characteristics of this embodiment. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiment can be implemented with modifications. And the differences related to such modifications and applications should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0335] 1: Touch input device 10, 10’, 100, 100’, 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d: Touch sensor 13, 300: Control unit

Claims

1. A touch sensor and a control unit that controls the touch sensor, the touch sensor includes a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes; The first electrode is disposed along a first direction, The second electrodes are arranged along a second direction different from the first direction, and include a 2a electrode pattern arranged to be immediately adjacent to the first electrodes, and a 2b electrode pattern arranged at a predetermined distance from the first electrodes without being immediately adjacent to the first electrodes, the control unit controls so that different drive signals are simultaneously applied to at least two or more of the plurality of second electrodes, and the drive signal applied to the 2b electrode pattern is a drive signal that is 180 degrees inverted in phase with the drive signal applied to the 2a electrode pattern; The control unit detects a touch position of an object placed on the touch sensor based on received signals from the plurality of first electrodes.

2. A touch sensor and a control unit that controls the touch sensor, the touch sensor includes a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes; The first electrode is disposed along a first direction, the second electrode is arranged along a second direction different from the first direction, and includes a second a electrode pattern that forms a mutual capacitance with the first electrode and a second b electrode pattern that does not form a mutual capacitance with the first electrode; the control unit controls so that different drive signals are simultaneously applied to at least two or more of the plurality of second electrodes, and the drive signal applied to the 2b electrode pattern is a drive signal that is 180 degrees inverted in phase with the drive signal applied to the 2a electrode pattern; The control unit detects a touch position of an object placed on the touch sensor based on received signals from the plurality of first electrodes.

3. The touch input device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit outputs a differential signal obtained by subtracting two of the received signals from each other, and detects a touch position of the object based on the differential signal.

4. The control unit is an integrator that integrates the differential signal to restore the received signal; The touch input device according to claim 3 , further comprising: a sign processing unit that converts a sign of a capacitance change amount value having a negative (−) sign in the restored received signal to a positive (+) sign.

5. The touch input device according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit includes a baseline adjustment unit for reducing a baseline of the differential signal by a factor of 2.

6. The touch input device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls the second electrodes so that different drive signals are simultaneously applied to all of the second electrodes.

7. The touch input device according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of another first electrode arranged adjacent to the first electrode is arranged between the 2b electrode pattern and the first electrode.

8. Each of the plurality of first electrodes has a shape extending in a first direction and has a number of openings arranged along the first direction; the 2a electrode patterns of the plurality of second electrodes are disposed in a number of openings of the first electrode that are odd-numbered in the second direction; the 2b electrode patterns of the plurality of second electrodes are disposed in a number of openings of the first electrodes that are even-numbered in the second direction; a first connection pattern electrically connecting the 2a electrode patterns arranged along the second direction and a second connection pattern electrically connecting the 2b electrode patterns arranged along the second direction, 3. A touch input device according to claim 1 or 2.

9. The touch sensor includes: Each of the 2a and 2b electrode patterns has an opening formed therein; The touch input device of claim 8 , further comprising a dummy pattern disposed within an opening of each of the 2a and 2b electrode patterns.

10. The touch input device of claim 8 , wherein the first connecting pattern is arranged so as not to overlap the 2b electrode pattern arranged between two 2a electrode patterns connected by the first connecting pattern.

11. Each of the plurality of first electrodes has a shape extending in a first direction and has a number of openings arranged along the first direction; the 2a electrode patterns of the plurality of second electrodes are disposed in a number of openings of the first electrode that are odd-numbered in the second direction; the 2b electrode patterns of the plurality of second electrodes are disposed in a number of openings of the first electrodes that are even-numbered in the second direction; The 2a electrode pattern is disposed in one of two adjacent openings of the odd-numbered first electrode, and in the remaining opening, The 2b electrode pattern is arranged such that a part of one of two adjacent openings of the first electrode located at an even number is disposed, and the remainder is disposed in the remaining one, a first connection pattern electrically connecting the 2a receiving electrode patterns arranged along the second direction and a second connection pattern electrically connecting the 2b receiving electrode patterns arranged along the second direction, 3. A touch input device according to claim 1 or 2.

12. a touch sensor including a plurality of first touch electrodes, a plurality of second touch electrodes arranged to cross the plurality of first touch electrodes, a plurality of first pen electrodes arranged adjacent to each of the first touch electrodes, and a plurality of second pen electrodes arranged adjacent to each of the second touch electrodes; a controller electrically connected to the first and second touch electrodes and electrically connected to the first pen electrodes or the second pen electrode to control the touch sensor; Each of the first touch electrodes includes a pair of electrode portions, a first electrode portion of the pair of electrode portions is disposed adjacent to a part of at least one of the plurality of second touch electrodes, and a second electrode portion of the pair of electrode portions is disposed adjacent to a remaining touch electrode of at least one of the plurality of second touch electrodes; one ends of the first pen electrodes are electrically connected to each other, and one ends of the second pen electrodes are electrically connected to each other, the control unit controls so that a first driving signal is simultaneously applied to a first electrode portion of the first touch electrode and a second driving signal is simultaneously applied to a second electrode portion of the first touch electrode; A touch input device, wherein the second drive signal is the same as the first drive signal but shifted 180 degrees in phase.

13. the first electrode portion of the first touch electrode and the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode are alternately arranged along one direction; The first electrodes arranged in the one direction are electrically connected to each other and to the control unit, The touch input device of claim 12 , wherein the second electrode units arranged along the one direction are electrically connected to each other and to the control unit.

14. The first electrode portion of the first touch electrode is disposed so as to surround at least a part or the whole of one of the first pen electrodes, The second electrode portion of the first touch electrode is disposed so as to surround at least a part or the whole of another one of the first pen electrodes, The touch input device according to claim 12 , wherein the second touch electrode is disposed so as to surround at least a part or the whole of one of the second pen electrodes.

15. The touch input device of claim 14 , wherein the first touch electrodes and the second touch electrodes are arranged in different layers.

16. the first electrode unit and the second electrode unit include a first pattern unit, a second pattern unit, and a connecting pattern unit disposed between the first and second pattern units, The touch input device of claim 14 , wherein the first pattern portion has an inverted triangular shape, the second pattern portion has a triangular shape, and the connecting pattern portion has a rectangular shape.

17. the second touch electrode includes a plurality of patterns arranged in one direction; The touch input device of claim 13 , wherein the first touch electrode is disposed between the plurality of patterns.

18. The touch input device of claim 17 , wherein the first touch electrodes are arranged in the same layer as the second touch electrodes.

19. the first electrode portion of the first touch electrode and the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode are alternately arranged along one direction; a connection pattern unit electrically connecting the first electrode units arranged in the one direction to each other, The touch input device of claim 17 , wherein the connecting pattern unit is disposed so as not to overlap the second touch electrode.

20. The touch input device according to claim 14 , wherein the second touch electrode is disposed so as to surround at least a part or all of the first pen electrode.

21. the first electrode portion of the first touch electrode and the second electrode portion of the first touch electrode are alternately arranged along one direction; The touch input device according to claim 14 , wherein the second touch electrode is arranged to surround a first electrode portion or a second electrode portion of the plurality of first touch electrodes arranged along another direction perpendicular to the one direction.

22. a connection pattern unit electrically connecting the first electrode units arranged in the one direction to each other, The touch input device according to claim 19 , wherein the connecting pattern unit is arranged so as not to overlap with a plurality of second electrode units arranged along the one direction.

23. The touch input device of claim 12 further comprising a display panel within which the touch sensor is disposed.

24. The touch input device of claim 12 , further comprising a display panel disposed above or below the touch sensor.

25. The control unit is configured to operate the touch sensor in one of a touch driving / sensing mode for sensing whether or not an object is touched and / or a touch position, a pen driving mode for driving a stylus pen, and a stylus sensing mode for sensing a touch position of the stylus pen; In the touch driving / sensing mode, the controller is configured to apply the first and second driving signals to at least one of the plurality of first touch electrodes and to receive a sensing signal from the plurality of second touch electrodes; In the pen driving mode, the control unit is configured to apply a pen driving signal for driving the stylus pen to at least one of the plurality of first touch electrodes, the plurality of first pen electrodes, the plurality of second touch electrodes, and the plurality of second pen electrodes; In the stylus sensing mode, the control unit is configured to receive a pen sensing signal emitted from the stylus pen through a combination of any one of the plurality of first touch electrodes and the plurality of first pen electrodes, and any one of the plurality of second touch electrodes and the plurality of second pen electrodes; 25. A touch input device according to any one of claims 12 to 24.

Images