Touch-control module, touch-control method and display module

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of touch control. Provided are a touch-control module, a touch-control method and a display module. The touch-control module comprises: a touch-control layer, which has a first area and a second area, wherein the first area and the second area are adjacent to each other and arranged along a first direction, the first area and the second area are each provided with a plurality of first sensing electrodes, the touch-control layer is further provided with a plurality of first driving electrodes, and the first driving electrodes overlap with each first sensing electrode; and a plurality of touch-control chips, which comprise a first touch-control chip and a second touch-control chip, wherein the first touch-control chip is electrically connected to the first sensing electrodes in the first area and not connected to the first driving electrodes, and the second touch-control chip is electrically connected to the first sensing electrodes in the second area and not connected to the first driving electrodes.

Description

Touch module, touch method and display module

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the Patent Office of China on March 29, 2024, with application number 202410384821.3 and titled “Touch module, touch method and display module,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this disclosure. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of touch technology, and in particular to a touch module, a touch method, and a display module. Background Art

[0004] Intelligence has become a key trend in automotive development, and the smart cockpit, as a window for human-machine interaction, is crucial in this process. In-vehicle display modules have gradually expanded from the traditional ten-inch format to over twenty, thirty, and even over fifty inches in some vehicles, such as pillar-to-pillar displays. There is an urgent need for ultra-wide display modules with touch functionality. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a touch module, a touch method, and a display module.

[0006] The embodiments of the present disclosure adopt the following technical solutions:

[0007] In one aspect, a touch module is provided, comprising:

[0008] a touch layer, the touch layer having a first area and a second area, the first area and the second area being adjacent and arranged along a first direction, a plurality of sensing electrodes being provided in each of the first area and the second area, and the touch layer further having a plurality of first driving electrodes extending from the second area to the first area along the first direction;

[0009] a plurality of touch control chips, wherein the plurality of touch control chips include a first touch control chip and a second touch control chip, wherein the first touch control chip is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the first area and is not connected to the first driving electrodes, and the second touch control chip is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the second area and is electrically connected to the first driving electrodes.

[0010] In some embodiments, the touch layer further has a third area, the first area is located between the second area and the third area, a plurality of second driving electrodes and a plurality of sensing electrodes are provided in the third area, the second driving electrodes extend along the first direction and are disconnected from the first driving electrodes.

[0011] The plurality of touch control chips further include a third touch chip, and the second driving electrodes and some or all of the sensing electrodes in the second area are electrically connected to the third touch chip.

[0012] In some embodiments, some of the sensing electrodes in the third area are electrically connected to the first touch control chip.

[0013] In some embodiments, the third area includes a first sub-area and a second sub-area, the first sub-area is located between the first area and the second sub-area, the second drive electrode extends from the second sub-area to the first sub-area, the sensing electrodes in the first sub-area are electrically connected to the first touch control chip, and the sensing electrodes in the second sub-area are electrically connected to the third touch control chip.

[0014] In some embodiments, the third region includes a first sub-region and a second sub-region, the first sub-region is located between the first region and the second sub-region, and the second driving electrode extends from the second sub-region to the first sub-region.

[0015] The plurality of touch control chips further include a fourth touch control chip. The sensing electrodes in the first sub-region are electrically connected to the fourth touch control chip, and the fourth touch control chip is not connected to the second driving electrodes.

[0016] In some embodiments, one of the multiple touch chips is a master touch chip, and the rest are slave touch chips. The slave touch chips are electrically connected to the master touch chip. The slave touch chips are configured to send the collected touch data to the master touch chip. The master touch chip is configured to obtain integrated touch data based on the touch data collected by the multiple touch chips.

[0017] In some embodiments, the main touch control chip is further configured to calculate the reporting point coordinates according to the integrated touch data.

[0018] In some embodiments, the touch module further includes a calculation unit, which is electrically connected to the main touch chip and is configured to calculate the reporting point coordinates according to the integrated touch data.

[0019] In some embodiments, the touch module further includes a calculation unit, which is electrically connected to the multiple touch chips respectively, and the calculation unit is configured to calculate the reporting point coordinates based on the touch data collected by the multiple touch chips.

[0020] In some embodiments, the first touch control chip is a main touch control chip.

[0021] In another aspect, a touch module is provided, comprising:

[0022] a touch layer, the touch layer having a second subregion, a first subregion, a first region, and a second region sequentially arranged along a first direction, the touch layer being provided with a plurality of first drive electrodes, a plurality of second drive electrodes, and a plurality of sensing electrodes, the first drive electrodes extending from the second region to the first region along the first direction, and the second drive electrodes extending from the second subregion to the first subregion along the first direction;

[0023] Multiple touch chips, including a first touch chip, a second touch chip, and a third touch chip, the sensing electrodes in the first area and the first sub-area are electrically connected to the first touch chip, the sensing electrodes in the second area are electrically connected to the second touch chip, the sensing electrodes in the second sub-area are electrically connected to the third touch chip, the first drive electrodes are electrically connected to the second touch chip, and the second drive electrodes are electrically connected to the third touch chip.

[0024] In some embodiments, the first driving electrode and the second driving electrode are equal in length.

[0025] In some embodiments, the number of the sensing electrodes in the second region is equal to the number of the sensing electrodes in the second sub-region.

[0026] In yet another aspect, a touch control method is provided for controlling a touch module. The touch module includes a touch layer and multiple touch chips. The touch layer has a first area and a second area, the first area and the second area being adjacent and arranged along a first direction. A plurality of first sensing electrodes are provided in each of the first and second areas. The touch layer also includes a plurality of first driving electrodes, the first driving electrodes overlapping with each of the first sensing electrodes. The multiple touch chips include a first touch chip and a second touch chip. The first touch chip is electrically connected to the first sensing electrodes in the first area and is not connected to the first driving electrodes. The second touch chip is electrically connected to the first sensing electrodes in the second area and is also electrically connected to the first driving electrodes.

[0027] The touch control method includes:

[0028] The first touch chip generates first data; the first data is generated according to the first touch data in the first area;

[0029] The second touch chip generates second data; the second data is generated according to the second touch data in the second area;

[0030] The reported point coordinates are obtained according to the first data and the second data.

[0031] In some embodiments, the second touch control chip generates second data, including:

[0032] The second touch control chip collects the second touch control data;

[0033] The second touch control chip determines whether there is a touch operation in the second area according to the second touch control data;

[0034] If the determination result is that there is no touch operation, the second touch control chip generates the second data including a no-touch command.

[0035] In some embodiments, the second touch control chip generates second data, further comprising:

[0036] If the judgment result is that there is a touch operation, the second touch control chip calculates the touch coordinates according to the second touch control data and generates the second data including the touch coordinates.

[0037] In some embodiments, the first touch control chip generates first data, including:

[0038] The first touch chip collects the first touch data;

[0039] The first touch control chip determines whether the touch operation occurs in an edge area; the edge area is an area in the first area and the first sub-area adjacent to a disconnection point between the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode;

[0040] If the determination result is that the touch operation occurs in the edge area, the first data including the touch data of the edge area is generated.

[0041] On the other hand, a display module is provided, comprising the touch module.

[0042] In the touch module, touch method, and display module provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first touch chip is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the first area, the second touch chip is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the second area, and the first drive electrodes are electrically connected to the second touch chip and not to the first touch chip. This saves wiring between the first drive electrodes and the first touch chip, reduces the number of wirings in the touch layer, and makes the touch layer preparation simpler and more cost-effective. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0044] FIG1 is a diagram showing an application scenario of a display module provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG2 is a simplified structural diagram of a display module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG3 is a simplified structural diagram of a touch module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG4 is a simplified structural diagram of a touch module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG5 is a simplified structural diagram of a touch module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG6 is a simplified structural diagram of a touch module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] FIG7 is a block diagram of steps of a touch control method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] FIG8 is a block diagram of steps of a touch control method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] FIG9 is a block diagram of steps of a touch control method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] FIG10 is a block diagram of steps of a touch control method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specific embodiments

[0054] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0055] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, words such as "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. This is only for the purpose of clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features.

[0056] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “a plurality of” means two or more, and “at least one” means one or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the orientations or positional relationships indicated by terms such as “upper” and “lower” are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limitations on the present disclosure.

[0058] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display module that can be applied to various devices and equipment with display functions for displaying graphics. For example, the display panel can be applied to mobile phones, wireless devices, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld or portable computers, GPS receivers / navigators, cameras, MP4 video players, camcorders, game consoles, watches, clocks, calculators, television monitors, flat-panel displays, computer monitors, car displays (e.g., odometer displays, etc.), navigators, cockpit controllers and / or displays, camera view displays (e.g., displays of rearview cameras in vehicles), electronic photos, electronic billboards or signs, projectors, architectural structures, packaging, and aesthetic structures (e.g., displays of images of jewelry), etc. FIG1 is a diagram of an application scenario of a display module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which FIG1 takes the application of a display module 100 to a vehicle as an example for illustration.

[0059] Figure 2 is a simplified structural diagram of a display module provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, the display module includes a display panel 110 and a touch layer 120 disposed on the light-emitting surface of the display panel 110. The display panel 110 is used to display images, and the touch layer 120 is used to convert user touch operations into electrical signals.

[0060] The display panel 110 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. When the display panel 110 is an LCD panel, it may be a horizontal electric field type LCD panel or a vertical electric field type LCD panel. When the display panel 110 is a horizontal electric field type LCD panel, it may be an in-plane switching (IPS) LCD panel or an advanced super-dimensional switching (ADS) LCD panel.

[0061] The display panel 110 may also be an electroluminescent display panel or a photoluminescent display panel. When the display panel 110 is an electroluminescent display panel, the electroluminescent display panel may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel or a quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) display panel. When the display panel 110 is a photoluminescent display panel, the photoluminescent display panel may be a quantum dot photoluminescent display panel. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are described using an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel as an example.

[0062] The display module 100 may further include a display driver board and a touch driver board. The display driver board is electrically connected to the display panel 110 to drive the display panel 110 , and the touch driver board is electrically connected to the touch layer 120 to drive the touch layer 120 .

[0063] Exemplarily, the display driving board is electrically connected to the display panel through a flexible circuit board, and the touch-sensitive driving board is electrically connected to the touch layer through a flexible circuit board.

[0064] When the display panel 110 is an LCD display panel, the touch layer 120 can be a touch layer produced using an on-sell process. For example, the liquid crystal display panel includes an array substrate and a color filter substrate arranged in a cell-to-cell manner, and the touch layer 120 is disposed on the side of the color filter substrate away from the array substrate. When the display panel 110 is an LCD display panel, the touch layer 120 can also be an externally mounted structure, where the touch layer 120 is attached to the light-emitting surface of the display panel 110 by adhesive bonding. For example, the touch layer can have an OGM or GF2 structure. GF2 indicates that the ITO patterns (drive electrodes TX and sensing electrodes RX) are both disposed on an ITO film, representing double-sided ITO.

[0065] When the display panel 110 is an OLED display panel, the display module 100 may be an FMLOC (Flexible Multi Layer On Cell) product, that is, the touch layer 120 and the display panel 110 are an integrated structure. In this case, the display driver board and the touch driver board may be the same circuit board.

[0066] Taking the touch layer 120 as an external structure as an example, the touch layer may include a substrate and a drive electrode layer and a sensing electrode layer stacked on the substrate. The drive electrode layer includes a plurality of drive electrodes extending along a first direction and spaced apart along a second direction. The sensing electrode layer includes a plurality of sensing electrodes extending along a second direction and spaced apart along the first direction. The first direction and the second direction intersect, for example, being perpendicular to each other. Of course, the first and second directions may also form a certain angle, such as an 80° angle, an 85° angle, an 88° angle, etc.

[0067] The substrate material can be flexible transparent materials such as PET, COP, transparent polyimide (CPI), and PMMA. The driving electrode layer and the sensing electrode layer can be metal mesh, silver nanowire (AgNW), Ti / Al / Ti, etc.

[0068] There are multiple touch chips in the touch driver board, and the driving electrodes and sensing electrodes are electrically connected to the touch chip, so that the touch chip can collect electrical signals from the driving electrodes and / or sensing electrodes, and generate touch data based on the collected electrical signals, thereby identifying the user's touch operation (for example, the reported coordinates of the user's touch operation).

[0069] Figure 3 is a simplified structural diagram of a touch module provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the touch layer 1 comprises a first region 11 and a second region 12, which are adjacent to each other and arranged along a first direction. The first region 11 and the second region 12 are virtual regions demarcated by the touch layer 1, and there may be no clear physical boundary between the first region 11 and the second region 12.

[0070] Exemplarily, the display panel includes a frame perpendicular to the first direction, and the second area 12 is closer to the frame than the first area 11 .

[0071] Continuing with FIG3 , a plurality of sensing electrodes are provided in both the first region 11 and the second region 12 . The driving electrodes include a first driving electrode. The first driving electrode extends from the second region 12 to the first region 11 along a first direction, such that the first driving electrode overlaps with the sensing electrodes in the first region 11 , and also overlaps with the sensing electrodes in the second region 12 .

[0072] The plurality of touch chips include a first touch chip 31 and a second touch chip 32 . The first touch chip 31 is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 and is not connected to the first driving electrodes. The second touch chip 32 is electrically connected to the first sensing electrodes in the second area 12 and is electrically connected to the first driving electrodes.

[0073] Exemplarily, the first driving electrodes are electrically connected to the second touch chip 32 through the first wiring 21 , the sensing electrodes in the second area 12 are electrically connected to the second touch chip 32 through the second wiring 22 , and the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 are electrically connected to the first touch chip 31 through the third wiring 23 .

[0074] A plurality of flexible circuit boards 2 are connected between the touch layer 1 and the touch driving board 3. The first and second traces 21 and 22 pass through the first flexible circuit board, and the third trace 23 passes through the second flexible circuit board. The first and second flexible circuit boards are independent of each other.

[0075] When the touch module is operating, the first touch chip 31 obtains first data, and the second touch chip 32 obtains second data. This allows the coordinates of the reported point to be determined based on the first and second data. The reported point coordinates refer to the coordinates of the area corresponding to the user's touch operation. The first touch chip 31 obtains the first data based on the electrical signals from the sensing electrodes in the first area 11, while the second touch chip 32 obtains the second data based on the electrical signals from the sensing electrodes in the second area 12 and the electrical signals from the first drive electrodes.

[0076] The first touch chip 31 can be a master touch chip (Master IC), and the second touch chip 32 can be a slave touch chip (Slave IC). The first touch chip 31 is electrically connected to the second touch chip 32. The second touch chip 32 sends the second data to the first touch chip 31, so that the first touch chip 31 can obtain the reported point coordinates based on the first data and the second data, that is, it can identify the user's touch operation in the first area 11 and the second area 12.

[0077] For example, when the touch module is in mutual capacitance working mode:

[0078] The second touch chip 32 collects mutual capacitance data in the second area 12 by scanning, and sends the mutual capacitance data as second data to the first touch chip 31;

[0079] The first touch chip 31 collects mutual capacitance data in the first area 11 by scanning, and uses the mutual capacitance data as the first data. The first touch chip 31 combines and aggregates the first data and the second data to form integrated data, and then calculates the reporting point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0080] For example, when the touch module is in self-capacitive working mode:

[0081] The second touch chip 32 scans and collects the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes in the second area 12, and sends the self-capacitance data as the second data to the first touch chip 31;

[0082] The first touch chip 31 scans and collects the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11. The self-capacitance data is used as the first data. The first touch chip 31 combines and aggregates the first data and the second data to form integrated data for assisting in realizing touch functions such as waterproofing.

[0083] Similarly, the first touch chip 31 may be a slave touch chip, and the second touch chip 32 may be a master touch chip, which will not be described in detail here.

[0084] For example, in addition to transmitting the second data, the first touch chip 31 and the second touch chip 32 can also transmit a clock synchronization signal (CLK_Sync), a master / slave control signal (M / S_Control), an interrupt signal (INT), a reset signal (RST) and a state confirmation signal (State_Check).

[0085] Figure 4 is a simplified structural diagram of a touch module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 5 is a simplified structural diagram of a touch module provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, when the number of first drive electrodes and sensing electrodes is large and the computing power of the main touch chip is low, the touch module can also be provided with a computing unit 35 to calculate the reported point coordinates.

[0086] The computing unit 35 may be a microcontroller unit (MCU). Of course, the computing unit 35 may also be other types of units with higher computing power. The present disclosure does not limit the type of computing unit 35. For example, the computing unit 35 is provided on the touch driver board 3.

[0087] For example, referring to FIG4 , the calculation unit 35 is electrically connected to the main touch chip. The main touch chip integrates the first data and the second data to obtain integrated data, and sends the integrated data to the calculation unit 35 . The calculation unit 35 obtains the reported point coordinates according to the integrated data.

[0088] For another example, continuing to refer to Figure 5, the computing unit 35 is electrically connected to the first touch chip 31 and the second touch chip 32 respectively. The first touch chip 31 sends the first data to the computing unit 35, and the second touch chip 32 sends the second data to the computing unit 35. The computing unit 35 aggregates and integrates the first data and the second data to obtain integrated data, and obtains the reported point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0089] In order to improve the accuracy of the reported point coordinates, the main touch control chip or the calculation unit 35 may perform noise reduction processing on the integrated data before obtaining the reported point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0090] Figures 3 to 5 show a 1T1R routing scheme. In practical applications, a 1T2R routing scheme is also possible. T refers to the drive electrode, and the number preceding T indicates the number of traces electrically connected to the same drive electrode. R refers to the sense electrode, and the number preceding R indicates the number of traces electrically connected to the same sense electrode.

[0091] In the touch module provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first touch chip 31 is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the first area 11, the second touch chip 32 is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the second area 12, and the first drive electrodes are electrically connected to the second touch chip 32 and not to the first touch chip 31. This saves the wiring between the first drive electrodes and the first touch chip 31, reduces the number of wirings in the touch layer 1, and makes the preparation of the touch layer 1 simpler and more cost-effective.

[0092] 3 to 5 , the touch layer 1 further includes a third region 13. The first region 11 is located between the second region 12 and the third region 13. The third region 13 is a virtual region defined by the touch layer 1. There may be no obvious physical boundary between the third region 13 and the first region 11.

[0093] A plurality of second driving electrodes are disposed in the third region 13 . The second driving electrodes extend along the first direction, and are disconnected from the first driving electrodes.

[0094] Exemplarily, each driving electrode in the touch layer 1 is disconnected at the junction of the third area 13 and the first area 11 , forming a second driving electrode located in the third area 13 and a first driving electrode located in both the first area 11 and the second area 12 .

[0095] When the touch layer 1 is large along the first direction, the drive electrodes are long, resulting in a large resistance-capacitance load (RC loading) on ​​the drive electrodes, which affects touch performance. After the drive electrodes are disconnected at the junction of the first region 11 and the third region 13 to form the first and second drive electrodes, the RC loadings of the first and second drive electrodes are both less than before disconnection, improving touch performance.

[0096] The length of the first driving electrode may be equal to the length of the second driving electrode, so that the RC loading of the first driving electrode and the RC loading of the second driving electrode can be substantially equal, thereby improving the uniformity of the signal of the touch layer 1 .

[0097] The third region 13 is further provided with a plurality of sensing electrodes, each of which may overlap with the second driving electrode. The number of sensing electrodes in the third region 13 may be determined based on the size of the touch layer 1 along the first direction. For example, the number of sensing electrodes in the third region 13 may be equal to the number of sensing electrodes in the first region 11. For another example, the number of sensing electrodes in the third region 13 may be equal to the sum of the number of sensing electrodes in the first region 11 and the second region 12.

[0098] The plurality of touch control chips further include a third touch control chip 33 . The second driving electrodes are electrically connected to the third touch control chip 33 . Some or all of the sensing electrodes in the third area 13 are electrically connected to the third touch control chip 33 .

[0099] Exemplarily, the second driving electrodes are electrically connected to the third touch control chip 33 via the fourth wiring 24 , and the sensing electrodes in the third area 13 are electrically connected to the third touch control chip 33 via the fifth wiring 25 .

[0100] The fourth trace 24 and the fifth trace 25 may both pass through the third flexible circuit board, and the first flexible circuit board, the second flexible circuit board and the third flexible circuit board are three independent flexible circuit boards.

[0101] When the number of sensing electrodes in the third area 13 is small, each sensing electrode in the third area 13 may be electrically connected to the third touch control chip 33 .

[0102] When the number of sensing electrodes in the third region 13 is large, the third region 13 includes a first sub-region 131 and a second sub-region 132 . The first sub-region 131 is located between the first region 11 and the second sub-region 132 .

[0103] The first sub-region 131 and the second sub-region 132 are two virtual regions divided by the third region 13 . There may be no obvious physical boundary between the first sub-region 131 and the second sub-region 132 .

[0104] Exemplarily, the display panel includes a frame perpendicular to the first direction, and the second sub-region 132 is closer to the frame than the first sub-region 131. For example, the second region 12 is located at one edge of the touch layer 1, and the second sub-region 132 is located at the opposite other edge of the touch layer 1.

[0105] The second driving electrodes extend from the second sub-region 132 to the first sub-region 131 , so that the sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 overlap with the second driving electrodes, and the sensing electrodes in the first sub-region 131 overlap with the second driving electrodes.

[0106] The sensing electrodes in the first sub-region 131 are electrically connected to the first touch chip 31, and the sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 are electrically connected to the third touch chip 33. That is, the second drive electrodes and the sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 are electrically connected to the third touch chip 33, the sensing electrodes in the first sub-region 131 and the first region 11 are electrically connected to the first touch chip 31, and the first drive electrodes and the sensing electrodes in the second region 12 are electrically connected to the second touch chip 32.

[0107] When the touch module is operating, the first touch chip 31 obtains first data, the second touch chip 32 obtains second data, and the third touch chip 33 obtains third data. Thus, the coordinates of the reported point can be obtained based on the first, second, and third data. The third touch chip 33 obtains the third data based on the electrical signals from the sensing electrodes in the third area 13 and the electrical signals from the second drive electrodes.

[0108] The first touch chip 31 can be a master touch chip (Master IC), the second touch chip 32 and the third touch chip 33 can be slave touch chips (Slave IC), the first touch chip 31 is electrically connected to the second touch chip 32 and the third touch chip 33 respectively, the second touch chip 32 sends the second data to the first touch chip 31, and the third touch chip 33 sends the third data to the first touch chip 31, so that the first touch chip 31 can obtain the reporting point coordinates based on the first data, the second data and the third data, that is, it can identify the user's touch operations in the first area 11, the second area 12 and the third area 13.

[0109] For example, when the touch module is in mutual capacitance working mode:

[0110] The second touch chip 32 collects mutual capacitance data in the second area 12 by scanning, and sends the mutual capacitance data as second data to the first touch chip 31;

[0111] The third touch chip 33 collects mutual capacitance data in the second sub-area 132 by scanning, and sends the mutual capacitance data as third data to the first touch chip 31;

[0112] The first touch chip 31 scans and collects mutual capacitance data within the first area 11 and the first sub-area 131. The mutual capacitance data is used as the first data. The first touch chip 31 combines and aggregates the first data, the second data, and the third data to form integrated data, and then calculates the reported point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0113] For example, when the touch module is in self-capacitive working mode:

[0114] The second touch chip 32 scans and collects the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes in the second area 12, and sends the self-capacitance data as the second data to the first touch chip 31;

[0115] The third touch chip 33 scans and collects the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes in the second sub-area 132 , and sends the self-capacitance data as the third data to the first touch chip 31 ;

[0116] The first touch chip 31 scans and collects the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 and the first sub-area 131. This self-capacitance data is used as the first data. The first touch chip 31 combines and summarizes the first data, the second data, and the third data, and performs data splicing to form integrated data to assist in realizing touch functions such as waterproofing.

[0117] For example, in addition to transmitting the third data, the first touch chip 31 and the third touch chip 33 may also transmit a clock synchronization signal (CLK_Sync), a master / slave control signal (M / S_Control), an interrupt signal (INT), a reset signal (RST), and a state confirmation signal (State_Check).

[0118] The first touch chip 31 is located between the third touch chip 33 and the second touch chip 32 , so that the distance between the first touch chip 31 and the third touch chip 33 and the second touch chip 32 is shorter, thereby reducing signal delay.

[0119] In this case, the number of sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 can be equal to the number of sensing electrodes in the second region 12. When the sum of the number of sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 and the second region 12 is constant, the third touch control chip 33 and the second touch control chip 32 with fewer channels can be selected to reduce costs.

[0120] Furthermore, the number of sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 is equal to the number of sensing electrodes in the second region 12 , and is equal to the sum of the numbers of sensing electrodes in the first sub-region 131 and the first region 11 .

[0121] Of course, as shown in FIG6 , the multiple touch chips may further include a fourth touch chip 34 . The sensing electrodes in the first sub-region 131 are electrically connected to the fourth touch chip 34 , the sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 are electrically connected to the third touch chip 33 , and the fourth touch chip 34 is not connected to the second driving electrodes.

[0122] At this time, the number of sensing electrodes in the first sub-region 131 is the same as that in the first region 11 , and the number of sensing electrodes in the second sub-region 132 is the same as that in the second region 12 .

[0123] The fourth touch chip 34 or the first touch chip 31 may be a master touch chip, and the second touch chip 32 and the third touch chip 33 may be slave touch chips.

[0124] The present disclosure also provides a touch control method for controlling the touch module. FIG7 is a block diagram of the touch control method provided by the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7, the touch control method includes the following steps.

[0125] S100: A first touch control chip generates first data.

[0126] Specifically, the first touch chip 31 generates first data according to the touch data in the first area 11. The touch data includes mutual capacitance data and / or mutual capacitance data.

[0127] Exemplarily, the first touch control chip 31 acquires the mutual capacitance data in the first area 11 by collecting the electrical signals of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 , and generates the first data according to the mutual capacitance data in the first area 11 .

[0128] Exemplarily, the first touch control chip 31 acquires the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 by collecting electrical signals from the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 , and generates the first data according to the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 .

[0129] S200: The second touch control chip generates second data.

[0130] Specifically, the second touch chip 32 generates second data according to the touch data in the second area 12. The touch data includes mutual capacitance data and / or mutual capacitance data.

[0131] Exemplarily, the second touch chip 32 acquires the mutual capacitance data in the second area 12 by collecting electrical signals from the sensing electrodes and the first driving electrodes in the second area 12 , and generates the second data according to the mutual capacitance data in the second area 12 .

[0132] Exemplarily, the second touch control chip 32 acquires the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the second area 12 and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes by collecting electrical signals from the sensing electrodes and the first driving electrodes in the second area 12, and generates the second data based on the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the second area 12 and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes.

[0133] S300, obtaining the reported point coordinates according to the first data and the second data.

[0134] The reported point coordinates refer to the coordinates corresponding to the position on the touch layer 1 where the user applies a touch operation.

[0135] For example, the first touch control chip 31 may obtain the reported point coordinates according to the first data and the second data.

[0136] For example, in the mutual capacitance mode, the first data includes the mutual capacitance data in the first area 11, and the second data includes the mutual capacitance data in the second area 12. The first touch chip 31 merges and integrates the mutual capacitance data in the first area 11 and the second area 12 to obtain integrated data, and then obtains the reporting point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0137] For another example, in the self-capacitance mode, the first data includes the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11, and the second data includes the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the second area 12 and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes. The first touch chip 31 combines and integrates the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 and the second area 12 and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes to obtain integrated data, and then obtains the reporting point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0138] For example, the calculation unit 35 may obtain the reported point coordinates according to the first data and the second data.

[0139] For example, in the mutual capacitance mode, the first data includes the mutual capacitance data in the first area 11, and the second data includes the mutual capacitance data in the second area 12. The first touch chip 31 sends the mutual capacitance data in the first area 11 to the calculation unit 35, and the second touch chip 32 sends the mutual capacitance data in the second area 12 to the calculation unit 35. The calculation unit 35 merges and integrates the mutual capacitance data in the first area 11 and the second area 12 to obtain integrated data, and then obtains the reported point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0140] For another example, in the self-capacitance mode, the first data includes the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11, and the second data includes the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the second area 12 and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes. The first touch chip 31 sends the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 to the calculation unit 35, and the second touch chip 32 sends the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the second area 12 and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes to the calculation unit 35. The calculation unit 35 merges and integrates the self-capacitance data of the sensing electrodes in the first area 11 and the second area 12 and the self-capacitance data of the first driving electrodes to obtain integrated data, and then obtains the reporting point coordinates based on the integrated data.

[0141] For example, the calculation unit 35 may obtain the reported point coordinates according to the first data and the second data.

[0142] For example, the first touch chip 31 integrates the touch data of the first area 11 and the touch data of the second area 12 to obtain integrated data, and sends the integrated data to the calculation unit 35. The calculation unit 35 obtains the reported point coordinates according to the integrated data.

[0143] In some embodiments, when there is no touch operation in the second area 12, the second data includes a no-touch command. Upon receiving the no-touch command, the first touch chip 31 or the computing unit 35 no longer calculates the touch data in the second area 12, thereby reducing the amount of data calculation and increasing the calculation speed, thereby improving the response speed of the touch module.

[0144] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG8 , step S200 includes the following sub-steps:

[0145] S201: The second touch chip collects second touch data.

[0146] S202: The second touch chip determines whether there is a touch operation in the second area according to the second touch data.

[0147] S203: If the judgment result is that there is no touch operation, the second touch chip generates second data including a no-touch command.

[0148] In some embodiments, when a touch operation is performed within the second area 12, the second data includes touch coordinates. The coordinates corresponding to the area of ​​the touch layer 1 where the user applied the touch operation are the touch coordinates. When the second data includes touch coordinates, the first touch chip 31 or the calculation unit 35 does not need to calculate the touch data within the second area 12 after receiving the touch coordinates. This reduces the amount of data calculation and increases the calculation speed, thereby improving the response speed of the touch module.

[0149] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG9 , step S200 may further include the following sub-steps:

[0150] S204: If the result of the judgment is that there is a touch operation, the second touch chip calculates the touch coordinates according to the second touch data, and generates second data including the touch coordinates.

[0151] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG10 , step 100 includes the following sub-steps:

[0152] S101: A first touch chip collects first touch data.

[0153] S102: The first touch control chip determines whether a touch operation occurs in an edge area.

[0154] S103 : If the determination result is that the touch operation occurs in the edge area, generating first data including touch data of the edge area 14 .

[0155] The edge region 14 is the area of ​​the first region 11 and the first sub-region 131 adjacent to the disconnection between the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode. The size of the edge region 14 can be flexibly selected based on actual conditions. For example, the area adjacent to the disconnection includes the 10 sensing electrodes.

[0156] Because the first and second drive electrodes are disconnected at the junction of the first region 11 and the first sub-region 131, to improve touch recognition accuracy, when a touch operation occurs in the edge region 14, the reported coordinates are calculated based on the touch data from the entire edge region 14, thereby improving the accuracy of the reported coordinates. Furthermore, the first data does not include touch data from areas where no touch operation has occurred, reducing the computational effort of the first touch chip 31 or the computing unit 35 and improving response speed.

[0157] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A touch module, characterized in that: include: a touch layer, the touch layer having a first area and a second area, the first area and the second area being adjacent and arranged along a first direction, a plurality of sensing electrodes being provided in each of the first area and the second area, and the touch layer further having a plurality of first driving electrodes extending from the second area to the first area along the first direction; a plurality of touch control chips, wherein the plurality of touch control chips include a first touch control chip and a second touch control chip, wherein the first touch control chip is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the first area and is not connected to the first driving electrodes, and the second touch control chip is electrically connected to the sensing electrodes in the second area and is electrically connected to the first driving electrodes.

2. The touch module according to claim 1, wherein: The touch layer further has a third area, the first area is located between the second area and the third area, a plurality of second driving electrodes and a plurality of sensing electrodes are provided in the third area, the second driving electrodes extend along the first direction and are disconnected from the first driving electrodes. The plurality of touch control chips further include a third touch chip, and the second driving electrodes and some or all of the sensing electrodes in the second area are electrically connected to the third touch chip.

3. The touch module according to claim 2, wherein: Some of the sensing electrodes in the third area are electrically connected to the first touch control chip.

4. The touch module according to claim 3, wherein: The third area includes a first sub-area and a second sub-area, the first sub-area is located between the first area and the second sub-area, the second driving electrode extends from the second sub-area to the first sub-area, the sensing electrodes in the first sub-area are electrically connected to the first touch control chip, and the sensing electrodes in the second sub-area are electrically connected to the third touch control chip.

5. The touch module according to claim 2, wherein: The third region includes a first sub-region and a second sub-region, the first sub-region is located between the first region and the second sub-region, and the second driving electrode extends from the second sub-region to the first sub-region. The plurality of touch control chips further include a fourth touch control chip. The sensing electrodes in the first sub-region are electrically connected to the fourth touch control chip, and the fourth touch control chip is not connected to the second driving electrodes.

6. The touch module according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: One of the multiple touch chips is a master touch chip, and the rest are slave touch chips. The slave touch chips are electrically connected to the master touch chip. The slave touch chips are configured to send collected touch data to the master touch chip. The master touch chip is configured to obtain integrated touch data based on the touch data collected by the multiple touch chips.

7. The touch module according to claim 6, wherein: The main touch chip is further configured to calculate the reporting point coordinates according to the integrated touch data.

8. The touch module according to claim 6, wherein: The touch module further includes a calculation unit, which is electrically connected to the main touch chip and is configured to calculate the reporting point coordinates according to the integrated touch data.

9. The touch module according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The touch module further includes a calculation unit, which is electrically connected to the multiple touch chips respectively. The calculation unit is configured to calculate the reporting point coordinates according to the touch data collected by the multiple touch chips.

10. The touch module according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The first touch chip is a main touch chip.

11. A touch module, characterized in that: include: a touch layer, the touch layer having a second subregion, a first subregion, a first region, and a second region sequentially arranged along a first direction, the touch layer being provided with a plurality of first drive electrodes, a plurality of second drive electrodes, and a plurality of sensing electrodes, the first drive electrodes extending from the second region to the first region along the first direction, and the second drive electrodes extending from the second subregion to the first subregion along the first direction; Multiple touch chips, including a first touch chip, a second touch chip, and a third touch chip, the sensing electrodes in the first area and the first sub-area are electrically connected to the first touch chip, the sensing electrodes in the second area are electrically connected to the second touch chip, the sensing electrodes in the second sub-area are electrically connected to the third touch chip, the first drive electrodes are electrically connected to the second touch chip, and the second drive electrodes are electrically connected to the third touch chip.

12. The touch module according to claim 11, wherein: The first driving electrode and the second driving electrode have the same length.

13. The touch module according to claim 11, wherein: The number of the sensing electrodes in the second region is equal to the number of the sensing electrodes in the second sub-region.

14. A touch control method for controlling a touch control module, characterized in that: The touch module includes a touch layer and multiple touch chips. The touch layer has a first area and a second area. The first area and the second area are adjacent and arranged along a first direction. A plurality of first sensing electrodes are provided in each of the first and second areas. The touch layer also has a plurality of first driving electrodes. The first driving electrodes overlap with each of the first sensing electrodes. The multiple touch chips include a first touch chip and a second touch chip. The first touch chip is electrically connected to the first sensing electrodes in the first area and is not connected to the first driving electrodes. The second touch chip is electrically connected to the first sensing electrodes in the second area and is also electrically connected to the first driving electrodes. The touch control method includes: The first touch chip generates first data; the first data is generated according to the first touch data in the first area; The second touch chip generates second data; the second data is generated according to the second touch data in the second area; The reported point coordinates are obtained according to the first data and the second data.

15. The touch control method according to claim 14, wherein: The second touch control chip generates second data, including: The second touch control chip collects the second touch control data; The second touch control chip determines whether there is a touch operation in the second area according to the second touch control data; If the determination result is that there is no touch operation, the second touch control chip generates the second data including a no-touch command.

16. The touch control method according to claim 15, wherein: The second touch control chip generates second data, further comprising: If the judgment result is that there is a touch operation, the second touch control chip calculates the touch coordinates according to the second touch control data and generates the second data including the touch coordinates.

17. The touch control method according to claim 14, wherein: The first touch control chip generates first data, including: The first touch chip collects the first touch data; The first touch control chip determines whether the touch operation occurs in an edge area; the edge area is an area in the first area and the first sub-area adjacent to a disconnection point between the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode; If the determination result is that the touch operation occurs in the edge area, the first data including the touch data of the edge area is generated.

18. A display module, characterized in that: The invention comprises the touch module according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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