Touch Screen Panel with Integrated TFT Photodetectors Using Display Light
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current display systems lack the ability to efficiently acquire input signals directly and require separate touch sensing devices, limiting their functionality and increasing complexity and cost.
Innovation Solution
Integrate thin film transistor (TFT) photodetectors on a glass or flexible substrate to create a high-sensitivity touch panel that uses the display's light source for touch sensing, allowing for biometric information acquisition without additional light emitters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate touch sensing device is provided, then touch sensing function is achieved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the touch sensing function with the display panel by integrating photodetectors directly into the display structure. The display panel serves dual purposes: visual output and touch sensing input, eliminating the need for separate touch sensing devices and reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The display panel is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously. The same panel that displays visual information also serves as the touch sensing interface through integrated photodetectors that detect light changes caused by touch interactions, making the system more efficient and cost-effective
2Measurement precision
If a separate light emitter is provided for touch panel, then touch sensing accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The display's light source serves dual purposes: illuminating the display for visual output and providing the light source for touch sensing operations. This eliminates the need for separate light emitters while maintaining touch sensing accuracy through the photodetectors that detect light changes
Solution Approach 2:
The display system serves itself by using its own light source for both display and touch sensing functions. The photodetectors detect changes in the display's light output caused by touch interactions, eliminating the need for external or separate lighting components
3Adaptability or versatility
If display panel and touch panel are integrated, then functionality is enhanced and complexity reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the touch sensing function directly into the display panel structure by incorporating photodetectors within the display layers. This merging approach enhances functionality while managing manufacturing complexity through a unified fabrication process rather than assembling separate components
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables direct touch sensing and biometric data acquisition with reduced complexity and cost by utilizing the display's light source, enhancing the device's functionality and simplifying fabrication.
Implementation Method 1
a touch panel including at least one unit pattern for sensing light reflected by a touch by using a TFT photodetector
Data Source
AI summary
A touch screen panel using a thin film transistor (TFT) photodetector includes a touch panel including at least one unit pattern for sensing light reflected by a touch by using a TFT photodetector including an active layer formed of amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon on an amorphous transparent material, and a controller configured to scan the at least one unit pattern and read touch coordinates as a result of the scanning.