In-cell touch screen and drive method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9958981-B2
Application number	US-201414415917-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 17, 2014
Priority date	Dec 9, 2013
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

The present invention provides an in-cell touch screen and a drive method thereof. The in-cell touch screen comprises a first substrate and a first electrode layer provided above the first substrate, wherein, the first electrode layer comprises touch control drive electrodes, touch control sensing electrodes and touch control amplification electrodes, which are mutually insulated, the touch control amplification electrodes are provided in a gap between the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes, during a display phase, at least the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes are applied with a common voltage, and during a touch control phase, the touch control drive electrodes are applied with a touch control drive signal, and the touch control sensing electrodes output touch control sensing signals.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An in-cell touch screen, comprising a first substrate and a first electrode layer provided above the first substrate, wherein, the first electrode layer comprises touch control drive electrodes, touch control sensing electrodes and touch control amplification electrodes, which are mutually insulated, the touch control amplification electrodes are provided in gaps between the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes, each of the gaps is formed between one of the touch control drive electrodes and one of the touch control sensing electrodes, and is provided with more than one of the touch control amplification electrodes therein, during a display phase, at least the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes are applied with a common voltage, and during a touch control phase, the touch control drive electrodes are applied with a touch control drive signal, and the touch control sensing electrodes output touch control sensing signals.

2. The in-cell touch screen of claim 1 , further comprising a display drive circuit and a touch control drive circuit, the display drive circuit is electrically connected with the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes for providing a display drive signal to the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes, the touch control drive circuit is electrically connected with the touch control drive electrodes for providing a touch control drive signal to the touch control drive electrodes.

3. The in-cell touch screen of claim 1 , wherein during the display phase and the touch control phase, the touch control amplification electrodes are suspended.

4. The in-cell touch screen of claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of gaps between the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes, an extension direction of each of the gaps is the same as an arrangement direction of the touch control drive electrodes or the touch control sensing electrodes, and the touch control amplification electrodes located in each two adjacent gaps in the same extension direction are electrically connected with each other.

5. The in-cell touch screen of claim 1 , wherein the in-cell touch screen further comprises a switch control unit, the switch control unit is used for making the touch control amplification electrodes be applied with the common voltage during the display phase and be suspended during the touch control phase.

6. The in-cell touch screen of claim 5 , wherein the switch control unit comprises a switch transistor and a switch control line, a gate of the switch transistor is electrically connected with the switch control line, a source of the switch transistor is electrically connected with the touch control drive electrode or the touch control sensing electrode, and a drain of the switch transistor is electrically connected with the touch control amplification electrode.

7. The in-cell touch screen of claim 6 , wherein one or more of the touch control amplification electrodes are provided in each gap, a part or all of the touch control amplification electrodes are provided with switch transistors respectively corresponding thereto, the drain of each of the switch transistors is electrically connected with one of the touch control amplification electrodes, and sources of all of the switch transistors electrically connected with the touch control amplification electrodes provided in the same gap are electrically connected with the same touch control drive electrode or the same touch control sensing electrode.

8. The in-cell touch screen of claim 6 , wherein an extension direction of the switch control line is the same as an arrangement direction of the touch control drive electrodes or the touch control sensing electrodes, and the switch control line is electrically connected with gates of more than one switch transistors.

9. The in-cell touch screen of claim 8 , wherein each two adjacent touch control drive electrodes are electrically connected with each other by a first connection strip, and each two adjacent touch control sensing electrodes are electrically connected with each other by a second connection strip, the first connection strip and the second connection strip are spatially intersected with each other but electrically insulated from each other, and the first connection strip or the second connection strip is parallel to the switch control line.

10. The in-cell touch screen of claim 9 , wherein one or more first connection strips are provided between each two adjacent touch control drive electrodes, and an area of each of the touch control drive electrodes is equally divided by extension lines of the first connection strips, and one or more second connection strips are provided between each two adjacent touch control sensing electrodes, and an area of each of the touch control sensing electrodes is equally divided by extension lines of the second connection strips.

11. The in-cell touch screen of claim 6 , wherein the switch control unit further comprises a switch drive circuit, and the switch drive circuit is electrically connected with the switch control line for providing a switch drive signal to the gate of the switch transistor.

12. The in-cell touch screen of claim 9 , wherein the touch control drive electrodes, the first connection strip, the touch control amplification electrodes, the touch control sensing electrodes and the second connection strip are located in the same plane, and insulation medium is provided between the first connection strip and the second connection strip.

13. A drive method of an in-cell touch screen, the in-cell touch screen comprises touch control drive electrodes, touch control sensing electrodes and touch control amplification electrodes, the touch control drive electrodes are sequentially spaced and transversely arranged in parallel, more than one of the touch control sensing electrodes are sequentially spaced and longitudinally arranged in parallel between each two adjacent touch control drive electrodes, and gaps are formed between the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes, each of the gaps is formed between one of the touch control drive electrodes and one of the touch control sensing electrodes, and is provided with more than one of the touch control amplification electrodes therein, the in-cell touch screen further comprises a switch control unit, the drive method comprises: during a display phase, applying a common voltage to the touch control drive electrodes, the touch control sensing electrodes and the touch control amplification electrodes by the switch control unit; and during a touch control phase, applying a touch control drive signal to the touch control drive electrodes, making the touch control sensing electrodes output touch control sensing signals, and suspending the touch control amplification electrodes.

14. The drive method of claim 13 , wherein the in-cell touch screen further comprises a display drive circuit, the display drive circuit is electrically connected with the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes, the drive method further comprises: during the display phase, performing an unidirectional display drive or a bidirectional display drive on the touch control drive electrodes and the touch control sensing electrodes by the display drive circuit, and simultaneously performing a display drive on the touch control amplification electrodes by switch transistors.

15. The drive method of claim 13 , wherein the in-cell touch screen f

Assignees

• Boe Technology Group Co Ltd
• Hefei Boe Optoelectronics Tech

Inventors

• Yang Tong
• Hu Ming

Classifications

• G06F3/0412

  Digitisers structurally integrated in a display · CPC title

• G06F3/0416 Primary

  Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers · CPC title

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F3/0443

  using a single layer of sensing electrodes · CPC title

• G06F3/04166 Primary

  Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving (Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184) · CPC title