Fingerprint identification device, touch panel and display device

The present disclosure provides a fingerprint identification device, a touch panel and a display device. The fingerprint identification device includes a plurality of first driving lines extending in a first predetermined direction and a plurality of first sensing lines extending in a second predetermined direction that is not parallel to the first predetermined direction. The first sensing lines are divided into at least two sensing groups in the first predetermined direction, each sensing group includes a plurality of sensing sub-groups arranged side by side in the second predetermined direction, each sensing sub-group includes at least one of the first sensing lines, and the adjacent sensing sub-groups are insulated from each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2015/091021 filed on Sep. 29, 2015, which claims a priority of the Chinese patent application No. 201510266624.2 filed on May 22, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of touch technology, in particular to a fingerprint identification device, a touch panel including the fingerprint identification device and a display device including the touch panel.

BACKGROUND

Currently, a fingerprint touch function is mainly achieved by a capacitive touch-sensing technology, which includes a press-type technology and a slide-type technology. As compared with a press-type sensor with a large surface area, a slide-type sensor has such advantages as small surface area, small size and low power consumption.

When a fingerprint is to be collected by the slide-type sensor, a region which a finger moves across is sampled at a relatively high sampling rate to obtain a set of fingerprint data, and then the fingerprint data are spliced together to form a complete fingerprint image. In the related art, the collection of the fingerprint data is cumbersome, and the data needs to be collected many times so as to obtain the fingerprint image. As a result, the collection of the fingerprint data is time-consuming and expensive.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a fingerprint identification device, a touch panel and a display device, so as to reduce the time desired for fingerprint detection.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments a fingerprint identification device, including a plurality of first driving lines extending in a first predetermined direction and a plurality of first sensing lines extending in a second predetermined direction that is not parallel to the first predetermined direction. The first sensing lines are divided into at least two sensing groups in the first predetermined direction, each sensing group includes a plurality of sensing sub-groups arranged side by side in the second predetermined direction, each sensing sub-group includes at least one of the first sensing lines, and the adjacent sensing sub-groups are insulated from each other.

Alternatively, the first predetermined direction is perpendicular to the second predetermined direction.

Alternatively, each sensing sub-group includes two of the first sensing lines forming a differential pair and configured to transmit signals in opposite directions.

Alternatively, the first driving lines are evenly arranged outside the adjacent two sensing groups in the first predetermined direction.

Alternatively, a grounding line is arranged between the adjacent sensing groups and/or between the adjacent sensing sub-groups of each sensing group, and insulated from the first sensing line.

Alternatively, the grounding line includes a first extension portion extending in the first predetermined direction to a position between the adjacent sensing sub-groups of each sensing group, a second extension portion located between the two sensing groups adjacent to each other in the first predetermined direction, extending in the second predetermined direction and intersecting the first extension portion, and a third extension portion located between the two sensing groups adjacent to each other in the first predetermined direction, extending in the first predetermined direction and intersecting the second extension portion.

Alternatively, the fingerprint identification device further includes a first driving integrated circuit (IC) and a first binding region configured to connect the fingerprint identification device to a first flexible circuit board. The first driving lines are electrically connected to the first driving IC, the first driving IC is configured to apply a first driving signal to the first driving lines for the fingerprint identification, the first driving IC is electrically connected to the first binding region, and the first sensing line is electrically connected to the first flexible circuit board through the first binding region.

Alternatively, the fingerprint identification device further includes a first sensing IC electrically connected to the first sensing lines and configured to process sensing signals acquired by the first sensing lines so as to acquire fingerprint data.

Alternatively, the first sensing IC is arranged on the first flexible circuit board.

Alternatively, the first sensing IC is integrated into the first driving IC.

Alternatively, the first sensing line is of a width greater than that of the first driving line.

Alternatively, the first driving line is of a width in the range of 20 μm to 30 μm, the first sensing line is of a width in the range of 30 μm to 35 μm, and the first driving line is spaced apart from the adjacent first sensing line in the first predetermined direction at a distance in the range of 25 μm to 50 μm.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments a touch panel including the above-mentioned fingerprint identification device.

Alternatively, the fingerprint identification device includes a first substrate, on which first driving lines and first sensing lines are arranged. The first substrate is a portion of a substrate of the touch panel, or the first substrate is arranged on, and electrically connected to, the substrate of the touch panel.

Alternatively, the fingerprint identification device further includes a first driving IC and a first binding region configured to connect the fingerprint identification device to a first flexible circuit board. The first driving lines are electrically connected to the first driving IC, the first driving IC is configured to apply a first driving signal to the first driving lines for the fingerprint identification, the first driving IC is electrically connected to the first binding region, and the first sensing line is electrically connected to the first flexible circuit board through the first binding region. The touch panel includes a second driving IC, a second binding region connected to a second flexible circuit board, a plurality of second driving lines and a plurality of second sensing lines. The second driving lines are electrically connected to the second driving IC, the second driving IC is configured to apply a second driving signal to the second driving lines for touch detection, the second driving IC is electrically connected to the second binding region, and the second sensing lines are electrically connected to the second flexible circuit board through the second binding region.

Alternatively, the first driving IC is arranged independently of the second driving IC and the first binding region is arranged independently of the second binding region, or the first driving IC is integrated into the second driving IC and the first binding region is integrated into the second binding region.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments a display device including the above-mentioned touch panel.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, through optimizing the design of the first driving lines and the first sensing lines in the fingerprint identification device, it is able for each of the first driving lines to acquire more fingerprint data during the scanning, thereby to reduce the time desired for the fingerprint detection and perform the fingerprint identification more rapidly.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure will be described hereinafter in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. It should be appreciated that, the following embodiments are for illustrative purposes only, but shall not be used to limit the present disclosure.

The present disclosure provides in some embodiments a fingerprint identification device which, as shown inFIG. 1, includes a plurality of first driving lines101extending in a first predetermined direction and a plurality of first sensing lines102extending in a second predetermined direction that is not parallel to the first predetermined direction. The first sensing lines102are divided into at least two sensing groups A in the first predetermined direction, each sensing group includes a plurality of sensing sub-groups a arranged side by side in the second predetermined direction, each sensing sub-group a includes at least one of the first sensing lines102, and the adjacent sensing sub-groups a are insulated from each other.

It should be appreciated that, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a direction in which a finger slides is the first predetermined direction. In the related art, each sensing group merely includes one first sensing line extending in the second predetermined direction, and during the scanning of a first driving line Txn, the fingerprint data is merely acquired once. In this regard, it is necessary to collect the data many times and then splice the collected data to form a fingerprint image, so a procedure of the fingerprint identification is cumbersome.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the design of the first driving lines101and the first sensing lines102is optimized, so as to divide each sensing group A into a plurality of sensing sub-groups a, thereby to acquire more fingerprint data during the scanning of each of the first driving lines101. Hence, it is merely necessary to collect the data fewer times and then splice the collected data to form the fingerprint image. As a result, it is able to effectively reduce the time desired for the fingerprint detection and perform the fingerprint identification more rapidly. In addition, it is able to acquire more fingerprint data within an identical time period, thereby to improve the accuracy of the fingerprint identification.

In order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the fingerprint detection, alternatively, the first predetermined direction is perpendicular to the first predetermined direction. For example, inFIG. 1, the first predetermined direction refers to a Y-axis direction, the second predetermined direction refers to an X-axis direction, and the finger slides in the Y-axis direction.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the fingerprint identification is performed on the basis of a capacitive sensing mode, and its principle is shown inFIGS. 2aand 2b. When no touch operation is made, an electric field between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102is of a constant value. When a touch operation has been made by the finger, a part of the electric field lines are absorbed by the finger, so the electric field between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102is attenuated. In addition, an attenuation degree of the electric field in a case that a fingerprint valley106passes through a gap between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102is different from that in a case that a fingerprint ridge107passes through the same gap.

InFIG. 2a, when the fingerprint valley106passes through the gap between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102, the electric field may be attenuated to a small degree, so a capacitance generated between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102is relatively large. InFIG. 2b, when the fingerprint ridge107passes through the gap between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102, the electric field may be attenuated to a large degree, so the capacitance generated between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102is relatively small. By detecting the capacitance variations between the first driving line101and the first sensing line102, it is able to determine whether the fingerprint valley106or the fingerprint ridge107passes through the gap therebetween, thereby to achieve the fingerprint identification. Further, the acquired fingerprint image is compared with a fingerprint image pre-stored in a database, so as to determine whether or not a touch operation has been made.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first driving lines101, the first sensing lines102, and the traces thereof may be directly formed on a glass substrate and made of a material identical to an array substrate. For example, a unit for the fingerprint identification may be manufactured while forming a pixel circuit and an electrode pattern of a display panel, so as to reduce the production cost.

Alternatively, each sensing sub-group a includes two of the first sensing lines102forming a differential pair. As shown inFIG. 1, Rx1_1and Rx1_2form together a differential pair for signal reception, Rx1_1′ and Rx1_2′ form together a differential pair for signal reception, Rx2_1and Rx2_2form together a differential pair for signal reception, and Rx2_1′ and Rx2_2′ form together a differential pair for signal reception. Obviously, each sensing group A may further include more sensing sub-groups a arranged in the X-axis direction, so as to further reduce the time desired for the fingerprint detection, and the description thereof is omitted herein.

The so-called differential pair refers to a structure consisting of two first sensing lines102via which signals are transmitted in opposite directions, and the detection is performed on the basis of a difference between the signals. Through this design, it is able to reduce an external noise in a better manner, thereby to prevent the detection result from being adversely affected by the external noise and improve the accuracy of the fingerprint identification.

Alternatively, in order to simplify the design and reduce the production cost, the first sensing lines102are divided into two sensing groups A in the first predetermined direction (the Y-axis direction inFIG. 1), each sensing group A includes two sensing sub-groups a arranged side by side in the second predetermined direction (the X-axis direction inFIG. 1), and each sensing sub-group a includes two of the first sensing lines102forming a differential pair.

The two sensing groups A are provided so as to acquire a movement speed of the finger. As shown inFIG. 1, a time difference between the time when a sensing signal is received by the sensing sub-group consisting of Rx1_1and Rx1_2and the time when an identical sensing signal is received by the sensing sub-group consisting of Rx2_1and Rx2_2may be determined at first, then a movement speed of the fingerprint may be determined in accordance with a distance between the two sensing sub-groups, and then the fingerprint data collected many times may be spliced in accordance with movement speed, so as to obtain the complete fingerprint image.

Further, grounding lines103are arranged between the adjacent sensing groups A and/or between the adjacent sensing sub-groups a of each sensing group A. Each grounding line103is insulated from the first sensing line102and used to prevent the occurrence of crosstalk between the sensing groups A and between the sensing sub-groups a.

Further, as shown inFIG. 1, the grounding line includes a first extension portion1031extending in the first predetermined direction to a position between the adjacent sensing sub-groups a of each sensing group A, a second extension portion1032located between the two sensing groups A adjacent to each other in the first predetermined direction, extending in the second predetermined direction and intersecting the first extension portion1031, and a third extension portion1033located between the two sensing groups A adjacent to each other in the first predetermined direction, extending in the first predetermined direction and intersecting the second extension portion1032.

The pattern of the grounding line103is not particularly defined herein, as long as the crosstalk can be effectively avoided.

In order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the fingerprint detection, as shown inFIG. 1, the first driving lines101are evenly arranged outside the adjacent two sensing groups A in the first predetermined direction (i.e., the Y-axis direction). Usually, the first sensing line102is of a width greater than that of the first driving line101, so as to improve the sensitivity of the capacitive detection, thereby to acquire the fingerprint data in a more accurate manner.

Alternatively, the first driving line101is of a width within the range of 20 μm to 30 μm. TakingFIG. 1as an example, a width of the first driving line101and a distance between the adjacent first driving lines101may be each set as 25 μm, and when a resolution of 508 DPI (dots per inch) is provided, 150 first driving lines101may have a total width of 7.5 mm.

Alternatively, the first sensing line102is of a width within the range of 30 μm to 35 μm. For example, when the width of the first driving line101is 25 μm, the width of the first sensing line102may be set as 32 μm. In addition, a distance between the first driving line101and the adjacent first sensing line102is within the range of 25 μm to 50 μm in the first predetermined direction.

As shown inFIG. 1, the fingerprint identification device may further include a first driving IC104and a first binding region105configured to connect the fingerprint identification device to a first flexible circuit board109. The first driving lines101are electrically connected to the first driving IC104, the first driving IC104is configured to apply a first driving signal to the first driving lines101for the fingerprint identification, the first driving IC104is electrically connected to the first binding region105, and the first sensing line102is electrically connected to the first flexible circuit board109through the first binding region105.

Furthermore, the fingerprint identification device further includes a first sensing IC110electrically connected to the first sensing lines102and configured to process sensing signals acquired by the first sensing lines102so as to acquire fingerprint data.

The first sensing IC110may be arranged on the first flexible circuit board109, as shown inFIG. 1. Alternatively, the first sensing IC110may also be integrated into the first driving IC104, and the first sensing lines102are directly electrically connected to the first driving IC104, and the description thereof is omitted herein.

An operational procedure of the fingerprint identification device will be described hereinafter.

When the finger starts to slide from top down in the Y-axis direction, a driving signal is applied to the driving lines Tx1, Tx(n+1), Tx(2n+1) and Tx(3n+1) of the sensing sub-groups a, a signal is received by the sensing lines Rx1and Rx2sequentially, and the driving lines Tx2-Txn, Tx(n+2)-Tx2n, Tx(2n+2)-Tx3nand Tx(3n+2)-Tx4nare all grounded. Then, a driving signal is applied to the driving Tx2, Tx(n+2), Tx(2n+2) and Tx(3n+2), a signal is received by the sensing lines Rx1and Rx2, and the driving lines Tx1, Tx3-Txn, Tx(n+1), Tx(n+3)-Tx2n, Tx(2n+1), Tx(2n+3)-Tx3n, Tx(3n+1) and Tx(3n+3)-Tx4nare all grounded. The similar operation may be performed until the driving signal is applied to the driving lines Txn, Tx2n, Tx3nand Tx4n.

Because the driving frequency is relatively high, e.g., dozens of MHz, it is able to form the complete fingerprint image by processing and splicing all the information received by the sensing sub-groups a when the touch operation has been made by the finger. It is able to acquire more fingerprint data during each scanning process, and it is merely necessary to collect the data fewer times so as to splice the collected data to form the fingerprint image. As a result, it is able to reduce the time desired for the scanning.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments a touch panel which includes the above-mentioned fingerprint identification device. According to the touch panel in the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is able to reduce the time desired for the fingerprint detection, thereby to perform the fingerprint identification more rapidly.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the fingerprint identification device includes a first substrate on which the first driving lines and the first sensing lines are arranged. The first substrate may be a part of a substrate of the touch panel, or the first substrate may be arranged on, and electrically connected to, the substrate of the touch panel. Here, the so-called “first substrate” and “substrate of the touch panel” may each be a glass substrate, a resin substrate or the like.

For example, as shown inFIG. 3, the fingerprint identification device includes a first substrate108, and the blocks inFIG. 3represent the fingerprint identification devices formed simultaneously. The first substrate108may then be cut into the fingerprint identification devices each in a single piece. Then, each fingerprint identification device may be arranged on the substrate of the touch panel through a chip-on-glass (COG) process, so as to reduce the production cost.

As shown inFIG. 4which is a schematic view showing the touch panel, the circle represents the fingerprint identification device. As mentioned above, the fingerprint identification device includes the first driving IC104and the first binding region105configured to connect the fingerprint identification device to the first flexible circuit board. The first driving lines are electrically connected to the first driving IC104, the first driving IC104is configured to apply a first driving signal to the first driving lines for the fingerprint identification, the first driving IC104is electrically connected to the first binding region105, and the first sensing line is electrically connected to the first flexible circuit board through the first binding region105.

The touch panel includes a second driving IC204, a second binding region205connected to a second flexible circuit board, a plurality of second driving lines201and a plurality of second sensing lines202. Here, the second driving lines201and the second sensing lines202cover a region AA of the touch panel, so as to achieve the touch detection.

The second driving lines are electrically connected to the second driving IC204, the second driving IC204is configured to apply a second driving signal to the second driving lines201for the touch detection, the second driving IC204is electrically connected to the second binding region205, and the second sensing lines202are electrically connected to the second flexible circuit board through the second binding region205.

The first driving IC104is arranged independently of the second driving IC204and the first binding region105is arranged independently of the second binding region205, or the first driving IC104is integrated into the second driving IC204and the first binding region105is integrated into the second binding region205, so as to reduce the production cost.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments a display device which includes the above-mentioned touch panel. According to the display device in the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is able to reduce the time desired for the fingerprint detection, thereby to perform the fingerprint identification more rapidly.

It should be appreciated that, the above are merely the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure shall not be limited thereto. A person skilled in the art may make further modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure, and these modifications and improvements shall also fall within the scope of the present disclosure.