Patent Application
20230417968
The present invention relates to a display module, and more particularly to a display module having a touch display area, a non-touch display area and a frame area.
In recent years, display modules including touch functions have been widely applied in various electronic products, such as smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, televisions or vehicle displays. A vehicle display can include a variety of display panels, such as a dashboard and a central control panel, wherein the dashboard and the central control panel may have different designs due to their different functions. In the related art, when no image is displayed by the dashboard and the central control panel, the appearance and color of the dashboard, the central control panel and the surrounding frames thereof are different from each other. This causes various areas of the vehicle display to be visually inconsistent, thereby affecting the aesthetics and design sense of the vehicle display.
One of the objectives of the present invention is therefore to provide a display module, wherein the touch display area, the non-touch display area and the frame area are visually consistent, so that the display module can achieve a more uniform and consistent visual performance when no image is displayed.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a display module, which has at least one touch display area, at least one non-touch display area and a frame area, and the frame area surrounds the touch display area and the non-touch display area. The display module includes a cover plate, an ink layer, at least one touch display panel, at least one non-touch display panel and an optical matching layer. The ink layer is disposed on a surface of the cover plate and corresponds to the frame area. The touch display panel is disposed on a side of the ink layer opposite to the cover plate and corresponds to the touch display area. The non-touch display panel is disposed on a side of the ink layer opposite to the cover plate and corresponds to the non-touch display area. The optical matching layer is disposed between the cover plate and one of the touch display panel and the non-touch display panel. A difference of average reflectance to external light between any two of the touch display area, the non-touch display area and the frame area is less than 1.5%, and a chromaticity difference between any two of the touch display area, the non-touch display area and the frame area is less than 1.5.
According to the display module of the present invention, through matching of the optical matching layer and the panel, the difference of average reflectance and the chromaticity difference between the touch display area, the non-touch display area and the frame area may be designed to be less than specific values, so that these areas are visually consistent. Therefore, the display module can achieve a visual performance with a consistent color appearance when no image is displayed, for example, presenting a visual effect of uniform black. In addition, by disposing the high reflective ink in the frame area, the visual consistency of the display module may be further improved.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
The present invention may be understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, which are described in further detail below. It is noted that, for purposes of illustrative clarity and ease of understanding by the readers, various drawings of the present invention show at least a portion of the display module or the structure, and certain components in various drawings may not be drawn to scale. In addition, the number and dimension of each component shown in drawings are only illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will understand, electronic equipment manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms “include”, “comprise” and “have” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “include, but not limited to . . . ”. When the terms “include”, “comprise” and/or “have” are used in the description of the present invention, the corresponding features, areas, steps, operations and/or components would be pointed to existence, but not limited to the existence or addition of one or a plurality of the corresponding or other features, areas, steps, operations, components and/or combinations thereof.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on” or “connected to” another element or layer, it may be directly on or directly connected to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be presented (indirect condition). In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or “directly connected to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers presented.
It should be noted that the technical features in different embodiments described in the following can be replaced, recombined, or mixed with one another to constitute another embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
Refer to
In some embodiments, the display module 100 may be, for example, a vehicle display. As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, the ink layer 120 may include a normal ink, where an L* value of the normal ink in the CIE 1976 color space may be greater than or equal to 25 and less than or equal to 26 (i.e., 26≥L*≥25). In other embodiments, the ink layer 120 may include a high reflective ink, where an L* value of the high reflective ink in the CIE 1976 color space may be greater than 28 (i.e., L*>28), but not limited herein. The difference between the high reflective ink and the normal ink may be that the ratio of white ink in the ink is increased, so as to increase the L* value of the ink and improve the reflectance. Table 1 exemplified shows the average reflectance Ravg (unit: %) to external light of the frame area 106 and the color coordinate values L*, a* and b* in the CIE 1976 color space of the frame area 106 when the ink layer 120 includes the normal ink and the highly reflective ink. The external light in the present invention means the light emitted from the light source outside the display module 100 toward the cover plate 110, and is used for measuring the reflectance. For example, the CM3700D and CM2600D measuring equipment produced by the company of Konica Minolta may be used for measurement, but not limited herein. In addition, the external light may be visible light, and the wavelength thereof may range from 400 nm to 700 nm or from 380 nm to 780 nm.
The average reflectance Ravg referred to in the present invention means the average value of reflectance measured in the wavelength range of visible light, which is calculated by the following formula (1):
In the formula (1), R(λi) represents the reflectance measured at a specific wavelength λi. For example, the specific wavelength λi is selected from the range of 400 nm to 700 nm of the wavelength range of visible light; when i=1, λi is 400 nm; when i=N, λN is 700 nm; and other values may be obtained by inference accordingly. For example, a reflectance may be obtained every 10 nm in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 700 nm, and the average reflectance Ravg as shown in Table 1 may be obtained according to the formula (1), but not limited herein.
The touch display panel 130 may be disposed on a side of the ink layer 120 opposite to the cover plate 110 and correspond to the touch display area 102. Specifically, as shown in
The touch display panel 130 may include a touch layer 132, which may be an in-cell touch display panel shown in
The non-touch display panel 140 may be disposed on a side of the ink layer 120 opposite to the cover plate 110 and correspond to the non-touch display area 104. Specifically, as shown in
The optical matching layer 150 may be disposed between the cover plate 110 and one of the touch display panel 130 and the non-touch display panel 140 for adjusting optical properties (such as reflectance and/or chromaticity). Taking the display module 100 shown in
In some embodiments, the optical matching layer 150 may be a single-layer structure, and the optical matching layer 150 may include a high refractive index material, a low refractive index material or a transparent material with a refractive index therebetween. The high refractive index material may include, for example, niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5), titanium dioxide (TiO2), tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5), silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy), silicon nitride (SixNy, such as Si3N4) or other suitable materials. The low refractive index material may include, for example, silicon dioxide (SiO2), magnesium fluoride (MgF2) or other suitable materials. In some embodiments, the optical matching layer 150 may be an Nb2O5 layer with a layer thickness ranging from 54 angstroms (Å) to 66 Å, but not limited herein. In other embodiments, the optical matching layer 150 may be a SiOxNy layer with a layer thickness ranging from 108 Å to 132 Å, but not limited herein. Table 2 exemplified shows the high and low refractive index materials described above and the corresponding refractive indices at a wavelength of 550 nm thereof, but not limited herein.
In some embodiments, the optical matching layer 150 may be a multi-layer structure and include at least one first sub-layer and at least one second sub-layer which are alternately stacked, where a refractive index of the first sub-layer is greater than a refractive index of the second sub-layer. The material of the first sub-layer may include the high refractive index material described above, and the material of the second sub-layer may include the low refractive index material described above, but not limited herein. The numbers and the stacking arrangement of the first sub-layer and the sub-layer may be adjusted according to practical requirements. In some embodiments, the optical matching layer 150 is formed by stacking an Nb2O5 layer (with a layer thickness ranging from 90 Å to 110 Å), a SiO2 layer (from 342 Å to 418 Å), an Nb2O5 layer (from 963 Å to 1177 Å) and a SiO2 layer (from 891 Å to 1089 Å) from the top to the bottom along the top-view direction V in sequence, but not limited herein.
As shown in
In the manufacturing process of the display module 100 of the first embodiment, the patterned optical matching layer 150 may be formed after the ink layer 120 is formed on the surface of the cover plate 110. For example, the material layer of the optical matching layer 150 may be formed on the surface of the cover plate 110 by a process such as coating, printing or thin-film deposition, and a mask may be used to remove a portion of the material layer for patterning when it was formed blanketly or with a large area, so that the remaining material layer corresponds to the touch display area 102 and a portion of the frame area 106 surrounding the touch display area 102 to form the optical matching layer 150. In this method, the optical matching layer 150 is formed on the surfaces of the cover plate 110 and the ink layer 120, so that the optical matching layer 150 covers the corresponding cover plate 110 and ink layer 120 stepwise, that is, the optical matching layer 150 is formed conformally based on the shape of the cover plate 110 and the ink layer 120. Then, the touch display panel 130 may be attached to the optical matching layer 150 through the adhesive layer 160, and the non-touch display panel 140 may be attached to the cover plate 110 and the ink layer 120 through the adhesive layer 162, but not limited herein.
Refer to
The average reflectance Ravg of each area is the average value of reflectance to external light (visible light with a wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm), which may be obtained by the formula (1) described above, and will not be described herein. For example, a reflectance may be obtained every 10 nm in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 700 nm, and the average reflectance Ravg as shown in Table 3 may be obtained according to the formula (1), but not limited herein.
The difference of average reflectance ΔR referred to in the present invention means the average of the absolute values of the differences of reflectance between two points in different areas for each specific wavelength, which is calculated by the following formula (2):
In the formula (2), R1(λi) represents the reflectance measured at a specific wavelength λi in an area 1 (such as one of the frame area 106, the non-touch display area 104 and the touch display area 102), and R2(λi) represents the reflectance measured at the specific wavelength λi in an area 2 (such as another one of the frame area 106, the non-touch display area 104 and the touch display area 102). The specific wavelength λi is selected from the range of 400 nm to 700 nm of the wavelength; when i=1, λi is 400 nm; when i=N, λN is 700 nm; and other values may be obtained by inference. For example, a reflectance may be obtained every 10 nm in the range of 400 nm to 700 nm of the wavelength, and the difference of average reflectance ΔR as shown in Table 3 may be obtained according to the formula (2), but not limited herein. Referring to Table 3, based on the frame area 106, a difference of average reflectance ΔR to external light (with the wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm) between the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 is 0.26%, and a difference of average reflectance ΔR to external light (with the wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm) between the touch display area 102 and the frame area 106 is 0.22%.
The chromaticity difference ΔE referred to in the present invention means the difference of chromaticity between different areas, which is calculated by the following formula (3):
ΔE=√{square root over ((L1*−L2*)2+(α1*−α2*)2+(b1*−b2*)2)} (3)
In the formula (3), L1*, a1* and b1* represents the color coordinate values in the CIE 1976 color space in an area 1 (such as one of the frame area 106, the non-touch display area 104 and the touch display area 102), and L2*, a2* and b2* represents the color coordinate values in the CIE 1976 color space in an area 2 (such as another one of the frame area 106, the non-touch display area 104 and the touch display area 102). Referring to Table 3, based on the frame area 106, a chromaticity difference ΔE between the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 is 1.45, and a chromaticity difference ΔE between the touch display area 102 and the frame area 106 is 1.38.
From the above description, according to the design of the display module 100 of the present invention, a difference of average reflectance ΔR to the external light between any two of the touch display area 102, the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 may be less than 1.5% (i.e., ΔR<1.5%), and a chromaticity difference ΔE between any two of the touch display area 102, the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 may be less than 1.5 (i.e., ΔE<1.5). In some embodiments, preferably, the difference of average reflectance ΔR may be less than 1.0% (i.e., ΔR<1.0%), and the chromaticity difference ΔE may be less than 1.0 (i.e., ΔE<1.0). Therefore, the various areas of the display module 100 may be visually consistent, so that the display module can achieve a visual performance wherein the presented color as a whole is uniform when no image is displayed, such as presenting a visual effect of uniform black.
Refer to
Referring to Table 4, based on the frame area 106, a difference of average reflectance ΔR to external light (visible light with the wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm) between the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 is 0.26%, and a difference of average reflectance ΔR to external light (with the wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm) between the touch display area 102 and the frame area 106 is 0.19%. Furthermore, based on the frame area 106, a chromaticity difference ΔE between the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 is 1.45, and a chromaticity difference ΔE between the touch display area 102 and the frame area 106 is 1.00. From the above description, in the display module 100 of this embodiment, the difference of average reflectance ΔR to the external light between any two of the touch display area 102, the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 may be less than 1.5%, and the chromaticity difference ΔE between any two of the touch display area 102, the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 may be less than 1.5.
Refer to
Referring to Table 5, based on the frame area 106, a difference of average reflectance ΔR to external light (visible light with the wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm) between the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 is 0.26%, and a difference of average reflectance ΔR to external light (with the wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm) between the touch display area 102 and the frame area 106 is 0.33%. Furthermore, based on the frame area 106, a chromaticity difference ΔE between the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 is 1.45, and a chromaticity difference ΔE between the touch display area 102 and the frame area 106 is 1.15. From the above description, in the display module 100 of this embodiment, the difference of average reflectance ΔR to the external light between any two of the touch display area 102, the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 may be less than 1.5%, and the chromaticity difference ΔE between any two of the touch display area 102, the non-touch display area 104 and the frame area 106 may be less than 1.5.
Refer to
As shown in
In the manufacturing process of the display module 100 of the second embodiment, the patterned optical matching layer 150 may be formed after the ink layer 120 is formed on the surface of the cover plate 110. For example, the material layer of the optical matching layer 150 may be formed on the surface of the cover plate 110 by a process such as coating, printing or thin-film deposition, and a mask may be used to remove a portion of the material layer for patterning when it was formed blanketly or with a large area, so that the remaining material layer corresponds to the non-touch display area 104 and a portion of the frame area 106 surrounding the non-touch display area 104 to form the optical matching layer 150. In this method, the optical matching layer 150 is formed on the surfaces of the cover plate 110 and the ink layer 120. Then, the non-touch display panel 140 may be attached to the optical matching layer 150 through the adhesive layer 162, and the touch display panel 130 may be attached to the cover plate 110 and the ink layer 120 through the adhesive layer 160, but not limited herein.
Refer to
From the above description, according to the display module of the present invention, through the matching of the optical matching layer and the panel, the difference of average reflectance between the touch display area, the non-touch display area and the frame area may be designed as less than 1.5%, and the chromaticity difference therebetween may be designed as less than 1.5, so that these areas are visually consistent. Therefore, the display module can achieve a visual performance with a consistent color appearance when no image is displayed, for example, presenting a visual effect of uniform black. In addition, by disposing high reflective ink in the frame area, the visual consistency of the display module may be further improved.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 111121932 | Jun 2022 | TW | national |
