This disclosure relates to the field of display technologies, and particularly to a display panel and a display device.
A display device generally includes a plurality of pixel units located in a display area, and a gate drive circuit and a source driver located in bezel areas in horizontal and vertical directions, where the source driver is configured to provide the plurality of pixel units with a data signal. The gate drive circuit includes a plurality of cascaded shift register elements, each of which corresponds to a row of the plurality of pixel units, and the plurality of pixel units are scanned and driven per row using the plurality of shift register elements to control the data signal to be written into the plurality of pixel units so as to display an image.
As the display technologies are developing, the size of the display device is growing constantly, and the resolution and refresh rate thereof become higher and higher. As the size of the display device is growing constantly and the resolution and refresh rate thereof become higher and higher, there is such a growing distance between the shift register elements and the respective pixel units that the pixel units are charged for a shorter valid period of time.
In view of this, embodiments of the disclosure provide a display panel and a display device in the following technical solutions.
The embodiments of the disclosure provide a display panel including: a plurality of pixel units arranged in an array in a display area, and a gate drive circuit arranged at least in the display area; wherein the gate drive circuit includes a plurality of shift register elements connected in cascade, each level of the plurality of shift register elements is connected respectively with a row of the plurality of pixel units, and each level of the plurality of shift register elements includes at least three shift register sub-circuits in the display area.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, the gate drive circuit is arranged in the display area entirely.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, each of the at least three shift register sub-circuits in each level of the plurality of shift register elements is connected respectively with one of the plurality of pixel units.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, each of the at least three shift register sub-circuits in each level of the plurality of shift register elements has at least two types of signal output terminals, which are configured to output different gate drive signals.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, each of the at least three shift register sub-circuits in each level of the plurality of shift register elements is connected respectively with at least two of the plurality of pixel units.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, respective shift register sub-circuits connected with a same pixel unit are configured to output different gate drive signals.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, respective shift register sub-circuits in each level of the plurality of shift register elements are connected respectively with corresponding pixel units through different scan signal lines.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, respective shift register sub-circuits in each level of the plurality of shift register elements are connected respectively with corresponding pixel units through a same scan signal line.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, respective shift register sub-circuits connected with a same column of the plurality of pixel units share a same set of clock signal lines.
Optionally in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, respective shift register sub-circuits in the gate drive circuit share a same set of clock signal lines.
The embodiments of the disclosure provide a display device including the display panel above.
In the related art, a shift register element is generally arranged correspondingly in a bezel area on one side of a row of pixel units, that is, the pixel units are scanned via a unilateral gate drive method, as illustrated in
However as the display technologies are developing, the size of the display device is growing constantly, and the resolution and refresh rate thereof become higher and higher. As the size of the display device is growing constantly, and the resolution and refresh rate thereof become higher and higher, there is such a growing distance between a shift register element and respective pixel units that there are higher loads of the shift register element on the pixel units at a longer distance from the shift register element, so the pixel units are charged for a shorter valid period of time. At this time, neither the unilateral gate drive method nor the bilateral gate drive method can alleviate in effect the difference between the loads of the shift register element on the respective pixel units in a row of pixel units connected therewith.
In view of this, the embodiments of the disclosure provide a display panel and a display device so as to alleviate the difference between loads of a shift register element on respective pixel units in a row of pixel units connected therewith so as to prolong a valid period of time for charging the respective pixel units.
In order to make the objects, technical solutions, and advantages of the disclosure more apparent, the disclosure will be described below in further details with reference to the drawings, and apparently the embodiments to be described below are only a part but not all of the embodiments of the disclosure. Based upon the embodiments here of the disclosure, all the other embodiments which can occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art shall fall into the claimed scope of the disclosure.
The shapes and sizes of respective components in the drawings are not intended to reflect any real proportion, but only intended to illustrate the disclosure.
Embodiments of the disclosure provide a display panel as illustrated in
Where the gate drive circuit includes a plurality of shift register elements connected in cascade, each level of the plurality of shift register elements is connected respectively with a row of the plurality of pixel units, and each level of the plurality of shift register elements includes at least three shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA.
In the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, each level of the plurality of shift register elements provides a gate drive signal for a row of pixel units connected therewith, and the at least three shift register sub-circuits CIR in each level of the plurality of shift register elements are arranged in the display area AA, so that the at least three shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA can provide gate drive signals for respective pixel units P connected therewith in a same row of pixel units, that is, the same row of pixel units can be scanned per segment using respective shift register sub-circuits CIR. In this way, distances between respective shift register sub-circuits CIR in respective levels of shift register elements, and respective pixel units P connected therewith can be shortened to thereby lower loads of the respective shift register sub-circuits CIR on the respective pixel units P so as to alleviate the difference between the loads of the shift register element on respective pixel units P in a row of pixel units connected therewith, thus prolonging a valid period of time for charging the respective pixel units.
It shall be noted that, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, when the gate drive circuit is arranged in both the display area AA and a non-display area, the gate drive circuit includes a plurality of shift register elements connected in cascade, each level of the plurality of shift register elements is connected respectively with a row of pixel units, and each level of the plurality of shift register elements includes at least one or two shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area, and two or one shift register sub-circuit CIR in the non-display area.
Further, when each level of the plurality of shift register elements includes only one shift register sub-circuit CIR in the display area AA, and two shift register sub-circuits CIR in the non-display area, optionally, in order to lower loads of respective shift register sub-circuits CIR on respective pixel units P connected therewith, the one shift register sub-circuit CIR in the display area AA is located proximate to a center axis of the display panel in a column direction, and the two shift register sub-circuits CIR in the non-display area are located on two sides of a row of pixel units corresponding thereto.
When each level of the plurality of shift register elements includes two shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA, and one shift register sub-circuit CIR in the non-display area, optionally, in order to lower loads of the respective shift register sub-circuits CIR on the respective pixel units P connected therewith, the one shift register sub-circuit CIR in the non-display area is preferably located on one side of a row of pixel units corresponding thereto, and the two shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA are located respectively proximate to a center axis of the display panel in a column direction, and proximate to an edge pixel unit P on the other side of the row of pixel units on which no shift register sub-circuit CIR is arranged.
Further, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, the respective pixel units P can be scanned via the unilateral gate drive method or the bilateral gate drive method, although the embodiments of the disclosure will not be limited thereto. Furthermore
As can be apparent, the loads of the shift register sub-circuits CIR located in the display area AA on the respective pixel units P are greatly lowered, and the valid periods of time for charging the respective pixel units P are prolonged, as compared with
The traditional display panel shall be provided with a source integrated circuit chip and a gate integrated circuit chip to be driven, and as illustrated in
As the display panel has a development trend of being provided with a narrow bezel and even without any bezel, the Gate on Array (GOA) technology has emerged in the market. In the GOA technology, a gate drive circuit is fabricated directly on an array substrate, and Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) in the gate drive circuit are controlled to scan and drive the display panel; and the GOA process can be performed in the same process as the pixel array substrate to thereby lower a fabrication cost. As compared with the traditional Chip on Film (COF) and Chip on Glass (COG) processes, the GOA technology can lower power consumption and improve the integration level of the display panel so as to reduce a sealing area, thus satisfying the current demand for a design of a narrow bezel. As illustrated in
In a particular implementation, in order to design a narrow bezel, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, the gate drive circuit (not illustrated) is arranged in the display area AA entirely as illustrated in
It shall be noted that when the entire gate drive circuit is arranged in the display area AA, each level of the plurality of shift register elements can include at least three shift register sub-circuits CIR or only one or two shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA, although the embodiments of the disclosure will not be limited thereto. However, when each level of the plurality of shift register elements includes only one or two shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA, the design of a narrow bezel can be provided but the loads of the shift register sub-circuit(s) CIR on the respective pixel units P connected therewith cannot be lowered in effect. Accordingly in a practical application, in order to provide the design of a narrow bezel and also lower the loads of the shift register sub-circuit(s) CIR on the respective pixel units P connected therewith, each level of the plurality of shift register elements preferably includes at least three shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA.
In order to better understand the display panel according to the embodiments of the disclosure, for example, the entire gate drive circuit will be arranged in the display area AA, and each level of the plurality of shift register elements will include at least three shift register sub-circuits CIR in the display area AA, as described below.
In a particular implementation, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, the respective shift register sub-circuits CIR in each level of the plurality of shift register elements can be connected with the pixel units P in a number of connection relationships. As illustrated in
Particularly the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure is a liquid crystal display panel or an organic light-emitting diode display panel; or can alternatively be another active matrix display panel, although the embodiments of the disclosure will not be limited thereto.
Generally, there is only one gate drive signal required of a row of pixel units in a general liquid crystal display panel, but there may be two or more gate drive signals required of a row of pixel units in some special liquid crystal display panel or in an organic light-emitting diode display panel, so respective pixel units P in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure shall be connected respectively with at least two shift register sub-circuits CIR, and respective shift register sub-circuits CIR connected with the same pixel unit P are configured to output different gate drive signals.
Particularly, a shift register sub-circuit CIR can output one type of gate drive signal, or at least two types of gate drive signals. In the case that a shift register sub-circuit CIR outputs at least two types of gate drive signals, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, each pixel unit P can be connected respectively with one of the plurality of shift register sub-circuits CIR; and each shift register sub-circuit CIR has at least two types of signal output terminals, each of which is configured to output a different gate drive signal from the other types of signal output terminals. As illustrated in
It shall be noted that, in the case that a shift register sub-circuit CIR outputs at least two types of gate drive signals, the shift register sub-circuit CIR can be further connected with different pixel units P. For example, a signal output terminal of the shift register sub-circuit CIR can be connected with a pixel unit through the scan signal line Gate1, and another signal output terminal thereof can be connected with any other pixel unit P through the scan signal line Gate2.
Generally, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, each shift register sub-circuit CIR has a signal input terminal, a signal output terminal, a voltage input terminal, a clock signal input terminal and a reset terminal; and the output terminal of each shift register sub-circuit CIR is coupled respectively with a corresponding scan signal line. A shift register element can output gate drive signals to corresponding scan signal lines respectively through respective shift register sub-circuits CIR thereof according to a clock signal.
Particularly, in order to enable a clock signal to be input into respective shift register sub-circuits CIR, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, respective shift register sub-circuits CIR connected with the same column of pixel units share the same set of clock signal lines. Furthermore as illustrated in
Optionally, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, respective shift register sub-circuits CIR in the gate drive circuit share the same set of clock signal lines, so that clock signals are transmitted among the respective shift register sub-circuits CIR.
In a particular implementation, in the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure, the respective shift register sub-circuits CIR in the same level of the plurality of shift register elements can be connected in a number of connection relationships, and as illustrated in
It shall be noted that, when the respective shift register sub-circuits CIR in the same level of the plurality of shift register elements are connected with corresponding pixel units through different scan signal lines Gate, different scan directions (as denoted by arrows in
In order to drive in effect the display panel, a zone-drive method has been proposed, and in this zone-drive method, the display area is divided into several zones to be driven. As illustrated in
Of course, the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure can alternatively be driven using a common drive method, where the data driver converts the input time sequence latches of display data and clock signals into analog signals, and then output the analog signals to data lines of the display panel; and the gate drive circuit converts the input clock signals into on/off voltage through the shift register elements, applies the voltage to the scan signal lines of the display panel sequentially, and scans the respective pixel units per row to display an image.
Based upon the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the disclosure further provide a display device including the display panel above according to the embodiments of the disclosure. The display device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a TV set, a display, a notebook computer, a digital photo frame, a navigator, a personal digital assistant or any other product or component with a display function. Reference can be made to the embodiments of the display panel above for an implementation of the display device, and a repeated description thereof will be omitted.
The embodiments of the disclosure provide the display panel and the display device above, and the display panel includes: a plurality of pixel units arranged in an array in a display area, and a gate drive circuit arranged at least in the display area; where the gate drive circuit includes a plurality of shift register elements connected in cascade, each level of the plurality of shift register elements is connected respectively with a row of the plurality of pixel units, and each level of the plurality of shift register elements includes at least three shift register sub-circuits in the display area. Each level of the plurality of shift register elements provides a gate drive signal for a row of the plurality of pixel units connected therewith, and the at least three shift register sub-circuits in each level of the plurality of shift register elements are arranged in the display area, so that the at least three shift register sub-circuits in the display area can provide gate drive signals for respective pixel units connected therewith in the same row of the plurality of pixel units, that is, the same row of the plurality of pixel units can be scanned per segment using the respective shift register sub-circuits. In this way, the distances between the respective shift register sub-circuits in the respective levels of the plurality of shift register elements, and the respective pixel units connected therewith can be shortened to thereby lower loads of the respective shift register sub-circuits on the respective pixel units so as to alleviate the difference between the loads of the shift register elements on the respective pixel units in a row of the plurality of pixel units connected therewith, thus prolonging a valid period of time for charging the respective pixel units.
Evidently those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus the invention is also intended to encompass these modifications and variations thereto so long as the modifications and variations come into the scope of the claims appended to the invention and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201710277842.5 | Apr 2017 | CN | national |
This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2018/076807, filed Feb. 14, 2018, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710277842.5, filed Apr. 25, 2017, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2018/076807 | 2/14/2018 | WO | 00 |