The present disclosure relates to the field of display technologies, and specifically to a flexible liquid crystal display panel and a method of manufacturing the same, a flexible liquid crystal display and a wearable device.
In recent years, flexible displays and flexible display technologies have received more and more attention. The flexible displays are displays that can be folded, bent or deformed in other manners. The flexible display technologies make the information display manners more flexible and diverse, which have a wide prospect of application in the fields such as televisions, monitors, mobile phones, tablets, and electronic albums.
The current flexible display technologies mainly include flexible organic electroluminescent display technology, flexible electrophoretic display technology and flexible liquid crystal display technology, wherein the flexible liquid crystal display technology is developed earlier. In a flexible liquid crystal display, the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer has great impact on the displayed image. When the substrate is bent or folded under pressure, the liquid crystal in the folded region will flow to the periphery due to change in the distance between the substrates, such that the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer in the bent region is different from that of the liquid crystal layer in the region which is not deformed, resulting in non-uniform display.
The present disclosure proposes a flexible liquid crystal display panel and a method of manufacturing the same, a flexible liquid crystal display and a wearable device, to reduce the impact of the variation in the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer on the display effect and to improve the display quality.
In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a flexible liquid crystal display panel comprising: a first flexible substrate and a second flexible substrate arranged in cell alignment; and a liquid crystal layer located between the first flexible substrate and the second flexible substrate, wherein the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer has a birefringence Δn1<0.045 and the liquid crystal layer has a cell gap d1>8 μm which satisfies the formula Δn1*d1=λ0, where λ0 is a phase difference when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is not deformed and is a set constant.
When the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent, the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer will change such that the phase difference is changed, influencing the uniformity of picture. In the case of the flexible liquid crystal display panel provided by the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer is smaller. That is to say, there is a smaller difference between the phase difference of the bent region of the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the present disclosure and the phase difference of the region thereof which is not deformed, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the displayed picture has higher quality.
In certain embodiments, the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer satisfies 0.018<Δn1<0.045.
In certain embodiments, the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer satisfies 8 μm<d1<20 μm.
In certain embodiments, the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer satisfies Δn1=0.0354, and the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer satisfies d1=10 μm.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is further provided a flexible liquid crystal display comprising the flexible liquid crystal display panel according to the present disclosure.
In the case of the flexible liquid crystal display that employs the flexible liquid crystal display panel according to the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer is smaller. That is, there is a smaller difference between the phase difference of the bent region of the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the present disclosure and the phase difference of the region thereof which is not deformed, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the flexible liquid crystal display provided by the present disclosure achieves display with higher quality.
In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, there is further provided a wearable device comprising the flexible liquid crystal display panel according to the present disclosure.
In the case of the wearable device that employs the flexible liquid crystal display panel provided by the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer is smaller, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the wearable device provided by the present disclosure achieves display with higher quality.
In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel, comprising:
forming a first flexible substrate;
forming a second flexible substrate;
dropping liquid crystal on the first flexible substrate and coating a sealant on the second flexible substrate, the liquid crystal having a birefringence Δn1<0.045;
performing cell alignment for the first flexible substrate and the second flexible substrate, the resulting liquid crystal layer having a cell gap d1>8 μm which satisfies the formula Δn1*d1=λ0, where λ0 is a phase difference when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is not deformed and is a set constant.
In the case of a flexible liquid crystal display panel that is manufactured using the method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel as provided by the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer is smaller, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the flexible liquid crystal display panel that is manufactured using the manufacturing method provided by the present disclosure achieves display with higher quality.
In certain embodiments, the method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel further comprises the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer satisfying 0.018<Δn1<0.045.
In certain embodiments, the method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel further comprises the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer satisfying 8 μm<d1<20 μm.
In certain embodiments, the method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel further comprises the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal satisfying Δn1=0.0354, and the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer satisfying d1=10 μm.
Reference signs: 1—first flexible substrate; 2—dashed line-I; 3—second flexible substrate; 4—dashed line-II; 5, 7—liquid crystal; 6—sealant; 8—curve-I; 9—curve-II; 10—curve-III; 11—curve-IV; 12—curve-V; 13—curve-VI.
To improve the display quality, the present disclosure provides a flexible liquid crystal display panel, a flexible liquid crystal display, a wearable device and a method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel. In the case of the flexible liquid crystal display panel provided by the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as those in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in the cell gap is smaller. That is to say, the difference between the phase difference of the bent region of the flexible liquid crystal display panel provided by the present disclosure and the phase difference of the region thereof which is not deformed is smaller than the difference occurring in the existing flexible liquid crystal display panel, leading to better uniformity of picture, thus achieving a display picture with higher quality. Therefore, as compared to the prior art, the technical solution of the present disclosure can reduce the impact of the variation in the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer on the display effect and thereby improve the display quality.
In order to make the objective, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the present disclosure is further described in detail by means of the following embodiments.
As shown in
As shown in
Usually, for panel manufacturers, the phase difference when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is not deformed is a fixed value which generally ranges between 330 and 370 nm and can be determined based on experiences and practical needs. The existing flexible liquid crystal display panels typically employ a liquid crystal having a birefringence of 0.08 to 0.15, and the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer is designed to be 2.5 to 5 μm.
In the liquid crystal display device, the product d*Δn of the birefringence An of the liquid crystal and the cell gap d of the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display panel is equal to the phase difference λ. When the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent, the cell gap d of the liquid crystal layer would change, thus the phase difference λ also changes accordingly.
Assuming that the amount of variation in the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer at a certain position is Δd when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent, the amount of variation in the phase difference of the existing flexible liquid crystal display panel is Δλ2=Δd*Δn2, and the amount of variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel proposed by the embodiment of the present disclosure is Δλ1=Δd*Δn1. Δλ1<Δλ2 because of Δn1<Δn2. That is, when the display panels are bent to the same extent, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel proposed by the embodiment of the present disclosure resulting from the variation in the cell gap is smaller. That is to say, there is a smaller difference between the phase difference of the bent region of the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the embodiment of the present disclosure and the phase difference of the region thereof which is not deformed, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the displayed picture has higher quality.
The specific values of the birefringence of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer and the cell gap of the liquid crystal layer are not limited and can be determined based on practical needs in combination with experiences. In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer satisfies 0.018<Δn1<0.045 and the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer satisfies 8 μm<d1<20 μm.
For example, in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer is 0.0354, and the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer is 10 μm. In this embodiment, the value of the phase difference λ0 is 354 nm.
In order to compare different optical performances of the technical solutions in the prior art and those according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, for the prior art solution in which d2=3.6 μm, Δn2=0.0984 and the embodiment of the present disclosure in which d1=10 μm, Δn1=0.0354, the variations in transmittance, central contrast and viewing angle performance, and color coordinates are simulated, respectively when the cell gap is increased by Δd=0.4 μm and the cell gap is decreased by Δd=31 0.4 μm.
As shown in
In the prior art, the maximum value of the liquid crystal transmittance is 7.5% when the cell gap is 3.6 μm and the voltage between the liquid crystal cells is 4.5-5.5 V. In the left and right views of
The contrast and viewing angle performance of the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the embodiment of the present disclosure and the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the prior art are shown in
In Table 1 and Table 2 below, Rx and Ry are color coordinates of red color displayed on the liquid crystal display panel. As shown in Table 1, when the liquid crystal cell gap in the prior art is changed from 3.6 μm to 3.2 μm, the color coordinate Rx of red color is increased by 0.0019; when the liquid crystal cell gap is changed from 3.6 μm to 4.0 μm, the color coordinate Rx of red color is reduced by 0.0019. As shown in Table 2, when the liquid crystal cell gap in the embodiment of the present disclosure is changed from 10 μm to 9.6 μm, the color coordinate Rx of red color is increased by 0.0006; when the liquid crystal cell gap is changed from 10 μm to 10.4 μm, the color coordinate Rx of red color is reduced by 0.0006. The variation of Ry is similar to that of Rx. Therefore, as compared to the prior art, the variation in color coordinates of red color is smaller when the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also changed by 0.4 μm. The color coordinates (Gx, Gy, Bx, By, Wx, Wy) of other colors vary in a similar manner to red color. Therefore, in terms of the variation in color coordinates, when the cell gap is changed by the same amount of 0.4 μm or −0.4 μm, the extent of variation in the color coordinates of the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is significantly smaller as compared to the prior art.
In conclusion, when the same variation occurs in the cell gap, as compared to the prior art, the flexible liquid crystal display in the embodiment of the present disclosure has smaller variations in the transmittance, contrast and color coordinates, and has superior performance in terms of optical characteristics such as transmittance, contrast and the like. Consequently, by using the flexible liquid crystal display panel provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, display with higher quality can be achieved.
Table 1, which shows variations in color coordinates of the existing flexible liquid crystal display panel with the cell gap
Table 2, which shows variations in color coordinates of the display panel according to the embodiment of the present disclosure with the cell gap
In the case of the flexible liquid crystal display panel provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in cell gap is smaller. That is to say, the difference between the phase difference of the bent region of the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the embodiment the present disclosure and the phase difference of the region thereof which is not deformed is smaller than the difference occurring in the existing flexible liquid crystal display panel, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the displayed picture has higher quality.
The present disclosure further provides a flexible liquid crystal display comprising the flexible liquid crystal display panel according to the above embodiment of the present disclosure.
In the case of the flexible liquid crystal display that employs the flexible liquid crystal display panel according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in cell gap is smaller. That is to say, the difference between the phase difference of the bent region of the flexible liquid crystal display panel in the embodiment the present disclosure and the phase difference of the region thereof which is not deformed is smaller than the difference occurring in the existing flexible liquid crystal display panel, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the picture displayed by the flexible liquid crystal display provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure has higher quality.
The present disclosure further provides a wearable device comprising the flexible liquid crystal display panel provided by the above embodiment of the present disclosure. The specific type of the wearable device is not limited, and may be, for example, an intelligent wristband, a smart watch, or the like.
In the case of the wearable device that employs the flexible liquid crystal display panel according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in cell gap is smaller, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the picture displayed by the wearable device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure has higher quality.
The present disclosure further provide a method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel comprising, as shown in
Step S101: forming a first flexible substrate;
Step S102: forming a second flexible substrate;
Step S103: dropping liquid crystal on the first flexible substrate, coating a sealant on the second flexible substrate, the liquid crystal having a birefringence Δn 1<0.045;
Step S104: performing cell alignment for the first flexible substrate and the second flexible substrate, the resulting liquid crystal layer having a cell gap d1>8 μm which satisfies the formula Δn1*d1=λ0, where λ0 is a phase difference when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is not deformed and is a set constant.
In the case of the flexible liquid crystal display panel that is manufactured using the above method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel, when the flexible liquid crystal display panel is bent to the same extent as in the prior art, the variation in the phase difference of the flexible liquid crystal display panel resulting from the variation in cell gap is smaller, leading to better uniformity of picture. Thus, the flexible liquid crystal display panel that is manufactured using the above manufacturing method achieves display with higher quality.
The method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel as provided above further comprises the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer satisfying 0.018<Δn1<0.045.
The method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel as provided above further comprises the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer satisfying 8 μm<d1<20 μm.
The method of manufacturing a flexible liquid crystal display panel as provided above further comprises the birefringence Δn1 of the liquid crystal satisfying Δn1=0.0354, and the cell gap d1 of the liquid crystal layer satisfying d1=10 μm.
Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. In this way, if these modifications and variations to the embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to the scope of the claims of the present disclosure and equivalent technologies thereof, the present disclosure also intends to encompass these modifications and variations.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201510617948.6 | Sep 2015 | CN | national |
The present application is the U.S. national phase entry of PCT/CN2016/073861, with an international filing date of Feb. 16, 2016, which claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201510617948.6, filed on Sep. 24, 2015, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2016/073861 | 2/16/2016 | WO | 00 |