Patent Grant
10747034
The present application claims benefit of Chinese patent application CN201510713568.2, entitled “Liquid Crystal Display Panel with Adjustable Viewing Angle and Method for Adjusting the Viewing Angle Thereof”, and filed on Oct. 28, 2015, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of display, and particularly to a liquid crystal display panel with adjustable viewing angle and a method for adjusting the viewing angle thereof.
A viewing angle range (hereinafter referred to as viewing angle) is an important performance index of a liquid crystal display panel. In the liquid crystal display panel, a polarization state of light can be changed through regulating an alignment of liquid crystal molecules. In this manner, a flux between an upper polarizer layer and a lower polarizer layer can be controlled, and the display function can be realized. Due to the influence of optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal molecules, the viewing angle of the liquid crystal display device is smaller than that of a cathode-ray tube display device. With the development of technology, in order to enlarge the viewing angle of the liquid crystal display device, multi-domain vertical alignment (MVA) mode, in-plane switching (IPS) mode, and fringe field switching (FFS) mode have been brought about successively, and wide viewing angle display of the liquid crystal display device has been realized.
Although wide viewing angle has become the trend for the development of liquid crystal display device, under certain circumstances, it is required that the liquid crystal display device has the function of switching between wide viewing angle and narrow viewing angle. As to portable electronic devices using liquid crystal display, such as cell phones, palmtops, and laptops, such requirement is especially urgent. For example, there are times when the user needs to share images on the portable electronic device with others and there are other times when he/she does not want others to see the images on the portable electronic device for the privacy sake. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a liquid crystal display panel with adjustable viewing angle.
In the prior art, in order to realize switching between wide viewing angle and narrow viewing angle, the following solutions are proposed.
1. Using shutter barrier film. When it is hoped that the liquid crystal panel displays images under narrow viewing angle, the user places the shutter barrier film on the screen of the liquid crystal display panel. Such approach requires the user to carry the shutter barrier film along, and thus is very inconvenient to operate.
2. Using double backlight system. In a double backlight system, a common backlight system is used to realize a wide angle display and another alignment backlight system is used to realize narrow angle display. However, in such method, the production cost, thickness and the energy consumption of the liquid crystal display panel will be increased undoubtedly.
3. Using asymmetrical electrodes, i.e., combining asymmetrical electrodes with corresponding driving methods. In such method, multiple electrode drivers are generally needed, which are complicated to be realized.
The abovementioned liquid crystal display panel cannot satisfy requirements for portable electronic devices in both aspects of size and power consumption. In the prior art, there are liquid crystal display panels that adopt two-phase pixel technology, which enables liquid crystal molecules to deflect to a certain angle by controlling the voltage of the electrode on the lower substrate, so as to realize switching between the wide viewing angle mode and the narrow viewing angle mode.
The present disclosure proposes a new liquid crystal display panel with an adjustable viewing angle and a method for controlling the viewing angle so as to satisfy the demand of portable electronic device for circuit stability, weight and power consumption thereof.
Directed at the abovementioned problems, the present disclosure provides a new liquid crystal display panel with an adjustable viewing angle and a method for controlling the viewing angle.
The present disclosure provides a liquid crystal display panel with adjustable viewing angle, which comprises an upper substrate, a lower substrate, and a liquid crystal layer therebetween. A pixel unit located in a display area comprises a main pixel area and a sub pixel area. The main pixel area is horizontally aligned, while the sub pixel area is vertically aligned. In the sub pixel area, an upper substrate electrode is arranged beneath the upper substrate and a lower substrate electrode is arranged on the lower substrate. In the sub pixel area, the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode both have a double layer electrode structure and are configured symmetrical with respect to each other, and bias voltages, under an action of which liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area are aligned horizontally, vertically and obliquely, are exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode, thereby realizing switching between a narrow viewing angle mode and a wide viewing angle mode.
According to an example of the present disclosure, the double layer electrode structure of the upper substrate electrode comprises a first upper substrate electrode, an insulation layer and a second upper substrate electrode arranged beneath the upper substrate; the double layer electrode structure of the lower substrate electrode comprises a first lower substrate electrode, an insulation layer and a second lower substrate electrode arranged on the lower substrate; and the first upper substrate electrode and the first lower substrate electrode are both planar electrodes, and the second upper substrate electrode and the second lower substrate electrode are both bar-shaped electrodes.
Further, under the wide viewing angle mode, in the sub pixel area, bias voltages are exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode, so as to form an electric field between the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode having a strong enough horizontal component, thereby enabling the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area to be aligned horizontally.
According to other examples of the present disclosure, under the wide viewing angle mode, a first bias voltage is exerted on a first upper substrate electrode and a first lower substrate electrode, and a second bias voltage is exerted on a second upper substrate electrode and a second lower substrate electrode.
Further, under the narrow viewing angle mode, if an initial state of the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area is vertical alignment, it is unnecessary to exert bias voltages on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode; and if the initial state of the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area is oblique alignment, bias voltages are exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode, so as to form an electric field between the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode having a strong enough vertical component, thereby enabling the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area to be aligned vertically.
According to an example of the present disclosure, under the narrow viewing angle mode, if the initial state of the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area is oblique alignment, a third bias voltage is exerted on the first upper substrate electrode and the second upper substrate electrode, and a fourth bias voltage is exerted on the first lower substrate electrode and the second lower substrate electrode.
In addition, the present disclosure further provides a method for adjusting a viewing angle of a liquid crystal display panel. A pixel unit in a display area of the liquid crystal display panel comprises a main pixel area and a sub pixel area. The main pixel area is horizontally aligned, while the sub pixel area is vertically aligned. In the sub pixel area, an upper substrate electrode is arranged beneath an upper substrate and a lower substrate electrode is arranged on a lower substrate. In the sub pixel area, the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode both have a double layer electrode structure and are configured symmetrical with respect to each other. The method for adjusting the viewing angle comprises steps of: controlling bias voltages exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode, so that liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area are aligned horizontally, vertically and obliquely, thereby realizing switching between a narrow viewing angle mode and a wide viewing angle mode.
Further, when a wide viewing angle mode is selected, bias voltages are exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode in the sub pixel area, so as to form an electric field between the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode having a strong enough horizontal component, thereby enabling the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area to deflect to a horizontal state under an action thereof.
According to other examples of the present disclosure, when the wide viewing angle mode is selected, a first bias voltage is exerted on a first upper substrate electrode and a first lower substrate electrode, and a second bias voltage is exerted on a second upper substrate electrode and a second lower substrate electrode. The first upper substrate electrode and the second upper substrate electrode are disposed beneath the upper substrate in sequence, the first lower substrate electrode and the second lower substrate electrode are disposed on the lower substrate in sequence, and an insulation layer is disposed between the first upper substrate electrode and the second upper substrate electrode and between the first lower substrate electrode and the second lower substrate electrode.
Further, when a narrow viewing angle mode is selected, if an initial state of liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area is vertical alignment, it is unnecessary to exert bias voltages on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode. When the narrow viewing angle mode is selected, if the initial state of the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area is oblique alignment, bias voltages are exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode of the sub pixel area, so as to form an electric field between the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode having a strong enough vertical component, thereby enabling the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area to deflect to a vertical state.
According to an example of the present disclosure, when the narrow viewing angle mode is selected, if the initial state of the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area is oblique alignment, a third bias voltage is exerted on the first upper substrate electrode and the second upper substrate electrode, and a fourth bias voltage is exerted on the first lower substrate electrode and the second lower substrate electrode. The first upper substrate electrode and the second upper substrate electrode are disposed beneath the upper substrate in sequence, the first lower substrate electrode and the second lower substrate electrode are disposed on the lower substrate in sequence, and the insulation layer is disposed between the first upper substrate electrode and the second upper substrate electrode and between the first lower substrate electrode and the second lower substrate electrode.
Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure has the following advantages.
The upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode of the sub pixel area are improved and modified as double layer electrode structure according to the present disclosure, so as to form a horizontal or a vertical electric field, which enable the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area to form horizontal, vertical or oblique alignment, thereby realizing switching between the wide viewing angle mode and the narrow viewing angle mode. Compared with the prior art, in the technical solution according to the present disclosure, a better technical effect and a more stable performance can be obtained.
Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be further explained in the following description, and will partly become self-evident therefrom, or be understood through the implementation of the present disclosure. The objectives and advantages of the present disclosure will be achieved through the structures specifically pointed out in the description, claims, and the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which constitute part of the description, are used for further understanding and illustrating the present disclosure together with the embodiments, and thus do not restrict the present disclosure. In the drawings:
A liquid crystal display panel according to the present disclosure is based on hybrid alignment technology, in order to realize switching between display modes (a wide viewing angle mode and a narrow viewing angle mode). In order to further clarify an objective, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure, the technical solutions according to the present disclosure will be further described in view of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings.
Similar to a liquid crystal display panel in the prior art, a liquid crystal display panel according to the present embodiment of the present disclosure comprises an upper substrate and a lower substrate which are parallel to each other, as well as a liquid crystal layer arranged between the upper substrate and the lower substrate. It should be noted that, the technical solution according to the present disclosure is applicable to both positive liquid crystal and blue phase liquid crystal. Therefore, liquid crystal material of the liquid crystal layer is not be defined herein.
According to the present embodiment, a direction of an electrode in the main pixel area 100 is substantially vertical to a direction of an electrode in the sub pixel area 200, and an angle, such as an angle approximately 83° (not shown in the drawings), can be formed therebetween. In order to facilitate the illustration,
Different from electrode in the prior art, the upper substrate electrode 210 and the lower substrate electrode 220 both have a double layer electrode structure. As shown in
Similar to that in the prior art, the aforesaid electrodes can all be manufactured from transparent conductive materials. The transparent conductive materials can be one or more of ITO, IZO or IGO.
Further, in order to achieve a good display effect, color resist does not need to be arranged in the sub pixel area and an area for controlling the viewing angle.
In addition, according to the present embodiment, different liquid crystal orientations can be realized in the main pixel area and the sub pixel area through the following two methods.
1. If one same polyimide material is used to form an alignment film, the sub pixel area is first covered by a mask. After horizontal alignment (for example, through optical alignment technology) of the main pixel area is completed, vertical alignment of the sub pixel area is performed by covering the main pixel area with a mask.
2. If different polyimide materials are used to form alignment films, a rubbing procedure is not used. Instead, a vertical alignment film is first formed in the sub pixel area, and then a horizontal alignment film is coated on the vertical alignment film. Horizontal alignment is realized by implementing a rubbing procedure. Subsequently, the horizontal alignment film on the vertical alignment film in the sub pixel area is removed in a selective manner through an etching procedure, thereby baring the vertical alignment film in the sub pixel area.
It should be noted that, when the main pixel area 100 is in a dark state (a direction of liquid crystal under which is as shown in the drawings), no matter the sub pixel area 200 is at wide viewing angle mode or narrow viewing angle mode, the liquid crystal in the sub pixel area 200 deflects in a direction parallel to an initial direction (dark state) of the liquid crystal in the main pixel area 100. In this case, the sub pixel area 200 would not affect the dark state of the main pixel area 100 under direct view.
In a technical solution according to the present disclosure, on the basis of the above described hybrid aligned pixel units, a bias voltage on each electrode is controlled to form a certain electric field distribution, so that liquid crystal molecules deflect under the force of the electric field, thereby realizing switching between the narrow viewing angle and the wide viewing angle. According to the present embodiment, when bias voltages are exerted on the pixel electrode 110 and the common electrode 120 of the horizontally aligned main pixel area 100, the liquid crystal molecules in the main pixel area 100 would rotate in a plane parallel to the upper substrate and the lower substrate. When bias voltages are exerted on the first upper substrate electrode 211, the second upper substrate electrode 212, the first lower substrate electrode 221, and the second lower substrate electrode 222 of the vertically aligned sub pixel area 200, the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area 200 would rotate in a plane vertical to the upper substrate and the lower substrate.
Working principles of a method for controlling (switching) the viewing angle will be further described in view of embodiment 2 and embodiment 3.
As shown in
Under the narrow viewing angle mode, voltage is exerted only on the electrodes (pixel electrode and/or common electrode) in the main pixel area. Since the main pixel area is horizontally aligned, the liquid crystal molecules in the main pixel area rotate in the plane parallel to the upper substrate and the lower substrate. By controlling the voltage, an angle of rotation of the liquid crystal molecules in the plane parallel to the upper and lower substrates can be changed. In the meantime, since no bias voltage is exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode in the sub pixel area, the liquid crystal molecules therein still remains at a high pre-tilt angle. Under such circumstance, when the display device is watched in a wide viewing angle, light leakage from sides of the sub pixel area would occur. Therefore, the liquid crystal display panel can realize narrow viewing angle display.
Of course, if the bias voltage on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode in the sub pixel area is too small to enable the liquid crystal molecules to deflect, or to enable the liquid crystal molecules to rotate for a certain angle, but not to a completely horizontal state, light leakage through the sides of the sub pixel area would also occur. In this case, narrow viewing angle of the liquid crystal display panel can also be realized. For example, when the bias voltage exerted on the first upper substrate electrode 211 and the first lower substrate electrode 221 is 0 V, and the bias voltage exerted on the second upper substrate electrode 212 and the second lower substrate electrode 222 is 1.5 V, due to the effect of overlay, the electric field between the upper and lower substrates of the sub pixel area is mainly horizontal components (relatively weak), and vertical components weaken one another due to opposite directions. Under such electric field, the liquid crystal molecules are oblique, but they are not completely horizontal. Therefore, narrow viewing angle display can also be realized, as shown in region (a) of
When the bias voltages on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode of the sub pixel area is constantly increased, horizontal component of the electric field formed between the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode are also increased. As long as the horizontal component of the electric field formed between the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode is strong enough, the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area can lie completely in horizontal direction. For example, when the bias voltage exerted on the first upper substrate electrode 211 and the first lower substrate electrode 221 is 0 V, and the bias voltage exerted on the second upper substrate electrode 212 and the second lower substrate electrode 222 is 6 V, the liquid crystal molecules lie completely in horizontal direction, as shown in region (a) of
Under no matter wide viewing angle mode or narrow viewing angle mode, the main pixel area is in normal FFS display mode, which belongs to the prior art. Hence, the deflection of the liquid crystal molecules in the main pixel area will not be described in detail.
According to embodiment 3, an initial state of the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area presents an oblique alignment. It should be noted that, the oblique alignment herein means that the liquid crystal molecules have a high pre-tilt angle, but are not entirely horizontal. In this case, a principle of switching between the narrowing viewing angle and the wide viewing angle is the same as embodiment 2. The only difference therefrom is a method of exerting bias voltages on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode of the sub pixel area.
Under such circumstance, since the initial state of the liquid crystal molecules is oblique alignment, the bias voltages exerted on the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode of the sub pixel area should enable an electric field to have a strong enough vertical component between the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode, so that the liquid crystal molecules can stand right up, thereby realizing narrow viewing angle display mode. For example, when the bias voltage exerted on the first upper substrate electrode 211 and the second upper substrate electrode 212 is 3 V, and the bias voltage exerted on the first lower substrate electrode 221 and the second lower substrate electrode 222 is −3 V, the electric field formed between the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the sub pixel area is primarily vertical electric field. Under such electric field, the liquid crystal molecules can stand right up and present a vertical state. In this case, when watching the display screen from a wide viewing angle, light leakage from sides of the sub pixel area would occur, and thus the narrowing viewing angle of the liquid crystal display panel can be realized.
Similar to embodiment 2, by controlling the bias voltages on the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the sub pixel area, the electric field formed therebetween can have a large horizontal component, so that the liquid crystal molecules in the sub pixel area can deflect from an oblique state to a horizontal state. At this time, no light leakage from the sub pixel area under wide viewing angle would occur, thereby realizing wide viewing angle of the liquid crystal display panel.
According to the above embodiments, voltages on the first upper substrate electrode, the second upper substrate electrode, the first lower substrate electrode, and the second lower substrate electrode might not be controlled by transistors, but directly come from a signal line electrically connected thereto.
It should be noted that, the method for adjusting the switching between narrow viewing angle and wide viewing angle according to the present disclosure is not limited to the pixel unit with an FFS mode electrode structure main pixel as shown in
In addition, a structure of pixel for controlling the narrowing viewing angle and the wide viewing angle is not limited to the scenario as shown in
In a word, according to the present disclosure, the upper substrate electrode and the lower substrate electrode of the sub pixel area are configured as double layer electrode structure, so that a horizontal or vertical electric field can be formed. In this case, the liquid crystal molecules can be aligned horizontally, vertically and obliquely, thereby facilitating the switching between the wide viewing angle mode and the narrow viewing angle mode. Compared with the prior art, in the technical solution according to the present disclosure, a better technical effect and a more stable performance can be obtained.
The above embodiments are described only for better understanding, rather than restricting the present disclosure. Any modification or substitution made by one skilled in the art within scope of the technical content disclosed herein is within the scope of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 1 0713568 | Oct 2015 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2015/095398 | 11/24/2015 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/070996 | 5/4/2017 | WO | A |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 104181736 | Dec 2014 | CN |
| 104460138 | Mar 2015 | CN |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180067345 A1 | Mar 2018 | US |
