Display panel, display device, and driving method

• US 10,678,086 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2017
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Zhu, Jinye, Zhao, Wenqing, Wang, Haiyan
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Phu
• Application Number:
  US16/064,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20190278129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/12 Fluid-filled or evacuated lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/003 Light absorbing elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13306 Circuit arrangements or driving methods for the control of single liquid crystal cells G02F1/132, G02F1/133382 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133512 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix G02F1/136209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133526 Lenses, e.g. microlenses or Fresnel lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133565 inside the LC elements, i.e. between the cell substrates
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/19 based on variable-reflection or variable-refraction elements not provided for in groups G02F1/015 - G02F1/169
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/29 for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/291 Two-dimensional analogue deflection

Abstract

A display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and further comprises: a first black matrix disposed on a side of the first substrate adjacent to the liquid crystal layer; a second black matrix disposed on a side of the second substrate away from the liquid crystal layer, a sum of an orthogonal projection of the second black matrix on the first substrate and an orthogonal projection of the first black matrix on the first substrate completely covers the first substrate; an optical device at least partially located in the liquid crystal layer and located in a hollow region of the first black matrix, the optical device configured to refract incident light when voltages are applied across the liquid crystal layer, and have the refracted light emitted from a gap between adjacent second black matrixes.

Claims

1. A display panel, comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the display panel further comprises:

a first black matrix disposed on a side of the first substrate adjacent to the liquid crystal layer;

a second black matrix disposed on a side of the second substrate away from the liquid crystal layer, a sum of an orthogonal projection of the second black matrix on the first substrate and an orthogonal projection of the first black matrix on the first substrate completely covers the first substrate;

the display panel further comprises an optical device which is at least partially located in the liquid crystal layer and is located in a hollow region of the first black matrix, and the optical device is configured to refract incident light when there is a voltage difference across the liquid crystal layer, and have the refracted light emitted from a gap between adjacent second black matrixes.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the optical device is further configured such that light incident on the hollow region of the first black matrix is blocked by the second black matrix when the voltage difference across the liquid crystal layer is zero.

3. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the first black matrix is in a grid shape, the hollow region of the first black matrix is rectangular or circular and is distributed in array, and the second black matrix is disposed to correspond to the hollow region of the first black matrix and has a same shape as the hollow region of the first black matrix.

4. The display panel according to claim 3, further comprising a third black matrix provided on the side of the second substrate away from the liquid crystal layer, wherein there is a gap between an orthogonal projection of the third black matrix on the first substrate and the orthogonal projection of the second black matrix on the first substrate;

wherein the optical device is configured to refract the incident light when there is a voltage difference across the liquid crystal layer, and have the refracted light emitted from a gap between the second black matrix and the third black matrix which are adjacent to each other.

5. The display panel according to claim 4, wherein the third black matrix is in a grid shape, when the hollow region of the first black matrix is rectangular, a hollow region of the third black matrix has a rectangular shape, or when the hollow region of the first black matrix is circular, a hollow region of the third black matrix has a ring shape, and the third black matrix and the second black matrix are disposed concentrically.

6. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the optical device is a liquid crystal Fresnel lens;

the display panel further comprises a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed on different sides of the liquid crystal layer and are configured to apply voltages across the liquid crystal layer so as to drive liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer to form the liquid crystal Fresnel lens.

7. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the optical device comprises a solid-state Fresnel lens and a liquid crystal lens, the solid-state Fresnel lens is disposed on the first substrate and is configured to refract the light incident on the display panel and make the refracted light incident on the liquid crystal lens;

the display panel further comprises a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed on different sides of the liquid crystal layer and are configured to apply voltages across the liquid crystal layer so as to drive liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer to form the liquid crystal lens, the liquid crystal lens is configured to refract the light refracted by the solid-state Fresnel lens and have the refracted light emitted from a gap between the second black matrix and the third black matrix adjacent to the second black matrix.

8. The display panel according to claim 7, wherein the solid-state Fresnel lens is disposed on a light emitting side or a light incident side of the first substrate.

9. The display panel according to claim 7, wherein the solid-state Fresnel lens is formed by nano-imprinting or photolithography.

10. A display device, comprising the display panel according to claim 1.

11. A driving method, which is operable to drive the display panel according to claim 1, comprising:

applying different voltages to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer, so that the optical device refracts the light incident on the display panel and has the refracted light emitted from the gap between the adjacent second black matrixes.

12. The driving method according to claim 11, further comprising:

applying voltages to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer, so that the optical device refracts the light incident on the display panel and has the refracted incident light emitted from the gap between the second black matrix and the third black matrix which are adjacent to each other.

13. The driving method according to claim 11, wherein the optical device is a liquid crystal Fresnel lens, and applying different voltages to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer comprises:

applying voltages having a voltage difference of less than 20 v to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer, so as to drive the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer to form the liquid crystal Fresnel lens.

14. The driving method according to claim 11, wherein the optical device comprises a solid-state Fresnel lens and a liquid crystal lens, and applying voltages to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer comprises:

applying voltages having a voltage difference of less than 10 v to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer, so as to drive the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer to form the liquid crystal lens.

15. The driving method according to claim 11, further comprising:

applying no voltage to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer, or applying the same voltages to the two sides of the liquid crystal layer, so that the light passing through the hollow region of the first black matrix is blocked by the second black matrix.