Touch liquid crystal grating, 3D touch display device and driving method of touch liquid crystal grating

• US 9,195,081 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd. (BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd. (BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yang, Shengji
• Primary Examiner(s): Caley, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAN, JIA X
• Application Number:
  US14/014,575
• Publication Number:
  US 20140063385A1
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/30 involving parallax barriers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1313 specially adapted for a particular application
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134363 for applying an electric field parallel to the substrate, i.e. in-plane switching [IPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/31 using parallax barriers

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a touch liquid crystal grating, its driving method and a 3D touch display device. The touch liquid crystal grating comprises: a first substrate and a second substrate; a liquid crystal layer; grating electrodes, located on a side of the first substrate facing the liquid crystal layer and extend along a first direction, each being located within each of strip-like regions with spacing regions being provided therebetween; touch driving electrodes, extending along the first direction and being located within the spacing regions between adjacent strip-like regions; and touch sensing electrodes, extending along a second direction, wherein the first direction is different from the second direction, and when the plurality of grating electrodes are electrified, liquid crystal molecules corresponding to each of the strip-like regions are deflected, and liquid crystal molecules corresponding to each of the spacing regions are not deflected.

Claims

1. A touch liquid crystal grating, comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate, cell-assembled with the first substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer, filled between the first substrate and the second substrate;

a plurality of grating electrodes, which are located on a side of the first substrate that faces the liquid crystal layer and extend along a first direction, each of the plurality of grating electrodes being located within each of strip-like regions with spacing regions being provided therebetween;

a plurality of touch driving electrodes, which extend along the first direction and are located on the side of the first substrate facing the liquid crystal layer, the touch driving electrodes being located within the spacing regions between adjacent strip-like regions; and

a plurality of touch sensing electrodes, which extend along a second direction and are located on a side of the first substrate opposed to the liquid crystal layer,

wherein the first direction is different from the second direction, and in a condition that the plurality of grating electrodes are electrified, liquid crystal molecules corresponding to each of the strip-like regions are deflected, and liquid crystal molecules corresponding to each of the spacing regions are not deflected,

wherein the grating electrode within each of the strip-like regions comprises two or more strip-like grating sub-electrodes disposed parallel to each other,

wherein for each of the grating electrodes, ones of ends of the grating sub-electrodes in odd-numbered rows are connected together through a first wire, and ones of ends of the grating sub-electrodes in even-numbered rows are connected together through a second wire;

alternatively, for each of the grating electrodes, ones of ends of the grating sub-electrodes in odd-numbered rows are connected to a first common, external lead terminal through lead-wires, respectively, and ones of ends of the grating sub-electrodes in even-numbered rows are connected to a second common, external lead terminal through lead-wires, respectively.

2. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, wherein in a condition that the touch liquid crystal grating operates in a 3D mode, adjacent strip-like grating sub-electrodes of each of the grating electrode are applied with different voltages so that there is a potential difference at least exceeding a threshold voltage of the liquid crystal molecules between the adjacent strip-like grating sub-electrodes of each of the grating electrode.

3. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, wherein a width of each of the strip-like regions is the same as a width of each of the spacing regions between adjacent strip-like regions.

4. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of Dummy electrodes which are located on the side of the first substrate facing the liquid crystal layer, each of the plurality of Dummy electrodes being positioned within each of other spacing regions except those within which the touch driving electrodes are provided.

5. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 4, wherein each of the Dummy electrodes is composed of at least two strip-like sub-electrodes that are parallel to each other.

6. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 4, wherein the plurality of grating electrodes, the touch driving electrodes and the Dummy electrodes are disposed in the same layer.

7. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

8. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, wherein each of the touch driving electrodes is composed of at least two touch driving sub-electrodes that are parallel to each other, and any ones of ends of the touch driving sub-electrodes constituting one touch driving electrode get conduction through connection of a wire in the same layer.

9. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, wherein an extending direction of each of the grating sub-electrodes is the same as an alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules when no power is applied to them.

10. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, further comprising. a first polarizer located on a side of the touch sensing electrodes opposed to the liquid crystal layer, and a second polarizer located on a side of the second substrate opposed to the liquid crystal layer, directions of transmission axes of the first polarizer and the second polarizer are parallel to each other.

11. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 2, wherein in a condition that the touch liquid crystal grating operates in a 3D mode, each of the touch driving electrodes is applied with the same voltage as one or both of adjacent grating sub-electrodes, and the touch sensing electrodes are applied with a voltage different from that applied to the touch driving electrodes.

12. The touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, wherein in a condition that the touch liquid crystal grating operates in a 2D mode, grating electrodes and touch driving electrodes of the touch liquid crystal grating are grounded or applied with the same voltage, and the touch sensing electrodes are applied with a voltage different from that applied to the touch driving electrodes.

13. A driving method of the touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1, comprising:

in a condition that the touch liquid crystal grating is in a 3D display mode, for each of grating electrodes, its grating sub-electrodes in odd-numbered rows are applied with a first voltage, and its grating sub-electrodes in even-numbered rows are applied with a second voltage, wherein the first voltage is not equal to the second voltage so that liquid crystal molecules corresponding to each of the grating electrodes are deflected, while each of the touch driving electrodes is applied with the first voltage or the second voltage as one or both of adjacent grating sub-electrodes, and the touch sensing electrodes are applied with a voltage different from that applied to the touch driving electrodes;

in a condition that the touch liquid crystal grating is in a 2D display mode, the grating electrodes and the touch driving electrodes of the touch liquid crystal grating are grounded or applied with the same voltage, and the touch sensing electrodes are applied with a voltage different from that applied to the touch driving electrodes.

14. A 3D touch display device, comprising:

a display device; and

a touch liquid crystal grating, disposed at a light exiting side of the display device, the touch liquid crystal grating being the touch liquid crystal grating claimed as claim 1.

15. The 3D touch display device claimed as claim 14, wherein the display device is a liquid crystal display device, and the liquid crystal display device comprises an array substrate and a counter substrate that are disposed in opposition to each other to form a liquid crystal cell and a liquid crystal material filled in the liquid crystal cell.

16. The 3D touch display device claimed as claim 15, wherein the display device further comprises a first polarizer disposed on a side of the array substrate opposed to the liquid crystal material, at a contact face of the counter substrate and the touch liquid crystal grating is provided a second polarizer, and at a side of the second substrate of the touch liquid crystal grating opposed to the liquid crystal layer is provided a third polarizer.

17. The 3D touch display device claimed as claim 15, wherein the second substrate of the touch liquid crystal grating functions as a counter substrate of the display device.

18. The 3D touch display device claimed as claim 16, wherein directions of transmission axes of the first polarizer and the second polarizer are parallel or perpendicular, and directions of transmission axes of the second polarizer and the third polarizer are parallel.