WO2013097443A1 - Display panel, display device, and drive method for display device - Google Patents

Abstract

A display panel, including several pixel units, each pixel unit including four sub-pixel units arranged in a matrix, each sub-pixel unit having a reflection area and a transmission area, the transmission area being used for displaying a colour image and the reflection area being used for displaying a black-and-white image. When the display panel is in a semi-transmission semi-reflection mode, since the transmitted light is relatively bright, the display panel displays a colour image, and four sub-pixel units form one pixel; when the display panel is in a reflection mode, since there is no transmitted light and there is only reflected light being emitted from the reflection area, the display panel displays a black-and-white image, and one sub-pixel unit is one pixel when the black-and-white image is displayed; and as compared to the display panel in the semi-transmission semi-reflection mode, the resolution of the display panel in the reflection mode is increased fourfold.

Description

 Display panel, display device, and display device driving method The present application claims to Chinese Patent Application No. 201110453547.3, entitled "Display Panel, Display Device, and Display Device Driving Method", which was submitted to the Chinese Patent Office on December 29, 2011. Priority is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical field

 The present invention relates to the field of displays, and more particularly to a display panel, a display device, and a display device driving method capable of providing a semi-reflective semi-transmissive mode and providing a high-resolution reflective mode. Background technique

 Liquid crystal display panels have been widely used in electronic devices having display functions such as computers, televisions, mobile phones, tablets, and the like. The existing liquid crystal display panels are mainly classified into three types: transmission mode, reflection mode, and transflective mode. Among them, since the transflective liquid crystal display panel can be used in the case of sufficient light or insufficient light, the application range is wide.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a transflective liquid crystal display panel of the prior art. The transflective liquid crystal display panel includes: a lower substrate 20 , an upper substrate 10 disposed opposite to the lower substrate 20 , a liquid crystal layer 50 between the upper substrate 10 and the lower substrate 20; the upper substrate 10 has a color including a red (R) unit, a green (G) unit, and a blue (B) unit near the liquid crystal layer 50 side. a color filter 14 having a common electrode 13 on the side close to the liquid crystal layer 50; a pixel electrode 22 on the lower substrate 20, the pixel electrode 22 including a transparent transmissive portion 22a and an opaque reflecting portion 22b, the position of the pixel electrode 22 corresponds to a position of a color unit of three colors of red, green, and blue; and a backlight 30 located on a side of the lower substrate 20 opposite to the upper substrate 10. When the transflective liquid crystal display panel is operated (ie, in a transflective mode), the backlight 30 emits light, and the emitted light is emitted from the surface of the display panel through the transmissive portion 22a of the lower substrate 20 while the outside The light is reflected from the reflective portion 22b of the lower substrate 20 and then emitted from the surface of the display panel so that it can be normally displayed in the case of sufficient light or insufficient light. However, such a transflective liquid crystal display panel is not suitable for electronic reading. Since electronic reading usually only needs black and white images, and the transflective liquid crystal display panel is used for electronic reading, the backlight consumes more power, which makes the electronic product consume more energy, which is not conducive to improving the use of electronic products. lasting value. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the transflective liquid crystal display panel of the prior art is not suitable for electronic reading.

 In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a display panel including a plurality of pixel units, each of which includes four sub-pixel units arranged in a matrix, each of the sub-pixel units having a reflective area and a transmissive area, The transmissive area is used to display a color image, and the reflective area is used to display a black and white image.

 Optionally, the pixel unit has a filter unit, the filter unit includes four sub-filter units arranged in a matrix, the sub-filter unit corresponding to the sub-pixel unit, the sub-filter The unit includes a filter region corresponding to a transmissive region of the sub-pixel unit, and a non-filter region corresponding to the reflective region of the sub-pixel unit.

 Optionally, the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel.

 Optionally, the liquid crystal display panel comprises a color film substrate, an array substrate disposed opposite to the color film substrate, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the color film substrate and the array substrate.

 Optionally, the filter unit is disposed on the color filter substrate, the transmissive area of the array substrate is provided with a transmissive electrode, and the reflective area of the array substrate is provided with a reflective electrode.

 Optionally, the liquid crystal display panel is a double-box thick liquid crystal display panel, and the transmissive electrode and the reflective electrode in the sub-pixel unit are electrically connected together and connected to corresponding scan lines and data lines through a thin film transistor.

 Optionally, the filter region of the sub-filter unit is provided with a color resistance, and the color resistance of the four sub-filter units arranged in a matrix in the filter unit is at least three colors of red, green, and blue.

 Optionally, the color resistances of the four sub-filter units are red, green, and blue, and the color resistances of the two sub-filter units are the same.

 Optionally, the color resistance of three of the four sub-filter units is red, green, and blue, and the color of the color of the other sub-filter unit is yellow.

 Optionally, the filter region is located in an intermediate portion of the sub-filter unit, and the non-filter region surrounds the filter region.

Optionally, the unfiltered region is located in an intermediate region of the sub-filter unit, and the filter region surrounds the unfiltered region. Optionally, the shape of the pixel unit is a square, and the shape of the sub-pixel unit is also a square.

 Optionally, the display panel is a MEMS light valve display panel.

 Optionally, the pixel unit has a filter unit, the filter unit includes four sub-filter units arranged in a matrix, and the sub-filter unit corresponds to the sub-pixel unit; The sub-filter unit includes a filter region and a non-filter region, and the sub-filter unit has only a non-filter region; the color resistance of the filter region of the three sub-filter units is red, green, and blue. Colors respectively corresponding to the transmissive regions of the three sub-filter units; the non-filter regions of the three sub-pixel units are not provided with color resists, respectively corresponding to the reflective regions of the three sub-pixel units.

 The technical solution of the present invention further provides a display device, including:

 a backlight device, the display panel.

 Optionally, further comprising a switching unit, the switching unit is configured to turn off or turn on the backlight device, the switching unit turns on the backlight device to make the display device in a transflective mode; The backlight device causes the display device to be in a reflective mode.

The technical solution of the present invention further provides a driving method of the display device, comprising: when the display device is in a transflective mode, the backlight device emits light, and synchronously controls gray of four sub-pixel units located in one pixel a step value, the light emitted by the backlight device is filtered in the transmissive area. When the display device is in the reflective mode, the backlight device does not emit light, and each sub-image is separately controlled, when the display device is in the transflective mode. Each of the four sub-pixel units corresponds to one pixel, and the image displayed by the display device is a color image. Optionally, when the display device is in the reflective mode, each sub-pixel unit corresponds to one pixel, and the image displayed by the display device is a black and white image. Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following advantages: Each pixel unit of the display panel of the embodiment of the present invention includes four sub-pixel units arranged in a matrix, and each of the sub-pixel units can be independently driven by a driving circuit. Controlling, each sub-pixel unit has a reflective area and a transmissive area, and in the corresponding filter unit, each filter unit includes four moments a sub-filter unit arranged in an array, each sub-filter unit having a filter area and a non-filter area, the filter area corresponding to the transmissive area, the unfiltered area corresponding to the reflective area, when When the display panel is in the reflective mode, the final display image of the display panel is black and white, and each sub-pixel unit is one pixel, and the display panel is in the reflective mode by independently controlling the grayscale value of each sub-pixel unit. The resolution is four times higher than that of the display panel in the transflective mode. Therefore, the display panel and the liquid crystal display device of the embodiments of the present invention can operate in a semi-reflective semi-transmission mode for displaying a color image, and can operate in a reflective display mode for displaying a high-resolution black-and-white image, which is suitable for electronic reading. .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a conventional transflective liquid crystal display panel; FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a filter unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of a filter unit according to another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional structural view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of driving when the display device of the embodiment of the present invention is in a transflective mode; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of driving when the display device is in a reflective mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The display panel of the embodiment of the present invention includes: a plurality of pixel units, each of the pixel units includes four sub-pixel units arranged in a matrix, each of the sub-pixel units having a reflective area and a transmissive area, wherein the transmissive area is used for displaying a color image. The reflective area is used to display a black and white image. When the display panel is in the transflective mode, the display panel displays a color image because the transmitted light is bright, and each of the four sub-pixel units corresponds to one pixel; when the display image is in the reflective mode, since there is no Transmitted light, only reflected light is emitted from the reflective area, the display panel displays a black and white image, and one sub-pixel unit is one pixel when displaying a black and white image, and a display surface in a semi-transmissive and semi-reflective mode Compared to the board, the resolution of the display panel in reflection mode is increased by a factor of four. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The display panel specifically includes: a plurality of pixel units 100 arranged in a matrix, each pixel unit 100 includes four sub-pixel units 110 arranged in a matrix, Each of the pixel unit 100 and the sub-pixel unit 110 is square; each of the sub-pixel units 110 is connected with a thin film transistor (not shown), and each of the sub-pixel units 110 has a reflective area 111 and a transmissive area 112 corresponding to the reflective area 111, wherein The transmissive area 112 is used to generate colored light, the reflective area 111 is used to generate black and white light, and a plurality of horizontally arranged data lines 200, the source of the thin film transistor of each sub-pixel unit 110 and a corresponding one of the data lines 200 phase connection; a plurality of vertically arranged scan lines 300, the gate of the thin film transistor of each sub-pixel unit 110 is connected to a corresponding one of the scan lines 300; the drain and the corresponding sub-pixel transistor of each sub-pixel unit 110 The pixel electrodes of the pixel unit are connected. The scan driving circuit 350 is connected to each scan line 300 for controlling on/off of the thin film transistor of the corresponding sub-pixel unit 110. The data driving circuit 250 is connected to each data line 200 for transmitting image data. Go to the corresponding sub-pixel unit 110. Since the data driving circuit 250 and the scan driving circuit 350 can respectively control each sub-pixel unit, when the display panel is in the transflective mode, a color image is displayed, and the four sub-pixel units collectively form one pixel; When the display panel is in the reflective mode, a black and white image is displayed, and each sub-pixel unit forms one pixel. Compared with the display panel in the transflective mode, the resolution of the display panel in the reflective mode is increased by four times (ie, the display panel) The resolution in the reflective mode is four times the resolution in the transflective mode).

 In the present embodiment, the area surrounded by the adjacent data lines 200 and the adjacent scan lines 300 has four sub-pixel units 110, and the four sub-pixel units 110 constitute one pixel in the semi-reflective semi-transmission mode. In other embodiments, the adjacent data lines and regions of adjacent scan line walls have one sub-pixel unit.

In this embodiment, the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel specifically includes: a color filter substrate 120, an array substrate 130 disposed opposite to the color filter substrate 120, and disposed on the color filter substrate 120 and the array. a liquid crystal layer 150 between the substrates 130; the array substrate 130 has a plurality of pixel electrodes 133 arranged in a matrix, one pixel electrode 133 corresponding to one sub-pixel unit, and the pixel electrode 133 including transmission a transmissive electrode 131 is disposed in the transmissive region of the pixel electrode 133, a reflective electrode 132 is disposed in the reflective region of the pixel electrode 133, and a common electrode 124 is disposed on a side of the color filter substrate 120 adjacent to the liquid crystal layer. A filter is disposed between the common electrode 124 and the color filter substrate 120, the filter has a plurality of filter units arranged in a matrix, each filter unit includes four sub-filter units 121 arranged in a matrix. The filter unit 121 includes a filter region 122 and a filter-free region 123 surrounding the filter region 122. The filter unit corresponds to a pixel unit of the display panel, and the sub-filter unit 121 corresponds to the a sub-pixel unit of the display panel, the filter region 122 of the sub-filter unit 121 corresponds to a transmissive region of the sub-pixel unit, and the non-filter region 123 of the sub-filter unit 121 is opposite to the reflective region of the sub-pixel unit correspond. Specifically, the pixel electrode 133 on the array substrate 130 includes a transmissive electrode 131 and a reflective electrode 132. The transmissive electrode 131 and the common electrode 124 are made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium oxide (IZO). A transparent conductive layer made of a material, the reflective electrode 132 being an opaque reflective layer made of a metal material such as aluminum, aluminum alloy or silver. The thickness of the transmissive electrode 131 and the reflective electrode 132 may be the same or different. In this embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel is a double-box thick liquid crystal display panel, and the transmissive electrode 131 and the reflective electrode 132 belonging to the same sub-pixel unit are electrically connected together, and the potentials of the two are the same, and a thin film transistor is used corresponding to The scan line and the data line are connected. The thickness of the liquid crystal layer at the reflective electrode 132 is generally half of the thickness of the liquid crystal layer at the transmissive electrode 131, so that the reflected light and the transmitted light of the display panel have the same optical path in the liquid crystal layer, and can be simultaneously obtained. 4艮 high transmission and reflection efficiency. The filter between the common electrode 124 and the color filter substrate 120 has a plurality of elements arranged in a matrix and the sub-filter unit 121 is square, and the sub-filter unit 121 includes a filter region 122 and the filter. The light region 122 is opposite to the unfiltered region 123. In this embodiment, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 together, the filter area 122 is located in an intermediate area of the sub-filter unit, and the non-filter area 123 surrounds the filter area 122, corresponding to The reflective electrode 132 on the array substrate 130 surrounds the transmissive electrode 131. In another embodiment, the filterless region is located in an intermediate region of the sub-filter unit, the filter region surrounds the filter region, and correspondingly, the transmissive electrode on the array substrate surrounds the reflective electrode. . It should be noted that the filter region surrounds the filter region or the The filter area and the non-filter area are described. For example, in other embodiments, the filter region and the non-filter region may also be two adjacent rectangles. The filter region 122 of the filter is provided with a color resistance, and the color resistance of the sub-filter unit 121 in which four of the filter units are arranged in a matrix is at least red (R), green (G), and blue. (B) Three colors. Please refer to FIG. 4 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a filter unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The color resistance of the filter region 122 of the three sub-filter units 121 in the filter unit is three colors: red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and the filter region 122 is located in the In the middle region of the sub-filter unit 121, the non-filtering region 123 surrounds the filtering region 122, and the other sub-filter unit 121 has no filtering region, and has only the non-filtering region 123, that is, the filtering in the region. There is no color resistance on the film, and the filter in this area is transparent and colorless. Correspondingly, since the light emitted by the backlight is usually white light, the three sub-pixel units of the pixel unit can emit light of three colors of red, green, and blue, and the other sub-pixel unit can emit white light. Since the transmitted light absorbs most of the light after passing through the filter area of the filter, only the light of the corresponding color can be emitted, so that the brightness of the displayed image is insufficient, and the display image with higher brightness can only be realized by increasing the backlight brightness of the backlight. However, using this method will increase the energy consumption of the display device. In the embodiment, the brightness of the display image can be improved by using the white light, the display effect is improved, and the backlight brightness of the backlight is not required to be increased, so that the power consumption of the display device is low.

Please refer to FIG. 5 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a filter unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. The color filter of the filter region 122 of the three sub-filter units 121 has three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and the other sub-filter unit 121 The color resistance of the filter area is yellow (Y) or other colors other than the three primary colors of red, green, and blue. Correspondingly, the three sub-pixel units of the pixel unit can emit light of three colors of red, green, and blue, and the other sub-pixel unit can emit yellow light or other colors of colors other than the three primary colors of red, green, and blue. . Since the four sub-pixel units have one more color than the existing pixel unit, the color gamut of the image display can be increased, which is beneficial to improving the display effect of the image. In other embodiments, the color resistance of the filter regions of the four sub-filter units 121 in the filter unit is three colors of red, green, and blue, and the filter regions of the two sub-filter units 121 are The color resistance is the same color. In other embodiments, the display panel may further be a MEMS light valve display device, the transmission region of the MEMS light valve corresponds to a filter region of the filter unit, and the reflective region and the filter unit of the MEMS light valve The non-filtered areas correspond. The embodiment of the present invention further provides a display device using the display panel. Referring to FIG. 6 , the display device includes a backlight device 160 and the display panel, wherein the backlight device 160 is located on the array substrate 130. Remote from the side of the liquid crystal layer 150, the backlight 160 provides a light source for the transmissive area of the array substrate 130, which is typically a white light source such that the display panel can emit colored light in the transflective mode. The display device further includes a switching unit (not shown) connected to the backlight device 160 for turning off or turning on the backlight device 160. The switching unit turns on the backlight device such that the display device is in a transflective mode; the switching unit turns off the backlight device such that the display device is in a reflective mode.

 The embodiment of the invention further provides a driving method of the display device.

When the display device is in the transflective mode, please refer to FIG. 7 , the backlight device 160 is turned on by the switching unit, and the light emitted by the backlight device 160 enters the liquid crystal layer 150 through the transparent transmissive electrode 131. After passing through the liquid crystal layer 150, it is emitted through the filter region 122 of the filter unit. Since the color of the color resistance of the filter region 122 includes at least three colors of red, green, and blue, the light emitted in the transmissive region of the pixel unit is colored. Light. That is, the light reflected by the external light is black and white light, but since the transmitted light is often much stronger than the light of the reflected light, the image finally displayed by the display panel is colored. And by synchronously controlling the voltages of the pixel electrodes 133 and the common electrode 124 of the four sub-pixel units arranged in a matrix in one pixel unit, so that the gray scale values of the four sub-pixel units are the same, and the four sub-pixel units constitute one Pixel. When the display panel is in the reflective mode, referring to FIG. 8, the backlight unit 160 is turned off by the switching unit so that the transmissive area does not emit colored light. After the external light is reflected on the surface of the reflective electrode 132 of the array substrate 130, the reflected light is emitted through the filterless region 123 of the filter. Since the unfiltered region 123 is transparent and colorless, the display panel is finally displayed. The image is black and white. And since each of the sub-pixel units can be independently controlled by the driving circuit, the grayscale values of each sub-pixel unit can be independently controlled, so that each sub-pixel unit is one pixel, and the resolution of the display panel in the reflective mode is Four times the resolution of the display panel in transflective mode. And because of the back The light device is turned off, and when the display panel is in the reflective mode, the display panel consumes less energy. In summary, each pixel unit of the display panel of the embodiment of the present invention includes four sub-pixel units arranged in a matrix, and each of the sub-pixel units can be independently controlled by a driving circuit, and each sub-pixel unit has a reflective area and a transmissive area. And in the corresponding filter unit, each filter unit includes four sub-filter units arranged in a matrix, each sub-filter unit having a filter area and a non-filter area, the filter area and Corresponding to the transmissive area, the non-filtering area corresponds to the reflective area. When the display panel is in the reflective mode, the final displayed image of the display panel is black and white, and the gray of each sub-pixel unit is independently controlled. The order value is such that each sub-pixel unit is one pixel, and the resolution of the display panel in the reflective mode is four times higher than that of the display panel in the transflective mode. Therefore, the display panel and the liquid crystal display device of the embodiments of the present invention can operate in a semi-reflective semi-transmission mode for displaying a color image, and can operate in a reflective display mode for displaying a high-resolution black-and-white image, which is suitable for electronic reading. , can also reduce energy consumption. The present invention has been disclosed in the preferred embodiments as described above, but it is not intended to limit the invention, and the present invention may be utilized by the method and technical contents disclosed above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The technical solutions make possible changes and modifications, and therefore, the scope of protection of the technical solutions of the present invention is not deviated from the present invention.

Claims

Rights request  A display panel, comprising: a plurality of pixel units, each pixel unit comprising four sub-pixel units arranged in a matrix, each sub-pixel unit having a reflective area and a transmissive area, the transmissive area being used for display A color image, the reflective area is used to display a black and white image. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the pixel unit has a filter unit, and the sub-pixel unit corresponds to, the sub-filter unit includes a filter region and a non-filter region, and the filter The light region corresponds to a transmissive region of the sub-pixel unit, and the non-filter region corresponds to a reflective region of the sub-pixel unit. 3. The display panel according to claim 2, wherein the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel. The display panel according to claim 3, wherein the liquid crystal display panel comprises a color filter substrate, and the array substrate disposed opposite to the color filter substrate is disposed between the color filter substrate and the array substrate The liquid crystal layer.  The display panel according to claim 4, wherein the filter unit is disposed on the color filter substrate, the transmissive area of the array substrate is provided with a transmissive electrode, and the reflective area of the array substrate is set There are reflective electrodes.  The display panel according to claim 5, wherein the liquid crystal display panel is a double-box thick liquid crystal display panel, and the transmissive electrode and the reflective electrode in the sub-pixel unit are electrically connected together and pass through a film. The transistor is connected to the corresponding scan line and data line. The display panel according to claim 2, wherein the filter area of the sub-filter unit has at least three colors of red, green and blue. The display panel according to claim 7, wherein the color resistance of the four sub-filter units is red, green, and blue, and the color resistances of the two sub-filter units are the same. The display panel according to claim 7, wherein the color of the color resistance of the three sub-filter units is red, green, blue, and the color of the color resistance of the other sub-filter unit It is yellow. The display panel according to claim 2, wherein the filter region is located in an intermediate portion of the sub-filter unit, and the non-filter region surrounds the filter region. The display panel according to claim 2, wherein the filter-free region is located in an intermediate portion of the sub-filter unit, and the filter region surrounds the unfiltered region.  The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the pixel unit is a square shape, and the shape of the sub-pixel unit is also a square shape. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the display panel is a MEMS light valve display panel.  The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the pixel unit has a filter unit, and the sub-pixel unit corresponds to; wherein the three sub-filter units comprise a filter region and a non-filter region. One of the sub-filter units has only a non-filtering region; the color of the color filter of the filter regions of the three sub-filter units is red, green, and blue, respectively corresponding to the transmissive regions of the three sub-pixel units Corresponding; the color filter regions of the three sub-filter units are not provided with color resistance, respectively corresponding to the reflection regions of the three sub-pixel units.  15. A display device, comprising:  Backlight device  The display panel of claim 1.  The display device according to claim 15, further comprising a switching unit, the switching unit is configured to turn off or turn on the backlight device, and the switching unit turns on the backlight device such that the display device is a transflective mode; the switching unit turns off the backlight such that the display device is in a reflective mode.  A method of driving a display device according to claim 15, comprising:  When the display device is in the transflective mode, the backlight device emits light, and synchronously controls the grayscale values of the four sub-pixel units located in one pixel, and the light emitted by the backlight device is filtered in the transmissive region when the display device is In the reflective mode, the backlight does not emit light, and each sub-image is controlled separately. The driving method of the display device according to claim 17, wherein when the display device is in the transflective mode, each pixel unit corresponds to one pixel, and the image displayed by the display device is colored. image. The driving method of a display device according to claim 17, wherein each sub-pixel unit corresponds to one pixel when the display device is in a reflective mode, and the image displayed by the display device is a black-and-white image.