CN114035703B

CN114035703B - Display module and display device

Info

Publication number: CN114035703B
Application number: CN202111300855.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 高涛; 贵炳强
Original assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-11-04
Filing date: 2021-11-04
Publication date: 2024-04-23
Anticipated expiration: 2041-11-04
Also published as: CN114035703A

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a display module and a display device, wherein the display module comprises: a display panel; the touch control functional layer is arranged on the light emitting side of the display panel, and is of a metal grid structure comprising at least one grid line, and at least one hollowed-out part is arranged on the grid line. The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can reduce the reflectivity of the grid lines, thereby being beneficial to eliminating the shadows of the grid lines and improving the overall look and feel of the display module.

Description

Display module and display device

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of display, in particular to a display module and a display device.

Background

Along with the development of display technology, a display module with a FMLOC (Flexible Multi-Layer On Cell) structure is more and more popular, and compared with an externally hung touch panel, the display module can reduce cost, has higher integration level, is lighter and thinner and is easier to fold. However, the grid lines of the conventional FMLOC metal grid structure reflect ambient light after being irradiated by external natural light, so that a shadow pattern appears to a certain extent, and the overall appearance of the display module is affected.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a display module and a display device, which are used for solving or relieving one or more technical problems in the prior art.

As an aspect of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application provides a display module, including: a display panel; the touch control functional layer is arranged on the light emitting side of the display panel, and is of a metal grid structure comprising at least one grid line, and the grid line comprises at least one hollowed-out part.

In one embodiment, the grid lines include a wire frame and at least one wire connected to the wire frame to form a hollow.

In one embodiment, the wire frame is a closed wire frame, and both ends of the wire are connected to the wire frame.

In one embodiment, the metal lines are a plurality of metal lines, and the metal lines are arranged in parallel at intervals.

In one embodiment, the arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines is perpendicular to the length direction of the grid lines.

In one embodiment, the plurality of metal lines are arranged in a direction parallel to the length direction of the grid lines.

In one embodiment, an included angle α is formed between the arrangement direction of the plurality of metal wires and the length direction of the grid lines, wherein 0 ° < α <90 °.

In one embodiment, the touch functional layer includes a first touch functional layer and a second touch functional layer, and the shapes of the hollows of the grid lines of the first touch functional layer and the grid lines of the second touch functional layer are the same.

In one embodiment, the grid lines are redundant traces that are unpowered.

As another aspect of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application provides a display device, including a display module according to any one of the foregoing embodiments of the present application.

By adopting the technical scheme, the embodiment of the application can reduce the reflectivity of the grid lines, thereby being beneficial to eliminating the shadows of the grid lines and improving the overall look and feel of the display module.

The foregoing summary is for the purpose of the specification only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features of the present application will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

Drawings

In the drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar parts or elements throughout the several views unless otherwise specified. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only some embodiments according to the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope.

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a display module according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall structure of a touch functional layer according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 1C is a schematic diagram illustrating a partial cross-sectional structure of a touch functional layer according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 1D illustrates a schematic partial structure of a touch functional layer according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1E is an enlarged view of the portion F circled in FIG. 1D;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of grid lines of a display module according to a first embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of grid lines of a display module according to a second embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of grid lines of a display module according to a third embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of grid lines of a display module according to a fourth embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of grid lines of a display module according to a fifth embodiment of the present application.

Reference numerals illustrate:

100: a display module;

110: a display panel; 111: a substrate; 112: driving the functional layer;

113: displaying a functional layer; 114: an encapsulation layer;

120: a touch control functional layer; 121: grid lines; 1211: a wire frame;

1212: a metal wire; 122. 122a, 122b, 122c, 122d: hollow out;

123: a first touch functional layer; 124: a second touch functional layer;

125. 125a, 125b: an electrode; 126: a bridge;

130: an insulating layer; 140: and (3) a protective layer.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, only certain exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As will be recognized by those of skill in the pertinent art, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

The following describes a display module 100 according to an embodiment of the present application with reference to fig. 1A to 6.

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a display module 100 according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 1, the display module 100 includes: a display panel 110 and a touch function layer 120. The touch function layer 120 may implement a touch function of the display module 100.

Alternatively, the display panel 110 may include a substrate 111, a driving function layer 112, a display function layer 113, and an encapsulation layer 114.

Wherein the base 111 is a substrate. When the display panel 110 is a rigid panel, the substrate is a rigid substrate such as glass, transparent resin, or the like; when the display panel 110 is a flexible panel, the substrate is a flexible substrate, such as polyimide, polycarbonate, polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyarylate, or glass fiber reinforced plastic, and the like, and is formed on a glass substrate by coating, and after the preparation of the display panel 110 is completed, the glass substrate is peeled off, and the peeling method can be laser peeling off.

The driving function layer 112 is disposed at one side of the substrate. The driving function layer 112 may include a metal layer and a dielectric layer for implementing a driving function of the entire display panel 110. Alternatively, the driving function layer 112 and the substrate 111 may together constitute a back plate of the display panel 110.

The display function layer 113 is disposed on a side of the driving function layer 112 remote from the substrate 111. The display function layer 113 may include an EL (Electro Luminescent, electro luminescence) layer, and the display function layer 113 may be divided into a display region and a non-display region, wherein the display region includes a plurality of pixels for implementing a display function of the entire display panel 110.

The encapsulation layer 114 is disposed on a side of the display function layer 113 remote from the driving function layer 112. Encapsulation layer 114 may be a TFE (Thin Film Encapsulation ) layer. When the display panel 110 is a flexible panel, the TFE layer can make the entire display panel 110 more flexible and less likely to break while achieving packaging.

Referring to fig. 1A-2, the touch functional layer 120 is disposed on the light emitting side of the display panel 110, and the touch functional layer 120 is a metal grid structure including at least one grid line 121, and the grid line 121 includes at least one hollow 122. Alternatively, the material of the grid lines 121 may be titanium or aluminum, etc., but is not limited thereto.

Illustratively, in connection with fig. 1B, the touch functional layer 120 may be disposed on a side of the encapsulation layer 114 remote from the display functional layer 113. The touch function layer 120 may include a plurality of electrodes 125, where each electrode 125 includes a plurality of metal grids, each metal grid includes a plurality of grid lines 121, and the plurality of grid lines 121 stagger to define the mesh openings of the metal grids, and the front projection of each mesh opening on the plane of the display panel 110 covers at least one pixel of the display function area 113. The plurality of electrodes 125 may include touch electrodes and redundant electrodes. The touch electrode is electrically connected to the display panel 110 to realize a touch function. No power-on signal may be required in the redundant electrode, which serves to make the arrangement of the plurality of electrodes 125 more uniform.

Here, the "hollowed-out" is understood to be an opening penetrating through the grid lines 121 in the thickness direction and having a closed outer periphery. For example, the hollowed-out portion 122 may be formed in a structure similar to a window, and the window may be circular, elliptical, polygonal, or the like. It will be appreciated that the specific shape of the window may be specifically determined according to the actual requirements to better satisfy the actual application.

Therefore, by arranging the hollow 122 on the grid line 121, when the external natural light irradiates the grid line 121, the light parallel to the extending direction of the hollow 122 can penetrate through the hollow 122 and enter the display panel 110 to be absorbed or scattered, compared with the existing grid line in solid line, the total reflection light intensity is reduced, the reflectivity of the grid line 121 can be reduced, thereby being beneficial to eliminating the shadow of the grid line 121 and improving the overall look and feel of the display module 100.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 3-6, grid lines 121 include a wire frame 1211 and at least one wire 1212 connected within wire frame 1211 to form one or more hollows 122. In the description of the present application, "plurality" means two or more.

For example, in the examples of fig. 3 to 6, hollows may be formed between two adjacent metal wires 1212 and between the outermost metal wire 1212 and the metal wire frame 1211. For another example, in the example of fig. 3, a metal wire 1212 may be included in the metal wire frame 1211, and two ends of the metal wire 1212 are connected to the metal wire frame 1211 to form the hollow 122a. Of course, one end of the metal wire 1212 may be connected to the metal wire frame 1211, and the other end may not be connected to the metal wire frame 1211, or may be hollowed out. That is, the connection manner of the wire frame 1211 and the wire 1212 therein and the number of wires 1212 are not limited in this embodiment, as long as the hollow-out portions can be formed.

Therefore, by arranging the metal wire frame and the metal wire, on one hand, hollows can be formed, so that the reflectivity of the whole grid line to ambient light is reduced; on the other hand, the wire frame may be used to connect the wires, and when the grid lines are energized with signals, electrical signal transmission between the wires may be achieved, and when the grid lines are plural, electrical signal transmission between the grid lines may be achieved.

In an alternative embodiment, referring to fig. 4-6, wire frame 1211 is a closed wire frame, and both ends of wire 1212 are connected to wire frame 1211.

Illustratively, the wire frame 1211 may be a closed rectangular wire frame. Wherein, two ends of the metal wire 1212 may be connected to two opposite sides of the metal wire frame 1211, respectively; or both ends of the wire 1212 may be connected to two adjacent sides of the wire frame 1211, respectively. Of course, the metal wire frame 1211 may be a closed circular wire frame, an oval wire frame, a polygonal wire frame, or the like, which is not limited thereto by the present application.

Thus, by the above arrangement, when the grid lines 121 are energized, the electric signal transmission between the metal wire frame 1211 and the metal wire 1212 is more reliable, and the structure is simple, which is beneficial to improving the production efficiency and the production yield of the grid lines 121.

In an example, the periphery of the whole grid line 121 may be the closed wire frame, and in this case, the whole grid line 121 is provided with the hollowed-out portions 122. Thus, the area of the hollow 122 is relatively large, and when the external ambient light irradiates the grid lines 121, the hollow 122 on the whole grid lines 121 can effectively reduce the reflectivity of the light, and further improve the overall look and feel of the display module 100.

Of course, the present application is not limited thereto, and in another example, a closed wire frame may be formed at the outer circumference of one portion of the grid lines 121, and another portion of the grid lines 121 may be a general solid line. Thus, the hollowed-out portions 122 are disposed on the portion of the grid lines 121, and when the external ambient light irradiates the grid lines 121, the hollowed-out portions 122 on the portion of the grid lines 121 can reduce the total reflected light intensity to a certain extent, so as to reduce the reflectivity. Moreover, the other portion of the grid lines 121 has higher structural strength, so that the damage of the grid lines 121 can be avoided, and the service life of the whole display module 100 can be prolonged.

In an alternative embodiment, referring to fig. 4-6, the metal lines 1212 may be a plurality of metal lines 1212 arranged in parallel at intervals. For example, in the examples of fig. 4-6, the plurality of grid lines 121 are parallel to each other, and two adjacent metal lines 1212 may be disposed at uniform intervals.

In this way, the plurality of grid lines 121 may be formed as a periodic grating pattern, and when the distance between two adjacent metal lines 1212 is far smaller than the wavelength of the incident light, the effect of the reflective polarizer may be achieved, and when the external ambient light is irradiated on the grid lines 121, the light parallel to the arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines 1212 is reflected, and the light perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines 1212 is absorbed, thereby reducing the reflectivity of the light to the greatest extent and improving the user experience.

It should be noted that "parallel" is to be understood broadly in the present application, and refers to that the plurality of metal lines 1212 are arranged substantially in parallel, for example, an included angle between any two of the plurality of metal lines 1212 may be 0 ° to 5 ° (inclusive), that is, the plurality of metal lines 1212 may be completely parallel or may have a certain included angle.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the plurality of metal lines 1212 may be arranged in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the grid lines 121. For example, in the example of fig. 4, a closed wire frame and three metal wires 1212 are shown, the three metal wires 1212 are arranged at intervals along the width direction of the grid lines 121, each metal wire 1212 extends along the length direction of the grid lines 121, two ends of each metal wire 1212 are respectively connected to two short sides of the closed wire frame, and at this time, a hollowed-out 122b is formed between two adjacent metal wires 1212 and between the metal wire 1212 and the long side of the closed wire frame.

When external ambient light irradiates the grid lines 121, light parallel to the length direction of the grid lines 121 can penetrate through the hollow-out parts 122 between two adjacent metal lines 1212 and between the metal lines 1212 and the metal line frames 1211, only light perpendicular to the length direction of the grid lines 121 can be reflected, so that the semi-transparent and semi-reflective effect can be achieved, and compared with the existing grid lines with the light reflectivity approaching 100%, the reflection rate of the ambient light can be reduced by about 50%, and shadows of the grid lines 121 can be effectively eliminated.

Three wires 1212 are shown in fig. 4 for illustrative purposes, but it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this disclosure that it is within the scope of the present disclosure to apply this disclosure to other numbers of wires 1212.

In another embodiment, referring to fig. 5, the arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines 1212 may be parallel to the length direction of the grid lines 121. For example, in the example of fig. 5, a closed wire frame and nine wires 1212 are shown, the nine wires 1212 are arranged at intervals along the length direction of the grid lines 121, each wire 1212 extends along the width direction of the grid lines 121, two ends of each wire 1212 are respectively connected to two long sides of the closed wire frame, and at this time, a hollowed-out 122c is formed between two adjacent wires 1212 and between the wire 1212 and the short sides of the closed wire frame.

Thus, when external ambient light irradiates on the grid lines 121, light rays perpendicular to the length direction of the grid lines 121 can penetrate through the hollow-out portions 122 between two adjacent metal lines 1212 and between the metal lines 1212 and the metal line frames 1211, and only light rays parallel to the length direction of the grid lines 121 can be reflected, so that a semi-transparent and semi-reflective effect can be achieved, reflectivity of the ambient light is reduced by about 50%, and shadows of the grid lines 121 are eliminated.

In yet another embodiment, referring to fig. 6, the plurality of metal lines 1212 are arranged at an angle α from the length direction of the grid lines 121, wherein 0 ° < α <90 °. Here, α may be understood as an acute angle between an arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines 1212 and a length direction of the metal lines 1212.

For example, in the example of fig. 6, the arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines 1212 is disposed obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the grid lines 121. Two ends of one part of the plurality of metal wires 1212 are respectively connected with two long sides of the metal wire frame 1211, two ends of the other part of the plurality of metal wires 1212 can be respectively connected with two adjacent sides of the metal wire frame 1211, and at the moment, hollow-out 122d is formed between the two adjacent metal wires 1212 and between the metal wire 1212 and the closed wire frame.

Therefore, when external ambient light irradiates on the grid lines 121, light rays perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines 1212 can penetrate through the hollow-out portions 122 between two adjacent metal lines 1212 and between the metal lines 1212 and the metal line frame 1211, only light rays parallel to the arrangement direction of the grid lines 121 can be reflected, the semi-transparent and semi-reflective effects can be achieved, the reflectivity of the ambient light is reduced by about 50%, and shadows of the grid lines 121 are eliminated.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1A and 1C, the touch functional layer 120 includes a first touch functional layer 123 and a second touch functional layer 124, and the shapes of the hollows 122 of the grid lines 121 of the first touch functional layer 123 and the grid lines 121 of the second touch functional layer 124 are the same.

Illustratively, the touch functional layer 120 may further include an insulating layer 130 and a protective layer 140. The first touch functional layer 123, the insulating layer 130, the second touch functional layer 124, and the protective layer 140 may be sequentially disposed along the thickness direction of the display panel 110. The first touch functional layer 123 and the second touch functional layer 124 may be connected through a via hole passing through the interlayer insulating layer 130. The protection layer 140 can protect the entire touch function layer 120 and achieve planarization.

When the electrodes 125 to be connected to each other are spaced apart, the electrodes 125 may be interconnected by bridging. For example, in the example of fig. 1C, the electrode 125a and the electrode 125b may be bridged by a bridge 126 to make an electrical connection between the electrode 125a and the electrode 125 b.

After the incident light passes through the second touch functional layer 124, the light parallel to the extending direction of the hollow 122 is transmitted, and the light perpendicular to the extending direction of the hollow 122 is reflected, and since the shapes of the hollow 122 of the grid lines 121 of the first touch functional layer 123 and the second touch functional layer 124 are the same, the light transmitted through the second touch functional layer 124 can also transmit through the first touch functional layer 123 and finally enter the display panel 110 to be absorbed or scattered.

Therefore, by making the shapes of the grid lines 121 of the first touch functional layer 123 and the hollows 122 of the grid lines 121 of the second touch functional layer 124 the same, it is ensured that light can pass through the hollows 122 of the grid lines 121 of the first touch functional layer 123 and the hollows 122 of the grid lines 121 of the second touch functional layer 124 at the same time, so that the reflectivity of the grid lines 121 can be effectively reduced.

In an alternative embodiment, grid lines 121 may be redundant traces that are unpowered. Wherein, the redundant routing refers to the grid lines of the redundant electrode as described above.

Therefore, compared with the existing grid lines, the hollow-out 122 arranged on the grid lines 121 can reduce the cross-sectional area of the grid lines 121 to a certain extent, so that the resistivity of the grid lines 121 can be increased, and the grid lines 121 are redundant wires, so that no power-on signal is needed in the grid lines 121, and the influence on the current transmission of the touch control functional layer 120 is avoided.

Other configurations of the display module 100 of the above embodiment may be applied to various technical solutions now and in the future known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail herein.

A display device according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present application includes the display module 100 according to the embodiment of the first aspect of the present application.

According to the display device of the embodiment of the application, by adopting the display module 100, the total reflection light intensity can be reduced, and the reflectivity of the grid lines 121 can be reduced, so that the shadows of the grid lines 121 can be eliminated, and the overall look and feel of the display device can be improved.

In the description of the present specification, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings are merely for convenience in describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present application.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature.

In the present application, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; the device can be mechanically connected, electrically connected and communicated; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communicated with the inside of two elements or the interaction relationship of the two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

In the present application, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, a first feature "above" or "below" a second feature may include both the first and second features being in direct contact, as well as the first and second features not being in direct contact but being in contact with each other through additional features therebetween. Moreover, a first feature being "above," "over" and "on" a second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. The first feature being "under", "below" and "beneath" the second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is less level than the second feature.

The above disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different structures of the application. The foregoing description of specific example components and arrangements has been presented to simplify the present disclosure. They are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to limit the application. Furthermore, the present application may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples, which are for the purpose of brevity and clarity, and which do not themselves indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and/or arrangements discussed.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art will readily recognize that various modifications and substitutions are possible within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the application is subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A display module, comprising:

a display panel;

the touch control functional layer is arranged on the light emitting side of the display panel, and is of a metal grid structure comprising at least one grid line, and the grid line comprises at least one hollowed-out part.

2. The display module of claim 1, wherein the grid lines comprise a wire frame and at least one wire connected to the wire frame to form the hollowed-out portion.

3. The display module of claim 2, wherein the wire frame is a closed wire frame, and both ends of the wire are connected to the wire frame.

4. The display module of claim 2, wherein the plurality of metal lines are arranged in parallel at intervals.

5. The display module of claim 4, wherein the plurality of metal lines are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a length direction of the grid lines.

6. The display module of claim 4, wherein the plurality of metal lines are arranged in a direction parallel to a length direction of the grid lines.

7. The display module of claim 4, wherein an angle α is formed between an arrangement direction of the plurality of metal lines and a length direction of the grid lines, wherein 0 ° < α <90 °.

8. The display module of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the touch functional layer comprises a first touch functional layer and a second touch functional layer, and the shape of the hollows of the grid lines of the first touch functional layer and the grid lines of the second touch functional layer is the same.

9. The display module of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the grid lines are redundant traces that are unpowered.

10. A display device comprising a display module according to any one of claims 1-9.