Touch display screen and electronic device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a touch display screen and an electronic device, comprising: a display panel, the display panel comprising a plurality of protruding support columns and a cathode layer, the cathode layer at least partially covering the support columns; a touch panel, the touch panel being arranged on one side of the display panel, the touch panel comprising touch electrodes; the orthographic projection position of the touch electrodes on the touch panel being staggered with the orthographic projection position of the support columns on the touch panel. The present invention can effectively avoid the noise caused by the different distances between the touch electrodes above the support column position and the touch electrodes above the non-support column position and the OLED cathode layer, resulting in different corresponding parasitic capacitances; at the same time, it can avoid the degradation of touch sensitivity and the overall reporting rate of the touch screen due to large parasitic capacitances.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of displays, and in particular, to a touch display screen and an electronic device including the touch display screen. Background Art

[0002] Flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays have the advantages of active light emission, large viewing angle, wide color gamut, high brightness, fast response speed, low power consumption, and bendability in structure, and are becoming more and more popular in the market, gradually replacing LCD as the mainstream of display technology.

[0003] Flexible OLEDs are divided into two types: top-emitting type and bottom-emitting type according to the different light-emitting positions. Currently, the top-emitting type is the mainstream of OLED mass production technology. As Figure 1 shown, the structure of the existing touch display screen includes, from bottom to top, a thin-film transistor array substrate 100, an organic light-emitting layer 200, a thin-film encapsulation layer 300, and a touch electrode layer 400 located above the thin-film encapsulation layer 300. The organic light-emitting layer 200 further includes an anode layer 201, a pixel definition layer 202, an electroluminescent layer 203, and a cathode layer 204. Support pillars 205 (Photo Spacer, PS) are dispersedly arranged above the pixel definition layer according to a certain rule, forming small protrusions, which are mainly used to ensure that when the array substrate contacts the high-precision metal mask during EL evaporation, only the protruded support pillars on the surface of the array substrate contact the metal mask, thereby effectively preventing the metal lines on the array substrate from being scratched by the metal mask.

[0004] Since the cathode layer of the OLED is deposited on the upper surface of the pixel definition layer of the array substrate as a whole, the distance D1 between the cathode layer at the position of the support pillar and the touch electrode located on the surface of the thin-film encapsulation layer is closer than the distance D2 between the cathode on the upper surface of the pixel definition layer in the surrounding area and the touch electrode located on the surface of the thin-film encapsulation layer, resulting in a larger parasitic capacitance of the touch electrode directly above the support pillar position, thus affecting the touch sensitivity and other performances of this area; at the same time, if the distances between the electrodes in different areas of the touch electrode layer and the OLED cathode are different, the parasitic capacitances between different areas of the touch electrode and the OLED cathode will be different, resulting in different signals of the OLED display coupled to the touch electrode, thus generating noise that affects the touch performance.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to propose a technical solution to avoid the problem of different parasitic capacitances between the cathode and the touch electrode at different positions, thereby avoiding the reduction of touch sensitivity and the influence of noise. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present application is to provide a touch display screen and an electronic device to avoid the problem of excessive local parasitic capacitance and different parasitic capacitances formed between a touch electrode and a cathode at different positions.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a touch display screen, comprising:

[0008] A display panel, the display panel comprising a plurality of protruding support pillars and a cathode layer, the cathode layer at least partially covering the support pillars; a touch panel, the touch panel being arranged on one side of the display panel, the touch panel comprising touch electrodes; the orthographic projection position of the touch electrodes on the touch panel is staggered with the orthographic projection position of the support pillars on the touch panel.

[0009] Particularly, the touch panel comprises a floating electrode, the floating electrode is electrically insulated from the touch electrode, and the orthographic projection positions of the floating electrode and the supporting pillar on the touch panel coincide with each other.

[0010] Particularly, the touch control electrode and the floating electrode are arranged in the same layer and are formed by patterning the same metal layer, and the floating electrode is disconnected from the touch control electrodes adjacent to the surrounding electrodes.

[0011] Particularly, the floating electrode is a first metal pattern including at least one metal line segment, or the floating electrode is a second metal pattern including a plurality of metal grids.

[0012] Particularly, the touch electrodes include electrically insulated driving electrodes and sensing electrodes; the floating electrodes are arranged at the boundary regions between the driving electrodes and the sensing electrodes, and / or the floating electrodes are arranged inside the driving electrodes and / or the sensing electrodes.

[0013] Particularly, the floating electrode located in the boundary region between the driving electrode and the sensing electrode is the first metal pattern, and the floating electrode located inside the driving electrode and / or the sensing electrode is the second metal pattern.

[0014] Particularly, the floating electrode located inside the driving electrode or the sensing electrode is a plurality of second metal patterns having the same size and arranged in an array.

[0015] Particularly, the display panel is provided with a plurality of light-emitting sub-pixels, the support column is arranged in a spacing region between adjacent light-emitting sub-pixels, and the touch electrode is a metal grid formed along the spacing region between adjacent light-emitting sub-pixels.

[0016] Particularly, the metal grid is a linear structure or a curved structure.

[0017] The present invention also provides an electronic device, including the touch display screen according to any one of the above.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The design scheme of the present invention can effectively avoid the noise caused by different signals of the lower display coupled to the touch electrodes due to different distances between the touch electrodes above the support column position and the touch electrodes above the non-support column position and the OLED cathode layer, resulting in different parasitic capacitances; at the same time, it avoids the deterioration of the touch sensitivity and other performances in the area directly above the support column position due to the relatively small distance between the OLED cathode layer covering the support column position and the touch electrode on the surface of the thin film encapsulation layer, resulting in a relatively large parasitic capacitance of the touch electrode directly above the support column position, and further affects the overall reporting rate of the touch display screen. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a structural cross-sectional view of a touch display screen in the prior art;

[0021] Figure 2 It is a structural cross-sectional view of the touch display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 It is a plan view of the touch electrode layer in the touch display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 It is another plan view of the touch electrode layer in the touch display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 It is yet another plan view of the touch electrode layer in the touch display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 It is a plan view of the touch electrode unit in the touch display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 It is a structural cross-sectional view of the touch electrode layer in the touch display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Next, in combination with the embodiments of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] In the description of the present invention, 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", etc. indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation to the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0029] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "mounted", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that can communicate with each other; it may be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it may be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0030] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the first feature being "above" or "below" the second feature may include the direct contact between the first and second features, or may include the situation where the first and second features are not in direct contact but in contact through other features therebetween. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over", and "on" the second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicating that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature being "below", "beneath", and "under" the second feature includes the first feature being directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicating that the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than that of the second feature.

[0031] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different structures of the present invention. To simplify the disclosure of the present invention, components and arrangements of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and / or reference letters in different examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity and does not itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or arrangements discussed. In addition, the present invention provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but those of ordinary skill in the art can be aware of the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

[0032] As Figure 2 shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a touch display screen 10, which includes a display panel and a touch panel. The display panel sequentially includes a thin film transistor array substrate 100, an organic light emitting layer 200, and a thin film encapsulation layer 300 from bottom to top. The organic light emitting layer 200 further includes an anode layer 201, a pixel definition layer 202, an electroluminescent layer 203, a cathode layer 204, and a plurality of support columns 205. The touch panel 400 is disposed on one side of the thin film encapsulation layer 300 of the display panel and overlaps with the display panel. The touch panel 400 includes an insulating layer 401 and a touch electrode layer 402. The insulating layer 401 is located between the thin film encapsulation layer 300 and the touch electrode layer 402.

[0033] The support columns 205 are dispersedly arranged on the upper surface of the pixel definition layer 202 according to a certain rule to form small protrusions, and the cathode layer 204 at least partially covers the upper surface of the support columns 205.

[0034] The touch electrode layer 402 includes touch electrodes. The touch electrodes include a driving electrode 4021 and a sensing electrode 4022. The driving electrode 4021 and the sensing electrode 4022 are electrically insulated. The orthographic projection position of the touch electrodes on the touch panel 400 is staggered from the orthographic projection position of the support columns 205 on the touch panel 400. As Figure 2 shown, the driving electrode 4021 and the sensing electrode 4022 in the touch electrode layer are arranged in an area bypassing the orthographic projection position of the support columns 205 on the touch panel 400. Since the touch electrode layer 402 is located on the touch panel 400, the orthographic projection position of the support columns 205 on the touch panel refers to the orthographic projection position on the touch electrode layer of the touch panel. In this way, since there is no touch electrode arranged directly above the support columns, a large parasitic capacitance will not be generated between the cathode at the position of the support columns and the touch electrodes, avoiding deterioration of performance such as the touch sensitivity in this area, and thus affecting the overall reporting rate of the touch display screen.

[0035] In some embodiments, as Figure 2As shown, the touch panel 400 of the present invention further includes a floating electrode 4023, which is electrically insulated from the driving electrode 4021 and the sensing electrode 4022. The position of the floating electrode 4023 in the touch panel coincides with the orthographic projection position of the support column 205 in the touch panel 400. Since the floating electrode is not an effective touch electrode and is not connected to any peripheral metal lines or effective touch electrodes, it will not increase the parasitic capacitance of the touch electrodes and will not generate noise that affects touch.

[0036] In some embodiments, as Figure 2 shown, the driving electrode 4021, the sensing electrode 4022, and the floating electrode 4023 are arranged on the same layer and are formed by patterning the same metal layer. The floating electrode is disconnected from the adjacent touch electrodes around it.

[0037] In the touch display screen of the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of light-emitting sub-pixels are arranged in an array on the pixel definition layer 202. As Figure 2-3 shown, the support column 205 is arranged in the gap area corresponding to the adjacent light-emitting sub-pixels 101 in the pixel definition layer 202 to avoid the light-emitting sub-pixels 101.

[0038] The touch electrode is a metal mesh structure. As Figure 3-4 shown, a gap area is formed between adjacent light-emitting sub-pixels 101. The metal mesh is formed by metal wires running along the gap area, so that the light-emitting sub-pixels 101 are located at the mesh holes of the metal mesh. The mesh shape of the metal mesh will be adaptively set according to the shape of the light-emitting sub-pixels. As Figure 3 shown, in some embodiments, when the light-emitting sub-pixels are regular shapes such as rectangles, squares, or circles, the mesh shape of the metal mesh can be set as a linear structure, such as a regular square or rhombus structure, which can simplify the layout of the metal mesh. In other embodiments, as Figure 4 shown, when the shape of the sub-pixel is an ellipse or other curved arc structure, the mesh shape of the metal mesh can also be set as a corresponding curved structure, so that the distance between the metal wires of the mesh and the adjacent sub-pixels is approximately equal, which is beneficial to ensuring the uniformity of the emitted light.

[0039] In some embodiments, the floating electrode can be set to different metal patterns, and the metal pattern is disconnected from the adjacent touch electrodes around it through a notch.

[0040] The present invention Figure 3-5 describes in detail the specific embodiments of the floating electrode pattern. As Figure 3As shown, the floating electrode 4023 is set as a first metal pattern. The first metal pattern includes at least one metal line segment, and the metal line segment is a part of a metal grid, specifically referring to a metal pattern formed by partial line segments that cannot form a complete metal grid. In this embodiment, it is preferred that the first metal pattern is two cross - shaped metal line segments. The metal line segments are disconnected from the adjacent touch electrode patterns around by gaps, keeping the floating electrode in an electrically isolated state. The orthographic projection position of the support pillar 205 on the touch panel coincides with the position where the metal line segments of the metal pattern are located. The coincidence point can be the intersection point of the metal line segments or other positions on the metal line segments. In this embodiment, it is preferred that the coincidence point between the first metal pattern and the orthographic projection position of the support pillar on the touch electrode layer is at the intersection point. In some other embodiments, as Figure 4 shown, when the metal grid is a curved structure, the first metal pattern constituting the floating electrode 4023 is multiple irregular metal line segments. The first metal pattern is also disconnected from the adjacent touch electrode patterns around by gaps. The orthographic projection position of the support pillar 205 in the touch electrode layer of the touch panel coincides with the position where the metal line segments of the first metal pattern are located.

[0041] As Figure 5 shown, the floating electrode 4023 can be set as a second metal pattern. The second metal pattern includes multiple complete metal grids. The outer shape of the second metal pattern can be a rhombus, a square, a triangle, a circle or any other shape. The single metal grid in the second metal pattern can be a linear structure as Figure 5 shown, or can be the curved structure described above. The internal metal grids of the floating electrode are interconnected, and at the same time are disconnected from the adjacent touch electrodes around by gaps, ensuring electrical insulation of the floating electrode.

[0042] The floating electrode can be disposed at the junction between the driving electrode and the sensing electrode to isolate the driving electrode from the sensing electrode. It can also be disposed inside the driving electrode and / or the sensing electrode, or simultaneously disposed at the junction between the driving electrode and the sensing electrode and inside the driving electrode and the sensing electrode. In some embodiments, the floating electrode disposed at the junction between the driving electrode and the sensing electrode is the first metal pattern, and the floating electrode disposed inside the driving electrode or the sensing electrode is the second metal pattern. Since the metal line segments of the first metal pattern are partial patterns that cannot form a complete metal grid and usually occupy a relatively small area, arranging them between the driving electrode and the sensing electrode can provide good insulation. The second metal pattern includes a plurality of complete metal grids, and the area it occupies is usually larger than that of the first metal pattern. Arranging it inside the touch electrode can effectively reduce the parasitic capacitance and improve the touch accuracy. Further, the second metal pattern can adjust the number of metal grids as needed to adjust the area size. For example, the floating electrode inside the touch electrode can be set as a single large-area second metal pattern or multiple identical, small-area and independent second metal patterns.

[0043] As Figure 6 shown, the touch electrode is formed by an array of several touch electrode units. The driving electrode 4021 and the sensing electrode 4022 are arranged alternately to form a rhombus touch electrode unit. Floating electrodes 4023 are respectively disposed inside the driving electrode 4021 and the sensing electrode 4022 within the rhombus touch unit. The floating electrodes 4023 are a plurality of second metal patterns of the same size arranged in an array. The second metal pattern is rhombus-shaped. Each second metal pattern is disconnected from the surrounding adjacent touch electrode patterns and is not electrically connected to any external metal lines or electrodes. The orthographic projection position of the support column 205 on the touch panel coincides with the position where the metal lines of the second metal pattern forming the rhombus are located.

[0044] This can enable the uniform arrangement of the touch electrodes, making the electric field distribution more uniform, minimizing the difference in parasitic capacitance generated between different positions, and avoiding the generation of noise that affects touch. At the same time, it ensures that there are no blank areas without metal wiring in the touch electrode layer, guaranteeing the display effect of the display panel.

[0045] Within a touch unit, the touch electrodes can be connected in a metal bridge manner, such as Figure 7As shown, at the position where the driving electrode 4021 intersects with the sensing electrode 4022, the driving electrode 4021 is disconnected in the touch electrode layer 402 while the sensing electrode 4022 is directly connected. The disconnected driving electrodes 4021 are connected through a connection bridge 404, and the connection bridge 404 is disposed in the insulating layer 401 below the touch electrode layer 402. The connection bridge 404 can be a double-bridge structure. In some other embodiments, it can also be that the sensing electrodes are separated and disconnected by the driving electrodes in the touch electrode layer and are connected through a connection bridge in the insulating layer.

[0046] An embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic device, and the electronic device includes the above-mentioned touch display screen. The electronic device is a portable mobile terminal, and specifically may include a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a wearable device, etc. The above-mentioned electronic devices are only examples, not exhaustive, and include but are not limited to the above-mentioned electronic devices.

[0047] The above has introduced in detail a touch display screen and an electronic device including the touch display screen provided by the embodiments of the present invention. Specific examples are used in this article to elaborate on the principle and implementation manner of the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the technical solution and its core idea of the present invention; those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A touch display screen, characterized in that, Comprising: A display panel, the display panel including a plurality of protruding support pillars and a cathode layer, the cathode layer at least partially covering the support pillars; A touch panel, the touch panel being disposed on one side of the display panel, the touch panel including touch electrodes; the orthographic projection positions of the touch electrodes on the touch panel are arranged staggeredly with respect to the orthographic projection positions of the support pillars on the touch panel; Wherein, the touch electrodes include a driving electrode and a sensing electrode that are electrically insulated from each other, the touch panel further includes a floating electrode, the floating electrode being electrically insulated from the touch electrodes; at least a part of the floating electrode is disposed inside the driving electrode and / or the sensing electrode, and the floating electrodes located inside the driving electrode or the sensing electrode are a plurality of second metal patterns of the same size and arranged in an array; the second metal pattern includes a plurality of complete metal grids, a plurality of light-emitting sub-pixels are provided on the display panel, and the outer shape of the metal grid is the same as the outer shape of the light-emitting sub-pixel; the orthographic projection position of the floating electrode on the touch panel coincides with the orthographic projection position of the support pillar, the touch electrode is a metal grid structure, and the floating electrode is disconnected from the adjacent touch electrodes around it through a notch.

2. The touch display screen according to claim 1, wherein, The touch electrodes and the floating electrode are disposed in the same layer and are patterned via the same metal layer.

3. The touch display screen according to claim 2, wherein The floating electrode further includes a first metal pattern of at least one metal line segment.

4. The touch display screen according to claim 3, wherein The floating electrode is further disposed in the junction region between the driving electrode and the sensing electrode.

5. The touch display screen according to claim 4, wherein, The floating electrode located in the junction region between the driving electrode and the sensing electrode is the first metal pattern.

6. The touch display screen according to claim 2, characterized in that, The support pillars are arranged in the spaced regions between adjacent light-emitting sub-pixels, and the touch electrodes are metal grids formed by routing along the spaced regions between adjacent light-emitting sub-pixels.

7. The touch display screen according to claim 3 or 6, characterized in that, The metal grid is a linear structure or a curved structure.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that, A touch display screen comprising the touch display screen according to any one of claims 1-7.

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