Display device and method for controlling the same

Abstract

The present invention discloses a display device and a method for controlling the display device. The display device comprises a light emitting module, an adjustment module and a control circuit. The light emitting module comprises a plurality of light emitting units. The adjustment module is arranged on the light emitting module and comprises an adjustment material layer. The control circuit is electrically connected to the adjustment module and is configured to switch the display device between a display mode and a projection mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device, and in particular to a display device with a display mode and a projection mode. Background Art

[0002] With the booming development of display devices, consumers have high expectations for the quality, function or price of such products. However, some difficulties may be encountered when using the display device. Therefore, a display device with improved quality is needed. Summary of the invention

[0003] An embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for controlling a display device. The method comprises receiving a switching signal; and switching the display device between a display mode and a projection mode according to the switching signal. The traveling direction of light of the display device in the projection mode is different from the traveling direction of light in the display mode.

[0004] Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a display device. The display device includes a light-emitting module, an adjustment module and a control circuit. The light-emitting module includes a plurality of light-emitting units. The adjustment module is disposed on the light-emitting module and includes an adjustment material layer. The control circuit is electrically connected to the adjustment module and is configured to switch the display device between a display mode and a projection mode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 A functional block diagram of a display according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0006] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 The structure of the display shown.

[0007] Figure 3 An environment is shown where a region of a surface is illuminated by a display when the display is operated in projection mode.

[0008] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the light paths of a display when the display is operated in projection mode.

[0009] Figure 5 and Figure 6 Schematic diagrams of the optical paths of the display when the display operates in the display mode are respectively shown.

[0010] Figure 7 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a lens module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 8 Shows Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the first electrode is shown.

[0012] Fig. 9A structural diagram of another display according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0013] Fig.10 A structural diagram of another display according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0014] Explanation of the reference numerals: 10, 10B-display device; 20-light-emitting module; 22-light-emitting unit; 24, 26, 26'-light; 30-adjustment module; 40, 40A-lens module; 42-lens; 43-first substrate; 44-first electrode; 45-second substrate; 46-second electrode; 50-adjustment layer; 51-first substrate; 52-second substrate; 53-first electrode; 54-second electrode; 55-adjustment material layer; 70-spacer component; 80-control circuit; 82-driving mechanism; 90-area; 100-surface; 441, 442, 443-first sub-electrode; d-distance; f-focal length; Sv-image signal; Sw-switching signal; V1, V2, V3-voltage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] In the document, the terms "approximately" and "substantially" generally refer to ±20% of the value, ±10% of the value, ±5% of the value, ±3% of the value, ±2% of the value, ±1% of the value, or ±0.5% of the value. The values ​​of the present invention are approximate values. When there is no specific description, the value includes the meaning of "about" or "substantially". In addition, when considering the deviation or fluctuation of the manufacturing process, the term "same" may also include the meaning of "approximately" or "substantially". The material of the layer, the thickness of the layer, the profile of the layer, the structure of the thin film transistor (TFT), the circuit layout, etc. are only exemplary descriptions, and the size or size or range is only for illustration, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, expressions such as "a first material layer disposed above / on / upper of the second material layer" may indicate that the first material layer and the second material layer are in direct contact, or may indicate a non-contact state with one or more intermediate layers between the first material layer and the second material layer. In the above case, the first material layer may not be in direct contact with the second material layer.

[0016] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a display device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2The structure of the display device 10 is shown. The display device 10 may be included in a computer, a television, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a public information display device or a car, but is not limited thereto. The display device 10 may include a light emitting module 20, an adjustment module 30 and a control circuit 80. The light emitting module 20 may include a plurality of light emitting units 22 for emitting light. In some embodiments, the light emitting unit 22 may be a pixel or a sub-pixel of the display device 10. The adjustment module 30 may include a lens module 40, and the lens module 40 has a plurality of lenses 42 for redirecting the light 24 emitted by the light emitting unit 22. At least one of the lenses 42 may correspond to a corresponding light emitting unit 22 and may be configured to redirect the light 24 emitted by the corresponding light emitting unit 22. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, at least one of the lenses 42 may correspond to a group of light emitting units 22 and may be configured to redirect the light 24 emitted from the light emitting units 22 of the group. The number of light emitting units 22 in a group of light emitting units 22 may be greater than 1, such as 2, 3, 4 or 6.

[0017] The light-emitting unit 22 may include liquid crystals (LC), organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), inorganic light-emitting diodes (inorganic light-emitting diodes), mini light-emitting diodes (mini light-emitting diodes; referred to as micro-LED), micro light-emitting diodes (microlight-emitting diodes; referred to as micro-LED), quantum dots (quantum dots, QD), quantum dot light-emitting diodes (quantum dot light-emitting diodes; referred to as QLED or QDLED), phosphors, fluorescent materials, other materials or combinations thereof, but are not limited thereto. The light-emitting unit 22 may be driven by a control circuit 80, and the control circuit 80 may include active components (active components, such as thin film transistors (TFT) or integrated circuits (IC)), passive components (passive components) or combinations thereof. In addition, the material of the semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor may include amorphous silicon, polycrystalline silicon such as low temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) or oxide semiconductors such as indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO). However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0018] The control circuit 80 can switch the operation mode of the display device 10 according to the switching signal Sw, and the display device 10 can operate in the display mode or the projection mode. Figure 2 and Figure 3 . Figure 3FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an area 90 of a surface 100 (e.g., a ground surface) illuminated by the display device 10 when the display device 10 is operated in a projection mode. In some embodiments, the display device 10 may be operated in a display mode different from the projection mode. The lens module 40 may redirect the light 24 emitted by the light emitting unit 22, and the traveling direction of the light 24 emitted by the light emitting unit 22 may be different from the traveling direction of the light 26 that has passed through the adjustment module 30. The light 24 is converted into the light 26 (e.g., the light 26) after being redirected by the adjustment module 30. Figure 4 as shown) or light 26' (as Figure 5 and 6 In some embodiments, the parallelism of light 26 in projection mode may be greater than the parallelism of light 26' in display mode. In projection mode, the traveling direction of light 26 may be different from the traveling direction of light 26' in display mode. Figure 3 As shown, the display device 10 operating in the projection mode can be used as a projector to project an image onto the area 90 on the surface 100, or can be used as an illumination device to illuminate the area 90. In addition, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, when the display device 10 operates in the display mode, the light 26' emitted from the adjustment module 30 can be divergent, and the image displayed by the display device 10 can be seen from various viewing angles. When the display device 10 operates in the display mode, the control circuit 80 can receive the image signal Sv and drive the light emitting unit 22 so that the light emitting unit 22 displays the image according to the image signal Sv. Similarly, when the display device 10 operates in the projection mode, the control circuit 80 can receive the image signal Sv and drive the light emitting unit 22 so that the light emitting unit 22 displays the image according to the image signal Sv, thereby projecting the image to the area 90.

[0019] In the embodiment of the present invention, the traveling direction of the light 26 can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the light emitting module 20 and the lens 42 . Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the optical path of the display device 10 when the display device 10 operates in the projection mode is shown. Figure 5 and Figure 6 Schematic diagrams of the optical path of the display device 10 when the display device 10 operates in the display mode are shown respectively. Figure 4 As shown, when the display device 10 is operated in the projection mode, the distance d between the light emitting unit 22 and the lens 42 (i.e., the distance d between the light emitting module 20 and the lens module 40) may be substantially equal to the focal length f of the lens 42, and the traveling directions of the light 26 having passed through the adjustment module 30 are substantially parallel to each other. In some embodiments, the distance d may be the minimum distance between the light emitting unit 22 and the corresponding lens 42, but is not limited thereto. Figures 4 to 6The focal length f in FIG. 1 is only for illustrative purposes, and the actual focal length f can be measured by an optical instrument. In this embodiment, the focal length f of the lens 42 can be substantially equal to a constant. In addition, when the display device 10 operates in the display mode, the distance d between the light emitting unit 22 and the lens 42 can be less than the focal length f of the lens 42 (e.g., Figure 5 ) or greater than the focal length f of lens 42 (as shown Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 1 , the light 26′ that has passed through the adjustment module 30 may be divergent. Therefore, by adjusting the distance d between the light emitting module 20 and the lens module 40, the traveling direction of the light 26 or 26′ that has passed through the adjustment module 30 may be adjusted. Figure 1 As shown, the display device 10 may further include a driving mechanism 82 for driving the lens module 40 to adjust the distance d between the light emitting unit 22 and the lens 42, thereby switching the display device 10 between the display mode and the projection mode.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present invention, an adjustment material layer may be provided in the adjustment module 30, and the traveling direction of the light 26 emitted from the adjustment module 30 may be adjusted by adjusting the refractive index of the adjustment material layer. In an embodiment of the present invention, the material of the adjustment material layer may include liquid crystal. The lens 42 of the lens module 40 may include a liquid crystal lens. Figure 7 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a lens module 40A according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 Shows Figure 740A is a top view of the first electrode 44 in the lens module. The lens module 40A may be an adjustable lens module, such as a liquid crystal lens module. Similar to the lens module 40, the lens module 40A can be used to redirect the light 24 emitted from the light emitting unit 22. The lens module 40A may include a first substrate 43 and a second substrate 45. The first substrate 43 and the second substrate 45 may be transparent and allow light to pass through. The adjustment material layer 55 may be disposed between the first substrate 43 and the second substrate 45. The adjustment material layer 55 may include a liquid crystal layer, but is not limited thereto. The lens module 40A may further include a plurality of first electrodes 44 and second electrodes 46. In the present embodiment, the first electrode 44 may be formed on the first substrate 43, and the second electrode 46 may be formed on the second substrate 45. In another embodiment, the first electrode 44 may be formed on the second substrate 45, and the second electrode 46 may be formed on the first substrate 43. The materials of the first electrode 44 and the second electrode 46 may include a transparent conductive material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO). The refractive index of the regulating material layer 55 can be adjusted by the control circuit 80, and the control circuit 80 can adjust the refractive index of the regulating material layer by adjusting the voltage difference between the first electrode 44 and the second electrode 46. In some embodiments, when a voltage is applied to the lens module 40A, the lens module 40A can work like a lens array (e.g., a lens module 40 having a lens 42) to redirect the light 24 emitted by the light-emitting unit 22, and the display device 10 can operate in a projection mode, but is not limited to this. In other embodiments, when the lens module 40A is not applied with a voltage, the display device 10 can operate in a projection mode, which depends on the type of the lens module 40A. In some embodiments, when the lens module 40A is not applied with a voltage, the lens module 40A will not redirect the light 24, and the display device 10 can operate in a display mode, but is not limited to this, and depends on the type of the lens module 40A.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first electrodes 44 may include first sub-electrodes 441 to 443, and the second electrode 46 may be a planar conductive layer and used as a common electrode to which a common voltage (e.g., a ground voltage) is applied, but is not limited thereto. Different voltages V1, V2, and V3 may be applied to the first sub-electrode 441, the first sub-electrode 442, and the first sub-electrode 443, and the voltages V1, V2, and V3 are different from the common voltage applied to the second electrode 46. In an embodiment of the present invention, the voltage V1 is less than the voltages V2 and V3, and the voltage V2 is less than the voltage V3. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the applied voltages V1, V2, and V3 may be adjusted based on the design of the lens module 40A. In the present embodiment, at least one of the first electrodes 44 may correspond to one light emitting unit 22. In another embodiment, at least one of the first electrodes 44 may correspond to a group of light emitting units 22 and be configured to redirect the light 24 emitted by the group of light emitting units 22. The number of the light emitting units 22 in the group of light emitting units 22 may be greater than 1, for example, 2, 3, 4 or 6. In this embodiment, the first electrode 44, the second electrode 46 and the adjustment material layer 55 disposed between the first electrode 44 and the second electrode 46 may operate together, and as Figure 1 and 2 One of the lenses 42 of the adjustment module 30 is shown.

[0022] Fig. 9The structural diagram of a display device 10B according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The display device 10B is similar to the display device 10, and the main difference between the two display devices 10 and 10B is that the display device 10B further includes an adjustment layer 50. The adjustment layer 50 can be disposed between the light-emitting module 20 and the lens module 40. The adjustment layer 50 can include a first substrate 51, a second substrate 52, a first electrode 53, a second electrode 54, and an adjustment material layer 55. The first substrate 51 can be disposed between the light-emitting module 20 and the adjustment material layer 55, and the second substrate 52 can be disposed between the adjustment material layer 55 and the lens module 40. The first electrode 53 and the second electrode 54 can be disposed between the first substrate 51 and the second substrate 52. For example, the first electrode 53 can be disposed on the first substrate 51, and the second electrode 54 can be disposed on the second substrate 52. The refractive index of the adjustment material layer 55 can be adjusted by adjusting the voltage difference between the first electrode 53 and the second electrode 54. In some embodiments, at least one of the first electrode 53 and the second electrode 54 can be patterned into a plurality of regions (not shown), and these regions can be individually controlled (e.g., applying different voltages) to have different properties. Assume that when there is no voltage difference between the first substrate 51 and the second substrate 52, the refractive index of the adjustment material layer 55 is n1; and when there is a voltage difference between the first substrate 51 and the second substrate 52, the refractive index of the adjustment material layer 55 is n2. The product of the distance d between the light-emitting module 20 and the lens 42 and the refractive index n1 is substantially equal to the focal length f of the lens 42 (i.e., n1×d = f), and the product of the distance d between the light-emitting module 20 and the lens 42 and the refractive index n2 is substantially greater than or less than the focal length f of the lens 42 (i.e., n2×d>f or n2×d<f). Therefore, by adjusting the voltage difference between the first substrate 51 and the second substrate 52, the display device 10B will switch between a display mode (i.e., n2×d>f or n2×d<f) and a projection mode (i.e., n1×d = f). In this embodiment, the distance d between the light-emitting module 20 and the lens 42 can be substantially constant. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in another embodiment, both the distance d between the light-emitting module 20 and the lens 42 and the voltage difference between the first substrate 51 and the second substrate 52 are adjustable.

[0023] Fig.10 The structural diagram of another display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, the adjustment module 30 of the display device can further include a plurality of spacer components 70, which are disposed between the light-emitting module 20 and the lens module 40, and at least one of the spacer components 70 can be disposed between two adjacent light-emitting units 22. Due to the presence of the spacer components 70, the degree of mixing of the light emitted from one light-emitting unit 22 and the light emitted from an adjacent light-emitting unit 22 can be reduced. Therefore, the image quality of the display can be improved.

[0024] In summary, the method for controlling a display can switch a display device between a display mode and a projection mode by adjusting the distance between a light emitting module and a lens, or by adjusting the refractive index of an adjustment layer disposed in an adjustment module. In the display mode, the display device can display an image. In the projection mode, the display device can be used as a projector or a lighting device.

[0025] The above description is only an embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent substitution, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention also includes the combination of the scope of each claim and the embodiments.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a display device, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: receiving a switching signal; and Switching the display device between a display mode and a projection mode according to the switching signal, wherein the display device comprises a light emitting module, a lens module and an adjustment layer, the lens module is arranged on the light emitting module, the adjustment layer is arranged between the light emitting module and the lens module, the adjustment layer comprises a first electrode, a second electrode and an adjustment material layer, the adjustment material layer is arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the adjustment material layer comprises liquid crystal; Wherein, the light emitting module comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes, the lens module comprises a plurality of lenses, the plurality of light emitting diodes comprises a first light emitting diode and a second light emitting diode arranged adjacently, the plurality of lenses comprises a first lens and a second lens arranged adjacently, the first lens corresponds to the first light emitting diode, and the second lens corresponds to the second light emitting diode; and The traveling direction of the light of the display device in the projection mode is different from the traveling direction of the light in the display mode.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of switching the display device between the display mode and the projection mode includes adjusting the distance between the light emitting module and the plurality of lenses.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of switching the display device between the display mode and the projection mode includes adjusting the refractive index of the accommodation material layer.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first lens is configured to redirect light emitted from the first light emitting diode, and the second lens is configured to redirect light emitted from the second light emitting diode.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of switching the display device between the display mode and the projection mode includes adjusting a voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode.

6. A display device, comprising: A light emitting module, comprising a plurality of light emitting diodes, wherein the plurality of light emitting diodes comprises a first light emitting diode and a second light emitting diode arranged adjacent to each other; A lens module is disposed on the light emitting module and includes a plurality of lenses, wherein the plurality of lenses include a first lens and a second lens disposed adjacent to each other, wherein the first lens corresponds to the first light emitting diode, and the second lens corresponds to the second light emitting diode; An adjustment layer is disposed between the light emitting module and the lens module, and comprises a first electrode, a second electrode and an adjustment material layer, wherein the adjustment material layer is disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the adjustment material layer comprises liquid crystal; as well as a control circuit configured to switch the display device between a display mode and a projection mode according to a switching signal; The traveling direction of the light of the display device in the projection mode is different from the traveling direction of the light in the display mode.

7. The display device according to claim 6, wherein: The control circuit switches the display device between the display mode and the projection mode by adjusting the refractive index of the adjustment material layer.

8. The display device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The control circuit adjusts the refractive index of the adjustment material layer by adjusting the voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode.

9. The display device according to claim 6, wherein: The display device further comprises a plurality of spacer components arranged between the light emitting module and the lens module, and at least one spacer component of the plurality of spacer components is arranged between the first light emitting diode and the second light emitting diode.

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