Display modules and electronic devices

Abstract

The present application discloses a display module and an electronic device, belonging to the field of communication technology. The display module includes a substrate and a touch layer and an antenna arranged on the same side of the substrate, wherein: the touch layer includes a plurality of transverse electrodes and longitudinal electrodes, the transverse electrodes and the longitudinal electrodes are mutually crossed and insulated; the antenna includes: an antenna pattern and a ground pattern, the antenna pattern is arranged in a different layer from the touch layer, the ground pattern is reused by a target electrode, and the target electrode is a transverse electrode and / or a longitudinal electrode whose orthographic projection on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate. In an embodiment of the present application, by reusing part of the electrodes of the touch layer as the ground wire of the antenna, while simplifying the design and manufacturing process, it does not affect the touch, and the layout design of the large antenna can be realized in multiple areas at the same time, which is conducive to improving the integration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a display module and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] At present, high-frequency communication antennas are usually millimeter antennas, which can be integrated on the screen. In the existing design scheme, a separate antenna layer is generally made and set on the upper surface of the screen. In addition, in order to improve the antenna effect, a ground layer is also required on the back of the antenna. Such a design will increase the thickness of the display module by two layers, which is not conducive to the thinness of the display module. In addition, the additional two-layer design will increase the manufacturing process of the display module, which is more expensive. When the antenna size is large, it will also affect the touch performance. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a display module and an electronic device that can solve the problems in the prior art of greatly increased thickness of the screen antenna, increased manufacturing process costs, and affected touch performance.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, this application is implemented as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a display module, the display module comprising a substrate, and a touch layer and an antenna disposed on the same side of the substrate, wherein:

[0006] The touch control layer includes a plurality of transverse electrodes and longitudinal electrodes, wherein the transverse electrodes and the longitudinal electrodes are intersected and insulated from each other;

[0007] The antenna includes: an antenna pattern and a ground pattern, the antenna pattern and the touch layer are arranged in different layers, the ground pattern is reused by a target electrode, and the target electrode is a horizontal electrode and / or a vertical electrode whose orthographic projection on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate.

[0008] Optionally, the antenna pattern is provided with a notch, and the notch is arranged in one-to-one correspondence with a target intersection position of the transverse electrode and the longitudinal electrode, and the target intersection position is an intersection position of the transverse electrode and the longitudinal electrode located within the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the touch layer.

[0009] Optionally, the notch is in an X-shape corresponding to the target intersection portion.

[0010] Optionally, also include:

[0011] A radio frequency module and a first flexible circuit board, wherein the first flexible circuit board is bent along the side of the substrate to a surface of the substrate away from the touch layer, and the antenna pattern is connected to the radio frequency module through the first flexible circuit board.

[0012] Optional,

[0013] The lateral electrode whose orthographic projection on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate comprises a first lateral electrode and a second lateral electrode located in the same row, the first lateral electrode and the second lateral electrode being separated from each other, wherein the orthographic projection of the first lateral electrode on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate;

[0014] The longitudinal electrode whose orthographic projection on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate includes a first longitudinal electrode and a second longitudinal electrode located in the same column, with a partition between the first longitudinal electrode and the second longitudinal electrode, wherein the orthographic projection of the first longitudinal electrode on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate.

[0015] Optionally, the touch layer is made of a transparent conductive material.

[0016] Optionally, the antenna pattern is a grid structure.

[0017] Optionally, the antenna pattern is made of metal material or metal oxide material.

[0018] Optionally, the number of the antennas is at least two.

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, which includes the display module as described in the first aspect.

[0020] In the embodiment of the present application, part of the electrodes of the touch layer are reused as the ground wire of the antenna, which simplifies the design and manufacturing process without affecting the touch control. The layout design of the large antenna can be realized in multiple areas at the same time, which is conducive to improving the integration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a screen antenna in the prior art;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Enlarged schematic diagram of the middle C area;

[0024] Figure 4A schematic diagram of a lateral electrode provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a longitudinal electrode provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 6 for Figure 3 A schematic cross-sectional view along the A-A' section line;

[0027] Figure 7 for Figure 3 A schematic cross-sectional view along the B-B' section line;

[0028] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an antenna pattern provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0030] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0031] The display module and the electronic device provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments and their application scenarios in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0032] At present, 5G communication technology is becoming more and more popular, and 5G communication technology has put forward more requirements for terminal antennas. The transmission rate of terminal wireless communication is getting higher and higher, and the communication capacity is getting larger and larger, which leads to higher and higher carrier frequencies and greater antenna signal loss. Array antennas are needed to reduce the loss. Array antennas need to integrate more and more antennas in a limited space. The internal space of the terminal is limited, and more antennas need to be integrated in a limited space than before. The higher the frequency band, the faster the communication speed and the shorter the antenna length. Therefore, millimeter wave communication has become the next hot spot for ultra-fast communication. For example, the antenna length of the 30GHz band is about 2.5mm, and the antenna length of the 60GHz band is about 1.25mm.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of a screen antenna in the prior art. In some existing solutions, the antenna is integrated on the display screen to save the space occupied by the antenna, such as Figure 1 As shown, the existing high-frequency communication antenna is a millimeter wave antenna, which is integrated on the display screen. Specifically, the display lower layer 105, the display upper layer 104, and the touch screen layer 108 are stacked in sequence, and the antenna is set in the upper peripheral area of ​​the touch screen layer 108. In order to improve the antenna effect, the antenna needs to include an antenna layer 106 and a ground layer 107. The antenna layer 106 and the ground layer 107 are insulated, and the ground layer 107 is used to reflect the signal wave; above the antenna layer 106 of the antenna are the polarizer 103 and the cover plate 101, and the polarizer 103 and the cover plate 101 are bonded and fixed by optical glue 102. However, such a design will increase the thickness of the display module by at least two layers, which is not conducive to the thinness of the display module, and the additional two-layer design will increase the manufacturing process of the display module, which is costly and prone to product defects.

[0034] Therefore, please refer to Figures 2 to 7 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 3 for Figure 2 The enlarged schematic diagram of the C area in the middle. Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a lateral electrode provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a longitudinal electrode provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 6 for Figure 3 The cross-sectional diagram along the A-A' section line is shown in Fig. Figure 7 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the cross section along the B-B' section line. Figures 2 to 7As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a display module, which includes a substrate 300, a touch layer and at least one antenna, wherein the touch layer and the antenna are arranged on the same side of the substrate 300, the touch layer includes a plurality of transverse electrodes 301 and a plurality of longitudinal electrodes 302, and the transverse electrodes 301 and the longitudinal electrodes 302 are intersected and insulated from each other; and the antenna may include an antenna pattern 201 and a ground pattern, the antenna pattern 201 and the touch layer are arranged in different layers, and the two are insulated from each other, and the ground pattern is reused by the target electrode of the touch layer, and the target electrode is a transverse electrode and / or a longitudinal electrode whose orthographic projection on the substrate 300 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern 201 on the substrate 300, that is, the target electrode of the touch layer serves as a touch electrode to realize the touch function, and also serves as a ground pattern of the antenna to reflect the signal wave to realize the antenna function. By reusing the target electrodes of the touch layer, the number of layers of the display module can be effectively reduced, the thinness of the display module can be improved, the space occupied by the antenna can be reduced, and the original touch function will not be affected. At the same time, there is no need to make a ground pattern again, which can reduce the manufacturing process of the display module and save costs. In addition, the design position and size of the antenna are not restricted, which facilitates the design of a large antenna.

[0035] like Figure 2 As shown, in the embodiment of the present application, there is at least one antenna in the display module. As the carrier frequency becomes higher and higher, the loss of the antenna signal becomes larger and larger, and an array antenna is needed to reduce the loss. At the same time, since the ground pattern of the antenna is reused by the target electrode of the touch layer, in order to improve the performance of the antenna and ensure that the touch performance of the area where the reused target electrode is located is not affected, the display module may include at least two antennas, at least two antennas are distributed at different positions of the touch layer, and at least two antennas together constitute an array antenna to improve the antenna performance. When the target electrode in the area where an antenna is located is occupied by touch, it can be switched to other untouched antennas to achieve the simultaneous realization of antenna function and touch function. The antenna pattern 201 in the embodiment of the present application takes a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna as an example.

[0036] like Figures 3 to 5 As shown, in the embodiment of the present application, the touch layer includes a plurality of transverse electrodes 301 and a plurality of longitudinal electrodes 302, and the plurality of transverse electrodes 301 and the plurality of longitudinal electrodes 302 are arranged in a determinant-column arrangement, and the transverse electrodes 301 and the longitudinal electrodes 302 are used to determine the touch position; illustratively, the plurality of transverse electrodes 301 are arranged in a plurality of rows, and the plurality of longitudinal electrodes 302 are arranged in a plurality of columns, and the rows and columns are arranged in a staggered manner. In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna pattern 201 is disposed above the touch layer.

[0037] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the horizontal electrode 301 whose orthographic projection on the substrate 300 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern 201 on the substrate 300 includes a first horizontal electrode 3011 and a second horizontal electrode 3012 located in the same row, and the first horizontal electrode 3011 and the second horizontal electrode 3012 are separated, wherein the orthographic projection of the first horizontal electrode 3011 on the substrate 300 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern 201 on the substrate 300; that is, in the horizontal electrode 301 multiplexed as the ground line pattern, the portion multiplexed as the ground line pattern is only a portion of the horizontal electrode 301 Therefore, in order to ensure the touch performance, the horizontal electrode 301 is divided into two parts, namely the first horizontal electrode 3011 and the second horizontal electrode 3012. The first horizontal electrode 3011 and the second horizontal electrode 3012 are connected to the edge wiring at one end to lead out the touch signal, so that the two parts are controlled separately, so that only the first horizontal electrode 3011 is used as both the touch electrode and the ground pattern of the antenna, while the second horizontal electrode 3012 is not affected. As for the other horizontal electrodes 301, they can be patterned into an electrode chain, and the touch signal is led out from one end connected to the edge wiring to achieve the control of the entire row. In this way, the conflict between the antenna and the touch function can be reduced when the antenna is working.

[0038] Similarly, the longitudinal electrode 302 whose orthographic projection on the substrate 300 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern 201 on the substrate 300 includes a first longitudinal electrode 3021 and a second longitudinal electrode 3022 located in the same column, and the first longitudinal electrode 3021 and the second longitudinal electrode 3022 are separated, wherein the orthographic projection of the first longitudinal electrode 3021 on the substrate 300 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern 201 on the substrate 300; that is, in the longitudinal electrode 302 multiplexed as the ground line pattern, the portion multiplexed as the ground line pattern is only a portion of the longitudinal electrode 302 Therefore, in order to ensure the touch performance, the longitudinal electrode 302 is divided into two parts, namely the first longitudinal electrode 3021 and the second longitudinal electrode 3022. The first longitudinal electrode 3021 and the second longitudinal electrode 3022 are connected to the edge wiring at one end to lead out the touch signal, so that the two parts are controlled separately, so that only the first longitudinal electrode 3021 is used as both the touch electrode and the ground pattern of the antenna, while the second longitudinal electrode 3022 is not affected. As for the other longitudinal electrodes 302, they can be patterned into an electrode chain, and the touch signal is led out from one end connected to the edge wiring to achieve the control of the whole column. In this way, the conflict between the antenna and the touch function when working can be reduced.

[0039] like Figure 3As shown, in some embodiments of the present application, the antenna pattern 201 is provided with a notch 202, and the notch 202 is arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the target intersection of the horizontal electrode 301 and the vertical electrode 302, and the target intersection is the intersection of the horizontal electrode 301 and the vertical electrode 302 located within the positive projection of the antenna pattern 201 on the touch layer. In other words, since the intersection of the horizontal electrode 301 and the vertical electrode 302 is used to locate the touch position to achieve the touch function, the touch function can be ensured to be unaffected by providing the notch 202 at the corresponding position of the antenna pattern 201. In an optional embodiment, the notch 202 is in an X shape corresponding to the target intersection, that is, the target intersection of the horizontal electrode 301 and the vertical electrode 302 is in an X shape, and the shape of the notch 202 is consistent therewith.

[0040] like Figure 6 As shown, the first horizontal electrode 3011 of the touch layer is arranged on the substrate 300, and the antenna pattern 201 is arranged on the side of the first horizontal electrode 3011 away from the substrate 300, and the antenna pattern 201 and the first horizontal electrode 3011 are insulated by the insulating layer 203. In the embodiment of the present application, the display module also includes a radio frequency module and a first flexible circuit board 204, one end of the first flexible circuit board 204 is connected to the antenna pattern 201 in the antenna, and then extends from the side of the substrate 300 to the side surface of the substrate 300 away from the first horizontal electrode 3011, and finally the other end of the first flexible circuit board 204 is connected to the radio frequency module. Through such a connection method, the signal received by the antenna can be transmitted to the radio frequency module with the lowest loss. Optionally, the radio frequency module may include a radio frequency processor.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present application, a polarizer 209 and a cover plate 211 are sequentially arranged on the side of the touch layer away from the substrate 300. The polarizer 209 and the cover plate 211 can be connected via a connecting layer 210. Optionally, the connecting layer 210 can use an optically clear adhesive (OCA) to ensure light transmittance.

[0042] like Figure 7As shown, optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the first transverse electrode 3011 may include a plurality of first touch control units arranged in rows, and two adjacent first touch control units are connected by forming a bridge 303 (different from the first transverse electrode 3011) through a bridge process, and the first longitudinal electrode 3021 may also include a plurality of second touch control units arranged in columns, and two adjacent second touch control units may be directly connected in the same layer through patterning, and the insulating layer 203 is used to isolate the connection between the first transverse electrode 3011 and the first longitudinal electrode 3021 to achieve insulation between the two. Among them, the antenna pattern 201 is disconnected at the intersection between the first transverse electrode 3011 and the first longitudinal electrode 3021 to form a gap.

[0043] Please refer to Figure 8 , which is a schematic diagram of the antenna pattern provided in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, a notch 202 is provided on the antenna pattern 201. Optionally, the antenna pattern 20 can be designed as a metal grid structure. The overall shape of the antenna pattern 201 is a rectangular fan-shaped structure to reduce the occupied space and reduce the weight of the antenna without affecting the display transmittance. In the embodiment of the present application, the width and gap of the metal grid can be adjusted according to demand. Generally, the width of the metal wire is 0.1 to 30 μm, and the gap is 30 to 50 μm. The thickness of each layer of the display module can be adjusted between 0.1 μm and 200 μm according to demand.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present application, the substrate 300 is a display substrate provided with a display device, that is, the display module in the embodiment of the present application is a module with display function, touch function and antenna function as one. The substrate 300 may include a first display layer and a second display layer.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present application, the touch layer can be formed of a metal grid or a nano-coating using a transparent conductive material, such as conductive transparent indium tin oxide, to ensure that the touch electrode serving as a ground pattern can both reflect signal waves and sense the touch position without affecting the display effect of the substrate.

[0046] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the insulating layer 203 can be made of insulating materials such as silicon dioxide, silicon oxynitride or organic resin; and the bridge 303, the antenna pattern 201, etc. can be made of a metal oxide conductive layer, or a metal conductive layer such as molybdenum, aluminum, titanium, silver, etc. can be used, and can also be designed into a grid shape. The width and gap of the grid can be adjusted according to needs. Generally, the metal line width is 0.1 to 30 μm, and the gap is 30 to 50 μm.

[0047] In some embodiments of the present application, the substrate 300 may be rectangular, and multiple antennas may be arranged along the short sides of the substrate 300 in addition to being arranged along the long sides of the substrate 300. Preferably, the antenna pattern 201 may be arranged at an infrequently used touch position to minimize the impact of touch on the antenna operation.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present application, part of the electrodes of the touch layer are reused as the ground wire of the antenna, which simplifies the design and manufacturing process without affecting the touch control. The layout design of the large antenna can be realized in multiple areas at the same time, which is conducive to improving the integration.

[0049] Another aspect of the present application is to provide an electronic device, which includes the display module described in the above embodiment. Since the display module in the above embodiment has the above beneficial effects, the electronic device in the embodiment of the present application also has the above beneficial effects, which will not be described here to avoid repetition.

[0050] The electronic device in the embodiment of the present application may be a mobile electronic device or a non-mobile electronic device. For example, the mobile electronic device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, an in-vehicle electronic device, a wearable device, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook or a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., and the non-mobile electronic device may be a personal computer (PC), a television (TV), a teller machine or a self-service machine, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0051] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprises", "includes" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0052] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A display module, characterized in that: The invention comprises a substrate and a touch layer and an antenna arranged on the same side of the substrate, wherein: The touch control layer includes a plurality of transverse electrodes and longitudinal electrodes, wherein the transverse electrodes and the longitudinal electrodes are intersected and insulated from each other; The antenna comprises: an antenna pattern and a ground pattern, wherein the antenna pattern and the touch layer are arranged in different layers, the ground pattern is reused by a target electrode for reflecting a signal wave, and the target electrode is a horizontal electrode and / or a vertical electrode whose orthographic projection on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate; The lateral electrode whose orthographic projection on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate comprises a first lateral electrode and a second lateral electrode located in the same row, the first lateral electrode and the second lateral electrode being separated from each other, wherein the orthographic projection of the first lateral electrode on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate; The vertical electrodes whose orthographic projection on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate include a first vertical electrode and a second vertical electrode located in the same column, the first vertical electrode and the second vertical electrode are separated, wherein the orthographic projection of the first vertical electrode on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the substrate; Wherein, the antenna pattern and the touch control layer are insulated from each other.

2. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna pattern has a notch, and the notch is arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the target intersection position of the horizontal electrode and the vertical electrode. The target intersection position is the intersection position of the horizontal electrode and the vertical electrode located within the orthographic projection of the antenna pattern on the touch layer.

3. The display module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The notch is in an X shape corresponding to the target intersection.

4. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A radio frequency module and a first flexible circuit board, wherein the first flexible circuit board is bent along the side of the substrate to a surface of the substrate away from the touch layer, and the antenna pattern is connected to the radio frequency module through the first flexible circuit board.

5. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touch layer is made of transparent conductive material.

6. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna pattern is a grid structure.

7. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna pattern is made of metal or metal oxide.

8. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the antennas is at least two.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: Comprising a display module as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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