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 touch layer, the touch layer includes N conductive strips, and N is a positive integer; wherein, at least one gap is provided on the conductive strip; the conductive strip includes a first end and a second end that are far away from each other, and at least one of the first end and the second end is connected to a feeding structure, and the feeding structure connected to the first end or the feeding structure connected to the second end is used to feed the conductive strip to generate electromagnetic waves. The technical solution provided by the present application can solve the problem of low sensitivity of the touch layer of the display module caused by the existing arrangement of the antenna on the screen.

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] Millimeter waves have high frequencies and large losses, and therefore require greater antenna gain. Usually, antennas need to be arrayed to increase millimeter wave antenna gain. Currently, on-screen antennas mainly radiate by printing transparent conductive materials on a certain layer of the screen. Usually, the antenna is placed above the touch layer, but this arrangement reduces the sensitivity of the touch layer below the antenna. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a display module and an electronic device, which can solve the problem of low sensitivity of the touch layer of the display module caused by the existing arrangement of the antenna on the screen.

[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, comprising: a touch layer, the touch layer comprising N conductive strips, where N is a positive integer;

[0006] Wherein, at least one gap is provided on the conductive strip, and the conductive strip includes a first end and a second end far away from each other, at least one of the first end and the second end is connected to a feeding structure, and the feeding structure connected to the first end or the feeding structure connected to the second end is used to feed the conductive strip to generate electromagnetic waves.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises the display module as described in the first aspect.

[0008] In the embodiment of the present application, by utilizing the touch layer in the display module, N conductive strips are arranged on the touch layer, and the antenna is made by the conductive strips. There is no need to add an additional wiring layer to the display module, thereby not increasing the thickness of the display module, and avoiding the problem of reduced sensitivity of the touch layer caused by arranging the antenna above the touch layer or above the display module. By designing the antenna on the touch layer, the area of ​​the touch layer is effectively utilized, the antenna caliber is increased, and the gain of the antenna is improved. The electronic device no longer needs to set up a separate antenna module, which can effectively save the space of the electronic device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1a This is one of the structural diagrams of a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0010] Figure 1bThis is a second structural diagram of a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 2 This is one of the structural diagrams of a touch layer in a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 3 This is the second structural diagram of a touch layer in a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the propagation direction of the electromagnetic waves involved in the embodiments of the present application;

[0014] Figure 5 is a structural diagram of a conductive strip in a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] Figure 6 This is the third structural diagram of a touch layer in a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the pointing direction of the electromagnetic waves involved in the embodiments of the present application;

[0017] Figure 8 This is a fourth structural diagram of a touch layer in a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of a gap on a conductive strip in a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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.

[0021] An embodiment of the present application provides a display module.

[0022] Please refer to Figure 1a and Figure 1b , Figure 1a is one of the structural diagrams of a display module 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 1b This is a second structural diagram of a display module provided in an embodiment of the present application. The display module 1 includes a touch layer 10. Please refer to Figures 2 to 9 The touch layer 10 includes N conductive strips 11, where N is a positive integer. The conductive strip 11 is provided with at least one gap 113; the conductive strip 11 includes a first end 1101 and a second end 1102 that are far away from each other, and at least one of the first end 1101 and the second end 1102 is connected to a feeding structure 122, and the feeding structure 122 connected to the first end 1101 or the feeding structure 122 connected to the second end 1102 is used to feed the conductive strip 11 to generate electromagnetic waves.

[0023] In the embodiment of the present application, the display module 1 is a display screen component including a touch layer 10, such as an active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) full-screen display module. Figure 1a The display module 1 includes a cover glass 20, an optical adhesive 30 (Optically Clear Adhesive, OCA or Optical Clear Resin, OCR) for bonding transparent optical elements (such as lenses, etc.), a polarizer 40, a touch layer 10, an optical adhesive 50, an upper glass 60, a lower glass 70 and a foam 80 which are stacked in sequence from top to bottom; Figure 1b As shown, the entire display module 1 is led out through a flexible printed circuit 2 (Flexible Printed Circuit, FPC), and the flexible printed circuit 2 has a connector 5, a display chip 3, a touch chip 4, etc. Among them, the conductive strip 11 shown can be a transparent material, or can also be other conductive metals, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0024] It should be noted that the specific structure of the display module 1 may also be in other optional forms, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0025] Please refer to Figures 2 to 9At least one of the first end 1101 and the second end 1102 of the conductive strip 11 is connected to a feeding structure 122. After energy enters the transmission line formed by the conductive strip 11 through any one of the feeding structures 122, each gap 113 in the conductive strip 11 can be regarded as an array element in an array. Each array element couples a part of the energy and radiates it out. Finally, the remaining energy is absorbed by the matching load at the end. The end is an end of the conductive strip 11 that is not connected to the feeding structure 122, or an end of the conductive strip 11 that is not fed by the feeding structure 122.

[0026] For example, in one implementation of the present application, one of the first end 1101 and the second end 1102 of the conductive strip 11 is connected to the feed structure 122, and the other is connected to the load. Figure 2 As shown, the second end 1102 of the conductive strip 11 is connected to the feeding structure 122, and the first end 1101 is connected to the load 121, so that energy is fed into the conductive strip 11 through the feeding structure 122 of the second end 1102, and is transmitted along the conductive strip 11 to the load 121 of the first end 1101, and radiation is generated by the conductive strip 11. In this case, the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave is from the second end 1102 to the first end 1101. Alternatively, the first end 1101 of the conductive strip 11 may be connected to the feeding structure, and the second end 1102 may be connected to the load. In this case, the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave is from the first end 1101 to the second end 1102.

[0027] Alternatively, in another implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, the first end 1101 and the second end 1102 are connected to a feeding structure 122; wherein, when the feeding structure 122 connected to the first end 1101 feeds the conductive strip 11, the feeding structure 122 connected to the second end 1102 is used to act as a load; when the feeding structure 122 connected to the second end 1102 feeds the conductive strip 11, the feeding structure 122 connected to the first end 1101 is used to act as a load.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4, the first end 1101 and the second end 1102 of the conductive strip 11 are both connected to the feeding structure 122, but the conductive strip 11 may select only one of them for feeding. For example, when the conductive strip 11 is fed through the feeding structure 122 connected to the first end 1101, the feeding structure 122 of the second end 1102 acts as a load, and the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave is from the first end 1101 to the second end 1102; correspondingly, when the conductive strip 11 is fed through the feeding structure 122 connected to the second end 1102, the feeding structure 122 connected to the first end 1101 acts as a load, and the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave is from the second end 1102 to the first end 1101. In this way, it is possible to select the feeding structure 122 of the first end 1101 or the feeding structure 122 of the second end 1102 for feeding, thereby switching the traveling direction of the electromagnetic wave in the touch layer 10 of the display module 1 to change the pointing direction of the beam, thereby increasing the coverage area of ​​the electromagnetic wave and further improving the utilization rate of the touch layer 10.

[0029] In the embodiment of the present application, the N conductive strips 11 may be located in a certain area of ​​the touch layer 10, such as Figure 1a As shown, the touch layer 10 is provided with a notch 100 , and the N conductive strips 11 may be disposed in the notch 100 , so that only a portion of the conductive strips 11 in the touch layer 10 will radiate and generate millimeter waves without occupying the entire touch layer 10 .

[0030] The solution provided in the embodiment of the present application utilizes the touch layer 10 in the display module 1, reuses part of the touch layer 10, for example, opens a notch 100 in the touch layer 10 to arrange N conductive strips 11, and makes an antenna through the conductive strips 11. There is no need to add an additional wiring layer to the display module 1, so the thickness of the display module 1 will not be increased, and the problem of reducing the inductive sensitivity of the touch layer 10 due to arranging the antenna above the touch layer 10 or above the display module 1 is avoided. Taking the electromagnetic wave as a millimeter wave as an example, the present application effectively utilizes the area of ​​the touch layer 10 by designing a millimeter wave traveling wave antenna on the touch layer 10, increases the antenna caliber, and improves the gain of the antenna, which can cover the entire millimeter wave frequency band, and the electronic device no longer needs to set up a millimeter wave antenna module separately, which can effectively save the space of the electronic device. In addition, such an antenna setting method has the advantages of simple structure, low cost, and small size.

[0031] Please refer to Figure 5The conductive strip 11 includes a central conductor strip 111 and a grounding strip 112. The grounding strip 112 includes a first grounding strip 1121 and a second grounding strip 1122. The first grounding strip 1121 is located on a first side of the central conductor strip 111, and the second grounding strip 1122 is located on a second side of the central conductor strip 111. The first side and the second side are two opposite sides of the central conductor strip 111. The first grounding strip 1121 is provided with at least one first gap (not marked), and the second grounding strip 1122 is provided with at least one second gap (not marked), and the first gap and the second gap are arranged alternately. Figure 5 As shown, the gaps 113 on both sides of the central conductor strip 111 are arranged in a staggered manner, which can avoid the electric fields on both sides of the coplanar waveguide from being reversed and causing mutual cancellation, thereby affecting the radiation efficiency.

[0032] Please refer to Figures 2 to 9 The touch layer 10 includes N conductive strips 11, each of which includes a central conductor strip 111 and ground strips 112 located on opposite sides of the central conductor strip 111. The central conductor strip 111 and the ground strip 112 are located in the same plane, and the ground strip 112 and the central conductor strip 111 are not in contact, that is, a gap is formed between the ground strip 112 and the central conductor strip 111. In this way, a conductive strip 11 also constitutes a coplanar waveguide (CPW), or a coplanar transmission line, and each ground strip 112 of the conductive strip 11 is provided with at least one gap 113, so that the conductive strip 11 can realize the transmission of electromagnetic waves.

[0033] Further, the first slot includes a first side close to the second slot, the second slot includes a second side away from the first slot, and the distance between the first side and the second side is less than half the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave. It should be noted that the distance between the two slots 113 mentioned in the embodiment of the present application refers to the distance between the first side and the second side. Figure 5 The distance d between the two gaps 113 should not be an integer multiple of half a wavelength to avoid the electric fields from canceling each other out in the opposite direction.

[0034] Optionally, the electromagnetic wave described in the embodiment of the present application may be a millimeter wave, which has a higher frequency band, and thus the N conductive strips 11 do not need to occupy a large area in the display module. The distance d between the two gaps 113 is less than half the wavelength of the millimeter wave to ensure that the millimeter wave antenna has only one main lobe in the visible region.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present application, each gap 113 in the grounding strip 112 can be regarded as an equivalent magnetic flow element, and the entire millimeter wave traveling wave antenna can be regarded as a phased array composed of multiple magnetic flow elements. The spacing between the two gaps 113 determines their phase difference. According to the phased array beam scanning distance, the spacing between the array elements determines the pointing direction of the beam. The pointing direction of the beam can also be adjusted by adjusting the spacing between the two gaps 113. It should be noted that the spacing between the two gaps 113 is less than half the wavelength of the millimeter wave.

[0036] In addition, the conductive strip 11 is fed by the feeding structure 122, and the conductive strip 11 can correspond to different frequencies. When the frequencies corresponding to the conductive strip 11 are different, the electrical length corresponding to the spacing between the two slots 113 on the grounding strip 112 is different; even if the frequency corresponding to the conductive strip 11 is changed, but the spacing between the two slots 113 on the grounding strip 112 is not changed, the electrical length corresponding to the spacing will also change accordingly, so that the traveling wave antennas of different frequencies have different pointing directions. Moreover, the higher the frequency, the longer the total length of the antenna, and the greater the deviation angle of the traveling wave antenna beam relative to the broadside, and thus the pointing angle of the millimeter wave traveling wave antenna can be changed by changing the millimeter wave frequency band.

[0037] In the embodiment of the present application, the number of the conductive strips 11 provided on the touch layer 10 is at least one. Optionally, when N is an integer greater than 1, the N conductive strips 11 are arranged in an array, and the electrical length of the antenna formed by each conductive strip 11 is different; please refer to Figure 6 The antenna electrical length L is the distance between the target end of the conductive strip 11 and the target gap, the target end is the end of the conductive strip 11 that is fed by the connected feeding structure 122, and the target gap is a gap 113 on the conductive strip 11 that is farthest from the target end.

[0038] Alternatively, if Figure 6 As shown, there are 6 conductive strips 11, which are arranged side by side, and the electrical length L of the antenna formed by each conductive strip 11 is different. It can be understood that the impedance bandwidth of the traveling wave antenna is relatively wide, but the direction of its main beam is very sensitive to the frequency, and the direction of the main beam of the traveling wave antenna is related to the electrical length of the antenna. Figure 7 As shown in the figure, when the electrical length L of the traveling wave antenna is longer, the angle θ between the main beam pointing direction of the traveling wave antenna and the horizontal plane is m The smaller the antenna, the coverage in different directions can be achieved by arranging traveling wave antennas with different electrical lengths on different conductive strips 11. Figure 6As shown in the figure, the antenna lengths corresponding to the six conductive strips 11 increase from left to right, so that the traveling wave antennas corresponding to different conductive strips 11 have different beam coverage ranges, effectively widening the beam coverage range of the entire antenna system.

[0039] Furthermore, a switch 13 is connected between the target end and a feeding structure 122 close to the target end. Figure 6 As shown, a switch 13 is connected between each feeding structure 122 and the conductive strip 11, and the switch 13 can be used to turn on or off the feeding of the feeding structure 122 to the conductive strip 11, and thus the feeding of the conductive strip 11 can be controlled by opening and closing the switch 13, and the antenna of a certain electrical length can be switched to work by the switch 13. Figure 6 As shown, the three switches 13 on the left can be controlled to be in an open state, and the three switches 13 on the right can be in a closed state, so that the conductive strips 11 connected to the three switches 13 on the left can be fed to form a traveling wave antenna, so as to achieve the beam coverage of the three traveling wave antennas under the corresponding electrical length; or, all six switches 13 can be in an open state, so as to further broaden the beam coverage of the antenna system. In this way, the electronic device can select the radiation range of the antenna in a targeted manner by controlling the switch 13 according to the use requirements, so that the radiation control of the antenna system is more flexible.

[0040] It should be noted that, when the first end 1101 and the second end 1102 of the conductive strip 11 are both connected to the feeding structure 122, a switch 13 may be connected between the first end 1101 and the feeding structure 122 at the end, and a switch 13 may also be connected between the second end 1102 and the feeding structure 122 at the end, so that it is possible to control whether the feeding structures 122 at both ends of the conductive strip 11 are connected to the conductive strip 11. In addition, when there are multiple conductive strips 11, the arrangement of the multiple conductive strips 11 is not limited to the method shown in the embodiment of the present application.

[0041] In the embodiment of the present application, there are two touch layers 10, and the two touch layers 10 are respectively a first touch layer 101 and a second touch layer 102; wherein the length direction of the conductive strip 11 of the first touch layer 101 is perpendicular to the length direction of the conductive strip 11 of the second touch layer 102, and further, the traveling direction of the millimeter wave on the conductive strip 11 of the first touch layer 101 is also perpendicular to the traveling direction of the millimeter wave on the conductive strip 11 of the second touch layer 102.

[0042] It should be noted that the touch layer 10 is a double-layer structure. Figure 8As shown, the conductive strips 11 of the first touch layer 101 and the conductive strips 11 of the second touch layer 102 are arranged vertically, the traveling direction of the millimeter wave beam on the conductive strips 11 in the first touch layer 101 is from left to right, and the traveling direction of the millimeter wave beam on the conductive strips 11 in the second touch layer 102 is from bottom to top, and the propagation directions of the electromagnetic waves on the two layers of conductive strips 11 are vertical. In this way, by arranging traveling wave antennas with vertical propagation directions on the two touch layers 10, beam coverage of two planes can be achieved, further increasing the coverage range of the antenna.

[0043] Optionally, the first touch layer 101 and the second touch layer 102 may be all optional structural forms including the touch layer 10 in the above embodiment, such as a switch 13 connected between the conductive strip 11 and the feeding structure 122, and the electrical length of the antenna formed by each conductive strip 11 is different, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the gap 113 on the grounding strap 112 can be set to different shapes and sizes, such as Fig. 9 As shown, Fig. 9 Figures (a), (b), and (c) show different shapes and sizes of the slot 113. Of course, the slot 113 can also be in other possible shapes and sizes, which are not listed in this application. By adjusting the shape and size of the slot 113, the radiation impedance of the antenna can be controlled, thereby optimizing the performance of the millimeter wave antenna. The embodiment of this application does not specifically limit the shape and size of the slot.

[0045] The embodiment of the present application also provides an electronic device, which includes the display module described in the above embodiment. It should be noted that the electronic device includes all the technical features of the display module in the above embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0046] Optionally, the electronic device includes but is not limited to electronic products equipped with a display module, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, and a smart wearable device.

[0047] 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: include: A touch layer, the touch layer comprising N conductive strips, where N is a positive integer; Wherein, at least one slit is provided on the conductive strip, the conductive strip comprises a first end and a second end which are far away from each other, at least one of the first end and the second end is connected to a feeding structure, and the feeding structure connected to the first end or the feeding structure connected to the second end is used to feed the conductive strip to generate electromagnetic waves; The N conductive strips are arranged on the touch control layer; The conductive strip comprises a central conductor strip, a first grounding strip and a second grounding strip, wherein the first grounding strip is located on a first side of the central conductor strip, and the second grounding strip is located on a second side of the central conductor strip, wherein the first side and the second side are opposite sides of the central conductor strip; The gaps include a first gap and a second gap. The first grounding strip is provided with at least one first gap, the second grounding strip is provided with at least one second gap, and the first gaps and the second gaps are alternately arranged.

2. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: One of the first end and the second end is connected to a feeding structure, and the other is connected to a load.

3. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first end and the second end are connected to a feeding structure; Wherein, when the feeding structure connected to the first end feeds the conductive strip, the feeding structure connected to the second end is used to act as a load; when the feeding structure connected to the second end feeds the conductive strip, the feeding structure connected to the first end is used to act as a load.

4. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first slot includes a first side edge close to the second slot, the second slot includes a second side edge far away from the first slot, and a distance between the first side edge and the second side edge is less than a half wavelength of the electromagnetic wave.

5. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: N is an integer greater than 1, the N conductive strips are arranged in an array, and the electrical length of the antenna formed by each of the conductive strips is different; The electrical length of the antenna is the distance between the target end of the conductive strip and the target gap, the target end is an end of the conductive strip fed by the connected feeding structure, and the target gap is a gap on the conductive strip farthest from the target end.

6. The display module according to claim 5, characterized in that: A switch is connected between the target end and a feeding structure close to the target end.

7. The display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touch layer is provided with a notch, and the N conductive strips are arranged in the notch.

8. The display module according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The number of the touch layers is two, and the two touch layers are respectively a first touch layer and a second touch layer; Wherein, the length direction of the conductive strips of the first touch layer is perpendicular to the length direction of the conductive strips of the second touch layer.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises the display module as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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