Touch dimming device and touch dimming method

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a touch dimming device and a touch dimming method. The touch dimming device includes a touch panel and an active color-changing film. The touch panel includes a first electrode and a second electrode to perform touch detection according to the coupling capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode. The active color-changing film includes a third electrode and is used to change the transmittance of a polymer layer in the active color-changing film according to the voltage difference between the second electrode and the third electrode. Accordingly, since the touch panel and the active color-changing film share the second electrode, the overall volume of the touch dimming device can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a touch dimming device, and more particularly to a device that can be powered on to change light transmittance and has a touch function. Background Art

[0002] Transparent displays are one of the booming industries in recent years and are widely used in many fields such as monitoring systems, vehicle systems, AR / VR devices, and projection devices. As the market demand for transparent displays increases, the combination of transparent displays with other devices has gradually gained attention. However, when integrating transparent displays with other devices, how to balance their cost, size, and performance has become a major issue at present. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a touch dimming device, comprising a touch panel and an active color-changing film. The touch panel comprises a first electrode and a second electrode. The touch panel is used to perform touch detection according to the coupling capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode. The active color-changing film comprises a third electrode and a polymer layer. The polymer layer is used to change the light transmittance of the active color-changing film according to the voltage difference between the second electrode and the third electrode.

[0004] In one embodiment, the first electrode is used to receive a driving voltage, the second electrode is used to provide a sensing voltage, the active color-changing film receives a dimming voltage through a third electrode, and the ratio of the dimming voltage to the driving voltage is between 1.2 and 20.

[0005] In one embodiment, in the first state, the third electrode receives the dimming voltage, the first electrode stops receiving the driving voltage, and the second electrode stops providing the sensing voltage; in the second state, the third electrode stops receiving the dimming voltage, the first electrode receives the driving voltage, and the second electrode provides the sensing voltage.

[0006] In one embodiment, the dimming voltage is an AC signal, and the frequency is between 100 Hz and 30K Hz.

[0007] In one embodiment, the driving voltage is composed of a plurality of scanning signals, and the frequency of the driving voltage is between 30 Hz and 1000 Hz.

[0008] In one embodiment, a frequency of each of the plurality of scanning signals is between 10 kHz and 500 kHz.

[0009] In one embodiment, the polymer layer includes a plurality of liquid crystal particles, and the plurality of liquid crystal particles are dispersed on the high molecular polymer film or distributed in the high molecular polymer network structure.

[0010] In one embodiment, the touch dimming device further includes a transparent display panel. The transparent display panel is disposed on a side of the active color-changing film and is used to receive a display signal to present a display image.

[0011] The present disclosure also relates to a touch dimming method, comprising the following steps: in a touch cycle, applying a driving voltage to a first electrode, and receiving a sensing voltage from a second electrode; in a touch cycle, detecting the coupling capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode; and in a dimming cycle, applying a dimming voltage to a third electrode, and stopping applying the driving voltage to the first electrode, and stopping receiving the sensing voltage from the second electrode, so that the active color-changing film changes the transmittance of a polymer layer in the active color-changing film according to the voltage difference between the second electrode and the third electrode.

[0012] In one embodiment, the driving voltage is composed of a plurality of scanning signals, the frequency of the driving voltage is between 30 Hz and 1000 Hz, and the frequency of each of the plurality of scanning signals is between 10K Hz and 500K Hz.

[0013] The present disclosure also relates to a touch dimming method, which includes the following steps: applying a driving voltage to a first electrode and receiving a sensing voltage from a second electrode; detecting the coupling capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode; applying a dimming voltage to a third electrode so that the active color-changing film changes the transmittance of a polymer layer in the active color-changing film according to the voltage difference between the second electrode and the third electrode; and when stopping applying the dimming voltage to the third electrode, maintaining the application of the driving voltage to the first electrode and maintaining the reception of the sensing voltage from the second electrode.

[0014] In one embodiment, the driving voltage is composed of a plurality of scanning signals, the frequency of the driving voltage is between 30 Hz and 1000 Hz, and the frequency of each of the plurality of scanning signals is between 10K Hz and 500K Hz.

[0015] Accordingly, since the touch panel and the active color-changing film share the second electrode, the overall volume of the touch dimming device can be reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a touch dimming device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2A is a signal waveform diagram of a touch dimming device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of a scan signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3is a signal waveform diagram of a touch dimming device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4 is a signal waveform diagram of a touch dimming device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 5 is a signal waveform diagram of a touch dimming device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 6 is a flowchart of the steps of the touch dimming method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 7 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a touch dimming device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024]

Explanation of symbols

[0025] 100: Touch dimming device

[0026] 110: Touch panel

[0027] 111:Substrate

[0028] 112: Insulation layer

[0029] 120: Active color-changing film

[0030] 121: polymer layer

[0031] 121a: Liquid crystal particles

[0032] 130: Control circuit

[0033] 140: Transparent display panel

[0034] E1: First electrode

[0035] E2: Second electrode

[0036] E3: The third electrode

[0037] Tx: driving voltage

[0038] Rx: sensing voltage

[0039] Vp: dimming voltage

[0040] Pd: dimming cycle

[0041] Pt: Touch cycle

[0042] Tx1-Tx3: Scanning signal

[0043] S601-S603: Steps DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The following will disclose multiple embodiments of the present invention with the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of clear description, many practical details will be described together in the following description. However, it should be understood that these practical details should not be used to limit the present invention. That is, in some embodiments of the present invention, these practical details are not necessary. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings, some known and commonly used structures and elements will be depicted in a simple schematic manner in the drawings.

[0045] In this document, when an element is referred to as "connected" or "coupled", it may refer to "electrically connected" or "electrically coupled". "Connected" or "coupled" may also be used to indicate that two or more elements cooperate or interact with each other. In addition, although the terms "first", "second", etc. are used in this document to describe different elements, the terms are only used to distinguish between elements or operations described by the same technical terms. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the terms do not specifically refer to or imply an order or sequence, nor are they used to limit the present invention.

[0046] See also Figure 1 , is a schematic diagram of a touch dimming device 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The touch dimming device 100 includes a touch panel 110 and an active color-changing film 120. The touch panel 110 includes at least a first electrode E1 and a second electrode E2, so that the touch panel 110 is used to perform touch detection according to the coupling capacitance between the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2.

[0047] Specifically, the first electrode E1 (or the second electrode E2) includes a plurality of sensing electrodes, and a predetermined interval is maintained between the plurality of sensing electrodes to detect the touch of the user's hand and identify the touch corresponding to the corresponding coordinates on the touch panel 110. The structure of the touch panel 110 is not based on Figure 1 The illustration is limited to the above, and since the structure and operation of the touch panel 110 are well understood by those skilled in the art, they will not be further described here.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2A , Figure 2A1 is a signal waveform diagram according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the first electrode E1 is used to receive a driving voltage Tx (e.g., 3 to 40 volts), and the second electrode E2 is used to receive a sensing voltage Rx (e.g., 1 to 3 volts). The driving voltage Tx is composed of a plurality of scanning signals Tx1, Tx2, and Tx3. If each scanning signal Tx1, Tx2, and Tx3 is regarded as a pulse, the frequency of the driving voltage Tx is between 30 Hz and 1000 Hz. In some embodiments, the frequency of the driving voltage Tx is between 100 Hz and 150 Hz. The sensing voltage Rx is maintained at a low potential voltage in the touch panel 110, and its voltage value can be between 1 and 3 volts.

[0049] Also, see Figure 2B As shown, in one embodiment, each scanning signal Tx1, Tx2, Tx3 includes a plurality of pulse waves, and the frequency of these pulse waves is between 10K Hz and 500K Hz, that is, the frequency of each scanning signal Tx1, Tx2, Tx3 is between 10K Hz and 500K Hz.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, the active color-changing film 120 includes a third electrode E3 and a polymer layer 121. The polymer layer 121 is disposed between the second electrode E2 and the third electrode E3, and is used to change the transmittance of the active color-changing film 120 according to the voltage difference between the second electrode E2 and the third electrode E3. In some embodiments, the active color-changing film 120 receives the dimming voltage Vp through the third electrode E3, and drives the plurality of liquid crystal particles 121a of the polymer layer 121 according to the voltage difference between the dimming voltage Vp and the sensing voltage Rx, thereby changing the transmittance of the active color-changing film 120.

[0051] As shown in the figure, the touch panel 110 and the active color-changing film 120 share the second electrode E2. The touch panel 110 performs touch detection according to the coupling capacitance between the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2, and the active color-changing film 120 is driven according to the voltage difference between the dimming voltage Vp and the sensing voltage Rx to change the light transmittance of the active color-changing film 120. In the present disclosure, since the touch panel 110 and the active color-changing film 120 share the second electrode E2, the overall volume of the touch dimming device 100 can be reduced.

[0052] In addition, if Figure 2AAs shown, in some embodiments, the voltage value of the driving voltage Tx is between 3 and 40 volts, and the voltage value of the dimming voltage Vp is between 30 and 60 volts, and the voltage value of the dimming voltage Vp is much greater than the voltage value of the driving voltage Tx. In other embodiments, the ratio of the voltage value of the dimming voltage Vp to the voltage value of the driving voltage Tx may be between "1.2 and 20" (e.g., the dimming voltage Vp is 40 volts, the driving voltage Tx is 33.3 volts; or the dimming voltage Vp is 60 volts, the driving voltage Tx is 3 volts). In the case where there is a significant drop between the voltage value of the dimming voltage Vp and the voltage value of the driving voltage Tx, the driving voltage Tx will not affect the voltage difference on both sides of the active color-changing film 120 (i.e., the voltage difference between the second electrode E2 and the third electrode E3), so there will be no flickering phenomenon. In other words, the driving of the active color-changing film 120 is not interfered by the driving voltage Tx.

[0053] Specifically, the touch panel 110 further includes a substrate 111 and an insulating layer 112. The substrate 111 is made of a transparent material, and the insulating layer 112 is disposed between the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 to form a coupling capacitor between the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 during touch control.

[0054] In one embodiment, the touch dimming device 100 further includes a control circuit 130. The control circuit 130 is electrically connected to the touch panel 110 and the active color-changing film 120 to provide a driving voltage Tx and a dimming voltage Vp, and to receive a sensing voltage Rx. The control circuit 130 is used to perform touch detection according to changes in the sensing voltage Rx, and can adjust the dimming voltage Vp to control the transmittance of the active color-changing film 120.

[0055] In some embodiments, the polymer layer 121 includes a plurality of liquid crystal particles 121a (e.g., spherical or elliptical particles), and can rotate with the voltage difference between the second electrode E2 and the third electrode E3 to adjust the transmittance of the active color-changing film 120. In one embodiment, the liquid crystal particles 121a are dispersed on a polymer film. The polymer matrix in the polymer film is formed by many monomer molecules connected to each other. Each monomer must be able to bond at least two or more monomer molecules to form a continuous long chain, and the structure of the polymer bonded by different monomers is also different. Liquid crystal and unpolymerized polymer monomers are mixed in an appropriate proportion, and then triggered by the outside (e.g., light or heat) to make the polymer monomer undergo polymerization reaction to form a polymer layer 121. In some embodiments, the aforementioned structure of the active color-changing film 120 can be realized by a polymer dispersed liquid crystal film (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal, PDLC).

[0056] In other embodiments, the plurality of liquid crystal particles 121a in the polymer layer 121 are distributed in a high molecular polymer network structure. That is, the polymer layer 121 can be implemented by a polymer network liquid crystal film (Polymer Network Liquid Crystal, PNLC). Since those skilled in the art can understand the operating principles of PNLC and PDLC, they will not be further described here.

[0057] The foregoing Figure 1 The active color-changing film 120 shown is an optical material that changes its light transmittance according to a voltage difference. Since the active color-changing film 120 is not used to present an image, it is not necessary to include a transistor switch in implementation.

[0058] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2A As shown, in some embodiments, the touch dimming device 100 can operate in a first state and a second state. In the first state, the third electrode E3 receives the dimming voltage Vp, so that the active color-changing film 120 maintains a high transmittance (such as PDLC), or the active color-changing film 120 maintains a low transmittance (such as PNLC). In the second state, the third electrode E3 stops receiving the dimming voltage Vp, so that the active color-changing film 120 switches and maintains a low transmittance (such as PDLC), or the active color-changing film 120 switches and maintains a high transmittance (such as PNLC).

[0059] In the aforementioned embodiment, the dimming voltage Vp is a DC signal, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Figure 3As shown, in some other embodiments, the dimming voltage Vp may be an AC signal, and its peak voltages correspond to each other (e.g., the peak values ​​are +30V and -30V) to control the angle of the liquid crystal particles 121a in the polymer layer 121. The peak voltage of the dimming voltage Vp may be between 30V and 60V.

[0060] See also Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 1 is a signal waveform diagram according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the touch dimming device 100 operates in the first state during the dimming period Pd, and operates in the second state during the touch period Pt. That is, in the dimming period Pd, the third electrode E3 receives the dimming voltage Vp, but the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 stop receiving the driving voltage Tx and the sensing voltage Rx. At this time, the touch panel 110 will temporarily stop performing touch detection, and the voltage difference between the dimming voltage Vp and the sensing voltage Rx is used to perform the dimming operation.

[0061] In contrast, in another time sequence (ie, touch cycle Pt), the third electrode E3 stops receiving the dimming voltage Vp, while the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 normally receive the driving voltage Tx and the sensing voltage Rx. At this time, the active color-changing film 120 maintains the transmittance when not powered.

[0062] In some embodiments, the operating state of the touch dimming device (i.e., operating in the dimming cycle Pd or the touch cycle Pt) can be manually switched by the user. In other embodiments, the touch dimming device can also switch between the first state (dimming cycle Pd) and the second state (touch cycle Pt) in sequence, and the time of the first state (dimming cycle Pd) is much longer than the time of the second state (touch cycle Pt). Accordingly, due to the influence of the visual persistence of the human eye, for the user, the active color-changing film 120 is still maintained in the powered color-changing dimming state, and the touch dimming device still has the touch detection function.

[0063] In addition, as mentioned above, in some embodiments, the dimming voltage Vp may be an AC signal, and the peak voltages thereof correspond to each other, such as Figure 5 The frequency of the dimming voltage Vp is between 100 Hz and 30K Hz.

[0064] The touch dimming device 100 is Figure 2A to Figure 5 The operation methods and advantages in are applicable to Figure 1 For the sake of brevity, the touch dimming device 100 is not repeated here.

[0065] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6Flow chart of the steps of the touch dimming method of some embodiments of the present case. In step S601, the control circuit 130 applies the driving voltage Tx to the first electrode E1 during the touch cycle Pt, and the second electrode E2 receives the sensing voltage Rx. In step S602, the control circuit 130 detects the coupling capacitance between the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 during the touch cycle Pt (e.g., detecting the change of the sensing voltage Rx to determine the change of the capacitance value) to determine the position where the user touches the touch panel 110. At this time, the control circuit 130 does not apply a voltage to the third electrode E3 (or the third electrode E3 is connected to the ground).

[0066] In step S603, when entering the dimming cycle Pd, the control circuit 130 applies the dimming voltage Vp to the third electrode E3, and stops applying the driving voltage Tx to the first electrode E1 and receiving the sensing voltage Rx from the second electrode E2, so that the active color-changing film 120 changes the transmittance of the polymer layer 121 in the active color-changing film 120 according to the voltage difference between the second electrode E2 and the third electrode E3.

[0067] The foregoing Figure 6 The touch dimming method corresponds to Figure 4 and Figure 5 In other embodiments, the operation state of the touch dimming device 100 may not be divided into different time sequences, so that the touch dimming device 100 always maintains the touch function. Figure 3 As shown, the touch dimming device 100 always applies the driving voltage Tx to the first electrode E1 and receives the sensing voltage Rx from the second electrode E2. When the touch dimming device 100 stops applying the dimming voltage Vp to the third electrode Ex, the touch dimming device 100 still maintains applying the driving voltage Tx to the first electrode E1 and continues to receive the sensing voltage Rx from the second electrode E2.

[0068] In the aforementioned embodiment, the touch dimming device 100 is mounted on a transparent substrate (eg, glass) to be applied to a vehicle-mounted system or other devices, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Figure 7 , is a schematic diagram of a touch dimming device of some embodiments of the present invention. In this embodiment, the touch panel 110 and the active color-changing film 120 are installed on a side of the transparent display panel 140. The transparent display panel 140 is used to receive a display signal to control a plurality of pixel units to present a display image.

[0069] The various elements, method steps or technical features in the aforementioned embodiments may be combined with each other and are not limited to the order of text description or the order of presentation of the drawings in the present disclosure.

[0070] Although the present disclosure has been disclosed in the above implementation mode, it is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Anyone familiar with this technology can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure shall be based on the scope defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A touch dimming device, characterized in that: Include: A touch panel comprising a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein the touch panel is used to perform touch detection according to a coupling capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode; and An active color-changing film, comprising a third electrode and a polymer layer, wherein the polymer layer is used to change a light transmittance of the active color-changing film according to a voltage difference between the second electrode and the third electrode; The polymer layer comprises a plurality of liquid crystal particles, the plurality of liquid crystal particles are dispersed on a high molecular polymer film or distributed in a high molecular polymer network structure, and the active color-changing film does not comprise a transistor switch; The first electrode is used to receive a driving voltage, the second electrode is used to provide a sensing voltage, the active color-changing film receives a dimming voltage through the third electrode, and the ratio of the dimming voltage to the driving voltage is between 1.2 and 20.

2. The touch dimming device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dimming voltage is an AC signal, and the frequency is between 100 Hz and 30K Hz.

3. The touch dimming device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving voltage is composed of a plurality of scanning signals, and the frequency of the driving voltage is between 30 Hz and 1000 Hz.

4. The touch dimming device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The frequency of each of the plurality of scanning signals is between 10K Hz and 500K Hz.

5. The touch dimming device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A transparent display panel is arranged on a side of the active color-changing film and is used to receive a display signal to present a display picture.

6. A touch dimming method, characterized in that: Include: Applying a driving voltage to a first electrode and receiving a sensing voltage from a second electrode; detecting a coupling capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode; Applying a dimming voltage to a third electrode so that an active color-changing film changes a transmittance of a polymer layer in the active color-changing film according to a voltage difference between the second electrode and the third electrode, wherein the ratio between the dimming voltage and the driving voltage is between 1.2 and 20; as well as When the dimming voltage is stopped being applied to the third electrode, the driving voltage is kept being applied to the first electrode, and the sensing voltage is kept being received from the second electrode.

7. The touch dimming method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The driving voltage is composed of a plurality of scanning signals. The frequency of the driving voltage is between 30 Hz and 1000 Hz. The frequency of each of the plurality of scanning signals is between 10K Hz and 500K Hz.

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