Liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion of lead region

Abstract

The application discloses a liquid crystal lens capable of preventing lead line area distortion, which comprises a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer and a plurality of ring electrodes. The first substrate comprises a lead-out electrode layer, an insulating layer and a ring electrode layer. The ring electrode layer is provided with a plurality of ring electrodes. The insulating layer is arranged between the lead-out electrode layer and the ring electrode layer. The lead-out electrode layer is electrically connected to the ring electrode layer through a bridge. The lead-out electrode layer is provided with lead-out electrodes which are electrically connected to the ring electrodes and used for providing corresponding potentials for the ring electrodes. The second substrate is arranged opposite to the first substrate. The second substrate is provided with a common surface electrode and high-resistance lead lines corresponding to positions of the lead-out electrodes. Inner ends of the high-resistance lead lines are electrically connected to the common surface electrode, and outer ends of the high-resistance lead lines are connected to a first power supply end. The liquid crystal layer is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate and filled with liquid crystal molecules. The application avoids lead line area distortion and improves the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of liquid crystal lens, in particular to a liquid crystal lens capable of preventing distortion in the lead wire area. BACKGROUND

[0002] Lenses are basic optical devices and are found everywhere in optical instruments and equipment. With the development of optical technology, the requirements for lenses are becoming higher and higher. One is to require continuous adjustment of the focal length of the lens, and the other is to provide a large focal length lens.

[0003] Liquid crystal lens is a technology created by using the unique physical and optical properties of liquid crystal material. Unlike traditional glass lenses, liquid crystal lenses can converge or diverge incident light according to the electric field applied to them. In particular, the focal length of the liquid crystal lens can be adjusted by changing the supply voltage. Because the liquid crystal lens does not need to use mechanical action to adjust the focal length, the liquid crystal lens is more suitable for application in many image acquisition technologies than the traditional glass lens.

[0004] In a circular liquid crystal lens, the substrate of the liquid crystal lens includes a plurality of concentric ring electrodes and electrode leads electrically connected to the concentric ring electrodes. Because the electrode leads are connected to the concentric ring electrodes and pass through the concentric ring electrodes, the electrode traces will affect the electric field distribution in the lens area, causing the lead wire area to possibly appear distortion, thereby destroying the lens imaging effect. SUMMARY

[0005] The applicant found that the electrode lead provides a potential for the ring electrode connected thereto, and the potential of the electrode lead generally does not change. Since the potential of the electrode lead does not change, when it passes through an area (including a ring electrode) with a lower potential than itself, it will raise the potential of the area, the potential of the area deviates from the required potential, thereby affecting the electric field distribution, causing the lead wire area to appear imaging distortion.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned part of the defects of the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a liquid crystal lens capable of preventing distortion in the lead wire area, so as to avoid distortion in the lead wire area and improve the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application discloses a liquid crystal lens capable of preventing distortion in the lead wire area, which comprises:

[0008] A first substrate; the first substrate includes a lead-out electrode layer, an insulating layer, and a ring electrode layer; the ring electrode layer is provided with a plurality of ring electrodes, each of the ring electrodes being arranged in a concentric ring; the insulating layer is disposed between the lead-out electrode layer and the ring electrode layer; the lead-out electrode layer is electrically connected to the ring electrode layer via a bridging mechanism, and the lead-out electrode layer is provided with lead-out electrodes electrically connected to each of the ring electrodes, the lead-out electrodes being used to provide a corresponding potential to the ring electrodes;

[0009] A second substrate is disposed opposite to the first substrate; a common surface electrode and high-resistance leads corresponding to the positions of each of the lead-out electrodes are disposed on the second substrate; the inner ends of each of the high-resistance leads are electrically connected to the common surface electrode, and the outer ends of each of the high-resistance leads are connected to the first power supply terminal;

[0010] A liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the liquid crystal layer is filled with liquid crystal molecules; the liquid crystal molecules are used to realize an electrically controlled lens after the common surface electrode, each lead electrode, and each high-resistivity lead are connected to their respective potentials.

[0011] And the driving circuit;

[0012] The driving circuit is configured as follows:

[0013] A first potential is applied to the common surface electrode;

[0014] The second potential Vi applied to each of the ring electrodes increases sequentially from the outside to the inside; where i is the number of the ring electrode from the outside to the inside, the potential of the outermost ring electrode is V1, and the potential of the innermost ring electrode is Vn; where n is the number of the ring electrodes.

[0015] A third potential is applied to each of the high-resistivity leads to generate multiple gradually changing step potentials at each of their respective positions; the step potentials are used to provide a correction reference potential for each of the second potentials Vi, so that the potential difference at each of the respective leads matches the required potential difference at that position; the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are deflected by the potential difference between the first potential and the second potential or the potential difference between the second potential and the step potential, forming the electrically controlled lens.

[0016] Optionally, the high-resistance lead is specifically a plurality of first resistors connected in series, and when a third potential is applied to the high-resistance lead, the step potential appears on both sides of each first resistor.

[0017] Optionally, the resistance value of the first resistor is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode, so that the step potentials corresponding to each resistance value of the first resistor satisfy the corrected reference potential.

[0018] Optionally, the lead-out electrode is made of a transparent conductive material, and the high-resistance lead is also made of a transparent conductive material, and the position of the high-resistance lead corresponds completely to that of the lead-out electrode.

[0019] Optionally, the resistance of the high-resistance lead is controlled by the thickness of each position; the resistance value of the high-resistance lead at each position is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode.

[0020] Optionally, the annular electrode has a notch in the area covered by the lead electrode and the annular electrode to reduce potential superposition.

[0021] Optionally, the high-resistance lead is embedded in the common surface electrode, the inner end of the high-resistance lead is electrically connected to the common surface electrode, and transparent insulating material is provided at the connection points between the high-resistance lead and the common surface electrode, except for the inner end.

[0022] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. This invention provides high-resistivity leads corresponding to the positions of each lead-out electrode on the second substrate. When the liquid crystal lens is working, the high-resistivity leads are subjected to a third potential, causing each high-resistivity lead to generate multiple gradually changing step potentials at its respective positions. The step potentials are used to provide a correction reference potential for each second potential Vi, so that the potential difference at each position of each lead-out electrode matches the required potential difference at that position. This invention uses the step potentials generated by the high-resistivity leads to form a changing potential difference with the constant potential of the lead-out electrodes at each position. This changing potential difference matches the potential difference between the ring electrode and the common surface electrode at each position, thus not affecting the electric field distribution, avoiding possible distortion in the lead area, and improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0023] 2. Specifically, the high-resistivity lead of this invention consists of multiple first resistors connected in series. When a third potential is applied to the high-resistivity lead, a stepped potential appears on both sides of each first resistor. The resistance value of the first resistor is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode, so that the stepped potentials on both sides of each first resistor value meet the correction reference potential. This invention uses multiple resistors to form a high-resistivity lead, making the stepped potential change of the high-resistivity lead more obvious and better matching the required potential difference at each position, thereby improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0024] 3. The high-resistance lead of this invention controls the resistance at each location by adjusting the thickness of the lead at each position; the resistance value at each location of the high-resistance lead is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode. This high-resistance lead structure is integrally formed, making the structure simpler.

[0025] In summary, the present invention can effectively avoid distortion of the lead area of ​​the liquid crystal lens during imaging, thereby improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 This is a top view schematic diagram of a liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area according to a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a top view of a liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area, provided in another specific embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0029] This invention discloses a liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area. Those skilled in the art can refer to the content of this document and appropriately modify the technical details to achieve the desired implementation. It should be particularly noted that all similar substitutions and modifications are obvious to those skilled in the art and are considered to be included in this invention. The methods and applications of this invention have been described through preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art can clearly modify or appropriately change and combine the methods and applications described herein without departing from the content, spirit, and scope of this invention to implement and apply the technology of this invention.

[0030] The applicant's research revealed that the electrode leads provide potential to the ring electrode they are connected to, and the potential of the electrode leads generally does not change. Because the potential of the electrode leads does not change, when it passes through a region with a lower potential than its own (including the ring electrode), it will pull up the potential of that region. The potential in that region deviates from the required potential, thus affecting the electric field distribution and causing imaging distortion in the lead area.

[0031] Therefore, embodiments of the present invention provide a liquid crystal lens that prevents distortion in the lead area, such as... Figures 1-3 As shown, the liquid crystal lens includes:

[0032] First substrate 1; First substrate 1 includes lead-out electrode layer 13, insulating layer 12 and annular electrode layer 11; Annular electrode layer 11 is provided with a plurality of annular electrodes 2, and the annular electrodes 2 are arranged in concentric rings; Insulating layer 12 is disposed between lead-out electrode layer 13 and annular electrode layer 11; Lead-out electrode layer 13 is electrically connected to annular electrode layer 11 through bridging, and lead-out electrode layer 13 is provided with lead-out electrodes 3 that are electrically connected to each annular electrode 2, and lead-out electrodes 3 are used to provide corresponding potentials to annular electrodes 2.

[0033] A second substrate 7 is disposed opposite to the first substrate 1; a common surface electrode 4 and high-resistivity leads 5 corresponding to the positions of each lead-out electrode 3 are disposed on the second substrate 7; the inner end of each high-resistivity lead 5 is electrically connected to the common surface electrode 4, and the outer end of each high-resistivity lead 5 is connected to the first power supply terminal 6.

[0034] A liquid crystal layer 8 is disposed between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 7, and the liquid crystal layer 8 is filled with liquid crystal molecules 9. The liquid crystal molecules 9 are used to realize an electrically controlled lens after the common surface electrode 4, each lead electrode 3 and each high resistance lead 5 are connected to their respective potentials.

[0035] And the driving circuit;

[0036] The drive circuit is configured as follows:

[0037] A first potential is applied to the common surface electrode 4;

[0038] The second potential Vi applied to each ring electrode 2 increases sequentially from the outside to the inside; where i is the number of the ring electrode 2 from the outside to the inside, the potential of the outermost ring electrode 2 is V1, and the potential of the innermost ring electrode 2 is Vn; where n is the number of ring electrodes 2.

[0039] Each high-resistivity lead 5 is given a third potential so that each high-resistivity lead 5 generates multiple gradually changing step potentials at its respective positions; the step potential is used to provide a correction reference potential for each second potential Vi so that the potential difference at each position of each lead electrode 3 matches the required potential difference at that position; the liquid crystal molecules 9 in the liquid crystal layer 8 are deflected by the potential difference between the first potential and the second potential or the potential difference between the second potential and the step potential, forming an electrically controlled lens.

[0040] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the invention, the lead electrode 3 is used to provide potential, so the lead electrode 3 generally maintains a constant potential during operation. However, due to the routing of the lead electrode 3 as follows... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the lead electrode 3 needs to pass through other non-connected ring electrodes 2. Therefore, compared to these other ring electrodes 2, the lead electrode 3 has a higher potential, which will pull up the potential at other locations. This causes the potential difference in the area where the lead electrode 3 is located to be distorted in the lens imaging due to a mismatch between the potential difference and the required potential difference. In this embodiment of the invention, high-resistivity leads 5 are provided on the second substrate 7, corresponding to the positions of each lead electrode 3. When a potential is applied to the high-resistivity leads 5, multiple gradually changing step potentials are generated at each position. These step potentials are variable and can form a potential difference with the potential of the lead electrode 3, matching the required potential difference at that position.

[0041] It is worth mentioning that the first potential is lower than the second potential, and the first potential is lower than the third potential. The inner end of the high-resistance lead 5 is as follows:Figure 1 and Figure 2 The side pointing towards the center of the circle is shown, while the outer end is the side away from the center.

[0042] exist Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the diagram, components on the second substrate 7 are indicated by dashed lines. Figure 3 In the diagram, the ring electrodes 2 connected by the dashed line are the same electrode.

[0043] like Figure 3 As shown, liquid crystal molecules 9 are deflected by a potential difference to form a lens. The liquid crystal molecules 9 exhibit birefringence, with the refractive index of their long axis being greater than that of their short axis. Therefore, when light passes through the lens of an embodiment of this invention, for example... Figure 3 When the structure shown is used, a lens will be formed.

[0044] In one specific embodiment, such as Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2 The diagram shows four ring electrodes 2 and four corresponding lead-out electrodes 3. The potentials of the four ring electrodes 2 and the four corresponding lead-out electrodes 3, from the outside to the inside, are V1, V2, V3, and V4, respectively. The potential of the four high-resistance leads 5 at the lead-out electrode 3 corresponding to V2 at the first ring electrode 2 is U21, at the lead-out electrode 3 corresponding to V3 at the first and second ring electrodes 2 are U31 and U32, respectively, and at the lead-out electrode 3 corresponding to V4 at the first, second, and third ring electrodes 2 are U41, U42, and U43, respectively. If the first potential of the common surface electrode 4 is V0, then when the liquid crystal lens is working, V1-V0=V2-U21, V1-V0=V3-U31, V2-V0=V3-U32, V1-V0=V4-U41, V2-V0=V4-U42, and V3-V0=V4-U43.

[0045] In one specific embodiment, the high-resistance lead 5 is specifically a series of multiple first resistors. When a third potential is applied to the high-resistance lead 5, a stepped potential appears on both sides of each first resistor.

[0046] In this embodiment, the resistance value of the first resistor is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode 2 so that the step potentials on both sides of each first resistor value satisfy the correction reference potential.

[0047] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the invention, a high-resistance lead 5 is formed by multiple resistors, which makes the stepped potential change of the high-resistance lead 5 more obvious and better matches the required potential difference at each position, thereby improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0048] In one specific embodiment, the lead electrode 3 is made of a transparent conductive material, the high-resistivity lead 5 is also made of a transparent conductive material, and the position of the high-resistivity lead 5 corresponds completely to that of the lead electrode 3.

[0049] It should be noted that the relative positions are to allow for timely correction of the potential difference in the area where the lead-out electrode 3 is located, thereby improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0050] In one specific embodiment, the resistance of the high-resistance lead 5 is controlled by the thickness of each position; the resistance value of each position of the high-resistance lead 5 is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode 2.

[0051] It should be noted that the resistance of the high-resistance lead 5 can be controlled by adjusting the thickness of each position, allowing for one-piece molding, simplifying the structure and saving costs.

[0052] In one specific embodiment, the annular electrode 2 has a notch in the area covered by the lead-out electrode 3 and the annular electrode 2 to reduce potential superposition.

[0053] It should be noted that this structure can prevent the potential of the lead electrode 3 and the ring electrode 2 from being superimposed, which would reduce the distortion correction effect of the high-resistivity lead 5.

[0054] In one specific embodiment, the high-resistance lead 5 is embedded in the common surface electrode 4, the inner end of the high-resistance lead 5 is electrically connected to the common surface electrode 4, and transparent insulating material is provided at the other connection points of the high-resistance lead 5 with the common surface electrode 4 except for the inner end.

[0055] It should be noted that transparent insulating material is provided at the connection points between the high-resistivity lead 5 and the common surface electrode 4, except for the inner end, in order to prevent the potential of the high-resistivity lead 5 in other areas except for the inner end from being affected by the potential of the common surface electrode 4.

[0056] In this embodiment of the invention, high-resistivity leads 5 are disposed on the second substrate 7, corresponding to the positions of each lead-out electrode 3. When the liquid crystal lens is operating, the high-resistivity leads 5 are subjected to a third potential, causing each high-resistivity lead 5 to generate multiple gradually changing step potentials at its respective positions. These step potentials provide a correction reference potential for each second potential Vi, ensuring that the potential difference at each position of the lead-out electrode 3 matches the required potential difference at that position. In this embodiment of the invention, the step potentials generated by the high-resistivity leads 5 and the constant potential of the lead-out electrodes 3 at each position form a changing potential difference. This changing potential difference matches the potential difference between the ring electrode 2 and the common surface electrode 4 at each position, thus avoiding interference with the electric field distribution, preventing potential distortion in the lead area, and improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0057] In this embodiment of the invention, the high-resistivity lead 5 is specifically composed of multiple first resistors connected in series. When a third potential is applied to the high-resistivity lead 5, a stepped potential appears on both sides of each first resistor. The resistance value of the first resistor is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode 2, so that the stepped potentials on both sides of each first resistor value meet the correction reference potential. This embodiment of the invention uses multiple resistors to form the high-resistivity lead 5, making the stepped potential change of the high-resistivity lead 5 more obvious and better matching the required potential difference at each location, thereby improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0058] In this embodiment of the invention, the resistance of the high-resistance lead 5 is controlled by adjusting the thickness at each location; the resistance value at each location of the high-resistance lead 5 is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode 2. This high-resistance lead 5 is integrally molded, resulting in a simpler structure.

[0059] In summary, the embodiments of the present invention can effectively avoid distortion of the lead area of ​​the liquid crystal lens during imaging, thereby improving the imaging effect of the liquid crystal lens.

[0060] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0061] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a related manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the system embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the description is relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0062] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead-line region, characterized in that, The liquid crystal lens includes: A first substrate; the first substrate includes a lead-out electrode layer, an insulating layer, and a ring electrode layer; the ring electrode layer is provided with a plurality of ring electrodes, each of the ring electrodes being arranged in a concentric ring; the insulating layer is disposed between the lead-out electrode layer and the ring electrode layer; the lead-out electrode layer is electrically connected to the ring electrode layer via a bridging mechanism, and the lead-out electrode layer is provided with lead-out electrodes electrically connected to each of the ring electrodes, the lead-out electrodes being used to provide a corresponding potential to the ring electrodes; A second substrate is disposed opposite to the first substrate; a common surface electrode and high-resistance leads corresponding to the positions of each of the lead-out electrodes are disposed on the second substrate; the inner ends of each of the high-resistance leads are electrically connected to the common surface electrode, and the outer ends of each of the high-resistance leads are connected to a first power supply terminal; the high-resistance leads are embedded in the common surface electrode; the resistance of each high-resistance lead is controlled by the thickness of each position; the resistance value of each position of the high-resistance lead is set according to the second potential of the annular electrode; A liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the liquid crystal layer is filled with liquid crystal molecules; the liquid crystal molecules are used to realize an electrically controlled lens after the common surface electrode, each lead electrode, and each high-resistivity lead are connected to their respective potentials. And the driving circuit; The driving circuit is configured as follows: A first potential is applied to the common surface electrode; The second potential Vi applied to each of the ring electrodes increases sequentially from the outside to the inside; where i is the number of the ring electrode from the outside to the inside, the potential of the outermost ring electrode is V1, and the potential of the innermost ring electrode is Vn; where n is the number of the ring electrodes. A third potential is applied to each of the high-resistivity leads to generate multiple gradually changing step potentials at each of their respective positions; the step potentials are used to provide a correction reference potential for each of the second potentials Vi, so that the potential difference at each of the respective leads matches the required potential difference at that position; the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are deflected by the potential difference between the first potential and the second potential or the potential difference between the second potential and the step potential, forming the electrically controlled lens.

2. The liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area according to claim 1, characterized in that, The high-resistance lead is specifically composed of multiple first resistors connected in series. When a third potential is applied to the high-resistance lead, a stepped potential appears on both sides of each first resistor.

3. The liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area according to claim 2, characterized in that, The resistance value of the first resistor is set according to the second potential of the ring electrode, so that the step potentials on both sides of each resistance value of the first resistor satisfy the corrected reference potential.

4. The liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lead-out electrode is made of a transparent conductive material, and the high-resistance lead is also made of a transparent conductive material, and the position of the high-resistance lead corresponds exactly to that of the lead-out electrode.

5. The liquid crystal lens for preventing distortion in the lead area according to claim 1, characterized in that, Except for the inner end, the high-resistance lead is provided with transparent insulating material at the connection points with the common surface electrode.

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