Non-uniform microstructure array of electrowetting display device, manufacturing method and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a non-uniform microstructure array of an electrowetting display device, a manufacturing method and electronic equipment. The non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device comprises pixel grids, a notch structure and a spacer structure. The plurality of pixel grids are uniformly arranged along the transverse direction and the longitudinal direction, four adjacent pixel grids form a group of microstructures, and a plurality of groups of microstructures form an array; the notch structures are arranged in the pixel grids and located at the corners, each pixel grid is provided with only one notch structure, and the ink can contract from the notch structures to the opposite corners in the pixel grids and gather at the contraction positions; the spacer structures are arranged in part of the microstructures, and the spacer structures are located at the intersections of the four adjacent pixel grids; the non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device can effectively reduce the situation that the ink of the pixel grids is adjacent to each other and makes contact with the wall and even the ink overturns the wall.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a non-uniform microstructure array of an electrowetting display device, a manufacturing method and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Electrowetting display devices can use the competition between electrowetting force and liquid interfacial tension to control the shrinkage and diffusion of ink to achieve pixel switching and grayscale adjustment. The movement state of ink within the pixel not only determines the optoelectronic performance of electrowetting display devices, but is also a key factor in controlling defects such as ink wall-over and visible ink aggregation.

[0003] In the related art, the introduction of local asymmetry of electric field or wettability in pixels (usually referred to as notch structure) can effectively control the directional movement of ink. The usual goal is to control the ink to shrink to the diagonal or opposite side of the notch structure. At the same time, a support mechanism (usually referred to as spacer structure) is formed at the cross between the pixel walls to improve the mechanical strength of the electrowetting display device. However, due to the material selection of the spacer structure, it is difficult to find a completely oleophobic material. When using the traditional uniformly distributed spacer structure and notch structure design, it is impossible to avoid the risk of the shrinking ink at the spacer structure and the notch structure causing contact or even ink flipping over the wall. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present invention proposes a non-uniform microstructure array of an electrowetting display device, which can effectively reduce the occurrence of ink contact or even ink wall overflow caused by adjacent ink pixels.

[0005] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a non-uniform microstructure array for an electrowetting display device.

[0006] The embodiment of the present invention also provides an electronic device for executing the calculation process of the manufacturing method.

[0007] The non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises: A plurality of pixel grids are evenly arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions, four adjacent pixel grids form a group of microstructures, and a plurality of groups of microstructures form an array; A notch structure is provided in the pixel grid and located at a corner, each pixel grid has and has only one notch structure, and the ink can shrink from the notch structure to the diagonal position in the pixel grid and gather at the shrinking position; A spacer structure is disposed in part of the microstructure, and the spacer structure is located at the intersection of four adjacent pixel grids; Among them, for the microstructure, the contraction position in the pixel grid and the spacer structure are in different corners, and the contraction positions of two adjacent pixel grids are respectively in non-adjacent corners; for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the contraction positions of the pixel grids of the two microstructures are respectively in non-adjacent corners.

[0008] The non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: the non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device is provided with non-uniformly arranged notch structures and spacer structures, which satisfy the following conditions: for the microstructure, the shrinkage position in the pixel grid and the spacer structure are in different corners, and the shrinkage positions of two adjacent pixel grids are in non-adjacent corners; for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the shrinkage positions of the pixel grids of the two microstructures are in non-adjacent corners, so that after the ink in the pixel grid shrinks diagonally to the notch structure, the spacer structure is not adjacent to the shrunken ink, thereby avoiding the problem of decreased display effect caused by ink overflowing the wall.

[0009] The manufacturing method according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises: Set constraints for the notch and spacer structures; Calculating the distribution of the notch structure and the spacer structure according to the constraint condition; Draw an image including the graphic element of the notch structure and the graphic element of the spacer structure according to the calculation result; An electrowetting display device having a non-uniform microstructure array is prepared according to the image.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the step of setting the constraint conditions of the notch structure and the spacer structure comprises the steps of: It is stipulated that the notch structure is placed at one and only one of the four corners of each pixel grid; It is stipulated that for the microstructure, the contraction position in the pixel grid and the spacer structure are located in different corners, and the contraction positions of two adjacent pixel grids are respectively located in non-adjacent corners; for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the contraction positions of the pixel grids of the two microstructures are respectively located in non-adjacent corners.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the setting of the constraint conditions of the notch structure and the spacer structure further includes the steps of: The distribution density of the spacer structure is specified so that the spacer structure is disposed in part of the microstructure and the spacer structure is arranged non-uniformly.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the step of calculating the distribution of all the notch structures and the spacer structures that satisfy the constraint conditions according to the constraint conditions comprises the steps of: Prepare electronic equipment capable of running the backtracking algorithm; The constraint conditions are introduced into the electronic device, and all calculation results satisfying the constraint conditions are obtained by using the backtracking algorithm.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the step of drawing an image including the graphic element of the notch structure and the graphic element of the spacer structure according to the calculation result comprises: The calculation result is stored in a plain text file format and imported into an electronic device; Running a computer program of the electronic device to read all the contents of the plain text file; A pattern composed of different arrangements of graphic elements is drawn according to the reading result.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the step of storing the calculation result in a plain text file format and importing it into an electronic device comprises: In the plain text file, the spacer structure is represented by number 1, the inverted right triangle notch structure is represented by number 2, and the right triangle notch structure is represented by number 4; In the plain text file, the calculation result of the backtracking algorithm has satisfied the constraint condition, and the number 1, the number 2 and the number 4 are arranged horizontally and vertically.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present invention, based on the pattern drawn from the plain text file, the number 1 is drawn into a circle, the number 2 is drawn into an inverted right triangle, and the number 4 is drawn into a right triangle.

[0016] The manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: the corresponding manufacturing method utilizes a computer program to design an array structure, sets constraints through programming, calculates situations that satisfy the constraints in combination with a backtracking algorithm, stores the calculation in a plain text format, and then uses drawing software to draw graphics, thereby realizing the design of the array structure and greatly improving the design efficiency.

[0017] An electronic device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes: a memory storing a computer program; The processor is capable of running the computer program, calculating results and drawing patterns according to the results.

[0018] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, wherein: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a non-uniform microstructure array of an electrowetting display device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 A flowchart of a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 for Figure 2 Specific flow chart of step S100 in FIG. Figure 4 for Figure 2 Specific flow chart of step S200 in FIG. Figure 5 for Figure 2 Specific flow chart of step S300 in FIG. Figure 6 for Figure 5 Specific flow chart of step S3001 in .

[0020] Reference numerals: Pixel grid 100 , spacer structure 200 , notch structure 300 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0022] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientations, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., and orientations or positional relationships indicated are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0023] In the description of the present invention, "several" means one or more, "more" means more than two, "greater than", "less than", "exceed" etc. are understood as not including the number itself, and "above", "below", "within" etc. are understood as including the number itself. If there is a description of "first" or "second", it is only used for the purpose of distinguishing the technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0024] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific content of the technical solution.

[0025] Electrowetting display devices can use the competition between electrowetting force and liquid interfacial tension to control the shrinkage and diffusion of ink to achieve pixel switching and grayscale adjustment. The movement state of ink within the pixel not only determines the optoelectronic performance of electrowetting display devices, but is also a key factor in controlling defects such as ink wall-over and visible ink aggregation.

[0026] In related technologies, the introduction of electric field or local asymmetry of wettability in pixels (usually referred to as notch structure) can effectively control the directional movement of ink, usually with the goal of controlling the ink to shrink to the diagonal or opposite side of the notch. At the same time, a support mechanism (usually referred to as spacer structure) is formed at the cross between pixel walls to improve the mechanical strength of the electrowetting display device. However, due to the material selection of the spacer structure, it is difficult to find a completely oleophobic material. When using the traditional uniformly distributed spacer structure and notch structure design, it is impossible to avoid the risk of the shrinking ink at the spacer structure and notch structure causing contact or even causing the ink to flip over the wall.

[0027] In response to related technical problems, the present invention proposes a non-uniform microstructure array of an electrowetting display device and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device is provided with non-uniformly arranged notch structures and spacer structures, which satisfy the following conditions: each pixel grid has only one notch structure, the spacer structure and the notch structure are located at the same corner of the pixel grid, and / or the spacer structure is located at the corner and / or side adjacent to the pixel grid and the notch structure, and the notch structures of two adjacent pixel grids are located on one side and / or adjacent sides in the same direction, so that after the ink in the pixel grid shrinks toward the diagonal and / or opposite side of the notch structure, the spacer structure is not adjacent to the shrinking ink, thereby avoiding the problem of decreased display effect caused by ink overflow; the corresponding manufacturing method uses a computer program to design the array structure, sets constraints through programming, combines a backtracking algorithm to calculate the situation that satisfies the constraints, stores it in a plain text format, and then combines drawing software to draw graphics, thereby realizing the design of the array structure, greatly improving the design efficiency.

[0028] Reference Figure 1 The non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device includes a plurality of pixel grids 100, a notch structure 300 and a spacer structure 200, wherein the plurality of pixel grids 100 are uniformly arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions, four adjacent pixel grids 100 form a group of microstructures, and a plurality of groups of microstructures constitute an array.

[0029] It should be noted that the notch structure 300 is disposed in the pixel grid 100 and located at a corner. Each pixel grid 100 has only one notch structure 300. The ink can shrink from the notch structure 300 to the diagonal position in the pixel grid 100 and gather at the shrinking position.

[0030] The spacer structure 200 is disposed in a part of the microstructure, and the spacer structure 200 is located at the intersection of four adjacent pixel grids 100. For the microstructure, the contraction position in the pixel grid 100 and the spacer structure 200 are located in different corners, and the contraction positions of two adjacent pixel grids 100 are respectively located in non-adjacent corners; for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the contraction positions of the pixel grids 100 of the two microstructures are respectively located in non-adjacent corners. Figure 1 The arrow in the figure indicates the direction of ink shrinkage.

[0031] For example, in the first layout, the following situations exist simultaneously: some spacer structures 200 and some notch structures 300 are located at the same corner and side of the pixel grid 100, some spacer structures 200 are located at the corners and sides of the pixel grid 100 adjacent to some notch structures 300, and the notch structures 300 of two adjacent pixel grids 100 are located on one side and adjacent sides in the same direction.

[0032] In the second layout, the following situations exist simultaneously: some spacer structures 200 and some notch structures 300 are located at the same corner and side of the pixel grid 100, some spacer structures 200 are located at the corners of the pixel grid 100 adjacent to some notch structures 300, and the notch structures 300 of two adjacent pixel grids 100 are located on one side and adjacent sides in the same direction.

[0033] In the third layout, the following situations exist simultaneously: some spacer structures 200 and some notch structures 300 are located in the same corner of the pixel grid 100, some spacer structures 200 are located on the side adjacent to the pixel grid 100 and some notch structures 300, and the notch structures 300 of two adjacent pixel grids 100 are located on one side in the same direction; In the fourth layout, the following situations exist simultaneously: some spacer structures 200 and some notch structures 300 are located in the same corner of the pixel grid 100, some spacer structures 200 are located on the side adjacent to the pixel grid 100 and some notch structures 300, and the notch structures 300 of two adjacent pixel grids 100 are located on an adjacent side. The arrangement and combination are carried out in the same way, and other situations that meet the constraints are not listed here. In the above layout method, the spacer structure 200 and the notch structure 300 are both arranged non-uniformly.

[0034] It can be understood that the non-uniformly distributed arrangement of the notch structure 300 and the spacer structure 200 proposed in the present invention sets the constraint criteria for the relative positions of the notch structure 300 and the spacer structure 200 through independently compiled computer codes, wherein the constraint criteria is that the spacer structure 200 cannot be adjacent to the shrinking ink droplets, that is, for the microstructure, the shrinking position in the pixel grid 100 is in a different corner from the spacer structure 200, and the shrinking positions of two adjacent pixel grids 100 are respectively in non-adjacent corners; for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the shrinking positions of the pixel grids 100 of the two microstructures are respectively in non-adjacent corners.

[0035] Reference Figures 2 to 6 , the preparation method comprises the steps of: Step S100, setting constraints of the notch structure 300 and the spacer structure 200; Step S200, calculating the distribution of the notch structure 300 and the spacer structure 200 according to the constraint conditions; Step S300, drawing an image including graphic elements of the notch structure 300 and graphic elements of the spacer structure 200 according to the calculation result; S400, preparing an electrowetting display device having a non-uniform microstructure array according to the image.

[0036] It can be understood that in step S100, the step of setting the constraint conditions of the notch structure 300 and the spacer structure 200 includes: S1001, specifying that a notch structure 300 is placed at one and only one of the four corners of each pixel grid 100; S1002, specifying that for the microstructure, the shrinkage position in the pixel grid 100 and the spacer structure 200 are located at different corners, and the shrinkage positions of two adjacent pixel grids 100 are located at non-adjacent corners; S1003 . It is stipulated that for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the shrinkage positions of the pixel grids 100 of the two microstructures are located at non-adjacent corners.

[0037] It can be understood that, in step S200, the step of calculating the distribution results of the notch structure 300 and the spacer structure 200 according to the constraint conditions includes: S2001. Prepare electronic equipment capable of running a backtracking algorithm; S2002: Import the constraint conditions into the electronic device, and use the backtracking algorithm to obtain all calculation results that meet the constraint conditions.

[0038] It can be understood that the backtracking algorithm pseudo code for this calculation is as follows: Function solve(row): If row is equal to height: / / all rows have spacers placed successfully Record the current calculation results and save them to a file return For each column col from 0 to width: If placing spacer 1 at position (row, col) satisfies the constraints: Place spacer 1 at position (row, col) Place notch 2 or notch 4 at another position in the current row solve(row + 1) / / recursively try to place the next spacer Remove the spacer at position (row, col) / / Backtrack and undo the previous placement It can be understood that the step of drawing an image including the graphic elements of the notch structure 300 and the graphic elements of the spacer structure 200 according to the calculation result includes: S3001, storing the calculation result in a plain text file format and importing it into an electronic device; S3002, running a computer program of the electronic device to read all the contents of the plain text file; S3003. Draw a pattern composed of different graphic elements according to the reading result.

[0039] It is understood that the steps of storing the calculation results in a plain text file format and importing the results into an electronic device include: S3011. In the plain text file, the number 1 represents the spacer structure 200, the number 2 represents the inverted right triangle notch structure 300, and the number 4 represents the right triangle notch structure 300; S3012. In the plain text file, the calculation result of the backtracking algorithm has satisfied the constraint conditions, and the numbers 1, 2, and 4 are arranged horizontally and vertically.

[0040] It can be understood that, in step S3011, according to the pattern drawn from the plain text file, the number 1 is drawn as a circle, the number 2 is drawn as an inverted right triangle, and the number 4 is drawn as a right triangle.

[0041] Here is the pseudo code as follows: implement: If char is equal to '2': Calculate coordinate points Draw an inverted right triangle otherwise: If char is equal to '1': Calculate coordinate points Draw a circle otherwise: If char is equal to '4': Calculate coordinate points Draw a right triangle The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge scope of ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

Claims

1. A non-uniform microstructure array of an electrowetting display device, characterized in that: include: A plurality of pixel grids are evenly arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions, four adjacent pixel grids form a group of microstructures, and a plurality of groups of microstructures form an array; A notch structure is provided in the pixel grid and located at a corner, each pixel grid has and has only one notch structure, and the ink can shrink from the notch structure to the diagonal position in the pixel grid and gather at the shrinking position; A spacer structure is disposed in part of the microstructure, and the spacer structure is located at the intersection of four adjacent pixel grids; Among them, for the microstructure, the contraction position in the pixel grid and the spacer structure are in different corners, and the contraction positions of two adjacent pixel grids are respectively in non-adjacent corners; for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the contraction positions of the pixel grids of the two microstructures are respectively in non-adjacent corners.

2. A manufacturing method, applied to the manufacturing of the non-uniform microstructure array of the electrowetting display device according to claim 1, characterized in that: include: Set constraints for the notch and spacer structures; Calculating the distribution of the notch structure and the spacer structure according to the constraint condition; Draw an image including the graphic element of the notch structure and the graphic element of the spacer structure according to the calculation result; An electrowetting display device having a non-uniform microstructure array is prepared according to the image.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The step of setting the constraint conditions of the notch structure and the spacer structure comprises the following steps: It is stipulated that the notch structure is placed at one and only one of the four corners of each pixel grid; It is stipulated that for the microstructure, the contraction position in the pixel grid and the spacer structure are located in different corners, and the contraction positions of two adjacent pixel grids are respectively located in non-adjacent corners; for the array, in two adjacent microstructures, the contraction positions of the pixel grids of the two microstructures are respectively located in non-adjacent corners.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The setting of the constraint conditions of the notch structure and the spacer structure also includes the steps of: The distribution density of the spacer structure is specified so that the spacer structure is disposed in part of the microstructure and the spacer structure is arranged non-uniformly.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of calculating the distribution of all the notch structures and the spacer structures that satisfy the constraint conditions according to the constraint conditions comprises the following steps: Prepare electronic equipment capable of running the backtracking algorithm; The constraint conditions are introduced into the electronic device, and all calculation results satisfying the constraint conditions are obtained by using the backtracking algorithm.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of drawing an image including the graphic element of the notch structure and the graphic element of the spacer structure according to the calculation result comprises: The calculation result is stored in a plain text file format and imported into an electronic device; Running a computer program of the electronic device to read all the contents of the plain text file; A pattern composed of different arrangements of graphic elements is drawn according to the reading result.

7. The manufacturing method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The step of storing the calculation result in a plain text file format and importing it into an electronic device comprises: In the plain text file, the spacer structure is represented by number 1, the notch structure of the inverted right triangle is represented by number 2, and the notch structure of the right triangle is represented by number 4; In the plain text file, the calculation result of the backtracking algorithm has satisfied the constraint condition, and the number 1, the number 2 and the number 4 are arranged horizontally and vertically.

8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7, characterized in that: According to the pattern drawn from the plain text file, the number 1 is drawn into a circle, the number 2 is drawn into an inverted right triangle, and the number 4 is drawn into a right triangle.

9. An electronic device, used to execute the calculation process in the manufacturing method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises: a memory storing a computer program; The processor is capable of running the computer program, calculating results and drawing patterns according to the results.

Images