Display panel and time sequence control method thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a display panel and a time sequence control method thereof. The display panel comprises a substrate; the display structure layer is located on one side of the substrate, and the display structure layer comprises a plurality of sub-pixels; the optical control layer is located on the light emitting side of the display structure layer, the optical control layer comprises a plurality of diffusion units and a plurality of optical control units, each diffusion unit is arranged in an orthographic projection area, on the optical control layer, of a corresponding sub-pixel in the display structure layer, and each optical control unit is arranged on the peripheral side of the corresponding sub-pixel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of outdoor display technology, and more particularly to a display panel and a timing control method for the display panel. Background Technology

[0002] Existing outdoor LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens generally employ high-brightness backlighting (e.g., brightness ≥ 2500 nits), circular polarizers, anti-glare (AG) or anti-reflection (AR) coatings, louvered light shields, and other methods to combat ambient light interference.

[0003] Currently, the specular reflectivity of high-end outdoor LCDs is at least 1.5%, while matte screens are around 4%–6%, resulting in a contrast ratio often below 10:1 under strong midday sunlight. Using blinds / sunshades would increase the size and disrupt industrial design consistency.

[0004] Furthermore, to maintain readability, backlight power consumption accounts for over 70% of the total power consumption, placing enormous pressure on heat dissipation, battery life, and carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, high-brightness backlighting tends to make the device thicker, heavier, and hotter, and the color gamut may drift at high temperatures.

[0005] Pure optical films have also been introduced into related technologies, but pure optical films can only achieve "passive anti-reflection", resulting in a complete waste of ambient light energy. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide at least one display panel and a timing control method for the display panel to overcome at least one of the above-mentioned defects.

[0007] In a first aspect, an exemplary embodiment of this application provides a display panel, comprising: a substrate; a display structure layer located on one side of the substrate, the display structure layer including a plurality of sub-pixels; and an optical control layer located on the light-emitting side of the display structure layer, the optical control layer including a plurality of diffusion units and a plurality of optical control units, each diffusion unit being arranged in the orthographic projection area of ​​a corresponding sub-pixel in the display structure layer on the optical control layer, and each optical control unit being arranged on the periphery of a corresponding sub-pixel.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the plurality of sub-pixels includes a plurality of first sub-pixels for emitting a first color light, a plurality of second sub-pixels for emitting a second color light, and a plurality of third sub-pixels for emitting a third color light, wherein the interior of each diffusion unit contains color powder consistent with the color light emitted by the corresponding sub-pixel.

[0009] In a possible implementation, each optical control unit comprises: a light control film layer arranged at a preset angle so that the corresponding diffusion unit is located in the specular direction of the light control film layer, wherein the light control film layer is in a specular state when a first voltage value is applied to reflect incident light specularly to the corresponding diffusion unit, and the light control film layer is in a transparent state when a second voltage value is applied to enable the incident light to penetrate the light control film layer.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the optical control layer further comprises a light absorption layer arranged on one side of the corresponding light control film layer close to the display structure layer, wherein when the light control film layer is in a transparent state, the incident light penetrates the light control film layer and is absorbed by the light absorption layer.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the light absorption layer comprises a vertical array of columns, and an outer sidewall of each column in the array is a rough porous surface for absorbing incident light.

[0012] In a possible implementation, each optical control unit further comprises: a transparent base layer arranged between the light control film layer and the light absorption layer, and a projection area of the transparent base layer on the substrate substrate is consistent with a projection area of the light control film layer on the substrate substrate.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the toner comprises any one of the following: quantum dots, fluorescent microcrystals, perovskite nanocrystals, and / or the particle size of the particles in each diffusion unit ranges from 0.5 microns to 2 microns, the scattering angle ranges from ≥120 degrees, and / or each optical control unit is made of an electrochromic material, and / or the material of each column comprises any one of the following: photonic crystal black silicon, nano carbon black, the diameter of each column ranges from 50 nanometers to 100 nanometers, the height of each column ranges from 2 microns to 3 microns, and the duty cycle of the column array relative to the light absorption layer is not less than 70%.

[0014] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a timing control method of the display panel, comprising: receiving image data; determining at least one first sub-pixel to be lighted and at least one second sub-pixel to be turned off in the display panel based on the image data; for each first sub-pixel, applying a first voltage value to a preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel to control the preset optical control unit to be in a mirror state to reflect incident light to a corresponding diffusion unit in a mirror state; for each second sub-pixel, applying a second voltage value to a target optical control unit corresponding to the second sub-pixel to control the target optical control unit to be in a transparent state to enable the incident light to penetrate the target optical control unit.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the inside of each diffusion unit contains color powder consistent with the color light emitted by the corresponding sub-pixel, and the display panel further comprises a backlight light source, wherein for each first sub-pixel, when the first voltage value is applied to the preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel, the color powder in the diffusion unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel is excited by the incident light to generate color light corresponding to the first sub-pixel, so that the generated color light is superimposed with the backlight light source and emitted from the light-emitting side of the display panel.

[0016] In a possible implementation, further comprising: applying the first voltage value to the preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel at a first preset time after receiving the image data, and applying the second voltage value to the target optical control unit corresponding to the second sub-pixel at a second preset time after receiving the image data.

[0017] The display panel and the timing control method thereof provided by the present application can simultaneously reduce reflected light and recycle ambient light.

[0018] In order to make the above objectives, features and advantages of the present application more apparent, clear and easy to understand, the following will specifically describe the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some of the embodiments of the present application, and therefore should not be considered as a limitation to the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can also be obtained without creative labor.

[0020] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of an existing display panel; Figure 2 FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a display panel provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a display panel according to an example embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 FIG. 3 shows a light emission schematic diagram of a display panel according to an example embodiment of the present application; Figure 5A FIG. 4 shows a structural schematic diagram of a light absorption layer according to an example embodiment of the present application; Figure 5B FIG. 5 shows an A-A direction cross-sectional view of a light absorption layer according to an example embodiment of the present application; Figure 6 FIG. 6 shows a structural schematic diagram of a display device according to an example embodiment of the present application; Figure 7 FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a timing control method of a display panel according to an example embodiment of the present application; Figures 8A to 8C FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a preparation method of a light absorption layer according to an example embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] To make the objectives, technical schemes, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in connection with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. It should be appreciated that the drawings in the present application only serve the purpose of illustration and description, and are not used to limit the scope of protection of the present application. In addition, it should be appreciated that the schematic drawings are not drawn to scale. The flowcharts show the operations implemented according to some embodiments of the present application. It should be appreciated that the operations of the flowcharts can not be implemented in sequence, and the steps without logical context relationship can be reversed in sequence or implemented simultaneously. In addition, one or more other operations can be added to the flowcharts or one or more operations can be removed from the flowcharts under the guidance of the content of the present application.

[0022] The terms “one”, “an”, “the”, and “said” are used in the present specification to denote the presence of one or more elements / components / etc.; the terms “include”, “contain” or “have” and similar words mean that the elements or objects before the words encompass the elements or objects listed after the words and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects; the terms “first”, “second”, and similar words are only used as labels, and do not represent any order, number, or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. The terms “connect” or “connected” and similar words are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The terms “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, and the like only represent relative positional relationships, which can change accordingly when the absolute positions of the described objects change.

[0023] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "multiple" means two or two or more. "And / or" is only a description of the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B, and the existence of B alone. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "Including A, B and / or C" means including any one or any two or three of A, B and C.

[0024] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A", "B corresponding to A", "A corresponding to B" or "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. Determining B according to A does not mean that B is determined only according to A, but also can be determined according to A and / or other information.

[0025] "About" or "substantially the same" used in the embodiments of the present application includes the stated value and means within the acceptable deviation range of the specific value as determined by the person skilled in the art considering the measurement discussed and the error related to the measurement of the specific quantity (i.e. the limitation of the measurement system). For example, "substantially the same" can mean that the difference with respect to the stated value is within one or more standard deviation ranges, or within ± 30%, 20%, 10%, 5%.

[0026] In addition, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all. The components of the embodiments of the present application generally described and shown in the drawings can be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but only represents selected embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0027] In the accompanying drawings, the thicknesses of layers, films, panels, regions, etc., are enlarged for clarity. Exemplary embodiments are described in this application with reference to cross-sectional views, which are schematic diagrams of idealized implementations. Thus, deviations from the shapes shown in the drawings will be expected as a result of, for example, manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances. Therefore, the embodiments described in this application should not be construed as limited to the specific shapes of the regions shown herein, but rather include deviations in shape caused, for example, by manufacturing processes. For example, regions illustrated or described as flat may typically have rough and / or non-linear characteristics. Furthermore, sharp corners illustrated may be rounded. Therefore, the regions shown in the figures are schematic in nature, and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the precise shapes of the regions, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0028] To keep the following description of the embodiments of this application clear and concise, detailed descriptions of known functions and known components are omitted from the embodiments of this application.

[0029] Traditional display panels mostly use, for example Figure 1 The structure shown, for example, includes an upper glass substrate and a lower glass substrate, with an organic compound filled between the substrates to form a liquid crystal layer. It also includes an upper polarizer and a lower polarizer to filter light from specific directions to create contrast, and a pixel layer disposed above the liquid crystal layer, typically including red, green, and blue TFT (Thin Film Transistor) pixels to combine and generate a full-color image.

[0030] Based on the above display panel structure, in order to enable the display screen to adapt to strong outdoor light environments, related technologies commonly employ high-brightness backlight (e.g., brightness ≥ 2500 nits), circular polarizers, anti-glare (AG) or anti-reflection (AR) coatings, louvered light shields, and other means to combat ambient light interference.

[0031] For designs employing high-brightness backlighting, backlight power consumption accounts for over 70% of the total power consumption to maintain readability, placing enormous pressure on heat dissipation, battery life, and carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, high-brightness backlighting tends to make the device thicker, heavier, and hotter, and the color gamut is prone to drift at high temperatures.

[0032] For outdoor environments, high-end outdoor LCDs have a specular reflectivity of at least 1.5%, while matte screens have a reflectivity of about 4%–6%, resulting in a contrast ratio that is often below 10:1 under strong midday sunlight.

[0033] Using louvered / sunshade designs increases volume and disrupts the consistency of industrial design.

[0034] In addition, a pure optical film is also introduced in the related art to reduce reflected light, and the principle is based on the interference effect of light. By introducing one or more thin films with specific refractive index and thickness, the reflected waves of light on the film layer interface interfere with each other, thereby reducing overall reflection and improving transmittance. However, the pure optical film can only achieve "passive anti-reflection", which leads to complete waste of ambient light energy.

[0035] To solve the problems of the above at least one aspect, the display panel and the timing control method of the display panel are provided, which can selectively absorb and / or reuse outdoor ambient light through the optical control layer to reduce reflected light and / or improve pixel brightness.

[0036] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present application, the specific process of the display panel and the timing control method of the display panel provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below.

[0037] Figure 2 A structure diagram of the display panel provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0038] As shown in Figure 2 , the display panel provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present application includes a substrate, an optical control layer 20 and a display structure layer 30.

[0039] Specifically, the display structure layer 30 is located on one side of the substrate, and the display structure layer 30 includes a plurality of sub-pixels.

[0040] For example, the display structure layer 30 can include a plurality of pixel units arranged in a matrix manner, and at least one pixel unit in the plurality of pixel units can include a plurality of sub-pixels.

[0041] In Figure 2 the example shown, each pixel unit includes three sub-pixels, for example, a first sub-pixel P1 emitting first color light, a second sub-pixel P2 emitting second color light and a third sub-pixel P3 emitting third color light. For example, the first color light can be red light, the second color light can be green light, and the third color light can be blue light. In other words, the first sub-pixel P1 can be a red (R) sub-pixel, the second sub-pixel P2 can be a green (G) sub-pixel, and the third sub-pixel P3 can be a blue (B) sub-pixel. In other examples, a pixel unit can include four sub-pixels, for example, a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, a blue sub-pixel and a white sub-pixel. The present application does not limit this.

[0042] In some optional examples, the shape of the sub-pixels in a pixel unit can be rectangular, rhomboid, pentagonal, or hexagonal. For a pixel unit comprising three sub-pixels, the three sub-pixels can be arranged horizontally side-by-side, vertically side-by-side, or in a triangular arrangement. For a pixel unit comprising four sub-pixels, the four sub-pixels can be arranged horizontally side-by-side, vertically side-by-side, or in a square arrangement. This application does not impose any limitations on this arrangement.

[0043] The optical control layer 20 is located on the light-emitting side of the display structure layer 30. Here, the optical control layer 20 includes multiple diffusion units (e.g., K1~K3) and multiple optical control units G.

[0044] In this embodiment, each diffusion unit is arranged in the orthographic projection area of ​​a corresponding sub-pixel on the optical control layer 20 within the display structure layer 30. Taking a pixel unit including a red sub-pixel P1, a green sub-pixel P2, and a blue sub-pixel P3 as an example, the optical control layer 20 may include a diffusion unit K1 corresponding to the red sub-pixel P1, a diffusion unit K2 corresponding to the green sub-pixel P2, and a diffusion unit K3 corresponding to the blue sub-pixel P3. That is, each diffusion unit in the optical control layer 20 corresponds one-to-one with each color sub-pixel in the display structure layer 30.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment, each diffusion unit contains a pigment that corresponds to the color light emitted from the corresponding sub-pixel. Exemplarily, the pigment may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: quantum dots, fluorescent microcrystals, or perovskite nanocrystals. Using perovskite nanocrystals as pigment here can improve color purity, but requires additional encapsulation. In this way, ambient light reflected from the mirror excites the additionally encapsulated pigment.

[0046] Optionally, the particle size range of each diffusion unit can be from 0.5 micrometers to 2 micrometers, and the scattering angle range can be ≥120 degrees.

[0047] Each optical control unit G is arranged around the periphery of a corresponding sub-pixel. In one example, an annular optical control unit G (also known as a light control unit LCU) is arranged around each sub-pixel.

[0048] In another example, an optical control unit G can be placed around the periphery of a corresponding sub-pixel in the form of a tic-tac-toe grid, which can further reduce inter-pixel crosstalk. Here, the tic-tac-toe grid reduces optical and electrical crosstalk simultaneously through the triple effects of absorption-blocking, reflective surface segmentation, and electric field confinement, achieving lower inter-pixel interference. It is equivalent to adding an opaque conductive barrier to each sub-pixel. Ambient light must bypass multiple high-absorption walls to "cross" to the neighboring pixel, which is equivalent to cutting the optical crosstalk path into several segments, thereby increasing the brightness between pixels and reducing chromaticity coupling.

[0049] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, the optical control unit G can include a composite electrochromic film, which can be used as the adjustable mirror surface of the optical control unit.

[0050] For example, the optical control unit G can be made of an electrochromic material, in an example, an electrochromic (EC) material is combined with a high-reflective metal nanowire grid, based on which the switching between the transparent state and the mirror state can be completed within <5 milliseconds (ms).

[0051] In another example, the EC layer can also use tungsten trioxide or molybdenum trioxide electrochromic film, but its response time is slightly slower.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present application, the driving of the optical control unit G can be synchronized with the switching timing sequence of the corresponding sub-pixel in the transparent state / mirror state of the optical control unit G, which is uniformly scheduled by the T-Con (Timing Controller, also known as logic board, main board driving board), which will be described in detail later.

[0053] Figure 3 Fig. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a display panel provided by an example embodiment of the present application.

[0054] In Figure 3 In the example shown, the overall laminated structure (from top to bottom) of the display panel provided by the embodiment of the present application can include: ambient light, upper polarizing plate 80, optical control layer (OC) 20, CF+TFT LCD box, lower polarizing plate, backlight.

[0055] The optical control layer 20 includes an optical control layer substrate 10, an IOT signal layer 70, an optical control unit G, and a diffusion unit. The CF+TFT LCD box includes a CF substrate 60, a display structure layer 30, and an in-box control layer 50. For example, the display structure layer 30 includes a BM (Black Matrix) 31 and a color resistance, and the color group is composed of a large number of small color blocks, which are arranged in a matrix to cover the entire panel, and each color block corresponds to a sub-pixel.

[0056] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, each optical control unit G can include a light control film layer 21 and a light absorbing layer 22.

[0057] Specifically, the light control film layer 21 can be arranged at a preset angle, so that the corresponding diffusion unit (also referred to as a diffusion particle layer DP) is located in the mirror direction of the light control film layer 21. The light absorbing layer 22 is arranged on the side of the corresponding light control film layer close to the display structure layer, as shown, the light absorbing layer 22 is arranged below the light control film layer 21.

[0058] In the above structure, the optical control layer located at the outermost side, corresponding to each sub-pixel, is arranged on the side of the corresponding sub-pixel, the diffusion particle layer located inside the optical control layer, the diffusion particle layer contains color powder corresponding to R / G / B sub-pixels, the light absorbing layer located above the BM is vertically aligned with the light control film layer.

[0059] In an optional embodiment, each optical control unit G can further include a transparent substrate layer 23 in addition to the light control film layer 21 and the light absorbing layer 22. The transparent substrate layer 23 is arranged between the light control film layer 21 and the light absorbing layer 22. For example, the transparent substrate layer 23 has a projection area on the substrate substrate that is consistent with the projection area of the light control film layer 21 on the substrate substrate.

[0060] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, the display panel with the above structure can be designed to be flexible and curlable, for example, the optical control layer OC and the light absorbing layer LAL are both made of flexible ITO+PET substrate to realize a curlable outdoor screen.

[0061] Figure 4 A light emission schematic diagram of the display panel provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0062] For example, as shown in the figure, the light control film layer is in a mirror state when a first voltage value is applied, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit in a mirror state. Figure 4 For example, as shown in the figure, the light control film layer is in a mirror state when a first voltage value is applied, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit in a mirror state.

[0063] For example, as shown in the figure, the light control film layer is in a mirror state when a first voltage value is applied, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit in a mirror state. Figure 2 For example, as shown in the figure, the light control film layer is in a mirror state when a first voltage value is applied, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit in a mirror state.

[0064] For example, as shown in the figure, the light control film layer is in a mirror state when a first voltage value is applied, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit in a mirror state.

[0065] For example, as shown in the figure, the light control film layer is in a mirror state when a first voltage value is applied, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit in a mirror state. Figure 2The two light control film layers 21-2 shown in pink in the middle, in this case, the incident light penetrates the light control film layer 21-2 in a transparent state, and is absorbed by the light absorption layer corresponding to the light control film layer 21-2.

[0066] In the embodiment of the present application, the outdoor ambient light is selectively absorbed and reused by the optical control layer to reduce the reflected light and simultaneously improve the pixel brightness. The display panel provided by the embodiment of the present application realizes the dual tasks of "anti-reflection" and "brightness enhancement" in the same pixel cycle through the "optical control layer + diffusion particle layer + light absorption layer" three-in-one structure, and takes into account energy saving and readability, and can be widely applied in the fields of intelligent traffic, outdoor advertising, vehicle-mounted display, military rugged terminal, etc.

[0067] In a preferred embodiment, a microlens array and an angle sensor can also be added on the surface of the optical control layer OC, in which case, the mirror direction of the light control film layer is adjusted in real time according to the solar elevation angle, the recycling efficiency is improved, and intelligent ambient light tracking is realized. Here, the relative distance between one side of the light control film layer and the light absorption layer can be controlled to change by at least one of thermal effect electromechanical actuators, piezoelectric effect actuators, electrostatic effect actuators, and mechanical effect actuators, so as to change the mirror direction of the light control film layer. For example, the angle sensor can be used to sense the solar elevation angle, and based on the corresponding relationship between different solar elevation angles and different distance values, a target distance value corresponding to the currently sensed solar elevation angle is determined, and the one side of the light control film layer is controlled to move based on the target distance value to change the mirror direction.

[0068] Figure 5A The structure of the light absorption layer provided by the exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown in the structure diagram.

[0069] As Figure 5A shown, the light absorption layer is located directly below the BM and includes a vertical array of columns. For example, the material of the columns can include but is not limited to photonic crystal black silicon or nano carbon black. The photonic crystal black silicon has a wider absorption bandwidth than the nano carbon black. In addition, the outer sidewall of each column in the column array can be micro-roughened to form a rough porous surface, so that the incident light is reflected and absorbed multiple times, and the theoretical single-pass absorption rate is ≥96%, as Figure 5B shown.

[0070] In an optional example, each column has a diameter ranging from 50 nanometers (nm) to 100 nanometers (nm), each column has a height ranging from 2 micrometers (μm) to 3 micrometers (μm), and a duty cycle of the column array relative to the light absorbing layer is not less than 70%. Here, the duty cycle can refer to a ratio of a solid area of the column to a whole unit area, and the duty cycle of 70% or more has the advantages of high first absorption rate, more gentle equivalent refractive index gradient, and small lateral crosstalk leakage. The duty cycle of 70% indicates that the first time the area light hits the column, the column absorbs the light, and only 30% of the light needs to be scattered for two or three times. The overall absorption rate can be increased from 85% to 95%, the gradient is more gentle, the air-film interface Fresnel reflection is smaller, the specular reflection is reduced by 0.3%, the column spacing is reduced to 70% of the duty cycle, which is less than half of the wavelength of visible light, the transverse photon band gap appears, and the lateral leakage is reduced, thereby reducing the lateral sub-pixel crosstalk.

[0071] Based on the display panel provided in the above embodiments of the present application, the mirror reflection of the display panel on the ambient light can be reduced under the premise that the existing backlight power consumption remains basically unchanged, part of the ambient light energy is converted into usable display light, the single-pixel brightness is improved, and the readability under sunlight is improved.

[0072] Figure 6 A structural schematic diagram of a display device provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0073] In some examples, as shown in Figure 6 The display device can include a timing controller 201, a data driver 202, a sub-pixel array 203, and a gate driving circuit. The gate driving circuit can include at least one driver, for example, a scan driver 204. The timing controller 201, the data driver 202, and the gate driving circuit can be located in a peripheral area of a display area of the display panel. The sub-pixel array 203 located in the display area can include a plurality of regularly arranged sub-pixels P. The scan driver 204 can be configured to provide a scan signal to the sub-pixels P along a scan line, the data driver 202 can be configured to provide a data signal to the sub-pixels P along a data line, and the timing controller 201 can be configured to control the scan driver 204 and the data driver 202.

[0074] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, a timing control method for the display panel in the above embodiments is also provided, which can be executed in a timing controller (also referred to as a timing logic board) of the display device.

[0075] Figure 7 A flowchart of the timing control method of the display panel provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0076] As shown in Figure 7 The timing control method of the display panel provided by an embodiment of the present application specifically includes: Step S701, receiving image data.

[0077] For example, the image data can be received by a timing controller T-Con. Here, the T-Con can convert externally input signals into timing control signals, for example, receive LVDS / eDP image signals from a mainboard, decode and repack them into Mini-LVDS / RSDS format according to the timing requirements of the display panel, and generate accurate source / gate driving timing to ensure that each frame of image pixels is correctly "written" into each sub-pixel of the liquid crystal panel.

[0078] Step S702, determining at least one first sub-pixel to be lit and at least one second sub-pixel to be turned off in the display panel based on the image data.

[0079] For example, based on the image data, the first sub-pixel to be lit and the second sub-pixel to be turned off among all sub-pixels included in the display panel in the current frame of image can be determined.

[0080] Step S703, for each first sub-pixel, applying a first voltage value to a preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel to control the preset optical control unit to be in a mirror state to mirror the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit.

[0081] For example, for each first sub-pixel, when the first voltage value is applied to the preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel, the light control film layer of the preset optical control unit is in a mirror state, and the incident light (λenv, spectral distribution of ambient light) is mirror reflected to the diffusion unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel, so that the toner in the diffusion unit is excited by the incident light to generate color light (such as λR / G / B) corresponding to the first sub-pixel, so that the generated color light is superimposed with the backlight light source of the display panel and emitted from the light-emitting side of the display panel.

[0082] In a preferred example, the first voltage value can be applied to the preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel at a first preset time after the image data is received.

[0083] For example, when the first sub-pixel needs to be lit, the T-Con applies the first voltage value to the LCU before the liquid crystal is twisted. micron s to the LCU. For example, the T-Con can be fine-tuned by temperature lookup table, and finally fixed in the driving code in the form of "how many lines in advance", for example, at >600 nanoseconds ns+t_mirror and ​<0.1 x t LC, the mirror state of the LCU is ready before the liquid crystal starts to twist, ambient light λ env is reflected out, and the first sub-pixel gets extra brightness. Here, t mirror represents the time required to establish the mirror reflection state to ensure that ambient light can be effectively reflected out, t mirror + 600 ns represents that the mirror is ready, t LC is the maximum time required for liquid crystal to twist, and determines the optical response speed of the pixel, which is used to calculate the "advance amount", <0.1 x t LC, which indicates that the liquid crystal has not started to move.

[0084] That is, during the sub-pixel opening stage, the light control unit surrounding the sub-pixel is switched to a mirror state, ambient light is reflected to the diffusion particle layer and converted to the same color light by the toner, and the ambient light is absorbed and reflected to the diffusion particle layer by the mirror, and a new spectrum is formed after excitation of the toner, which is superimposed with the backlight spectrum to form a new spectrum, which is emitted from the front, and light reinforcement is performed.

[0085] Step S704, for each second sub-pixel, a second voltage value is applied to the target optical control unit corresponding to the second sub-pixel to control the target optical control unit to be in a transparent state, so that the incident light can penetrate the target optical control unit.

[0086] For example, for each second sub-pixel, when the second voltage value is applied to the target optical control unit corresponding to the second sub-pixel, the light control film layer of the target optical control unit is in a transparent state, and the incident light λ env penetrates the OC and is absorbed by the carbon black column of the LAL to reduce the reflectivity.

[0087] In a preferred example, the second voltage value can be applied to the target optical control unit corresponding to the second sub-pixel at a second preset time after receiving the image data.

[0088] For example, when the second sub-pixel needs to be turned off, the T-Con applies the second voltage value to the LCU before the liquid crystal twists Microseconds. For example, the T-Con can be fine-tuned by a temperature lookup table, and finally fixed in the driving code in the form of "how many lines in advance", for example, at t clear + 600 ns and <0.1 x t LC, here, 600 ns can refer to an interface / driver level fixed delay, which is shared with the scene, t clear represents the mirror removal time of the LCU from the "reflection state to the transparent state", which has the same physical meaning as t mirror, but the values are not necessarily equal, for example, t clear ≤ t mirror, >t_clear+600ns indicates that the transparent state has been established and the reflectivity has been reduced to the minimum. The above constraints can make the LCU transparent state ready before the liquid crystal starts to twist, so that the ambient light λ_env can penetrate the OC and the reflectivity is reduced.

[0089] It should be understood that the above steps S703 and S704 are executed in parallel. Within the same pixel period, the corresponding voltage values ​​are applied to the optical control units corresponding to different sub-pixels to achieve the scheme of "synchronously reducing reflected light + recovering ambient light" within the same pixel period.

[0090] In this way, the timing controller can synchronously control the switching between the transparent state and the mirror state of the light control unit according to the on / off state of the sub-pixels.

[0091] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the mirror function of the LCU is automatically turned off at night to prevent glare, extend the lifespan of the EC material, and achieve a low-reflection, high-brightness dual-mode. Here, the switching between day and night modes can be achieved by setting a threshold using the T-Con.

[0092] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the backlight source can be turned off under strong light, and the display effect can be achieved by using 100% specular reflection of ambient light, realizing a "zero backlight" pure ambient light display mode with power consumption approaching zero. In this case, to make the electrochromic film as close as possible to the metallic reflection effect in the specular state, the specular reflection ratio can be increased by adding a structural layer or a driving layer. Increasing the charge amount allows tungsten trioxide to enter the metallic phase, resulting in a metallic optical appearance and enhanced Drude reflection. The determination of strong light conditions can be achieved using various existing methods (such as light intensity detection), and this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0093] Figures 8A to 8C This diagram illustrates the fabrication process of the light-absorbing layer provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0094] For example, it can be done according to... Figure 8A , Figure 8B , Figure 8C The fabrication sequence shown is as follows: First, an ITO signal control layer, a transparent base layer, and a light control film layer are deposited on the surface of the light control substrate. Then, a diffusion particle layer with corresponding color powder is deposited in sequence to facilitate the use and conversion of ambient light. Finally, a light absorption layer is deposited, thereby forming the entire light control layer structure.

[0095] The above are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A display panel, characterized in that, include: Substrate; A display structure layer is located on one side of the substrate, and the display structure layer includes a plurality of sub-pixels; An optical control layer is located on the light-emitting side of the display structure layer. The optical control layer includes multiple diffusion units and multiple optical control units. Each diffusion unit is arranged in the orthographic projection area of ​​a corresponding sub-pixel in the display structure layer on the optical control layer, and each optical control unit is arranged around the corresponding sub-pixel.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of sub-pixels includes a plurality of first sub-pixels for emitting a first color light, a plurality of second sub-pixels for emitting a second color light, and a plurality of third sub-pixels for emitting a third color light. Each diffusion unit contains pigments that match the color light emitted from the corresponding sub-pixel.

3. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each optical control unit includes: A light control film layer is arranged at a preset angle so that the corresponding diffusion unit is located in the mirror direction of the light control film layer. The light control film is in a mirror state when a first voltage value is applied, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit. The light control film is in a transparent state when a second voltage value is applied, so that the incident light can pass through the light control film.

4. The display panel according to claim 3, characterized in that, The optical control layer further includes a light absorption layer, which is disposed on the side of the corresponding light control film layer near the display structure layer. When the light control film is in a transparent state, incident light penetrates the light control film and is absorbed by the light absorption layer.

5. The display panel according to claim 4, characterized in that, The light-absorbing layer comprises a vertically arranged array of pillars, each pillar having a rough, porous outer wall for absorbing incident light.

6. The display panel according to claim 4, characterized in that, Each optical control unit also includes: A transparent substrate layer is disposed between the light control film layer and the light absorption layer, wherein the orthographic projection area of ​​the transparent substrate layer on the substrate coincides with the orthographic projection area of ​​the light control film layer on the substrate.

7. The display panel according to claim 5, characterized in that, The pigment includes any one of the following: quantum dots, fluorescent microcrystals, perovskite nanocrystals. And / or, the particle size in each diffusion unit ranges from 0.5 micrometers to 2 micrometers, and the scattering angle ranges from ≥120 degrees. And / or, each optical control unit is made of an electrochromic material. And / or, each pillar is made of any of the following materials: photonic crystal black silicon, nano carbon black, each pillar has a diameter ranging from 50 nanometers to 100 nanometers, each pillar has a height ranging from 2 micrometers to 3 micrometers, and the pillar array has a duty cycle of not less than 70% relative to the light absorption layer.

8. A timing control method for a display panel as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, include: Receive image data; Based on the image data, at least one first sub-pixel to be lit and at least one second sub-pixel to be turned off are determined in the display panel; For each first sub-pixel, a first voltage value is applied to the preset optical control unit corresponding to that first sub-pixel to control the preset optical control unit to be in a mirror state, so as to reflect the incident light to the corresponding diffusion unit. For each second sub-pixel, a second voltage value is applied to the target optical control unit corresponding to that second sub-pixel to control the target optical control unit to be in a transparent state so that incident light can penetrate the target optical control unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Each diffusion unit contains pigments that match the color light emitted by the corresponding sub-pixel. The display panel also includes a backlight source. Specifically, for each first sub-pixel, when a first voltage value is applied to the preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel, the pigment in the diffusion unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel is excited by the incident light to generate the color light corresponding to the first sub-pixel, so that the generated color light is superimposed on the backlight source and emitted from the light-emitting side of the display panel.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Also includes: After receiving the image data, a first voltage value is applied to a preset optical control unit corresponding to the first sub-pixel at a first preset time interval. At a second preset time after receiving the image data, a second voltage value is applied to the target optical control unit corresponding to the second sub-pixel.

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