Touch display device and manufacturing method therefor

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a touch display device and a manufacturing method therefor. The touch display device comprises: a first substrate; a second substrate; and a liquid crystal layer arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein a liquid crystal driver is arranged on the first substrate for driving liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer to enable light to be emitted from the upper surface of the second substrate, and a touch sensor used for detecting a touch input is arranged on the lower surface of the second substrate.

Description

Touch display device and manufacturing method thereof TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of electronic displays, and more particularly to a touch display device and manufacturing method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] Electronic displays are almost ubiquitous media for conveying information to users of a variety of devices and products. The most common electronic displays are cathode ray tubes (CRTs), plasma display panels (PDPs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), electroluminescent displays (ELs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and active matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs) displays, electrophoretic displays (EPs), and various displays that employ electromechanical or electrofluidic light modulation (e.g., digital micromirror devices, electrowetting displays, etc.). Generally, electronic displays can be classified as active displays (i.e., displays that emit light) or passive displays (i.e., displays that modulate light provided by another source). The most obvious examples of active displays are CRTs, PDPs, and OLEDs / AMOLEDs. Displays that are typically classified as passive when considering the emission of light are LCDs and electrophoretic displays. Passive displays, while often exhibiting attractive performance characteristics including, but not limited to, inherently low power consumption, can find somewhat limited use in many practical applications due to the lack of light emitting capability.

[0003] In electronic displays, in order to allow the user to perform relevant operations while watching images or videos, the electronic display and a touch panel are usually integrated together to form a touch display device. When a user uses the touch display device, the touch panel of the touch display device usually detects the coordinate position of the touch point on the display screen, and then knows the user's intention according to the display content or graphics corresponding to the coordinate point on the display screen, so as to perform relevant operations. Typical touch panels include resistive touch panels, capacitive touch panels, infrared touch panels, surface acoustic wave touch panels, etc.

[0004] Generally, manufacturers or manufacturers will use these technologies to independently prepare touch panels, and then adhere the touch panels to the display screen by using optical adhesive (e.g., OCA) to realize the touch function of the display screen. The touch display device manufactured in this way can also be called a "separable" touch display device. Figure 1 shows a typical structure diagram of such a "separable" touch display device.

[0005] However, in the display structure as described above, since the touch panel is prepared separately from the display screen, a separate bearing substrate (such as the substrate shown in Figure 1) needs to be provided for the touch sensor, so that the touch display device formed has high cost and large thickness, which is not conducive to the requirement of thinning the display screen.

[0006] In addition, since the touch panel and the display screen are prone to deviation or error during the process of being bonded by optical adhesive, the touch position cannot be accurately positioned. In addition, since the optical adhesive is used to bond the touch panel and the display screen, the light transmittance of the finally formed touch display device is low, which will result in the need for a higher power backlight source under the same display brightness condition, which is not conducive to meeting the requirement of low power consumption.

[0007] SUMMARY

[0008] The present disclosure is made in view of the above problems. In order to realize a thin, high light transmittance and high touch precision touch display device, the present disclosure proposes a touch display device integrating a touch panel and a display assembly together.

[0009] Instead of bonding the touch panel to the display screen, the present disclosure proposes integrating the touch sensor into the middle of the display screen, so that the upper substrate of the display screen can be reused to carry the touch sensor, while avoiding the use of additional optical adhesive layer for external bonding, so as to achieve the purpose of thinning the touch display device. At the same time, by omitting the additional optical adhesive layer, it is also helpful to improve the brightness of the touch display device, and avoid the problem of inaccurate touch caused by error in the bonding process.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a touch display device is provided, comprising: a first substrate; a second substrate; and a liquid crystal layer arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein a liquid crystal driver is provided on the first substrate for driving liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer to emit light from an upper surface of the second substrate, and wherein a touch sensor for detecting touch input is provided on a lower surface of the second substrate.

[0011] In some embodiments, the touch display device further comprises: an array of multi-beam elements arranged in the liquid crystal layer, each multi-beam element in the array of multi-beam elements is configured to scatter light to generate a plurality of directional light beams, and the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer are configured to modulate a corresponding directional light beam in the plurality of directional light beams by adjusting the handedness.

[0012] In some embodiments, the multi-beam elements in the array of multi-beam elements include one or more of a diffraction grating, a micro-reflection element and a micro-refraction element, the diffraction grating is configured to diffractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, the micro-reflection element is configured to reflectively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, and the micro-refraction element is configured to refractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams.

[0013] In some embodiments, the liquid crystal driver drives liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer by generating an electric field parallel to the upper surface of the first substrate.

[0014] In some embodiments, the touch sensor is a surface capacitive touch sensor or a projected capacitive touch sensor.

[0015] In some embodiments, the touch display device further comprises a drive module arranged on a lower surface of the first substrate, the drive module comprising a backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer, and a control circuit for controlling the touch sensor and the liquid crystal driver.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of manufacturing a touch display device, comprising: providing a first substrate; arranging a liquid crystal driver on the first substrate; arranging a liquid crystal layer on the first substrate on which the liquid crystal driver is arranged; arranging a touch sensor on a lower surface of a second substrate; and stacking the second substrate on which the touch sensor is arranged on the liquid crystal layer, wherein the liquid crystal driver is configured to drive liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer to emit light from an upper surface of the second substrate, and the touch sensor is configured to detect a touch input acting on the upper surface of the second substrate.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method of manufacturing further comprises arranging an array of multibeam elements in the liquid crystal layer, wherein each multibeam element in the array of multibeam elements is configured to scatter light to generate a plurality of directional light beams, and wherein the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer are configured to modulate a corresponding directional light beam in the plurality of directional light beams by adjusting a handedness.

[0018] In some embodiments, a multibeam element in the array of multibeam elements comprises one or more of a diffractive grating configured to diffractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, a micro-reflective element configured to reflectively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, and a micro-refractive element configured to refractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams.

[0019] In some embodiments, the liquid crystal driver drives liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer by generating an electric field parallel to the upper surface of the first substrate.

[0020] In some embodiments, the touch sensor is a surface capacitive touch sensor or a projected capacitive touch sensor.

[0021] In some embodiments, the manufacturing method further includes arranging a drive module on the lower surface of the first substrate, the drive module including a backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer and a control circuit for controlling the touch sensor and the liquid crystal driver. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] Various features and implementation of examples and embodiments in accordance with the principles described herein can be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a typical structure diagram of a conventional "separate" touch display device.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device according to a first embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a first example of a touch sensor in a touch display device according to the principles described herein.

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a second example of a touch sensor in a touch display device according to the principles described herein.

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a manufacturing method of a touch display device according to the first embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0028] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a multiview display in an example according to embodiments consistent with the principles described herein.

[0029] FIG. 7 shows a graphical representation of an angle component having a particular principal angular direction corresponding to a view direction of a multiview display in an example according to embodiments consistent with the principles described herein.

[0030] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device according to a second embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0031] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of a manufacturing method of a touch display device according to the second embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0032] FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device according to a third embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0033] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of a manufacturing method of a touch display device according to the third embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0034] FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device according to a fourth embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0035] FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device according to a fifth embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0036] FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device according to a sixth embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0037] Certain examples and embodiments can have other features as one of supplementary or alternative to the features shown in the above-described drawings. These features and other features will be described in detail below with reference to the above-described drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure is shown in the drawings as some embodiments, it is noted that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather, the embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure can be more thoroughly and completely understood. It is noted that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for exemplary purposes and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0039] It is noted that each of the steps recited in the method embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed in different orders and / or in parallel. In addition, the method embodiments can include other steps and / or omit certain steps.

[0040] The term "comprising" and variations thereof as used herein are used inclusively, i.e., "comprising, but not limited to." The term "based on" is "based at least in part on." The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment." The term "some embodiments" means "at least some embodiments." Related definitions are given below in the description of the text.

[0041] It is noted that the concepts of "first", "second", etc. mentioned in the present disclosure are merely used to distinguish different devices, modules or units, and are not intended to limit the order or interdependence of the functions performed by these devices, modules or units.

[0042] It is noted that the modification of "one" or "multiple" mentioned in the present disclosure is illustrative rather than limiting, and those skilled in the art should understand that, unless otherwise explicitly stated in the context, it should be understood as "one or more".

[0043] Examples and embodiments according to the principles described herein provide displays that are applied to display two-dimensional (2D) images, multi-view or three-dimensional (3D) images and have touch functions.

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device 1000 according to a first embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the touch display device 1000 includes a first substrate 1100, a second substrate 1200, and a liquid crystal layer 1300 disposed between the first substrate 1100 and the second substrate 1200.

[0046] The first substrate 1100 is provided with a liquid crystal driver 1110 for driving liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer 1300 to emit light from the upper surface of the second substrate 1200.

[0047] The lower surface of the second substrate 1200 is provided with a touch sensor 1210 for detecting touch input.

[0048] For example, the first substrate 1100 and / or the second substrate 1200 can be a flat sheet of optically transparent material. The optically transparent material can include or consist of any of a variety of dielectric materials, including but not limited to one or more of various types of glass (such as silica glass, alkali-aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, etc.) and substantially optically transparent plastics or polymers (such as polymethyl methacrylate or "acrylic glass", polycarbonate, etc.).

[0049] In order to achieve a light and thin touch display device with high light transmittance and high touch precision, in the present disclosure, instead of attaching a separately prepared touch panel to the display screen, a solution is proposed in which the touch sensor is integrated into the middle of the display screen, so that the original upper substrate of the display screen can be used to carry the touch sensor. This solution can avoid the use of an additional optical adhesive layer for external attachment, thereby achieving the purpose of thinning the touch display device. At the same time, by omitting the additional optical adhesive layer, it is also helpful to improve the brightness of the touch display device and avoid the problem of inaccurate touch caused by errors in the attachment process.

[0050] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, instead of attaching a separately prepared touch panel to the upper surface of the second substrate 1200, the present application integrates the touch sensor 1210 on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 to form an integrated structure with the second substrate 1200.

[0051] This is equivalent to omitting the carrying substrate in the conventional touch panel, and the upper substrate of the display (i.e., the second substrate 1200) is reused to carry the touch sensor, thereby reducing the overall thickness of the touch display device 1000 (i.e., omitting the OCA layer and the substrate in FIG. 1).

[0052] The touch sensor 1210 integrated on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 can be any type of touch sensor. FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a first example of a touch sensor in a touch display device according to principles described herein.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3, the touch sensor 1210 integrated on the second substrate 1200 can be a surface capacitive touch (SCTP) sensor.

[0054] The SCTP sensor is composed of a uniform transparent conductive layer (e.g., an indium tin oxide ITO film) deposited on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, four corners of the transparent conductive layer each have an electrode 1211, and the four electrodes are connected to a controller (not shown).

[0055] For example, the controller of the SCTP sensor can provide a charge to cause the transparent conductive layer (e.g., an indium tin oxide ITO film) to generate a uniform electric field, and when a finger touches the upper surface of the second substrate 1200 (e.g., a touch point T(x, y)), the four corner electrodes generate a current flowing to the touch point T(x, y). The strength of the current is proportional to the distance of the finger to each of the electrodes. Thus, the controller can calculate the coordinates of the touch point T(x, y) by sensing the amount of current on the four electrodes.

[0056] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a second example of a touch sensor in a touch display device according to principles described herein.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 4, the touch sensor 1210 integrated on the second substrate 1200 can also be a projected capacitive touch (PCTP) sensor.

[0058] The PCTP sensor can be further divided into a self-inductive PCTP sensor and a mutual-inductive PCTP sensor.

[0059] The self-inductive PCTP sensor, for example, is composed of ITO electrode arrays (e.g., a vertical and horizontal array of electrodes 1211 as shown in FIG. 4) made on the surface of the second substrate 1200, with one end of the electrodes connected to ground and the other end connected to a driving line, thereby forming a capacitive loop. When a finger touches the self-inductive PCTP sensor, the finger capacitance increases the panel capacitance. The controller can scan and detect the capacitances of the vertical and horizontal electrode arrays, respectively, and determine the horizontal and vertical coordinates according to the changes in the capacitances before and after the touch.

[0060] The mutual inductive PCTP sensor is also composed of an array of ITO electrodes made on the surface of the second substrate 1200 in a crosswise and longitudinal staggered manner (for example, a longitudinal and transverse array of electrodes 1211 as shown in FIG. 4). The difference between the mutual inductive PCTP sensor and the self-inductive PCTP sensor is that the intersection of the two groups of electrodes will form a capacitor, i.e. the two groups of electrodes constitute the two poles of the capacitor. When the controller scans the capacitor, the transverse electrodes send signals in turn, and all the longitudinal electrodes receive signals at the same time, obtaining the capacitance value of all the intersection points of the transverse and longitudinal electrodes, i.e. the two-dimensional plane capacitance size distribution of the entire sensing panel.

[0061] Therefore, when the finger touches the panel of the mutual inductive PCTP sensor, the coupling between the two electrodes near the touch point will change, resulting in a decrease in the regional capacitance, and the coordinates of the touch point can be calculated according to the capacitance change.

[0062] An example of the array of ITO electrodes 1211 in a crosswise and longitudinal staggered manner is shown in FIG. 4.

[0063] It is obvious that the above examples of the touch sensing sensor 1210 integrated on the second substrate 1200 described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4 are merely exemplary and not limiting. Various other techniques and methods can also be used by those skilled in the art to integrate various types of touch sensing sensors on the second substrate 1200, which are not listed one by one here.

[0064] The liquid crystal layer 1300 may, for example, be composed of any high-molecular liquid crystal material having a liquid crystal state. For example, the liquid crystal layer 1300 can be formed of a typical N-type liquid crystal material or a P-type liquid crystal material.

[0065] For example, the N-type liquid crystal material is a double-polarization shear type liquid crystal, which contains a large number of bound electrons in the molecular structure. Under the action of an electric field, the bound electrons form a long-order ordered structure, thereby changing the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules and realizing the transmission and reflection of light. The N-type liquid crystal material usually has the characteristics of fast response speed and high light transmittance, and is suitable for dynamic display.

[0066] In contrast, the P-type liquid crystal material is a very stable liquid crystal material, which contains a large number of free electrons in the molecular structure. Under the action of an electric field, the free electrons form a long-order ordered structure, thereby realizing the transmission and reflection of light. The P-type liquid crystal material usually has the characteristics of lower response speed and higher light transmittance, and is suitable for static display.

[0067] In actual applications, different liquid crystal materials can be selected according to specific application scenarios to form the liquid crystal layer 1300 shown in FIG. 2.

[0068] For example, in a static display scenario (e.g., a billboard displaying a static picture), a P-type liquid crystal material can be used as the liquid crystal layer 1300 to improve the display brightness of the picture. For example, in a dynamic display scenario (e.g., a display device for watching a video), an N-type liquid crystal material can be used as the liquid crystal layer 1300 to improve the dynamic effect of the video display.

[0069] The liquid crystal driver 1110 can generally be made of various types of transparent and conductive materials. For example, a typical material is indium tin oxide (ITO), which is widely used in the display field due to its good conductivity and optical transparency.

[0070] Specifically, for example, an ITO thin film can be disposed on the upper surface of the first substrate 1100 to be used as an electrode. A surface alignment agent is then disposed on the ITO thin film to cause the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer 1300 to align in a specific and parallel direction to the surface of the first substrate 1100. By applying an electric field between the electrodes, the polarization direction of the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer 1300 is turned to be parallel to the direction of the electric field.

[0071] Since the refractive index of the liquid crystals changes with the direction of the liquid crystals, the intensity of the incident light changes after passing through the liquid crystal layer 1300, and thus the rotation direction of the liquid crystals can be controlled by controlling the direction and intensity of the electric field to modulate the light incident on the liquid crystals.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 3, since the liquid crystal driver 1110 is disposed on the upper surface of the first substrate 1100, i.e., on one side of the liquid crystal layer 1300, rather than on both sides of the liquid crystal layer 1300, the liquid crystal driver 1110 drives the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer 1300 by generating an electric field parallel to the upper surface of the first substrate 1110.

[0073] In some embodiments, the liquid crystal driver (e.g., an electrode formed by an ITO thin film) can also be disposed on both the upper and lower sides of the liquid crystal layer 1300, such that the electrode in one side acts as an emitter and the electrode in the other side acts as a receiver, so as to generate an electric field between the upper and lower sides of the liquid crystal layer 1300, which is perpendicular to the surface (e.g., the upper surface or the lower surface) of the first substrate 1100, to drive the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer 1300.

[0074] For example, the ITO thin film constituting the liquid crystal driver 1110 can be formed on the upper surface of the first substrate 1100 by physical vapor deposition or some sputtering deposition technique.

[0075] In other embodiments, other materials can also be used to make the liquid crystal driver 1110, including but not limited to carbon nanotubes (e.g., graphene). For example, carbon nanotubes can be made by an arc discharge method, a chemical vapor deposition method, a laser evaporation method, etc., and the made carbon nanotubes can be coated on the upper surface of the first substrate 1100 as electrodes to drive the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer 1300.

[0076] In addition, due to the fluidity of the liquid crystal material, the liquid crystal layer 1300 is usually filled in a closed liquid crystal cell. For example, FIG. 2 shows an example of a liquid crystal cell 1310. In some embodiments, the liquid crystal cell 1310 can be made of a sealing glue, so as to prevent the liquid crystal material filled therein from leaking to the outside.

[0077] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a manufacturing method of the touch display device 1000 according to a first embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0078] First, as shown in sub-diagram (a) of FIG. 5, the first substrate 1100 is provided. For example, the first substrate 1100 can be a flat optically transparent material sheet, including but not limited to one or more of various types of glass (such as silica glass, alkali-aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, etc.) and substantially optically transparent plastics or polymers (such as polymethyl methacrylate or “acrylic glass”, polycarbonate, etc.), as previously described.

[0079] The first substrate 1100 can have any shape, including but not limited to a rectangular shape, a square shape, a circular shape, other polygonal shapes, etc.

[0080] Then, as shown in sub-diagram (b) of FIG. 5, the liquid crystal driver 1110 is arranged on the first substrate 1100. For example, a layer of ITO thin film can be arranged on the upper surface of the first substrate 1100 as the liquid crystal driver 1110 by physical vapor deposition or some sputtering deposition techniques. In other embodiments, a layer of carbon nanotube (e.g., graphene) material can also be arranged on the upper surface of the first substrate 1100 as the liquid crystal driver 1110.

[0081] Then, as shown in sub-diagram (c) of FIG. 5, before the liquid crystal layer 1300 is arranged, the liquid crystal cell 1310 can be arranged on the first substrate 1100 on which the liquid crystal driver 1110 is arranged, so as to fill the liquid crystal material therein. For example, as previously described, the liquid crystal cell 1310 can be made of a sealing glue, so as to prevent the liquid crystal material filled therein from leaking to the outside.

[0082] FIG3 shows an example of a liquid crystal cell having a certain thickness and having a U-shaped shape (e.g., when viewed from above). This is merely illustrative and non-limiting. In other examples, liquid crystal cells 1310 of corresponding shapes can be adaptively arranged according to the specific shape of the touch display device to facilitate the accommodation of liquid crystal material, including but not limited to ring-shaped, polygonal, or any other regular or irregular shapes.

[0083] After forming the liquid crystal cell 1310, as shown in sub-figure (d) of FIG5 , a liquid crystal layer 1300 is disposed on the first substrate 1100 on which the liquid crystal driver 1110 is disposed. For example, the liquid crystal layer 1300 is disposed by filling the liquid crystal cell 1310 with a liquid crystal material so that the liquid crystal material fills the entire liquid crystal cell 1310.

[0084] For example, the liquid crystal material may be one of the various types of liquid crystal materials described above, and may also be any one of a lyotropic liquid crystal and a thermotropic liquid crystal.

[0085] For example, in a static display scenario (for example, if the touch display device 1000 is a billboard for displaying static images), a P-type liquid crystal material can be used to fill the liquid crystal box 1310 to form the liquid crystal layer 1300 to improve the display brightness of the image.

[0086] For example, in a dynamic display scenario (eg, if the touch display device 1000 is a display for displaying video), N-type liquid crystal material can be used to fill the liquid crystal box 1310 to form the liquid crystal layer 1300, thereby improving the dynamic effect of the video display.

[0087] In traditional LCD manufacturing, after the liquid crystal layer is filled, the upper substrate is typically laminated directly onto the liquid crystal layer, completing the LCD. A separately fabricated touch panel is then bonded to the LCD using optical adhesive, creating a touch-enabled display.

[0088] In the present disclosure, in order to reduce the thickness of the final product, instead of attaching an independently prepared touch panel to the upper surface of the second substrate 1200, as shown in sub-figure (e) in Figure 5, the touch sensor 1210 is first integrated on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 to form an integral structure with the second substrate 1200.

[0089] For example, the touch sensor 1210 may be integrated with the second substrate 1200 by forming a surface capacitive touch sensor, a projected capacitive touch self-sensing sensor, or a projected capacitive touch mutual-sensing sensor as described above on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 .

[0090] In particular, in the case of using a surface capacitive touch sensor (i.e., an SCTP sensor), a thin and uniform transparent conductive layer (e.g., an indium tin oxide (ITO) film) can be deposited on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 to form the SCTP sensor. For example, the ITO film can be formed on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 by physical vapor deposition or some sputtering deposition techniques, so as to integrate the touch sensor 1210 composed of the ITO film on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200.

[0091] In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, four electrodes 1211 can be further arranged at four corners of the transparent conductive layer, and the four electrodes are connected to a controller (not shown).

[0092] In other embodiments, for example, in the case of using a projected capacitive touch sensor (i.e., a self or mutual inductance PTCP sensor), an array of ITO electrodes (e.g., a longitudinal and lateral array of electrodes 1211 as shown in FIG. 4) can be arranged on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 to form the touch sensor 1210. For example, the longitudinal and lateral array of electrodes 1211 as shown in FIG. 4 can be formed by using a photolithography technique, so as to integrate the touch sensor 1210 composed of the array of ITO electrodes on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200.

[0093] This method of integrating the touch sensor 1210 on the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 is equivalent to multiplexing the second substrate 1200, thereby eliminating the carrier substrate in the conventional touch panel, in this way, the overall thickness of the touch display device 1000 is reduced.

[0094] Returning to FIG. 5, after obtaining the second substrate 1200 integrated with the touch sensor 1210, as shown in subgraph (f) of FIG. 5, the second substrate 1200 integrated with the touch sensor 1210 can be stacked on the liquid crystal layer 1300 to form the touch display device 1000.

[0095] For example, the second substrate 1200 integrated with the touch sensor 1210 can be pressed on the liquid crystal layer 1300 by a lamination process, so that the liquid crystal layer 1300 is sealed between the first substrate 1100 and the second substrate 1200.

[0096] The above describes various embodiments of the touch display device and the manufacturing method thereof according to a first embodiment consistent with the principles described herein with reference to FIGS. 2-5.

[0097] The proposed solution can simultaneously avoid using an additional optical adhesive layer for external attachment, so as to achieve the purpose of thinning the touch display device. At the same time, by omitting the additional optical adhesive layer, it is also helpful to improve the brightness of the touch display device, and avoid the problem of inaccurate touch caused by errors in the attachment process.

[0098] Various embodiments of the touch display device 1000 as described above in connection with FIGS. 2-5 can be applied to various scenarios, including but not limited to mobile phones (e.g., smartphones), watches, tablet computers, mobile computers (e.g., laptops), personal computers and computer monitors, car display consoles, camera displays, and various other mobile and substantially non-mobile display applications and devices.

[0099] For example, the touch display device 1000 as described above can be used for the display of various 2D content, for use as a 2D display with touch functionality.

[0100] In this document, a two-dimensional (2D) display or the 2D mode of an equivalent multi-mode display is defined as a display or mode configured to provide substantially the same view of an image regardless of the direction from which the image is viewed (i.e., within a predetermined viewing angle or range of the 2D display or 2D mode).

[0101] In addition to the touch display devices as described above in connection with FIGS. 2-5 that can be used for 2D display, various embodiments of touch display devices that can be used for multi-view or 3D display are proposed in this application, in particular various examples of touch display devices that can be used for multi-view or 3D display for “naked eye” viewing.

[0102] In this document, a multi-view display or the multi-view mode of an equivalent multi-mode display is defined as an electronic display, display system, or display mode of a multi-mode display configured to provide different views of a multi-view image in or from different viewing angle directions. In particular, the different views can represent different perspective views of a scene or object of the multi-view image. In some cases, the multi-view display or multi-view mode can also be referred to as a three-dimensional (3D) display or 3D mode, e.g., when providing the perception of viewing a three-dimensional image when simultaneously viewing two different views of a multi-view image.

[0103] In some embodiments, the “multi-view display” or “3D” display can provide so-called “naked eye” or auto-stereoscopic images, such that multi-view content can be viewed without the need to wear glasses.

[0104] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a multi-view display 10 (or multi-view mode of a multi-mode display) in an example, in accordance with an embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 6, multi-view display 10 includes a screen 12 to display a multi-view image to be viewed. Multi-view display 10 provides different views 14 of the multi-view image in different view directions 16 relative to screen 12. View directions 16 are illustrated as arrows extending from screen 12 in various different principal angular directions. Different views 14 are illustrated as shaded polygonal boxes at the ends of the arrows (i.e., delineating view directions 16). Only four views 14 and four view directions 16 are shown, all by way of example and not limitation. Note that while different views 14 are illustrated above screen in FIG. 6, views 14 actually appear on or near screen 12 when a multi-view image is displayed on multi-view display 10. Depicting views 14 above screen 12 is simply for ease of illustration and is intended to represent viewing multi-view display 10 from a respective one of view directions 16 corresponding to a particular view 14.

[0106] According to the definition herein, a view direction or, equivalently, a light beam having a direction corresponding to a view direction of a multi-view display generally has a principal angular direction given by an angular component {θ, φ}. Angular component θ is referred to herein as the "elevation angle component" or "elevation angle" of the light beam. Angular component φ is referred to as the "azimuth angle component" or "azimuth angle" of the light beam. By definition, elevation angle θ is the angle within a vertical plane (e.g., a plane normal to a multi-view display screen) and azimuth angle φ is the angle within a horizontal plane (e.g., parallel to a multi-view display screen plane).

[0107] FIG. 7 shows a graphical representation of angular components {θ, φ} of a light beam 20 having a particular principal angular direction or simply "direction" corresponding to a view direction (e.g., view directions 16 in FIG. 6) of a multi-view display in an example according to an embodiment consistent with the principles described herein. Further, according to the definition herein, light beam 20 is emitted or emanates from a particular point. In other words, by definition, light beam 20 has a central ray associated with a particular origin point within a multi-view display. FIG. 7 also shows the origin point O of the light beam (or view direction).

[0108] Furthermore, in this document, the term "multiview" as used in the terms "multiview image", "multiview display" and "multiview mode" is defined to mean a plurality of views representing different viewing angles or including angular parallax between views in the plurality of views. Furthermore, according to the definition herein, the term "multiview" in this document explicitly includes more than two different views (i.e., at least three views, and typically more than three views). Thus, "multiview display" and "multiview mode" as employed herein explicitly distinguish from a stereoscopic display or stereoscopic mode that includes only two different views to represent a scene or image. Note, however, that while a multiview image and a multiview display can include more than two views, according to the definition herein, a multiview image can be viewed (e.g., on a multiview display) as a pair of stereoscopic images by selecting only two views from the multiview at a time (e.g., one view for each eye).

[0109] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display apparatus 2000 that can be used for multiview or 3D display according to a second embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 8, the touch display apparatus 2000 includes, in addition to the first substrate 1100, the second substrate 1200, the liquid crystal layer 1300, the liquid crystal driver 1110 arranged on the first substrate 1100 and the touch sensor 1210 arranged on the second substrate, an array of multibeam elements 1400 arranged in the liquid crystal layer 1300.

[0111] Each multibeam element 1400 in the array of multibeam elements 1400 is configured to scatter light to generate a plurality of directional light beams, each directional light beam having a direction that can correspond to a corresponding view direction of a multiview image, for example.

[0112] In this case, the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer 1300 will be configured to modulate a corresponding directional light beam in the plurality of directional light beams by adjusting the handedness, for example, to modulate the intensity, polarization, etc. of the incident light, so that the emitted light is emitted from the upper surface of the second substrate 1200 toward the corresponding view zone direction.

[0113] Under the joint action of the array of multibeam elements 1400 and the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer 1300, a user in a different view zone can view a different view of the multiview image. FIG. 8 shows an example of three view zones A, B, C, each of which an audience will see the view content carried by the directional light beams corresponding to the view zone.

[0114] In this disclosure, the multibeam elements 1400 in the array of multibeam elements 1400 can include one or more of a diffraction grating, a micro-reflective element and a micro-refractive element.

[0115] In this document, a "diffraction grating" is generally defined as a plurality of features (i.e., diffractive features) arranged to provide diffraction of light incident on the diffraction grating. In some examples, the plurality of features can be arranged in a periodic or quasi-periodic manner. For example, a diffraction grating can include a plurality of features (e.g., a plurality of grooves or ridges in a material surface) arranged in a one-dimensional (ID) array. In other examples, a diffraction grating can be a two-dimensional (2D) array of features. For example, a diffraction grating can be a 2D array of bumps on a material surface or holes in a material surface.

[0116] According to the definition herein, a "diffraction grating" is a structure that provides diffraction of light incident on the diffraction grating. If light is incident on the diffraction grating from a light guide, the provided diffraction or diffractive scattering can be caused and thus referred to as "diffractively coupling", in which the diffraction grating can couple light out of the light guide by diffraction. The diffraction grating also redirects or changes the angle of light (i.e., in the diffraction angle) by diffraction. Specifically, due to diffraction, light exiting the diffraction grating generally has a propagation direction that is different from that of light incident on the grating (i.e., the incident light). The change in the light propagation direction by diffraction is referred to herein as "diffractive redirection". Thus, a diffraction grating can be understood as a structure that includes diffractive features that diffractively redirect light incident on the diffraction grating, and the diffraction grating can also diffractively couple light out of a light guide if light is incident from the light guide.

[0117] Further, according to the definition herein, a feature of a diffraction grating is referred to as a "diffractive feature" and can be one or more at, in, or on a material surface (i.e., a boundary between two materials). For example, the surface can be a surface of a light guide. A diffractive feature can include any of a variety of structures that diffract light, including but not limited to one or more of grooves, ridges, holes, and bumps at, in, or on the surface. For example, a diffraction grating can include a plurality of substantially parallel grooves in a material surface. In another example, a diffraction grating can include a plurality of parallel ridges raised from a material surface. A diffractive feature (e.g., a groove, a ridge, a hole, a bump, etc.) can have any of a variety of cross-sectional shapes or profiles that provide diffraction, including but not limited to one or more of a sinusoidal profile, a rectangular profile (e.g., a binary diffraction grating), a triangular profile, and a sawtooth profile (e.g., a blazed grating).

[0118] For example, in the case where the multibeam element 1400 in the array of multibeam elements 1400 includes a diffraction grating, the diffraction grating is configured to diffractively scatter light incident thereon to generate a plurality of directional light beams corresponding to respective views.

[0119] In other embodiments, the multibeam elements 1400 in the array of multibeam elements 1400 can also include micro-reflective elements. For example, the micro-reflective elements are configured to reflectively scatter light incident thereon to generate a plurality of directional light beams corresponding to respective views.

[0120] In other embodiments, the multibeam elements 1400 in the array of multibeam elements 1400 can also include micro-reflective elements. For example, the micro-reflective elements are configured to reflectively scatter light incident thereon to generate a plurality of directional light beams corresponding to respective views.

[0121] FIG. 8 shows an example of the array of multibeam elements 1400 consisting of an array of micro-lenses. The micro-lenses can be regarded as an example of the micro- refractive elements as described above, e.g., the micro-lenses can refractively scatter light incident thereon to generate a corresponding directional light beam after the light is transmitted through the first substrate 1100 incident on the micro-lenses.

[0122] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of a manufacturing method of the touch display device 2000 according to a second embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0123] Compared with FIG. 5, the difference is that in sub-figure (c) of FIG. 9, the array of multibeam elements 1400 needs to be arranged on the first substrate 1100 where the liquid crystal drivers 1110 are arranged first, and then the liquid crystal cell 1310 is formed and the liquid crystal layer 1300 is filled in the steps shown in (d) and (e).

[0124] FIG. 9 also shows an example of the array of multibeam elements 1400 consisting of an array of micro-lenses. For example, the array of micro-lenses can be formed on the first substrate 1100 where the liquid crystal drivers 1110 are arranged by a similar technique such as nano-imprinting in the step shown in sub-figure (c).

[0125] The multibeam elements in the array of multibeam elements 1400 can have various profiles (or cross-sectional shapes), and FIGS. 8-9 show an example of the multibeam elements having a semi-circular profile. In other examples, the multibeam elements 1400 can also have other arbitrary shapes of profiles, including but not limited to triangular, rectangular, trapezoidal, etc.

[0126] FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a touch display device 3000 according to a third embodiment consistent with the principles described herein. FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of a manufacturing method of the touch display device 3000 according to the third embodiment consistent with the principles described herein.

[0127] FIGS. 10-11 show a multi-beam element 1400 having a triangular profile. For example, the multi-beam element 1400 having a triangular profile can be a micro-prism. Except that the profile of the multi-beam element 1400 is different from the example of FIGS. 8-9, other features or procedures are similar to those described in FIGS. 8-9, which are not repeated here.

[0128] In addition, the multi-beam elements in the array of multi-beam elements 1400 can also include a plurality of diffractive gratings, micro-reflective elements, and micro- refractive elements. For example, in the array of multi-beam elements 1400 composed of a micro-lens array or a micro-prism array as shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 10, a reflective material (e.g., metallic silver) can also be coated on the upper surface or part of the upper surface of the micro-lens, or the facet of one side or both sides of the micro-prism, or the surface of the micro-lens or micro-prism adjacent to the first substrate 1100, so as to combine refractive scattering and reflective scattering to generate corresponding directional light beams.

[0129] Such an array of multi-beam elements 1400 can also be referred to as an array of multi-beam elements having a "light recycling" feature, because the reflective material coated on the upper surface or part of the upper surface of the micro-lens, or the facet of one side or both sides of the micro-prism, or the surface of the micro-lens or micro-prism adjacent to the first substrate 1100 can reflect the light reflected by the lower surface of the second substrate 1200 (e.g., the surface where the touch sensor is located) out of the second substrate 1200 again, thereby improving the overall brightness of the touch display device.

[0130] In some embodiments, the touch display device 1000, 2000, or 3000 as described above can also include a driving module arranged on the lower surface of the first substrate 1100. FIGS. 12-14 respectively show schematic diagrams of the touch display device 1000, 2000, or 3000 including a driving module according to principles consistent with those described herein.

[0131] For example, FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of the touch display device 1000 as shown in FIG. 2 attached with a driving module 1500, FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of the touch display device 2000 as shown in FIG. 8 attached with a driving module 1500, and FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram of the touch display device 3000 as shown in FIG. 10 attached with a driving module 1500.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 12, the driving module 1500 is attached on the lower surface of the first substrate 1100 by optical adhesive OCA. The driving module 1500 can include a backlight (not shown) for providing light to the liquid crystal layer 1300, and a control circuit or controller (not shown) for controlling the touch sensor 1210 and the liquid crystal driver 1110.

[0133] For example, the backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer 1300 can include a light guide plate formed of a dielectric material, which can guide light provided by a side-in light source (e.g., an LED light bar) according to total internal reflection and scatter the light out through dots on the light guide plate to form a surface light source.

[0134] Optionally, the backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer 1300 can further include a diffusion film to diffuse the light emitted by the surface light source to homogenize the light.

[0135] Optionally, the backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer 1300 can further include a reflection film to recycle light leaked from the bottom of the light guide plate to provide light use efficiency.

[0136] In other embodiments, the backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer 1300 can further include a direct type backlight, which can include a light source panel composed of an LED array and a diffusion film to provide a surface light source emitting light in the direction of the liquid crystal layer 1300 without using a light guide plate.

[0137] The control circuit or controller for controlling the touch sensor 1210 and the liquid crystal driver 1110 can be implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. For example, the control circuit or controller for controlling the touch sensor 1210 and the liquid crystal driver 1110 can be implemented using a substantially hardware-based circuit method or device (e.g., IC, VLSI, ASIC, FPGA, DSP, firmware, etc.), can be implemented using a computer processor or a graphic processor to execute software or firmware, or can be implemented as a combination of software or firmware and a hardware-based circuit.

[0138] The control circuit or controller for controlling the touch sensor 1210 and the liquid crystal driver 1110 can drive or control the touch sensor 1210 and the liquid crystal driver 1110 in any known manner, which will not be described in detail here.

[0139] The driving module 1500 described above with respect to FIG. 12 is also applicable to the driving modules in FIGS. 13 and 14, which will not be described again.

[0140] Similarly, the methods for manufacturing the touch display apparatuses 1000, 2000, 3000 described with respect to FIGS. 5, 9, and 11 can also include the step of arranging the driving module 1500 on the lower surface of the first substrate 1100. For example, the driving module 1500 can be attached to the lower surface of the first substrate 1100 by optical adhesive OCA.

[0141] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, various features described with respect to various embodiments of the touch display device are equally applicable to the method of manufacturing the touch display device, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clearly apparent that they are not.

[0142] Furthermore, although not described in detail herein, the touch display device of the present disclosure can also include other types of components or elements as needed, including but not limited to a polarizing plate, a color filter, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise or clearly apparent that they are not.

[0143] Various examples and embodiments of the touch display device and the method of manufacturing the same have been described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the examples described above are merely illustrative of some of the many specific examples and embodiments that represent the principles described herein. Obviously, numerous other arrangements are possible.

Claims

1. A touch display device, comprising: a first substrate; a second substrate; and a liquid crystal layer arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein a liquid crystal driver is disposed on the first substrate for driving liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer to emit light from an upper surface of the second substrate, and wherein a touch sensor for detecting a touch input is disposed on a lower surface of the second substrate. 2.The touch display device of claim 1, further comprising: an array of multi-beam elements arranged in the liquid crystal layer, each multi-beam element in the array of multi-beam elements configured to scatter light to generate a plurality of directional light beams, and the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer configured to modulate a corresponding directional light beam in the plurality of directional light beams by adjusting a handedness. 3.The touch display device of claim 2, wherein the multi-beam elements in the array of multi-beam elements comprise one or more of a diffraction grating configured to diffractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, a micro-reflective element configured to reflectively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, and a micro-refractive element configured to refractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams. 4.The touch display device of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal driver drives the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer by generating an electric field parallel to the upper surface of the first substrate. the touch sensor is a surface capacitive touch sensor or a projected capacitive touch sensor. 5.The touch display device of claim 1, wherein, 6.The touch display device of claim 1, further comprising: a drive module arranged on a lower surface of the first substrate, the drive module comprising a backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer, and a control circuit for controlling the touch sensor and the liquid crystal driver. 7.A method of manufacturing a touch display device, comprising: providing a first substrate; arranging a liquid crystal driver on the first substrate; arranging a liquid crystal layer on the first substrate on which the liquid crystal driver is arranged; arranging a touch sensor on a lower surface of a second substrate; and stacking the second substrate on which the touch sensor is arranged on the liquid crystal layer, wherein the liquid crystal driver is for driving liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer to emit light from an upper surface of the second substrate, and the touch sensor is for detecting a touch input acting on the upper surface of the second substrate. 8.The method of claim 7, further comprising: arranging an array of multi-beam elements in the liquid crystal layer, wherein each multi-beam element in the array of multi-beam elements is configured to scatter light to generate a plurality of directional light beams, and wherein the liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer are configured to modulate a corresponding directional light beam in the plurality of directional light beams by adjusting a handedness. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein ​ ​ The multibeam elements in the array of multibeam elements include one or more of a diffractive grating configured to diffractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, a micro-reflective element configured to reflectively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams, and a micro-refractive element configured to refractively scatter light to generate the plurality of directional light beams.

10. The manufacturing method of claim 7, wherein, The liquid crystal driver drives liquid crystals in the liquid crystal layer by generating an electric field parallel to the upper surface of the first substrate.

11. The production method as claimed in claim 7, wherein The touch sensor is a surface capacitive touch sensor or a projected capacitive touch sensor.

12. The manufacturing method of claim 7, further comprising: arranging a driving module on a lower surface of the first substrate, The driving module includes a backlight for providing light to the liquid crystal layer and a control circuit for controlling the touch sensor and the liquid crystal driver.

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