Reflective LCD Panel Spacer Layout for Color-Filter Transmittance

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Solution Overview

Problem

The placement of spacers in reflective LCD panels affects the light transmittance of color filter patterns, leading to issues such as color shift and reduced color gamut.

Innovation Solution

The spacers are arranged to overlap with light-transmitting patterns rather than color filter patterns, ensuring that at least a portion of the spacers do not overlap the color filter patterns, thereby maintaining light transmittance and color performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If the spacer is set on the color filter pattern to maintain surface flatness, then the structural stability is improved, but the light transmittance of the color filter pattern deteriorates, resulting in poor color performance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurface flatnessVSAvoidlight transmittance
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSIllumination intensity

Solution Approach 1:

The spacer is extracted from the color filter pattern area and relocated to the black matrix area. This separation removes the conflicting element (spacer) from the light-transmitting region, allowing the color filter pattern to maintain high light transmittance while the spacer continues to provide structural support in the black matrix region where it does not interfere with optical performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The spacer arrangement is optimized locally by placing it specifically in the black matrix area rather than uniformly across the substrate. This localized placement ensures that the spacer's structural function is fulfilled while minimizing its impact on the overall optical performance, particularly preserving light transmittance in the color filter regions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Manufacturing precision

If the spacer overlaps the color filter pattern to ensure proper spacing, then the cavity formation is improved, but the color gamut deteriorates due to reduced light transmittance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecavity formationVSAvoidcolor gamut
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The spacer is extracted from the color filter pattern area and positioned in the black matrix area instead. This relocation maintains the spacer's essential function of defining the liquid crystal cavity height while removing its harmful effect on color filter light transmittance, thereby preserving color gamut quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The black matrix serves as an intermediary region that accommodates the spacer without compromising optical performance. By utilizing the black matrix area as the spacer location, the design finds a intermediate solution that satisfies both structural requirements (cavity formation) and optical requirements (color gamut).

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4600723A1Display panel
Publication Date: 2025.08.13 HANNSTAR DISPLAY CORP
  • EP4600723A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4600723A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4600723A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A display panel (10) includes a first substrate (101), a second substrate (102), a plurality of pixel structures (PX, PX1, PX2, PX3), a plurality of color filter patterns (CFP1, CFP2, CFP3), a plurality of spacers (SP), and a liquid crystal layer (LCL). The pixel structures (PX, PX1, PX2, PX3) are disposed on the first substrate (101), and each pixel structure (PX) includes a reflective electrode (RE). The color filter patterns (CFP1, CFP2, CFP3) respectively overlap the reflective electrodes (RE) of the pixel structures (PX, PX1, PX2, PX3). The spacers (SP) and the liquid crystal layer (LCL) are disposed between the first substrate (101) and the second substrate (102). The pixel structures (PX, PX1, PX2, PX3) include a first pixel structure (PX1), the spacers (SP) include a first spacer (SP), and the color filter patterns (CFP1, CFP2, CFP3) include a first color filter pattern (CFP1). The reflective electrode (RE) of the first pixel structure (PX1) of the pixel structures (PX, PX1, PX2, PX3) overlaps the first spacer (SP) of the spacers (SP) and the first color filter pattern (CFP1) of the color filter patterns (CFP1, CFP2, CFP3), and at least a portion of the first spacer (SP) does not overlap the first color filter pattern (CFP1).