CN-121996098-A - Viewing angle controllable touch panel device and display device

CN121996098ACN 121996098 ACN121996098 ACN 121996098ACN-121996098-A

Abstract

The invention relates to a viewing angle controllable touch panel device and a display device. The viewing angle controllable touch panel apparatus includes an upper transparent substrate, a lower transparent substrate, one lower viewing angle control electrode on a top surface of the lower transparent substrate, a lower touch panel electrode on a top surface of the lower transparent substrate, an upper touch panel electrode on a bottom surface of the upper transparent substrate, and an electrophoretic element disposed between the bottom surface of the upper transparent substrate and the top surface of the lower transparent substrate. The electrophoretic element includes electrophoretic particles and a dispersion medium. The lower touch panel electrode is included in a layer above the lower viewing angle control electrode. In a plan view, the lower touch panel electrode at least partially overlaps the lower viewing angle control electrode. The electrophoretic element is interposed between one of the upper touch panel electrodes and the lower viewing angle control electrode.

Inventors

SEN MAO
SHIGEMURA KOJI
UCHIYAMA YUICHI
HAGA HIROSHI
Gang Benshou
IMAI AYUKO
TASHIRO TETSURO
YAO QIJUN

Assignees

天马日本株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20251103
Priority Date: 20241108

Claims (9)

1. A viewing angle controllable touch panel device comprising: an upper transparent substrate; A lower transparent substrate; A lower viewing angle control electrode on a top surface of the lower transparent substrate; A plurality of lower touch panel electrodes on a top surface of the lower transparent substrate; A plurality of upper touch panel electrodes on the bottom surface of the upper transparent substrate, and A plurality of electrophoretic elements disposed between a bottom surface of the upper transparent substrate and a top surface of the lower transparent substrate, each of the plurality of electrophoretic elements including electrophoretic particles and a dispersion medium, Wherein the plurality of lower touch panel electrodes are included in a layer above the lower viewing angle control electrode, Wherein each of the plurality of lower touch panel electrodes at least partially overlaps the lower viewing angle control electrode in plan view, and Wherein each of the plurality of electrophoretic elements is interposed between one of the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes and the lower viewing angle control electrode.
2. The viewing angle controllable touch panel device of claim 1, further comprising: the controller is used for controlling the operation of the controller, Wherein the controller is configured to control the potentials of the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes, the potentials of the plurality of lower touch panel electrodes, and the potentials of the lower viewing angle control electrodes, Wherein the controller is configured to perform control of the potential in alternately repeated sensing periods and non-sensing periods, Wherein the controller is configured to perform touch sensing by controlling the potentials of the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes and the potentials of the plurality of lower touch panel electrodes in the sensing period, Wherein the controller is configured to realize viewing angle control by controlling the potentials of the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes and the potentials of the lower viewing angle control electrodes to control the states of the electrophoretic particles in the plurality of electrophoretic elements in the non-sensing period, and Wherein the non-sensing period is longer than the sensing period.
3. The viewing angle controllable touch panel device of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to: maintaining the lower viewing angle control electrode at a constant potential during the sensing period and the non-sensing period, and During the non-sensing period, the electric potential for the viewing angle control is supplied to the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes, and the same electric potential as the lower viewing angle control electrode is supplied to the lower touch panel electrode.
4. The viewing angle controllable touch panel device of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to: maintaining the lower viewing angle control electrode at a constant potential during the sensing period and the non-sensing period; During the sensing period, the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes are held at a constant potential and the plurality of lower touch panel electrodes are selected one by one to supply a driving signal to the selected lower touch panel electrodes, and During the non-sensing period, the electric potential for the viewing angle control is supplied to the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes, and the same electric potential as the lower viewing angle control electrode is supplied to the lower touch panel electrode.
5. The viewing angle controllable touch panel device of claim 1, further comprising: First insulating films each disposed between the upper touch panel electrode and an electrophoretic element material composed of the electrophoretic particles and the dispersion medium; second insulating films each provided between the lower touch panel electrode and the electrophoretic element material, and A third insulating film disposed between the lower viewing angle control electrode and the lower touch panel electrode, Wherein sheet resistances of the first insulating film, the second insulating film, and the third insulating film are in a range of 5E6 Ω/≡5E8 Ω/≡.
6. The viewing angle controllable touch panel device of claim 1, wherein the lower viewing angle control electrode is opposite to all electrophoretic elements disposed between the upper transparent substrate and the lower transparent substrate in a plan view.
7. A display device, comprising: Display panel, and The viewing angle controllable touch panel device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, provided on a front surface of the display panel.
8. A display device, comprising: Display panel, and The viewing angle controllable touch panel device of claim 2, Wherein each frame period includes the sensing period and the non-sensing period.
9. A display device, comprising: An OLED display panel; a viewing angle controllable touch panel device disposed on the OLED display panel, and The controller is used for controlling the operation of the controller, Wherein the viewing angle controllable touch panel apparatus includes: A plurality of upper viewing angle control electrodes; A plurality of first touch panel electrodes and a plurality of second touch panel electrodes disposed on the thin film encapsulation structure of the OLED display panel without a substrate interposed therebetween, and A plurality of electrophoretic elements disposed between the plurality of upper viewing angle control electrodes and a touch panel electrode array including the plurality of first touch panel electrodes and the plurality of second touch panel electrodes in a lamination direction, each electrophoretic element including electrophoretic particles and a dispersion medium, Wherein the controller is configured to control the electric potentials of the plurality of upper viewing angle control electrodes, Wherein the controller is configured to perform control of the potential in alternately repeated sensing periods and non-sensing periods, Wherein the controller is configured to perform touch sensing by controlling the potentials of the plurality of first touch panel electrodes and the potentials of the plurality of second touch panel electrodes in the sensing period, Wherein the controller is configured to realize viewing angle control by controlling states of electrophoretic particles in the plurality of electrophoretic elements using electric fields between the plurality of upper viewing angle control electrodes and the plurality of first touch panel electrodes and the plurality of second touch panel electrodes in the non-sensing period, and Wherein the non-sensing period is longer than the sensing period.

Description

Viewing angle controllable touch panel device and display device Technical Field The invention relates to a viewing angle controllable touch panel device and a display device. Background Smart phones and tablet terminals are widely available in the world as electronic devices including a display device (i.e., a touch panel) having an input function. These devices are used in various scenarios as tools for sharing information with many people. Touch panels are classified into various types such as capacitive type, resistive type, optical type, ultrasonic type, and electromagnetic induction type, and in most cases, smart phones and tablet terminals employ capacitive type. The touch panel is applied to various display devices such as a liquid crystal display device and an organic Electroluminescence (EL) display device. In recent years, in view of the advantage of realizing a thinner display device, a so-called "in-cell" technology has been adopted. The embedded technology places the wiring of the touch panel directly over an inorganic or organic encapsulation film that encapsulates an organic Electroluminescent (EL) element. Meanwhile, from the viewpoint of personal information protection, a display device having a viewing angle limiting function is widely available to prevent someone from peeping a displayed image in public spaces such as parks, trains, and Automatic Teller Machines (ATM). In particular, display devices capable of switching between a wide viewing angle and a narrow viewing angle are particularly attractive. Some methods of actively controlling the switching of viewing angles between wide viewing angles and narrow viewing angles are known. One example uses a light shield and Polymer Network Liquid Crystal (PNLC). Another known example uses electrophoretic ink, which has a relatively short response time when switching between a wide viewing angle and a narrow viewing angle. The display device employing either method has two electrodes, and the viewing angle is controlled using an electric field generated between the electrodes. An organic EL display device having a touch panel function and a viewing angle control function may become an electronic device suitable for various applications due to its thinner shape and more functions than conventional devices. Disclosure of Invention Capacitive touch panels (touch sensors) detect a touch point by measuring a change in capacitance caused by contact of a finger on a surface of the device. The capacitance varies due to the capacitance created between the finger and the electrode. When another electrode is provided between the touch panel and the surface of the display device, an electric field is generated between the touch panel and the electrode, and no electric field is generated on the surface of the display device. Therefore, no capacitance is generated between the finger and the electrode of the touch sensor, and thus capacitive touch sensing does not work. This means that, in the case of simply constructing a structure on the touch panel having an active viewing angle control function of controlling the viewing angle (traveling direction of transmitted light) by using an electric field between electrodes, it is in principle difficult to make both functions work normally. Another configuration in which the touch panel is disposed above the active viewing angle control device (active shutter) does not cause the above-described problem. However, stacking the viewing angle control device and the touch panel independent of each other increases the overall thickness of the device. A viewing angle controllable touch panel apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an upper transparent substrate, a lower transparent substrate, one lower viewing angle control electrode on a top surface of the lower transparent substrate, a plurality of lower touch panel electrodes on a top surface of the lower transparent substrate, a plurality of upper touch panel electrodes on a bottom surface of the upper transparent substrate, and a plurality of electrophoretic elements disposed between the bottom surface of the upper transparent substrate and the top surface of the lower transparent substrate. Each of the plurality of electrophoretic elements includes electrophoretic particles and a dispersion medium. The plurality of lower touch panel electrodes are included in a layer above the lower viewing angle control electrode. Each of the plurality of lower touch panel electrodes at least partially overlaps the lower viewing angle control electrode in a plan view. Each of the plurality of electrophoretic elements is interposed between one of the plurality of upper touch panel electrodes and the lower viewing angle control electrode. A display device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an OLED display panel, a viewing angle controllable touch panel device disposed on the display panel, and a controller. The viewing angle contro