CN110262098B - Liquid crystal display device and driving method - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid crystal display device and a driving method thereof are provided, wherein the liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal box and an electrolyte box which are superposed, liquid crystal molecules are arranged in the liquid crystal box, a viewing angle control electrode is arranged on the upper side of the liquid crystal box, a common electrode and a pixel electrode are arranged on the lower side of the liquid crystal box, silver ion electrolyte is arranged in the electrolyte box, a first transparent electrode is arranged on the upper side of the electrolyte box, a second transparent electrode is arranged on the lower side of the electrolyte box, and at least one of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is of a whole-surface structure. The liquid crystal display device can simultaneously realize three functions of a wide visual angle sharing mode, a narrow visual angle peep-proof mode and a mirror mode, and can meet the use requirements of users at different levels.

Description

Liquid crystal display device and driving method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of liquid crystal displays, in particular to a liquid crystal display device and a driving method.

Background

The liquid crystal display device has the advantages of good picture quality, small volume, light weight, low driving voltage, low power consumption, no radiation and relatively low manufacturing cost, and is dominant in the field of flat panel display.

With the continuous progress of liquid crystal display technology, the current liquid crystal display devices are developed towards wide viewing angles, for example, the liquid crystal display devices adopting an in-plane switching mode (IPS) or a fringe field switching mode (FFS) can realize a wide viewing angle, so that a user can see a complete and undistorted picture from all directions.

People hope to effectively protect business confidentiality and personal privacy while enjoying visual experience brought by a large visual angle so as to avoid business loss or embarrassment caused by the leakage of screen information. Therefore, in addition to the requirement of a wide viewing angle, in the case where privacy viewing is required, a function of switching the display device to a narrow viewing angle mode, that is, switching between a wide viewing angle and a narrow viewing angle is also required. Moreover, with the development of science and technology, people have more and more demands on composite multifunctional display.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device and a driving method thereof, wherein the liquid crystal display device has a composite function, not only has a function of switching a wide viewing angle and a narrow viewing angle, but also has an excellent display effect in a narrow viewing angle mode, and simultaneously has a function of a mirror.

The invention provides a liquid crystal display device, which comprises a liquid crystal box and an electrolyte box which are superposed, wherein liquid crystal molecules are arranged in the liquid crystal box, a viewing angle control electrode is arranged on the upper side of the liquid crystal box, a common electrode and a pixel electrode are arranged on the lower side of the liquid crystal box, silver ion electrolyte is arranged in the electrolyte box, a first transparent electrode is arranged on the upper side of the electrolyte box, a second transparent electrode is arranged on the lower side of the electrolyte box, and at least one of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is of a whole-surface structure.

Further, the liquid crystal display device comprises a lower substrate, an upper substrate and a cover plate which are arranged from bottom to top in sequence, the liquid crystal box is formed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate, and the electrolyte box is formed between the upper substrate and the cover plate.

Further, the liquid crystal display device comprises a cover plate, a lower substrate and an upper substrate which are arranged from bottom to top in sequence, the liquid crystal box is formed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate, and the electrolyte box is formed between the lower substrate and the cover plate.

Furthermore, the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode are both in a full-face structure.

Furthermore, the upper substrate is provided with a black matrix, one of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is in a whole-surface structure, and the other transparent electrode has the same patterning structure with the black matrix and corresponds to the upper position and the lower position of the black matrix.

Further, the first transparent electrode is arranged on one side of the cover plate facing the electrolyte box, and the second transparent electrode is arranged on one side of the upper substrate facing the electrolyte box; the common electrode and the pixel electrode are disposed on a side of the lower substrate facing the liquid crystal cell, and the viewing angle control electrode is disposed on a side of the upper substrate facing the liquid crystal cell.

Further, the first transparent electrode is arranged on one side of the lower substrate facing the electrolyte box, and the second transparent electrode is arranged on one side of the cover plate facing the electrolyte box; the common electrode and the pixel electrode are disposed on a side of the lower substrate facing the liquid crystal cell, and the viewing angle control electrode is disposed on a side of the upper substrate facing the liquid crystal cell.

The present invention also provides a driving method of the liquid crystal display device, including:

in a first visual angle mode, applying a direct current common voltage to the common electrode, applying a first voltage to the visual angle control electrode, wherein the potential of the first voltage is the same as or similar to that of the direct current common voltage, and the voltage difference between the visual angle control electrode and the common electrode is smaller than a first set value;

in a second viewing angle mode, applying a direct current common voltage to the common electrode, and applying a second voltage to the viewing angle control electrode, wherein the second voltage is an alternating current voltage which is vertically biased by taking the direct current common voltage as a center, so that the voltage difference between the viewing angle control electrode and the common electrode is larger than a second set value;

in the mirror mode, a voltage is applied to the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode to have a voltage difference therebetween, wherein the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is applied with a low voltage, and the other transparent electrode is applied with a high voltage, so that silver ions in the electrolyte tank are deposited on the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure.

Further, when one of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is in a full-surface structure, and the other is in a patterned structure identical to the black matrix and corresponds to the upper and lower positions of the black matrix, the driving method further includes applying a voltage to the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode in a second viewing angle mode so that a voltage difference between the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is greater than the second set value, wherein a high voltage is applied to the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode, and a low voltage is applied to the other transparent electrode, so that the silver ions in the electrolyte cartridge are deposited on the transparent electrode having the patterned structure.

Furthermore, the liquid crystal box adopts positive liquid crystal molecules, the first visual angle mode is a wide visual angle mode, and the second visual angle mode is a narrow visual angle mode; or the liquid crystal box adopts negative liquid crystal molecules, the first visual angle mode is a narrow visual angle mode, and the second visual angle mode is a wide visual angle mode.

The liquid crystal display device and the driving method provided by the invention can simultaneously realize three functions of a wide visual angle sharing mode, a narrow visual angle peep-proof mode and a mirror mode, and meet the use requirements of users at different levels.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a wide viewing angle mode according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 1 in a narrow viewing angle mode.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of the liquid crystal display device of fig. 1 in a mirror mode.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a wide viewing angle mode according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 4 in a narrow viewing angle mode.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of the liquid crystal display device of fig. 4 in a mirror mode.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a wide viewing angle mode according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8a-8b are schematic structural diagrams illustrating the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 7 in a narrow viewing angle mode.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of the liquid crystal display device of fig. 7 in a mirror mode.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a narrow viewing angle mode according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 10 in a wide viewing angle mode.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural view of the liquid crystal display device of fig. 10 in a mirror mode.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to a sixth embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

To further illustrate the technical means and effects of the present invention adopted to achieve the predetermined objects, the following detailed description of the embodiments, structures, features and effects of the present invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

Example one

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a wide viewing angle mode according to a first embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 1 in a narrow viewing angle mode, and fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 1 in a mirror mode. Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the liquid crystal display device includes aliquid crystal cell 10 and anelectrolyte cell 20 stacked together,liquid crystal molecules 11 are disposed in theliquid crystal cell 10, a viewingangle control electrode 45 is disposed on an upper side of theliquid crystal cell 10, acommon electrode 35 and apixel electrode 36 are disposed on a lower side of theliquid crystal cell 10, a silver ion electrolyte is disposed in theelectrolyte cell 20, a firsttransparent electrode 61 is disposed on an upper side of theelectrolyte cell 20, a secondtransparent electrode 62 is disposed on a lower side of theelectrolyte cell 20, and at least one of the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is a full-surface structure.

In this embodiment, the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 are both of a full-surface structure.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal display device includes alower substrate 30, anupper substrate 40, and acover plate 50, which are sequentially disposed from bottom to top, aliquid crystal cell 10 is formed between thelower substrate 30 and theupper substrate 40, and anelectrolyte cell 20 is formed between theupper substrate 40 and thecover plate 50. That is, theliquid crystal cell 10 is disposed at the lower layer, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is disposed at the upper layer.

In the present embodiment, the firsttransparent electrode 61 is provided on the side of thecover plate 50 facing theelectrolyte tank 20, and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is provided on the side of theupper substrate 40 facing theelectrolyte tank 20; thecommon electrode 35 and thepixel electrode 36 are disposed on a side of thelower substrate 30 facing theliquid crystal cell 10, and the viewingangle controlling electrode 45 is disposed on a side of theupper substrate 40 facing theliquid crystal cell 10.

Specifically, theupper substrate 40 may be a color filter substrate, theupper substrate 40 is further provided withcolor filter layers 42 of three colors, namely, ablack matrix 41 and R, G, B, and theblack matrix 41 is disposed between thecolor filter layers 42. Thelower substrate 30 may be an array substrate, thelower substrate 30 is further provided with pixel units arranged in an array, apixel electrode 36 is disposed in each pixel unit, and thepixel electrode 36 is connected to corresponding scan lines and data lines through TFTs. The structure of the TFT includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, a semiconductor layer, a source electrode, a drain electrode, an insulating protective layer, and the like.

Specifically, the firsttransparent electrode 61, the secondtransparent electrode 62, thecommon electrode 35 and thepixel electrode 36 may be made of a transparent conductive material, such as ITO (indium tin oxide), IZO (indium zinc oxide), but not limited thereto.

Further, the liquid crystal display device further includes abacklight 71 and areflection sheet 72, and thebacklight 71 and thereflection sheet 72 are disposed below thelower substrate 30. That is, the backlight from thebacklight 71 passes through theliquid crystal cell 10 and theelectrolyte cell 20 in order, and finally reaches the eyes of the user. When a common voltage is applied to thecommon electrode 35 and data voltages of different gray levels are applied to therespective pixel electrodes 36, an image display is realized by theliquid crystal cell 10.

Specifically, theelectrolyte cartridge 20 includes therein an electrolyte containingsilver ions 21, which may be silver nitrate (AgNO), an electrolyte dissolving solution, and a catalyst₃) Or other soluble silver ion components, the electrolyte solution can be dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and the catalyst can be copper chloride (CuCl)₂) However, the method is not limited thereto.

Specifically, thecover plate 50 may be a glass substrate or an organic transparent cover plate.

Specifically, the thickness of theelectrolyte cartridge 20 may be between 50um and 500 um.

Specifically, the surfaces of the first and secondtransparent electrodes 61 and 62 are smooth.

More specifically, the liquid crystal display device further includes an upper polarizingfilm 48 and a lower polarizingfilm 38, the upper polarizingfilm 48 being disposed inside theupper substrate 40, and the lower polarizingfilm 38 being disposed inside thelower substrate 30.

In this embodiment, the upper polarizingfilm 48 is disposed on a side of theupper substrate 40 facing theliquid crystal cell 10, theblack matrix 41 and thecolor film layer 42 are disposed on the upper polarizingfilm 48, and the viewingangle control electrode 45 is disposed on theblack matrix 41 and thecolor film layer 42. The liquid crystal display device is configured in an ffs (fringe Field switching) mode by disposing the lower polarizingfilm 38 on the side of thelower substrate 30 facing theliquid crystal cell 10, disposing thecommon electrode 35 on the lower polarizingfilm 38, and disposing thepixel electrode 36 above thecommon electrode 35 with theinsulating layer 37 interposed therebetween, but is not limited thereto.

For example, In other embodiments, thepixel electrode 36 and thecommon electrode 35 may be disposed on the same layer and inserted into and matched with each other, so that the liquid crystal display device is formed In an IPS (In-Plane-Switching) mode.

Since the upperpolarizing film 48 and the lowerpolarizing film 38 are disposed inside theupper substrate 40 or thelower substrate 30, the thickness of theliquid crystal cell 10 can be effectively reduced, which is beneficial to the light and thin design of the liquid crystal display device. The upperpolarizing film 48 and the lowerpolarizing film 38 can be formed by a metal wire grid process or a nanoimprint lithography technique, but not limited thereto.

It should be noted that theelectrolyte cell 20 may also include twocover plates 50, such that theelectrolyte cell 20 is disposed between the twocover plates 50 and theliquid crystal cell 10 is disposed between theupper substrate 40 and thelower substrate 30. Moreover, the upperpolarizing film 48 may be provided on the side of theupper substrate 40 facing theelectrolyte solution tank 20, or on thecover plate 50; the lowerpolarizing film 38 may be provided on the side of thelower substrate 30 facing thebacklight 71, and may be freely selected according to actual needs.

In this embodiment, theliquid crystal cell 10 uses positive liquid crystal molecules, i.e., liquid crystal molecules having positive dielectric anisotropy. In an initial state (i.e., the liquid crystal display device is not applied with any voltage), the positive liquid crystal molecules in theliquid crystal cell 10 assume a lying posture substantially parallel to thesubstrates 30, 40, i.e., the long axis direction of the positive liquid crystal molecules is substantially parallel to the surfaces of thesubstrates 30, 40. In practical applications, however, the positive liquid crystal molecules in theliquid crystal cell 10 and thesubstrates 30 and 40 may have a small initial pretilt angle (pretilt angle) to increase the response speed of the liquid crystal molecules during deflection, and the initial pretilt angle may be less than 5 degrees.

Since the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 are disposed at the upper and lower sides of theliquid crystal cell 10, theliquid crystal cell 10 can implement a wide viewing angle mode or a narrow viewing angle mode by controlling a voltage signal applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45. Meanwhile, since the first and secondtransparent electrodes 61 and 62 are disposed at the upper and lower sides of theelectrolyte tank 20, theelectrolyte tank 20 can implement the mirror mode by controlling voltage signals applied to the first and secondtransparent electrodes 61 and 62.

Wide view angle mode: referring to fig. 1, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, and a first voltage V1 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, wherein the first voltage V1 has a same or similar potential as the DC common voltage DC Vcom, so that the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is smaller than a first set value (e.g. smaller than 0.5V). At this time, since the voltage difference between the viewingangle controlling electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is small, the tilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules in theliquid crystal cell 10 hardly changes, and the liquid crystal display device exhibits a wide viewing angle display.

In the wide viewing angle mode, no voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

In the wide viewing angle mode, the first voltage V1 applied on the viewingangle control electrode 45 may be a DC voltage and the same as the DC common voltage DC Vcom (i.e. V1 ═ DC Vcom), so that the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is zero, and a good wide viewing angle effect can be achieved. However, in the wide viewing angle mode, the first voltage V1 applied on the viewingangle control electrode 45 may also be a DC voltage or an ac voltage similar to the DC common voltage DC Vcom, as long as the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is smaller than a first predetermined value (e.g. smaller than 0.5V).

Narrow view angle mode: referring to fig. 2, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, a second voltage V2 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, the second voltage V2 is an ac voltage that is offset up and down with the DC common voltage DC Vcom as a center, so that a voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is greater than a second set value (e.g., greater than 3V), wherein the second set value is greater than a first set value, for example, the first set value can be set to 0.5V, and the second set value can be set to 3V, but is not limited thereto. At this time, since the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is large, a strong vertical electric field E (as shown by an arrow in fig. 2) is generated between thelower substrate 30 and theupper substrate 40, and the positive liquid crystal molecules rotate in a direction parallel to the electric field lines under the action of the electric field, so that the positive liquid crystal molecules are deflected under the action of the vertical electric field E, the inclination angle between the positive liquid crystal molecules and thesubstrates 30 and 40 is increased and tilted, the liquid crystal display device has large-angle observation light leakage in the left-right direction, the contrast in the oblique direction is reduced and the viewing angle is narrowed, and the liquid crystal display device finally has narrow viewing angle display in the left-right direction.

In the narrow viewing angle mode, no voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

In the narrow viewing angle mode, the second voltage V2 applied to the viewingangle controlling electrode 45 may be a square wave, a trapezoidal wave, a triangular wave, a sine wave, or other waveforms.

Mirror mode: referring to fig. 3, no voltage is applied to theliquid crystal cell 10 located at the lower layer (i.e. no voltage is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, thecommon electrode 35, and the pixel electrode 36), and theliquid crystal cell 10 is in a black state; a voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 to have a voltage difference therebetween, wherein the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is applied with a low voltage, and the other transparent electrode is applied with a high voltage, so that thesilver ions 21 in theelectrolyte cartridge 20 are deposited on the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure.

In this embodiment, since the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 are both of a whole-surface structure, in one mode, a high voltage may be applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, a low voltage may be applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62 to form a mirror reflection, and when external incident light enters the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back upward (the direction of the light is shown by the arrow in fig. 3), thereby implementing a mirror function. Or alternatively, a low voltage may be applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, a high voltage may be applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the firsttransparent electrode 61 to form a mirror reflection, and when external incident light is incident on the surface of the firsttransparent electrode 61, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back to the top, thereby implementing a mirror function.

Specifically, in the mirror mode, the voltage at which thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte may be, for example, 1 to 4V, i.e., the voltage difference between the first and secondtransparent electrodes 61 and 62 may be in the range of 1 to 4V.

The liquid crystal display device provided by the embodiment of the invention can simultaneously realize three functions of a wide visual angle sharing mode, a narrow visual angle peep-proof mode and a mirror mode, and meets the use requirements of users at different levels.

Example two

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a wide viewing angle mode according to a second embodiment of the present invention, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 4 in a narrow viewing angle mode, and fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 4 in a mirror mode. Referring to fig. 4 to 6, the liquid crystal display device provided in the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that theelectrolyte cell 20 is disposed at the lower layer and theliquid crystal cell 10 is disposed at the upper layer.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal display device includes acover plate 50, alower substrate 30 and anupper substrate 40 sequentially arranged from bottom to top, aliquid crystal cell 10 is formed between thelower substrate 30 and theupper substrate 40, and anelectrolyte cell 20 is formed between thelower substrate 30 and thecover plate 50.

In the present embodiment, the firsttransparent electrode 61 is provided on the side of thelower substrate 30 facing theelectrolyte tank 20, and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is provided on the side of thecover plate 50 facing theelectrolyte tank 20; thecommon electrode 35 and thepixel electrode 36 are disposed on a side of thelower substrate 30 facing theliquid crystal cell 10, and the viewingangle controlling electrode 45 is disposed on a side of theupper substrate 40 facing theliquid crystal cell 10.

Wide view angle mode: referring to fig. 4, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, and a first voltage V1 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, wherein the first voltage V1 has a same or similar potential as the DC common voltage DC Vcom, so that the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is smaller than a first set value (e.g. smaller than 0.5V). At this time, the liquid crystal display device exhibits a wide viewing angle display.

In the wide viewing angle mode, no voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

Narrow view angle mode: referring to fig. 5, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, a second voltage V2 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, the second voltage V2 is an ac voltage that is biased up and down with the DC common voltage DC Vcom as a center, so that a voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is greater than a second set value (e.g., greater than 3V), and at this time, the liquid crystal display device displays a narrow viewing angle in the left-right direction.

In the narrow viewing angle mode, no voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

Mirror mode: referring to fig. 6, no voltage is applied to theliquid crystal cell 10 located in the upper layer (i.e., no voltage is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, thecommon electrode 35, and the pixel electrode 36), and theliquid crystal cell 10 is in a black state; a voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 to have a voltage difference therebetween, wherein the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is applied with a low voltage, and the other transparent electrode is applied with a high voltage, so that thesilver ions 21 in theelectrolyte cartridge 20 are deposited on the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure.

In this embodiment, since the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 are both of a whole-surface structure, in one mode, a low voltage may be applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, a high voltage may be applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the firsttransparent electrode 61 to form a mirror reflection, and when external incident light enters the surface of the firsttransparent electrode 61, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back upward (the direction of the light is shown by the arrow in fig. 6), thereby implementing a mirror function. Or alternatively, a high voltage may be applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, a low voltage may be applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62 to form a mirror reflection, and when external incident light is incident on the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back to the top, thereby implementing a mirror function.

For other structures and operation principles of this embodiment, reference may also be made to the first embodiment, which is not described herein again.

EXAMPLE III

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a wide viewing angle mode according to a third embodiment of the present invention, fig. 8a-8b are schematic structural diagrams of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 7 in a narrow viewing angle mode, and fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 7 in a mirror mode. Referring to fig. 7 to 9, the difference between the liquid crystal display device provided in the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that one of the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 has a full-surface structure, and the other one has the same patterned structure as theblack matrix 41 and corresponds to the upper and lower positions of theblack matrix 41.

Specifically, the firsttransparent electrode 61 may have a full-surface structure, and the secondtransparent electrode 62 may have the same patterned structure as theblack matrix 41 and correspond to the upper and lower positions of theblack matrix 41; alternatively, the secondtransparent electrode 62 may have a full-surface structure, and the firsttransparent electrode 61 may have the same patterned structure as theblack matrix 41 and may be vertically aligned with theblack matrix 41. In the present embodiment, the latter is illustrated. Also, the width of the electrode bars having the patterned structure is less than or equal to the width of theblack matrix 41.

Wide view angle mode: referring to fig. 7, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, and a first voltage V1 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, wherein the first voltage V1 has a same or similar potential as the DC common voltage DC Vcom, so that the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is smaller than a first set value (e.g. smaller than 0.5V). At this time, the liquid crystal display device exhibits a wide viewing angle display.

In the wide viewing angle mode, no voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

Narrow view angle mode: referring to fig. 8a and 8b, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, a second voltage V2 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, the second voltage V2 is an ac voltage biased up and down with the DC common voltage DC Vcom as a center, so that a voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is greater than a second set value (e.g., greater than 3V), and at this time, the liquid crystal display device displays a narrow viewing angle in the left-right direction.

In the narrow viewing angle mode, as shown in fig. 8a, no voltage may be applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

Alternatively, in the narrow viewing angle mode, as shown in fig. 8b, a voltage is further applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 to have a voltage difference therebetween, wherein the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is applied with a high voltage, and the other transparent electrode is applied with a low voltage, so that thesilver ions 21 in theelectrolyte cartridge 20 are deposited on the transparent electrode having the patterned structure. In this embodiment, the secondtransparent electrode 62 is a whole surface structure, the firsttransparent electrode 61 is a patterned structure same as theblack matrix 41, so that a high voltage is applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, a low voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the electrode stripes of the firsttransparent electrode 61 to form mirror reflection, when the incident light from a lower large angle enters the surface of the electrode stripes of the firsttransparent electrode 61, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back to theliquid crystal cell 10 to reach thereflective sheet 72, and then reflected back to the upper side by the reflective sheet 72 (the direction of the light is shown by the arrow in fig. 8 b), thereby optimizing the display effect of the narrow viewing angle and improving the transmittance in the narrow viewing angle mode.

Mirror mode: referring to fig. 9, no voltage is applied to theliquid crystal cell 10 located in the lower layer (i.e., no voltage is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, thecommon electrode 35, and the pixel electrode 36), and theliquid crystal cell 10 is in a black state; a voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 to have a voltage difference therebetween, wherein the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is applied with a low voltage, and the other transparent electrode is applied with a high voltage, so that thesilver ions 21 in theelectrolyte cartridge 20 are deposited on the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure.

In the present embodiment, the secondtransparent electrode 62 has a whole-surface structure, and the firsttransparent electrode 61 has a patterned structure identical to that of theblack matrix 41, so that a high voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, a low voltage is applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62 to form a mirror reflection, and when external incident light enters the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back upward (the direction of light is shown by an arrow in fig. 9), thereby implementing a mirror function.

Example four

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of a liquid crystal display device in a narrow viewing angle mode according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, fig. 11 is a schematic structural view of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 10 in a wide viewing angle mode, and fig. 12 is a schematic structural view of the liquid crystal display device in fig. 10 in a mirror mode. Referring to fig. 10 to 12, the difference between the liquid crystal display device provided in the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that in the present embodiment, the liquid crystal of theliquid crystal cell 10 is negative liquid crystal molecules, that is, the liquid crystal molecules having negative dielectric anisotropy, and in an initial state (that is, no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal display device), the negative liquid crystal molecules in theliquid crystal cell 10 have a larger initial pretilt angle (pretilt angle) with respect to thesubstrates 30 and 40, and the initial pretilt angle may range from greater than 30 degrees to less than 90 degrees, that is, the negative liquid crystal molecules are in an inclined posture with respect to thesubstrates 30 and 40 in the initial state.

Narrow view angle mode: referring to fig. 10, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, and a first voltage V1 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, wherein the first voltage V1 has a same or similar potential as the DC common voltage DC Vcom, so that the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is smaller than a first set value (e.g. smaller than 0.5V). At this time, since the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is small, the tilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules in theliquid crystal cell 10 is almost unchanged and still in a tilt posture, so that the liquid crystal display device has large-angle observation light leakage, the contrast ratio is reduced in the oblique viewing direction, the viewing angle is narrowed, and the liquid crystal display device shows narrow viewing angle display.

In the narrow viewing angle mode, no voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

In the narrow viewing angle mode, the first voltage V1 applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45 may be a DC voltage and the same as the DC common voltage DC Vcom (i.e. V1 ═ DC Vcom), so that the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is zero, and a good narrow viewing angle effect can be achieved. However, in the narrow viewing angle mode, the first voltage V1 applied on the viewingangle control electrode 45 can also be a DC voltage or an ac voltage similar to the DC common voltage DC Vcom, as long as the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is smaller than the first predetermined value (e.g. smaller than 0.5V).

Wide view angle mode: referring to fig. 11, a DC common voltage DC Vcom is applied to thecommon electrode 35, a second voltage V2 is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, the second voltage V2 is an ac voltage that is offset up and down with the DC common voltage DC Vcom as a center, so that a voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is greater than a second set value (e.g., greater than 3V), wherein the second set value is greater than a first set value, for example, the first set value can be set to 0.5V, and the second set value can be set to 3V, but is not limited thereto. At this time, since the voltage difference between the viewingangle control electrode 45 and thecommon electrode 35 is large, a strong vertical electric field E (as shown by an arrow in fig. 11) is generated between thelower substrate 30 and theupper substrate 40, and the negative liquid crystal molecules are deflected in a direction perpendicular to the electric field lines under the action of the electric field, so that the negative liquid crystal molecules are deflected under the action of the vertical electric field E, the tilt angle between the negative liquid crystal molecules and thesubstrates 30 and 40 is reduced, the phenomenon of light leakage at a large angle of the liquid crystal display device is correspondingly reduced, the contrast ratio is improved in the oblique viewing direction, the viewing angle is increased, and the liquid crystal display device finally shows wide viewing angle display.

In the wide viewing angle mode, no voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62, and theelectrolyte cell 20 is in a transparent state, which does not affect the normal display of theliquid crystal cell 10.

In the wide viewing angle mode, the second voltage V2 applied to the viewingangle controlling electrode 45 may be a square wave, a trapezoidal wave, a triangular wave, a sine wave, or other waveforms.

Mirror mode: referring to fig. 12, no voltage is applied to theliquid crystal cell 10 located in the lower layer (i.e., no voltage is applied to the viewingangle control electrode 45, thecommon electrode 35, and the pixel electrode 36), and theliquid crystal cell 10 is in a black state; a voltage is applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 to have a voltage difference therebetween, wherein the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 is applied with a low voltage, and the other transparent electrode is applied with a high voltage, so that thesilver ions 21 in theelectrolyte cartridge 20 are deposited on the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure.

In this embodiment, since the firsttransparent electrode 61 and the secondtransparent electrode 62 are both of a whole-surface structure, in one mode, a high voltage may be applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, a low voltage may be applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62 to form a mirror reflection, and when external incident light enters the surface of the secondtransparent electrode 62, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back upward (the direction of the light is shown by the arrow in fig. 12), thereby implementing a mirror function. Or alternatively, a low voltage may be applied to the firsttransparent electrode 61, a high voltage may be applied to the secondtransparent electrode 62, thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte, thesilver ions 21 are deposited on the surface of the firsttransparent electrode 61 to form a mirror reflection, and when external incident light is incident on the surface of the firsttransparent electrode 61, the deposited silver mirror is reflected back to the top, thereby implementing a mirror function.

Specifically, in the mirror mode, the voltage at which thesilver ions 21 are decomposed from the electrolyte may be, for example, 1 to 4V, i.e., the voltage difference between the first and secondtransparent electrodes 61 and 62 may be in the range of 1 to 4V.

EXAMPLE five

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a fifth embodiment of the invention, and referring to fig. 13, the liquid crystal display device provided in this embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that in this embodiment, liquid crystal of theliquid crystal cell 10 is negative liquid crystal molecules, that is, liquid crystal molecules having negative dielectric anisotropy, and in an initial state (that is, no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal display device), the negative liquid crystal molecules in theliquid crystal cell 10 have a larger initial pretilt angle (pretilt angle) relative to thesubstrates 30 and 40, and the range of the initial pretilt angle may be greater than 30 degrees and less than 90 degrees, that is, the negative liquid crystal molecules are in an inclined posture relative to thesubstrates 30 and 40 in the initial state.

For other specific structures and operation principles of this embodiment, reference may be made to the second embodiment and the fourth embodiment, which are not described herein again.

EXAMPLE six

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device in a sixth embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 14, the liquid crystal display device provided in this embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that in this embodiment, liquid crystal of theliquid crystal cell 10 is negative liquid crystal molecules, that is, liquid crystal molecules having negative dielectric anisotropy, and in an initial state (that is, no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal display device), the negative liquid crystal molecules in theliquid crystal cell 10 have a larger initial pretilt angle (pretilt angle) relative to thesubstrates 30 and 40, and the range of the initial pretilt angle may be greater than 30 degrees and less than 90 degrees, that is, the negative liquid crystal molecules are in an inclined posture relative to thesubstrates 30 and 40 in the initial state.

For other specific structures and operation principles of this embodiment, reference may be made to the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment in combination, which are not described herein again.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. A liquid crystal display device is characterized by comprising an upper substrate, a lower substrate, a liquid crystal box and an electrolyte box which are superposed, wherein the liquid crystal box is formed between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, liquid crystal molecules are arranged in the liquid crystal box, a viewing angle control electrode is arranged on the upper side of the liquid crystal box, a public electrode and a pixel electrode are arranged on the lower side of the liquid crystal box, silver ion electrolyte is arranged in the electrolyte box, a first transparent electrode is arranged on the upper side of the electrolyte box, a second transparent electrode is arranged on the lower side of the electrolyte box, a black matrix is arranged on the upper substrate, one of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is of a whole-surface structure, and the other transparent electrode is of a patterned structure which is the same as that of the black matrix and corresponds to the upper position and the lower position of the black matrix.

2. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display device comprises a lower substrate, an upper substrate and a cover plate arranged in this order from bottom to top, the electrolyte cell being formed between the upper substrate and the cover plate.

3. The liquid crystal display device of claim 2, wherein the first transparent electrode is disposed on a side of the cover plate facing the electrolyte tank, and the second transparent electrode is disposed on a side of the upper substrate facing the electrolyte tank; the common electrode and the pixel electrode are disposed on a side of the lower substrate facing the liquid crystal cell, and the viewing angle control electrode is disposed on a side of the upper substrate facing the liquid crystal cell.

4. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display device comprises a cover plate, a lower substrate and an upper substrate arranged in this order from bottom to top, and the electrolyte cell is formed between the lower substrate and the cover plate.

5. The liquid crystal display device of claim 4, wherein the first transparent electrode is disposed on a side of the lower substrate facing the electrolyte tank, and the second transparent electrode is disposed on a side of the cover plate facing the electrolyte tank; the common electrode and the pixel electrode are disposed on a side of the lower substrate facing the liquid crystal cell, and the viewing angle control electrode is disposed on a side of the upper substrate facing the liquid crystal cell.

6. A driving method of a liquid crystal display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising:

in a first visual angle mode, applying a direct current common voltage to the common electrode, applying a first voltage to the visual angle control electrode, wherein the potential of the first voltage is the same as or similar to that of the direct current common voltage, and the voltage difference between the visual angle control electrode and the common electrode is smaller than a first set value;

in a second viewing angle mode, applying a dc common voltage to the common electrode, applying a second voltage to the viewing angle control electrode, the second voltage being an ac voltage that is biased up and down around the dc common voltage, such that a voltage difference between the viewing angle control electrode and the common electrode is greater than a second set value, applying a voltage to the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode such that a voltage difference therebetween is greater than the second set value, wherein a high voltage is applied to one of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode having a full-surface structure, and a low voltage is applied to the other transparent electrode, such that silver ions in the electrolyte cartridge are deposited on the one of the transparent electrodes having a patterned structure;

in the mirror mode, a voltage is applied to the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode to have a voltage difference therebetween, wherein the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure of the first transparent electrode and the second transparent electrode is applied with a low voltage, and the other transparent electrode is applied with a high voltage, so that silver ions in the electrolyte tank are deposited on the transparent electrode having the full-surface structure.

7. The driving method according to claim 6, wherein the liquid crystal cell employs positive liquid crystal molecules, the first viewing angle mode is a wide viewing angle mode, and the second viewing angle mode is a narrow viewing angle mode; or the liquid crystal box adopts negative liquid crystal molecules, the first visual angle mode is a narrow visual angle mode, and the second visual angle mode is a wide visual angle mode.

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