TOUCH DISPLAY DEVICE

A touch display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a display medium layer, a driving electrode and a reference electrode. The second substrate is disposed opposite to the first substrate. The display medium layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The driving electrode is disposed on the first substrate. The reference electrode is disposed on the second substrate. In a touch time interval of a frame time, the reference electrode is provided with a first reference voltage, and the driving electrode is alternatively provided with a first voltage and a second voltage, wherein the first voltage is greater than the first reference voltage and the second voltage is less than or equal to the first reference voltage.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of touch displays and, more particularly, to a touch display device.

2. Description of Related Art

With the rapid advance of electronic technology, various information devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, ultra-thin notebooks and satellite navigation systems, are constantly being introduced. In addition to using a keyboard or a mouse for input or operation, the use of touch technology to operate the information device is relatively intuitive and thus becomes very popular. The touch device provides a user-friendly and intuitive input operation interface, so that users of any age can directly select or operate the information device with a finger or a touch pen.

Today's touch technologies mostly belong to multi-touch in a two-dimensional plane. Generally, for example, when a finger touches a display surface, a capacitance value will be changed, and a touch position of the finger can be accurately determined, thereby generating a corresponding touch control function. Besides, in addition to the two-dimensional planar touch technology, several three-dimensional touch methods capable of sensing a pressure force are proposed to sense a pressure force in a direction (Z-axis direction) perpendicular to the display surface.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a touch display device, which includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a display medium layer, a driving electrode and a reference electrode. The second substrate is disposed opposite to the first substrate. The display medium layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The driving electrode is disposed on the first substrate. The reference electrode is disposed on the second substrate. In a touch time interval of a frame time, the reference electrode is provided with a first reference voltage, and the driving electrode is alternatively provided with a first voltage and a second voltage, wherein the first voltage is greater than the first reference voltage and the second voltage is less than or equal to the first reference voltage.

The present disclosure also provides a touch display device, which includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a display medium layer, an active device layer, a spacer unit, and a reference electrode. The second substrate is disposed opposite to the first substrate. The display medium layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The active device layer is disposed on the first substrate, and further includes a gate line and a data line. The spacer unit is disposed on the second substrate and overlaps the gate line. The reference electrode is disposed on the second substrate. The reference electrode is adjacent to the spacer unit and overlaps the data line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, various embodiments will be provided to explain the implementation and operation of the display device of the present disclosure. The person skilled in the art of the present disclosure will understand the features and advantages of the present disclosure through these embodiments. Various combinations, modifications, substitutions or adaptations may be realized based on the present disclosure.

Furthermore, the use of the ordinal numbers such as “first”, “second”, etc. in the specification and claims to modify the elements of the claims do not imply that a claimed element is physically provided with an ordinal number. The ordinal numbers do not represent the order between a claimed element and another claimed element, or the order of a manufacturing method. The use of these ordinal numbers is only for clearly distinguishing a claimed element having a certain name from another claimed element having the same name.

In addition, the prepositions mentioned in the present specification and claims, such as “above”, “on”, “upon”, “below”, “beneath” or “under”, may refer to direct contact of two elements, or may refer to indirect contact of two elements.

FIG. 1is a schematic structural diagram of the touch display device1in accordance with the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the touch display device1includes: a touch display panel100, in which the touch display panel100includes a first substrate110, an electrode layer120, an active device layer125, a display medium layer130, a reference electrode140, a color filter layer150, a black matrix layer160, and a second substrate170.

The first substrate110is disposed opposite to the second substrate170. The first substrate110and the second substrate170are each a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate. The rigid substrate is made of glass, quartz or ceramic. The flexible substrate is made of polyimide (PI), polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The active device layer125is disposed on the first substrate110. The active device layer125includes at least one active device1251or a plurality of conductive layers. The active device1251includes a source S, a drain D, a semiconductor layer A, and a gate G. The source S and the drain D are connected to the semiconductor layer A. The gate G is disposed opposite to the semiconductor layer A. The electrode layer120is disposed on the active device layer125. The electrode layer120includes at least one common electrode121, at least one signal transmission line410, and at least one pixel electrode123. The pixel electrode123is electrically connected to the active device layer125. The common electrode121is electrically connected to the signal transmission line410through a via hole411. The common electrode121is electrically insulated from the pixel electrode123. In this embodiment, there are plural common electrodes121, plural signal transmission lines410and plural the pixel electrodes123. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the common electrode121is a driving electrode121opposite to the reference electrode140in a touch time interval, and is a common electrode121opposite to the pixel electrode123in a display time interval. Therefore, the common electrode121and the driving electrode121share the same reference numeral. In the touch time interval, the common electrode12refers to the driving electrode121.

The display medium layer130is disposed between the first substrate110and the second substrate170. In this embodiment, the display medium layer130includes liquid crystals. However, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the display medium layer130may comprise organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), mini light emitting diodes, micro light emitting diodes, quantum dots (QDs), fluorescent materials, phosphor materials, or combination thereof, or other display media.

The reference electrode140is disposed on the second substrate170. The voltage applied to the reference electrode140may be originated from the component disposed on the first substrate110; for example, the reference electrode140is electrically connected to the active device layer125. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the voltage applied to the reference electrode140is originated from the component disposed on the second substrate170, while the present disclosure is not limited thereto. As shown inFIG. 1, there is a capacitance Cp formed between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121of the electrode layer120. When a finger touches or applies force on the second substrate170, the value of the capacitance Cp is changed because of the finger touch, or because the cell gap between the first substrate110and the second substrate170is decreased. Therefore, the capacitances Cp sensed at the common electrodes121of different positions may vary from one to another, making it possible to detect the magnitude of the force or the touch position.

The black matrix layer160is disposed on the second substrate170. The color filter layer150is disposed on the black matrix layer160. However, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the black matrix layer160or the color filter layer150may be disposed on the first substrate110.

FIG. 2is another schematic structural diagram of the touch display device1in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 2, in the embodiment where the display medium layer510of the touch display panel100is an organic light emitting diode layer or an inorganic light emitting diode layer, the second substrate170is a protective cover plate, and an encapsulation layer (not shown) is further provided on the display medium layer510. The encapsulation layer may be an inorganic/organic/inorganic composite layer, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. A flexible layer (FL) may be disposed between the first substrate110and the second substrate170. The flexible layer FL is, for example, an air layer which may include nitrogen or inert gas, a flexible material layer which may include, but not limited to, optical adhesive (OCA/LOCA), optical clear resin (OCR), optical elasticity resin (SVR), silica gel or polyimide (PI), or an inorganic/organic/inorganic composite layer. In the present disclosure, the flexible layer FL is made of material that is deformable and restorable, and is not limited thereto. The reference electrode140is disposed on an upper surface or a lower surface of the second substrate170. In addition, the black matrix layer160and the color filter layer150may be omitted or retained depending on the actual requirement. The organic light emitting diode or inorganic light emitting diode includes an anode511, a light emitting layer512and a cathode513, wherein the cathode513may be patterned to serve as the driving electrode121. That is, in the touch time interval, the cathode513refers to the driving electrode121. In addition, each of the patterned driving electrodes121is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of signal transmission lines410, and an insulating layer BP is optionally disposed between the signal transmission lines410and the driving electrodes121.

FIG. 3is a schematic diagram illustrating the reference electrode and the black matrix layer in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 3, the black matrix layer16has a plurality of light shielding lines161. The plurality of light shielding lines161are arranged along a first direction X and a second direction Y. The first direction X is substantially perpendicular to the second direction Y. The reference electrode140is a transparent conductive electrode. The transparent conductive electrode may include indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc tin oxide (ZTO), or indium zinc oxide (IZO).

FIG. 4is another schematic diagram illustrating the reference electrode and the black matrix layer in accordance with the present disclosure. The active device layer125further includes at least one gate line (GL)310and at least one data line (DL)320. In this embodiment, there are a plurality of gate lines310and a plurality of data lines320. The light shielding lines161of the black matrix layer160are disposed corresponding to the gate lines310and the data lines320. The gate lines310are disposed on the first substrate110and extend in the first direction X. The data lines320are disposed on the first substrate110and extend in the second direction Y. That is, the light shielding lines161parallel to the first direction X correspond to the gate lines310, and the light shielding lines161parallel to the second direction Y correspond to the data lines320.

As shown inFIG. 4, the reference electrode140includes at least one first reference electrode143and at least one second reference electrode145. In this embodiment, there are a plurality of first reference electrodes143and a plurality of second reference electrodes145. The plurality of first reference electrodes143are disposed corresponding to the gate lines310, and the plurality of second reference electrodes145are disposed corresponding to the data lines320. In other words, the first reference electrodes143are parallel to the gate lines310, and the second reference electrodes145are parallel to the data lines320. In addition, the number of the first reference electrodes143may be equal to or different from that of the gate lines310, and the number of the second reference electrodes145may be equal to or different from that of the data lines320. In this embodiment, the number of first reference electrodes143is less than that of gate lines310, and the number of second reference electrodes145is less than that of data lines320. The plurality of first reference electrodes143are electrically connected to the second reference electrodes145. The positions of the first reference electrodes143and the second reference electrodes145correspond to those of the plurality of light shielding lines161. Therefore, the first reference electrodes143and the second reference electrodes145can be transparent or opaque.

FIG. 5is a schematic diagram illustrating the reference electrode and the common electrode in accordance with the present disclosure. With reference toFIG. 1andFIG. 5, as shown, the common electrode121is electrically connected to a signal transmission line410through a via hole411so as to transmit the signal sensed by the common electrode121. InFIG. 5, when the number of the second reference electrodes145parallel to the data lines is increased, the impedance of the reference electrode140can be reduced, so as to improve the accuracy of the touch detection. However, when the touch detection is performed, because of the voltage difference, the first reference electrode143and the second reference electrode145will generate a vertical electric field and a horizontal electric field with respect to the common electrode121, which affect the rotation of liquid crystals and result in undesired optical phenomenon such as light leakage.

FIG. 6schematically illustrates a first timing diagram for display and touch in accordance with the present disclosure. It should be noted that the numerical values used in various embodiments are for illustrative purpose only but not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. InFIG. 6, the frame time is divided into a display time interval and a touch time interval. In the case where the update frequency of the frame is 60 Hz, one frame time is approximately 16.6 milliseconds (ms). In each embodiment, LCD_Busy being H represents that 1˜N gate lines are turned on to perform a display operation, and LCD_Busy being L represents that the gate lines are turned off to stop the display operation. It should be noted that LCD_Busy does not refer to an actual signal. In the display time interval, the touch display panel100performs a display operation. At this moment, the signal Vcom applied to the plurality of common electrodes121is at a low voltage, for example, 0V, so as to form an electric field with respect to the pixel electrode123, which drives the display medium layer130, such as liquid crystals, to rotate thereby performing a display operation. On the other hand, the reference voltage Vref applied to the reference electrode140in the display time interval is equivalent to the first reference voltage Vref1, and reference voltage Vref applied to the reference electrode140in the touch time interval is equivalent to the second reference voltage Vref2. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first reference voltage Vref1is the same as the second reference voltage Vref2, and the reference voltage Vref is a DC voltage. In the touch time interval, the reference electrode140is provided with the first reference voltage Vref1and, in the display time interval, the reference electrode140is provided with the second reference voltage Vref2.

In the touch time interval, the touch display panel100performs a touch operation. At this moment, the reference voltage Vref applied to the reference electrode140is 1V, which is different from the voltage of the common electrode121in the display time interval, and is greater than the ground voltage. The touch drive signal applied to the plurality of common electrodes121is a square wave composed of V1and V2, wherein V1is 4V and V2is 1V, so as to form an electric field with respect to the reference electrode140thereby performing a touch detection operation. In the touch time interval, the root mean square (RMS) voltage of the touch drive signal is calculated to be about 2.9V.

As shown inFIG. 6, in the touch time interval, the touch drive signal applied to the common electrode121causes the common electrode121to be alternatively provided with a first voltage V1and a second voltage V2. The first voltage V1is a positive voltage and the second voltage V2is a positive voltage different from the first voltage V1. The first voltage V1is greater than the reference voltage Vref of the reference electrode140, and the second voltage V2is less than or equal to the reference voltage Vref of the reference electrode140. In the touch time interval, by reducing the voltage difference between the reference voltage Vref of the reference electrode140and the root mean square voltage applied to the common electrode121, the electric field intensity between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121can be reduced, thereby alleviating the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals.

As shown inFIG. 6, in the touch time interval, the touch drive signal of the common electrode121is a V1-to-V2square wave. In other embodiments, the touch drive signal may be a sine wave or a triangular wave. The root mean square voltage of the touch drive signal is about 2.9V, and the voltage of the reference electrode140is 1V. In the touch time interval, the voltage difference between the reference voltage Vref of the reference electrode140and the root mean square voltage of the common electrode121is about 1.9V. That is, by reducing the voltage difference between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121, the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals can be alleviated.

FIG. 7schematically illustrates a second timing diagram for display and touch in accordance with the present disclosure, which is similar toFIG. 6except that: the voltage applied to the reference electrode140is an AC voltage. In the touch time interval, the first reference voltage Vref1is applied to the reference electrode140and, in the display time interval, the second reference voltage Vref2is applied to the reference electrode140, wherein the first reference voltage Vref1is 1V and the second reference voltage Vref2is 0V. The second reference voltage Vref2is a ground voltage, and the second reference voltage Vref2is less than the first reference voltage Vref1. In the display time interval, the reference electrode140and the plurality of common electrodes121are substantially of the same voltage level, so that the magnitude of the electric field between the reference electrode140and the common electrodes121does not affect the rotation of liquid crystals, and thus it does not affect the display operation in the display time interval. Moreover, in the touch time interval, the voltage of the reference electrode140is increased to reduce the voltage difference between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121, thereby alleviating the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals.

FIG. 8schematically illustrates a third timing diagram for display and touch in accordance with the present disclosure, which is similar toFIG. 7except that: the reference voltage Vref applied to the reference electrode140is a DC voltage and the reference voltage Vref is 0V (i.e., a ground voltage) in the frame time, and the Vcom voltage is 0V in the display time interval. In the touch time interval, the touch drive signal Vcom applied to the common electrode121is alternatively provided with a first voltage V1and a second voltage V2. The first voltage V1is a positive voltage and the second voltage V2is a negative voltage. That is, V1and V2satisfy the condition of |V1−V2|≥|V1|−|V2|, where V1is 1.5V and V2is −1.5V. On the other hand, the difference between the first voltage V1and the first reference voltage Vref is equal to the difference between the first reference voltage Vref and the second voltage V2.

Because the touch drive signal is an alternating positive/negative voltage signal, it can reduce the root mean square (RMS) voltage. By reducing the root mean square voltage, the voltage difference between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121can be reduced so as to alleviate the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals. In the touch time interval, the square root voltage of the reference electrode140is 1.5V, and the voltage difference between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121is further reduced to 1.5V, so as to further alleviate the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals.

FIG. 9schematically illustrates a fourth timing diagram for display and touch in accordance with the present disclosure, which is similar toFIG. 8except that: the reference voltage Vref applied to the reference electrode140is not 0V in the frame time, wherein the reference voltage Vref is 0.5V, and the Vcom voltage is 0V in the display time interval. In the touch time interval, the root mean square (RMS) voltage of the touch drive signal is 1.5V, and the reference voltage Vref is 0.5V. Accordingly, the voltage difference between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121can be reduced to 1V, so as to alleviate the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals.

FIG. 10schematically illustrates a fifth timing diagram for display and touch in accordance with the present disclosure, which is similar toFIG. 9except that: the voltage applied to the reference electrode140is an AC voltage. In the touch time interval, a first reference voltage Vref1is applied to the reference electrode140and, in the display time interval, a second reference voltage Vref2is applied to the reference electrode140, wherein the first reference voltage Vref1is 1.5V and the second reference voltage Vref2is 0V. In the display time interval, the second reference voltage Vref2applied to the reference electrode140is equal to the Vcom voltage. In the touch time interval, the first reference voltage Vref1applied to the reference electrode140is close to the root mean square voltage of the touch drive signal, wherein the root mean square voltage is 1.5V. That is, in the touch time interval, the voltage difference between the first reference voltage Vref1of the reference electrode140and the root mean square voltage of the common electrode121is 0V, which can alleviate the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals.

FIG. 11schematically illustrates a sixth timing diagram for display and touch in accordance with the present disclosure, which is similar toFIG. 10except that the timing diagram for display and touch inFIG. 11shows the touch time interval being interleaved with the display time interval.

As shown inFIG. 11, the reference voltage Vref applied to the reference electrode140is 0.5V. When LCD_Busy signal is H, it indicates that the touch display panel100performs a display operation. When LCD_Busy signal is L, the touch drive signal applied to the plurality of common electrodes121is a square wave of V1to V2. That is, when LCD_Busy signal is L, the touch detection operation is performed.

For example, the first LCD_Busy signal being H is labeled with G1˜Gn to indicate that the touch display panel100turns on the first to n-th gate lines for performing the display operation. Then, the LCD_Busy signal becomes L for a period of approximately tens to hundreds of microseconds (μs). However, this period of time is only an example and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. At this moment, the touch drive signal applied to the plurality of common electrodes121is a square wave of V1to V2for performing the touch detection operation. InFIG. 6, in the time interval Tr, the touch control chip performs data processing (for example, point reporting). Similarly, inFIG. 11, in the time interval Tr1and the time interval Tr2, the touch control chip performs data processing (for example, point reporting). In the embodiment ofFIG. 6, the point reporting rate is 60 Hz and, in the embodiment ofFIG. 11, the point reporting rate is 120 Hz.

In view of the foregoing description, it is known that the present disclosure reduces the voltage difference between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121by adjusting the reference voltage Vref applied to the reference electrode140and the root mean square voltage applied to the common electrode121, so as to reduce the electric field intensity between the reference electrode140and the common electrode121thereby alleviating the light leakage phenomenon of liquid crystals.

When the number of the second reference electrodes145parallel to the data lines is increased, the impedance of the reference electrode140can be reduced. However, the panel may encounter light leakage problem in some cases. In this regard, the present disclosure can solve this problem by providing different arrangements of the reference electrode140. With reference toFIG. 12andFIG. 13at the same time,FIG. 12is still another schematic structural diagram of the touch display device1in accordance with the present disclosure, andFIG. 13is still another schematic diagram illustrating the reference electrode140and the black matrix layer160in accordance with the present disclosure. Similar to the structure of the previous embodiments, the touch display device1of this embodiment also includes: a first substrate110, a second substrate170disposed opposite to the first substrate110, a display medium layer130disposed between the first substrate110and a second substrate170, a reference electrode140disposed on the second substrate170, and an active device layer125disposed on the first substrate110and including at least one gate line310and at least one data line320. The touch display device1of this embodiment may further include an electrode layer120, a color filter layer150, and a black matrix layer160, while it is not limited thereto. In addition, the reference electrode140in this embodiment is divided into first reference electrodes143(shown inFIG. 13) and second reference electrodes145(shown inFIG. 13), and the first reference electrodes143are disposed corresponding to the gate lines310and the second reference electrodes145are disposed corresponding to the data lines320(shown inFIG. 13). Since the details of some of the components have been described in detail in the previous embodiments, the following only describes the portion of the present embodiment that is different from the previous embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 12, the touch display device1of this embodiment further includes at least one spacer unit600disposed on the first substrate110or the second substrate170, which can keep the distance between the first substrate110and the second substrate170and support the thickness of the display medium layer130. The spacer unit600may be a photo spacer, but is not limited thereto.

Next, the arrangement of the reference electrode140will be described.FIG. 13mainly illustrates the possible corresponding positions of the gate lines310, the data lines320, the reference electrode140, the black matrix layer160, and the spacer units600on the XY plane, while the arrangement of the aforementioned components in the Z direction is for illustrative purpose only. In addition, the number of the aforementioned components is also for illustrative purpose only, and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. In this embodiment, the reference electrode140is divided into a plurality of first reference electrodes143and a plurality of second reference electrodes145, wherein the first reference electrodes143can be electrically connected to the second reference electrodes145. The first reference electrodes143are disposed corresponding to the gate lines310; that is, the first reference electrodes143are disposed parallel to the gate lines310. The second reference electrodes145are disposed corresponding to the data lines320; that is, the second reference electrodes145are disposed parallel to the data lines320. In this embodiment, the number of the second reference electrodes145is less than that of data lines320; that is, there are second reference electrodes145corresponding to some of the data lines320, and there is no second reference electrode145corresponding to the remaining data lines320. The number of the first reference electrodes143is not limited in comparison with the number of the gate lines310. In addition, in this embodiment, the black matrix layer160has a plurality of light shielding lines161, and the spacer units600, and the second reference electrodes145are disposed corresponding to some of the light shielding lines161. A second reference electrode145is electrically connected to some of the first reference electrodes143. The reference electrodes140are electrically connected to the active device layer125. In one embodiment, the second reference electrodes145are disposed at positions of some of the light shielding lines161corresponding to the spacer units600, while it is not limited thereto. In addition, the first reference electrodes143and the second reference electrodes145are transparent or opaque. In another embodiment, the second reference electrodes145are electrically insulated from some of the first reference electrodes143. In the following, more embodiments will be given to describe the arrangement of the light shielding lines161, the spacer units600, the second reference electrodes145and the data lines320.

The arrangement of the light shielding lines161, the spacer units600, the second reference electrodes145and the data lines320will be described in more detail below.FIG. 14is a schematic diagram illustrating the light shielding lines, the spacer units, the second reference electrodes and the data lines corresponding to the Z direction (corresponding to the display surface of the touch display device1) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The Z direction ofFIG. 14is defined to be a direction from the first substrate110toward the second substrate170. Please refer toFIGS. 12 to 14at the same time. As shown inFIG. 14, the spacer units600are divided into first spacer units610and second spacer units620. The light shielding lines include first light shielding lines161aand second light shielding lines16lb. In addition, the light shielding lines and the data lines may define the opening areas of the sub-pixel units650. InFIG. 14, the data lines (not shown) overlap the light shielding lines extending in the Y direction. In this embodiment, there is a first area, denoted as area1, defined as a region of the first light shielding line161acorresponding to the first spacer unit610, and there is a second area, denoted as area2, defined as a region of the second light shielding line161bcorresponding to the second spacer unit620, wherein the first area areal is greater than the second area area2. That is, the position of the first spacer unit610corresponds to a greater light shielding area, and thus the sub-pixel units650around the first spacer unit610may have a smaller aperture ratio than the sub-pixels650at other positions. In one embodiment, the first spacer unit610may be a main spacer unit (main-PS) and the second spacer unit620may be a subsidiary spacer unit (sub-PS), while it is not limited thereto. In addition, the second reference electrode145is disposed along with the first spacer unit610. For example, the second reference electrode145is disposed corresponding to at least one data line neighboring the first spacer unit610without corresponding to all of the data lines, while it is not limited thereto. In this way, by arranging the second reference electrode145along the data line neighboring the first spacer unit610without corresponding to all of the data lines, not only the impedance of the reference electrode140can be decreased, but also the influence to the brightness of the display panel caused by disposing the second reference electrode145can be greatly reduced because the position of the first spacer unit610corresponds to a greater light shielding area (the aperture ratio of the surrounding sub-pixel unit650being smaller).

In addition, the second reference electrodes145may be arranged in various manners. Please refer toFIG. 12toFIG. 15(B)at the same time.FIG. 15(A)is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of the second reference electrodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is an extension based on the embodiment ofFIG. 14. This embodiment is only provided to describe the arrangement of the second reference electrodes145on the XY plane, while the size, number and shape of each component are for illustrative purpose only and the details thereof are not shown. For example, the arrangement of the first reference electrodes143on the XY plane is not shown, and the shape of the second reference electrode145is for illustrative purpose only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 15(A), the touch display device1includes a plurality of first spacer units610and a plurality of second spacer units620, and the second reference electrode145is disposed along with the first spacer unit610, indicating that there is a second reference electrode145disposed corresponding to the data line320neighboring the first spacer unit610, and there is no second reference electrode145disposed corresponding the data line320neighboring the second spacer unit620. In this embodiment, the number of the first spacer units610is less than the number of the second spacer units620, but it is not limited thereto. In addition, in one embodiment, the ratio of the number of the first spacer units610to the number of the sub-pixel units650is 1:60, but it is not limited thereto.

FIG. 15(B)is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of the second reference electrodes145in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, which is also an extension based on the embodiment ofFIG. 14. This embodiment is only provided to describe the arrangement of the second reference electrodes on the XY plane, while the size, number and shape of each component are for illustrative purpose only and the details thereof are not shown. For example, the arrangement of the first reference electrodes143on the XY plane is not shown, and the shape of the second reference electrode145is for illustrative purpose only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 15(B), the touch display device1includes a plurality of first spacer units610and a plurality of second spacer units620, and part of the second reference electrode145is disposed along the first spacer unit610and part of the second reference electrode145is disposed along the second spacer units620. That is, except that the data line310neighboring the first spacer unit610has the second reference electrode145corresponding thereto, the data line310neighboring the second spacer unit620also has the second reference electrode145corresponding thereto. The second reference electrode145may be disposed along some of the second spacer units620, but may also be disposed along all of the second spacer units620. In addition, the second reference electrodes145are not limited to being disposed along all the first spacer units610. Besides, the number of the first spacer units610and the number of the second spacer units620are not limited.

In addition, in the embodiments ofFIGS. 15(A) and 15(B), the data lines320are perpendicular to the gate lines310, and thus the second reference electrodes145disposed in parallel to the data lines are also perpendicular to the first reference electrodes143disposed parallel to the gate lines310. However, in other embodiments, the data lines320may not be perpendicular to the gate lines310; that is, the angle formed between a data line320and a gate line310is not a right angle. In this case, the angle formed between a second reference electrode145parallel to the data lines320and a first reference electrode143parallel to the gate lines310is also not a right angle, while it is not limited thereto.

The influence of the arrangement of the second reference electrodes145on the impedance of the reference electrode140(not shown inFIG. 16) will be described below with an embodiment.FIG. 16is a diagram illustrating a comparison between the overall impedance and brightness under different arrangements of the second reference electrodes. Please refer toFIG. 12toFIG. 16at the same time. In this embodiment, a comparison is made among an arrangement-I710(there are first reference electrodes143only, and no second reference electrode145), an arrangement-II720(there are first reference electrodes143and second reference electrodes145, and the second reference electrode145is disposed along with the first spacer unit610), and an arrangement-III730(the second reference electrode145is disposed corresponding to all of the data lines320), wherein the difference among the arrangement-I710, the arrangement-II720and the arrangement-III730is the number of the second reference electrodes145. In addition, in the arrangement-II720, the ratio of the number of first spacer units610(for example, main spacer units) to the number of sub-pixel units is 1:60, but it is not limited thereto. As shown inFIG. 16, if the overall impedance of the reference electrode140of the arrangement-I710is defined as 100%, the overall impedance of the reference electrode140of the arrangement-II720is about 10.95%, and the overall impedance of the reference electrode140of the arrangement-III730is about 4.13%. It can be seen that, with the arrangement-II720and the arrangement-III730, the overall impedance of the reference electrode140can be greatly reduced. It should be noted that this embodiment is provided for illustrative purpose only and, in actual application, the parameters such as the number of electrodes and the arrangement of electrodes are not limited thereto. In different measurement environments, the impedances of the aforementioned architectures may also be different.

Please refer toFIG. 16again. For the dark state brightness (for example, gray level value is 0), when the overall dark state brightness of the arrangement-I710is defined as 100%, the overall dark state brightness of the arrangement-II720is about 102.65%, and the overall dark state brightness of the arrangement-III730is about 139.77%. It can be seen that the overall dark state brightness of the arrangement-II720(the second reference electrode145is disposed corresponding to part of the data line) does not differ dramatically from the overall dark state brightness of the arrangement-I710(there is no second reference electrode145disposed), and the overall dark state brightness of the arrangement-III730(the second reference electrode145corresponds to the entire data line) is significantly increased. For the gray state brightness (for example, gray level value is127), when the overall gray state brightness of the arrangement-I710is defined as 100%, the overall gray state brightness of the arrangement-II720is about 100.19%, and the overall gray brightness of the arrangement-III730is about 102.88%. It can be seen that the overall gray state brightness of the arrangement-II720and arrangement-III730does not differ dramatically from the overall gray state brightness of the arrangement-I710. For the bright state brightness (e.g. gray level value is255), when the overall bright state brightness of arrangement-I710is defined as 100%, the overall bright state brightness of arrangement-II720is about 100.02%, and the overall bright state brightness of the arrangement-III730is about 100.23%. It can be seen that the overall bright state brightness of the arrangement-II720and arrangement-III730does not differ dramatically from the overall bright state brightness of the arrangement-I710. It should be noted that this embodiment is provided for illustrative purpose only and, in actual application, the parameters such as the number of electrodes and the arrangement of electrodes are not limited thereto. In different measurement environments, the aforementioned brightness may also be different.

In addition, the touch display device1shown inFIGS. 12 to 16may be driven by using the driving methods shown inFIGS. 6 to 11. For example, the touch display device1may include a driving electrode121disposed on the first substrate. In a touch time interval of a frame time, the reference electrode140is provided with a first reference voltage Vref1and the driving electrode121is alternatively provided with a first voltage V1and a second voltage V2, wherein the first voltage V1is greater than the first reference voltage Vref1and the second voltage V2is less than or equal to the first reference voltage Vref1, while it is not limited thereto. The driving methods shown inFIGS. 6 to 11have been described in previous paragraphs, and thus a detailed description therefor is deemed unnecessary. In addition, the touch display device1shown inFIGS. 12 to 16is not limited to being driven by the driving methods shown inFIGS. 6 to 11.

In view of the foregoing description, it is known that, by way of arranging the second reference electrode corresponding to part of the data line but not corresponding to the entire data line (for example, the second reference electrode corresponds to the data line neighboring the main spacer unit), the overall impedance of the reference electrode can still be reduced, and the panel light leakage caused by the arrangement of the second reference electrodes can be reduced. However, if the second reference electrode is disposed corresponding to each data line, it still has a relatively small overall impedance, although the light leakage problem may be worse than the arrangement of the second reference electrode corresponding to part of the data line.

The touch display device manufactured in the aforementioned embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to any electronic device that requires a display screen, such as a display device, a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a watch, a VR display, a video camera, a camera, a music player, a mobile navigation device, a television, a car dashboard, a center console, an electronic rear-view mirror, a head-up display, and so on.