Patent Publication Number: US-10769979-B2

Title: Pixel arrangement structure, display panel and display device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710872731.9, filed on Sep. 22, 2017, titled “A PIXEL STRUCTURE, A DISPLAY PANEL AND A DISPLAY DEVICE”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of display technologies, and in particular, to a pixel arrangement structure, a display panel and a display device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the continuous development of display technologies, display devices are increasingly used in the field of smart wear. For example, display devices are used in some smart wearable products, such as smart watches and smart glasses. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect of the present disclosure provides a pixel arrangement structure. The pixel arrangement structure includes a plurality of circular pixels. The plurality of circular pixels include a center pixel and a plurality of peripheral pixels located around the center pixel, and a plurality of peripheral pixels distributed on a same circumference with the center pixel as a center constitute a first pixel group, so as to form a plurality of first pixel groups on different circumferences respectively. Radiuses of circumferences of the plurality of first pixel groups respectively located on different circumferences gradually increase in a direction away from the center pixel. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pixel arrangement structure further includes at least two second pixel groups each of which is composed of some of the plurality of peripheral pixels. Peripheral pixels in each of the second pixel groups are respectively located on different circumferences in a direction close to or away from the center pixel, and in each of the second pixel groups, a center of each of the peripheral pixels is on a straight line as a center of the center pixel. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an angle between any two adjacent second pixel groups ranges from 58° to 62°. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of circular pixels is configured to emits light of a single color, and a color of light emitted by one circular pixel is different from a color of light emitted by any one of circular pixels adjacent to the one circular pixel. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least two peripheral pixels sequentially away from the center pixel in the second pixel group and the center pixel constitute a pixel unit for emitting white light. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, among the plurality of circular pixels, at least the center pixel includes at least three sub-pixels, and any two of the at least three sub-pixels have equal areas. The at least three sub-pixels constitute a pixel unit for emitting white light. 
     Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a display panel. The display panel includes any one of the pixel arrangement structures described above. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of circular pixels in the pixel arrangement structure emits of light of a single color, and peripheral pixels in each of first pixel groups in the pixel arrangement structure are connected to a same gate line. Peripheral sub-pixels whose centers are on a same straight line and in different first pixel groups are connected to a same data line. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the center pixel and peripheral pixels in a first pixel group closest to the center pixel are connected to a same gate line. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the center pixel and the peripheral pixels connected to the same gate line are connected to different data lines. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in cases where the pixel arrangement structure includes second pixel groups and all peripheral pixels closest to the center pixel are located in different second pixel groups, the center pixel and peripheral pixels other than the peripheral pixels closest to the center pixel are connected to a same data line. 
     Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a display device. The display device includes any one of the display panels described above. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 a    is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a circular display device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 1 b    is a schematic diagram showing a partial structure of a circular display device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a pixel arrangement structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of another pixel arrangement structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of yet another pixel arrangement structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a display device having the pixel arrangement structure shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of peripheral pixels in the pixel arrangement structure shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of each of circular pixels in the pixel arrangement structure shown in  FIG. 2  when color display is realized based on the pixel arrangement structure; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram showing another arrangement of each of circular pixels in the pixel arrangement structure shown in  FIG. 2  when color display is realized based on the pixel arrangement structure; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram showing a structure of one of the circular pixels in  FIG. 8 ; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram showing a connection of data lines and gate lines with circular pixels in a display panel constructed using the pixel arrangement structure shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Technical solutions in embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the embodiments described are merely some but not all of embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments made on the basis of the embodiments of the present disclosure by a person of ordinary skill in the art without paying any creative effort shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. 
     In order to meet exterior design requirements of smart wearable products, and for ergonomic considerations, display areas of the smart wearable products are usually round. As shown in  FIG. 1 a   , an annular bezel  11  is used to form a circular display area in which rectangular sub-pixels  101  are disposed. In this case, as shown in  FIG. 1 b   , an edge formed by the sub-pixels  101  exposed near the bezel  11  is jagged. Therefore, during a display process, a periphery of the display area appears to be jagged, thereby affecting the display effect. 
     Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a pixel arrangement structure  01 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the pixel arrangement structure includes a plurality of circular pixels  10 . The plurality of circular pixels  10  include a center pixel  201  and a plurality of peripheral pixels  202  located around the center pixel  201 . Some of the plurality of peripheral pixels  202  distributed on a same circumference with the center pixel  201  as a center form a first pixel group  20 . That is, centers of the plurality of peripheral pixels  202  in a same first pixel group  20  are located on a same circumference, and the circumference is concentric with the center pixel  201 . 
     On this basis, the pixel arrangement structure  01  above includes a plurality of first pixel groups  20  having different circumferences, and radiuses of circumferences of first pixel groups  20  on different circumferences gradually increase in a direction away from the center pixel  201 . That is, the radiuses of the circumferences where the plurality of first pixel groups  20  are located gradually increase in a direction away from the center pixel  201 . 
     In some examples, the above-mentioned pixel arrangement structure  01  is of a circle shape as shown in  FIG. 2 . In some other examples, the pixel arrangement structure  01  is of a semicircle shape as shown in  FIG. 3 . In some other examples, the pixel arrangement structure  01  is of a quarter-circle shape as shown in  FIG. 4 . The present disclosure does not limit the shape of the pixel arrangement structure  01  as long as it is ensured that the pixel arrangement structure  01  is at least a part of a circle. 
     As can be seen from the above, the plurality of first pixel groups  20  formed by the plurality of peripheral pixels  202  are distributed around the center pixel  201  as concentric circles of the center pixel  201 , and the center pixel  201  and the peripheral pixels  202  are both circular pixels  10 . In this case, pixels at a farthest edge of the pixel arrangement structure  01  are composed of peripheral pixels  202  in a first pixel group  20  farthest from the center pixel  201  in the pixel arrangement structure  01 . In this way, the edge of the pixel arrangement structure  01  is formed by splicing a partial arc of a profile of each of the plurality of peripheral pixels  202  together, as shown in  FIG. 5 . The arc will make a sawtooth edge of the pixel arrangement structure  01  less conspicuous, so that the sawtooth edge will not be as distracting to users during the display process, thereby improving the display effect. 
     On this basis, in a case where the pixel arrangement structure  01  provided by the present disclosure is adopted in a display device, since the sawtooth edge of the pixel arrangement structure  01  is less conspicuous, the bezel  11  exposes all of the peripheral pixels  202  at the edge of the pixel arrangement structure  01 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . In this way, the bezel  11  does not need to shield the peripheral pixels  202  at the edge of the pixel arrangement structure  01 , so that areas corresponding to sub-pixels of different colors in the peripheral pixels  202  near the bezel  11  may be prevented from being unequal, thereby avoiding the problem of color cast caused by unequal areas of the above-mentioned sub-pixels. 
     On this basis, taking an example in which the pixel arrangement structure  01  is of a circle shape, in a case of the above arrangement of the peripheral pixels  202  in the pixel arrangement structure  01 , as shown in  FIG. 6 , the pixel arrangement structure  01  includes at least two second pixel groups  21  each of which is composed of some of the plurality of peripheral pixels  202 . In  FIG. 6 , the pixel arrangement structure  01  including six second pixel groups  21  is taken as an example for description, in which a second pixel groups  21  is arranged on each of left and right sides of the center pixel  201 , and two second pixel groups  21  are arranged on each of upper and lower sides of the center pixel  201 . 
     Peripheral pixels  202  in each of the second pixel groups  21  are respectively located on different circumferences in a direction close to or away from the center pixel  201 . In each of the second pixel groups  21 , a center of each of the peripheral pixels  202  is on a same straight line as a center of the center pixel  201 . In this way, an arrangement of the peripheral pixels  202  in the pixel arrangement structure  01  may be more orderly through providing the second pixel group  21  described above. 
     As can be seen from the above, the peripheral pixels  202  in each of the second pixel groups  21  are respectively located on different circumferences in a direction close to or away from the center pixel  201 , and the peripheral pixels  202  in each of the first pixel groups  20  are located on a same circumference. Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the peripheral pixels  202  in a second pixel group  21  belong to different first pixel groups  20 . That is, the peripheral pixels  202  in the first pixel groups  20  and the peripheral pixels  202  in the second pixel groups  21  are cross-multiplexed. It will be noted that, herein, orientation terms such as “left”, “right”, “upper” and “lower” are defined according to schematically placed orientations of the pixel arrangement structure in the drawings. It will be understood that these directional terms are relative concepts that are used for relative description and clarification, which may vary accordingly depending on variation of the orientation in which the pixel arrangement structure is placed. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an angle β between any two adjacent second pixel groups  21  is in a range of 58° to 62°. In this way, in cases where the angle β is less than 58° or greater than 62°, an area defined between any two adjacent second pixel groups  21  varies greatly. Therefore, when the angle β is in the range of 58° to 62°, an area of the pixel arrangement structure  01  may be approximately equally divided by the above-described six second pixel groups  21 , so that the area defined between any two adjacent second pixel groups  21  is approximately equal, so that a number of peripheral pixels  202  disposed between any two adjacent second pixel groups  21  is approximately equal, thereby improving a uniformity of distribution of the peripheral pixels  202 . 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the angle β is 59°, 60°, 61°, or 62°. 
     On this basis, in a case where fabrication precision is high, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the angle β between any two adjacent second pixel groups  21  is 60°, so that the number of peripheral pixels  202  disposed between any two adjacent second pixel groups  21  is completely equal. 
     In this case, in order to realize color display, an arrangement manner of the center pixel  201  and the peripheral pixels  202  will be illustrated below in combination with colors of light emitted by the circular pixels  10  in the pixel arrangement structure  01  taking the pixel arrangement structure  01  shown in  FIG. 6  as an example. 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , each of the plurality of circular pixels  10  emits light of a single color, and light emitted by one circular pixel  10  is different in color from light emitted by any one of the circular pixels  10  adjacent to the one circular pixel  10 . 
     Taking the center pixel  201  as an example, the center pixel  201  emits red light (R). In this case, peripheral pixels  202  closest to the center pixel  201 , i.e., peripheral pixels  202  adjacent to the center pixel  201 , emit green light (G) or blue light (B). 
     On this basis, at least two peripheral pixels  202  that are sequentially away from the center pixel  201  in a second pixel group  21  and the center pixel  201  constitute a pixel unit for emitting white light. 
     For example, the second pixel groups  21  located on the left and right sides of the center pixel  201  are shown in  FIG. 7 . The peripheral pixels  202  that are sequentially away from the center pixel  201  in the second pixel group  21  on the left side of the center pixel  201  emit blue light (B) and green light (G), respectively. In this case, two peripheral pixels  202  that are sequentially away from the center pixel  201  in the second pixel group  21  on the left side of the center pixel  201  and the center pixel  201  constitute a pixel unit for emitting white light. 
     In addition, in the second pixel group  21  on the left side of the center pixel  201 , in addition to the two peripheral pixels  202  that emit blue light (B) and green light (G), which constitute the pixel unit for emitting white light with the center pixel  201 , of remaining peripheral pixels  202  in the second pixel group  21  on the left side of the center pixel  201 , three peripheral pixels  202  that emit red light (R), blue light (B), and green light (G) in order in a direction away from the center pixel  201  (i.e., from right to left) constitute one pixel unit. The peripheral pixels  202  that are sequentially away from the center pixel  201  in the second pixel group  21  on the right side of the center pixel  201  emit green light (G) and blue light (B), respectively. In this case, two peripheral pixels  202  that are sequentially away from the center pixel  201  in the second pixel group  21  on the right side of the center pixel  201  and the center pixel  201  constitute a pixel unit for emitting white light. 
     In addition, in the second pixel group  21  on the right side of the center pixel  201 , in addition to the two peripheral pixels  202  that emit green light (G) and blue light (B), which constitute the pixel unit for emitting white light with the center pixel  201 , of remaining peripheral pixels  202  in the second pixel group  21  on the right side of the center pixel  201 , three peripheral pixels  202  that emit red light (R), green light (G), and blue light (B) in order in a direction away from the center pixel  201  (i.e., from left to right) constitute one pixel unit. 
     It will be noted that, there are only peripheral pixels  202  that emit green light (G) and blue light (B) in the peripheral pixels  202  located on a first circumference around the center pixel  201 , i.e., in the peripheral pixels constituting a first pixel group closest to the center pixel  201 , in  FIG. 7 . In this case, in order to make the entire pixel arrangement structure  01  emit uniform light, an intensity of an electric field of the center pixel  201  may be increased, so that a luminance of the red light (R) emitted by the center pixel  201  is increased. A luminance of light emitted by the peripheral pixels  202  located on the first circumference may be correspondingly reduced, so that white light emitted by a central portion of the pixel arrangement structure  01  is uniform. 
     In addition, numbers of peripheral pixels  202  emitting green light (G), blue light (B), and red light (R) respectively in a first pixel group  20  away from the center pixel  201  are substantially the same, so that each of the first pixel groups  20  (i.e., a plurality of peripheral pixels  202  located on a circumference) emits a uniform white color. 
     It will be noted that the above description is made by taking an example in which circular pixels  10  that emit green light (G), blue light (B), and red light (R) constitute a pixel unit that emits white light. In addition, the circular pixels  10  constituting the pixel unit that emits white light may also emit green light (G), blue light (B), red light (R), and white light (W), respectively; or emit cyan light, magenta light, and yellow light, respectively, which is not limited in the present disclosure. Among the plurality of circular pixels  10 , the center pixel  201  and the peripheral pixels  202  are arranged in the same manner as described above, which will not be described herein again. 
     In this way, the pixel arrangement structure  10  includes circular pixels  10  capable of emitting light of at least three different colors, so that the circular pixels  10  emitting light of different colors may be independently controlled to realize color display. 
     Alternatively, taking the pixel arrangement structure  01  shown in  FIG. 6  as an example, with consideration given to the colors of light emitted by the circular pixels  10  in the pixel arrangement structure  01 , an arrangement manner of the center pixel  201  and the peripheral pixels  202  is for example as shown in  FIG. 8 —of the plurality of circular pixels  10  of the pixel arrangement structure  01 , at least the center pixel  201  includes at least three sub-pixels  101  (R, G, and B), and the at least three sub-pixels  101  constitute a pixel unit for emitting white light. 
     In  FIG. 8 , a description is made by taking an example in which all the circular pixels  10  include three sub-pixels  101  (R, G, and B), as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     In addition, any two sub-pixels  101  in each of the circular pixels  10  have equal areas. In this case, as shown in  FIG. 9 , a red (R) sub-pixel  101 , a green (G) sub-pixel  101 , and a blue (B) sub-pixel  101  may divide the circular pixel  10  into three equal parts, so that white light emitted by the circular pixel  10  is uniform in color. 
     On this basis, in a case where any one of the circular pixels  10  includes the at least three sub-pixels  101  described above, sub-pixels  101  emitting light of the same color are in the same position in different circular pixels  10 . 
     For example, in  FIG. 8 , each of the circular pixels  10  includes three sub-pixels  101  (R, G, and B). In any one of the circular pixels, the red (R) sub-pixel is located above, the green (G) sub-pixel is located at the lower left, and the blue (B) sub-pixel  101  is located at the lower right. 
     In this way, each of the circular pixels  10  includes at least three sub-pixels  101  emitting light of different colors, so that each sub-pixel  101  in each of the circular pixels  10  is individually controlled to realize color display. 
     It will be noted that the above description is made by taking an example in which each of the circular pixels  10  includes at least three sub-pixels  101 , and the three sub-pixels  101  emit red light (R), green light (G) and blue light (B) respectively. Of course, the three sub-pixels  101  may also emit cyan light, magenta light, and yellow light respectively. Alternatively, each of the circular pixels  10  may include four sub-pixels  101 , and the four sub-pixels  101  emit red light (R), green light (G), blue light (B), and white light (W) respectively. 
     Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display panel, which includes any one of the pixel arrangement structures described above. The display device has the same technical effects as the pixel arrangement structure  01  provided by the above embodiments, which will not be repeated herein. 
     It will be noted that, in a case where the pixel arrangement structure  01  described above is adopted in a display panel, when the pixel arrangement structure  01  is in the shape of a circle as shown in  FIG. 2 , the display panel is in the shape of a circle; when the pixel arrangement structure  01  is in the shape of a semicircle as shown in  FIG. 3 , the display panel is in the shape of a semicircle; or when the pixel arrangement structure is in the shape of a quarter circle as shown in  FIG. 4 , the display panel is in the shape of a quarter circle. In addition, the above display panel may also be an irregular display panel formed by splicing the pixel arrangement structure  01  composed of circular pixels  10  provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure and a pixel arrangement structure  01  composed of ordinary rectangular sub-pixels together. The above display panels are all within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. 
     On this basis, in a case where each circular pixel  10  emits light of a single color, in order to control the circular pixels  10  in the pixel arrangement structure  01 , as shown in  FIG. 10 , in the pixel arrangement structure  01 , peripheral pixels in each of first pixel groups  20  are connected to a same gate line GL. 
     In addition, peripheral sub-pixels  202  in different first pixel groups  20  whose centers are on a same straight line are connected to a same data line DL. In this case, peripheral pixels  202  in the same second pixel group  21  are connected to the same data line DL. 
     In this way, peripheral pixels  202  connected to the same gate line GL is connected to different date lines DL. Therefore, gate lines GL is scanned from the inside to the outside or from the outside to the inside to gate the gate lines GL. When one turn of the gate lines GL is gated, a data voltage Vdata is output to each of the peripheral pixels  202  connected to the gate line GL through different data lines, so that the peripheral pixels  202  may be charged to realize image display. 
     It will be noted that,  FIG. 10  only shows how a portion of peripheral pixels  202  are connected to data lines DL, and remaining peripheral pixels  202  are connected to data lines DL in the same manner. 
     On this basis, the center pixel  201  is connected to the gate line GL and the data line DL in the following way: the center pixel  201  is connected to a same gate line GL as the peripheral pixels  202  in the first pixel group  20  closest to the center pixel  201 . In this way, when the peripheral pixels  202  on a circumference closest to the center pixel  201  are gated, the center pixel  201  is also gated. In addition, since the center pixel  201  is connected to a same gate line GL as the peripheral pixels  202  in a first pixel group  20  closest to the center pixel  201 , there is no need to fabricate a via hole for the gate line GL to be bridged in the process for the gate line GL to connect the center pixel  201  from the peripheral pixels  202  as described above. 
     Of course, the center pixel  201  may also be connected to a same gate line GL as peripheral pixels  202  in first pixel groups  20  other than the first pixel group  20  closest to the center pixel  201 . In addition, as can be seen from the above, peripheral pixels  202  in a second pixel group  21  is connected to a same data line DL, and the center pixel  201  is connected to a same gate line GL as peripheral pixels  202  on a circumference closest to the center pixel  201 . Therefore, in order to prevent a data signal received by the center pixel  201  from being incorrect, the center pixel  201  and the peripheral pixels  202  connected to the same gate line are connected to different data lines. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in  FIG. 10 , in a case where the pixel arrangement structure  10  includes second pixel groups  21  and all peripheral pixels  202  on a circumference closest to the center pixel  201  are located in different second pixel groups  21 , the center pixel  201  is connected to a same data line DL as a peripheral pixel  202  other than the peripheral pixels  202  closest to the center pixel  201 . 
     Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display device, which includes any one of the display panels described above. The display device has the same technical effects as the display panels provided by the above embodiments, which will not be repeated herein. 
     It will be noted that, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the display device described above is at least a liquid crystal display device. For example, the display device is any product or component having a display function such as a display, a television, a digital photo frame, a mobile phone, or a tablet computer. 
     The foregoing descriptions are merely some implementation manners of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the changes or replacements that any person skilled in the art can easily think of in the technical scope disclosed by the present disclosure should be within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.