Patent Description:
<CIT> relates to a polarizer, which may have a polymer layer that has a portion covered with dichroic dye to form a polarized region and a portion that is free of dichroic dye to form an unpolarized region.

<CIT> relates to a polarizer including an organic film capable of being aligned during a polarization treatment. The organic film includes at least one first region having a first polarization axis and at least one second region having a second polarization axis.

<CIT> relates to an electronic device, which includes a display, a polarizer in the display, and an unpolarizing window in the polarizer, and the unpolarizing window contains material from the polarizer.

<CIT> discloses a display with integrated camera wherein the display panel has larger pixels in the area corresponding to the camera.

<CIT> discloses a display with integrated camera (<NUM>) the display comprising a display panel and a polarizer, wherein the display panel has larger pixels in the area corresponding to the camera and the polarizer has an opening corresponding to the camera.

The present invention relates to the field of display screens, and more particularly to a polarizer and a manufacture method thereof, and a display screen and a terminal having the same.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a display screen, comprising a polarizer and a display panel according to claim <NUM>.

According to the invention, the first region has a transmittance lower than a transmittance of the second region; and the third region has a transmittance between the transmittance of the first region and the transmittance of the second region.

In some embodiments, the polarizing layer includes the first region having a polarizing function and the second region having no polarizing function,.

In some embodiments, the second region having no polarizing function is obtained by deactivating the polarizing function of the second region by means of at least one of:.

According to the invention, the third region is located between the first region and the second region.

In some embodiments, the polarizer further includes: a release film, a pressure sensitive adhesive PSA layer, a lower tri-acetyl cellulose TAC film, an upper TAC film, and a protective film from bottom to top; in which.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a terminal. The terminal includes the display screen, as described in any embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention.

In some embodiments, the terminal further includes an optical component disposed under the second region,
in which the optical component is disposed under the second display region.

In some embodiments, the display panel is an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel, and the polarizer is located above the OLED display panel; or
the display panel is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, and the display screen includes an upper polarizer located above the LCD panel and a lower polarizer located under the LCD panel.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present invention, which is not according to the claims, there is provided a method for manufacturing a polarizer.

In some embodiments, the producing a polarizing layer on the base layer includes:.

In some embodiments, the barrier layer is removed by at least one of the followings:.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present invention.

The implementations set forth in the following description of exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present invention. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related to the present invention as recited in the appended claims.

In some embodiments, optical components (such as a camera, a light sensor, an infrared transmitter, an infrared receiver, etc.), which are traditionally disposed at a front panel of the mobile phone, can be disposed under the display screen, so as to release space of the front panel and improve a screen-to-body ratio of the mobile phone.

The inventors of the present invention have recognized that, due to poor light transmission property of the polarizer, placement of these optical components under the display screen will affect working performances of these optical components or even cause these optical components not to work properly.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a display screen, as defined in appended claim <NUM>, the display screen , comprising a polarizer and a display panel, the polarizer, including a base layer; and a polarizing layer attached to the base layer. The polarizing layer includes, in a same plane, a first region, a second region and a third region. The first region, the second region and the third region have different light transmission properties.

In the embodiments, the first region is of transmittance lower than that of the second region; and the third region is of transmittance between that of the first region and that of the second region.

In some embodiments, the polarizing layer includes the first region having a polarizing function and the second region having no polarizing function.

In some embodiments, the first region includes a polarizing material having the polarizing function; and the second region does not include the polarizing material.

In some embodiments, the first region includes a first polarizing material having the polarizing function; and the second region includes a second polarizing material having no polarizing function.

In some embodiments, the second region having no polarizing function is obtained by deactivating the polarizing function of the second region by means of at least one of followings:.

In some embodiments, the polarizing layer includes the second region, and.

In the embodiments, the polarizing layer includes the first region, the second region and the third region, and the third region is located between the first region and the second region.

In some embodiments, the transmittance of the second region is greater than <NUM>%.

In some embodiments, the polarizer further includes a release film, a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) layer, a lower tri-acetyl cellulose (TAC) film, an upper TAC film, and a protective film from bottom to top, the base layer is located between the lower TAC film and the upper TAC film; and.

In some embodiments, the polarizer is of an integrated structure and has a regular or irregular shape.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a terminal. The terminal includes the display screen and an optical component. The optical component is disposed under the second region.

In the embodiments, the display panel includes a substrate; and a display layer disposed above the substrate. The display layer includes a first display region corresponding to the first region; and a second display region corresponding to the second region and having a light transmission property superior to that of the first display region. The optical component is disposed under the second display region.

In the embodiments, the polarizing layer further includes a third region located between the first region and the second region, and having a light transmission property superior to that of the first region but inferior to that of the second region; and the display layer further includes a third display region corresponding to the third region and located between the first display region and the second display region.

In some embodiments, the display panel is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, and the display screen includes an upper polarizer located above the LCD panel and a lower polarizer located under the LCD panel.

In some embodiments, the display panel is an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel, and the polarizer is located above the OLED display panel.

In some embodiments, the optical component includes at least one selected from a camera, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, an optical transmitter and an optical receiver.

According to a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present invention, which is not according to the claims, there is provided a method for manufacturing a polarizer, including: providing a base layer; and producing a polarizing layer on the base layer. The polarizing layer includes, in a same plane, a combination of any two or more of a first region, a second region and a third region. The first region, the second region and the third region have different light transmission properties.

In some embodiments, producing a polarizing layer on the base layer includes:.

In some embodiments, providing a barrier layer on the base layer includes:.

In some embodiments, the barrier layer includes a grid-shaped frame and a projection part located in each compartment of the frame and connected with the frame.

In some embodiments, treating a specified region of the polarizing precursor layer includes one or more of the followings:.

Various embodiments of the present invention may have one or more of the following beneficial effects.

With the polarizer according to embodiments of the present invention, by forming the polarizing layer on the base layer, and producing at least one of the second region or the third region with better light transmission property in the polarizing layer through a manufacturing process, an optical component (such as a camera, a light sensor, etc.) may be set under at least one of the second region or the third region and is able to work properly. As a result, the working performance of the optical component under the display screen may be ensured to the greatest extent.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a polarizer. As illustrated in <FIG>, the polarizer <NUM> includes a base layer <NUM> and a polarizing layer <NUM> attached to the base layer <NUM>.

The polarizer <NUM> is in a laminated structure. The base layer <NUM> is configured to support the polarizing layer <NUM>. The polarizing layer <NUM> is configured to realize a polarizing function.

In some embodiments, the polarizing layer <NUM> is located above the base layer <NUM>, i.e., the polarizing layer <NUM> is attached to an upper surface of the base layer <NUM>. In some embodiments, the polarizing layer <NUM> is located under the base layer <NUM>, i.e., the polarizing layer <NUM> is attached to a lower surface of the base layer <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the polarizer <NUM> includes two polarizing layers <NUM>, of which one is located above the base layer <NUM> (i.e., attached to the upper surface of the base layer <NUM>), and the other one is located under the base layer <NUM> (i.e., attached to the lower surface of the base layer <NUM>).

In the embodiments of the present invention, the polarizing layer <NUM> includes, in a same plane, a first region, a second region and a third region. The first region, the second region and the third region have different light transmission properties.

In the embodiments, the light transmission property characterizes an ability of a medium to transmit lights and is expressed by transmittance. The transmittance, also known as transmissivity, is a percentage of a light flux passing through a medium (such as the first region, the second region and the third region as described in some embodiments of the present invention) to an incident light flux.

In the embodiments, transmittance of the first region is lower than that of the second region; and transmittance of the third region is between that of the first region and that of the second region. For example, the transmittance of the first region is lower than a first transmittance threshold, the transmittance of the second region is greater than a second transmittance threshold, and the first transmittance threshold is equal to or less than the second transmittance threshold.

In some embodiments, the first transmittance threshold is equal to the second transmittance threshold, for example, the first transmittance threshold and the second transmittance threshold are both equal to <NUM>%, then the transmittance of the first region is lower than <NUM>%, and the transmittance of the second region is greater than <NUM>%.

In some embodiments, the first transmittance threshold is lower than the second transmittance threshold, for example, the first transmittance threshold is <NUM>%, and the second transmittance threshold is <NUM>%, then the transmittance of the first region is lower than <NUM>%, and the transmittance of the second region is greater than <NUM>%.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first region refers to a part of the polarizing layer <NUM> having a polarizing function. In a case where the polarizing layer <NUM> includes the first region, the polarizing layer <NUM> may include one first region or a plurality of the first regions.

It should be noted that, the expressions "having a polarizing function," "having the polarizing function" and variants and equivalents thereof as used herein may refer to only allowing a light which is a transverse wave in a certain direction to pass through or only transmitting a light which is a transverse wave in a certain direction, for example, only transmitting the light in <NUM> degrees, while not allowing lights in other directions except <NUM> degrees to pass through; in some embodiments, may also refer to only allowing lights which are transverse waves in a certain range of [a degree, b degree] to pass through or only transmitting lights which are transverse waves in a certain range of [a degree, b degree], and a difference between a and b is not greater than a first threshold. For example, if the first threshold is <NUM> degree, lights such as in a range of [<NUM> degree, <NUM> degrees] are allowed to pass through, and lights in other directions except the range of [<NUM> degree, <NUM> degrees] are not allowed to pass through.

The second region refers to a part of the polarizing layer <NUM> having no polarizing function. In a case where the polarizing layer <NUM> includes the second region, the polarizing layer <NUM> may include one second region or a plurality of the second regions.

It should be noted that, the expressions "having no polarizing function," "not having polarizing function," and variants and equivalents thereof as used herein may refer to not having the polarizing function at all, i.e., allowing lights in any direction to pass through; in some embodiments, may also refer to having a certain degree of polarizing function, but the polarizing function is poor, for example, allowing lights in a range of [c degree, d degree] to pass through, in which a difference between c and d is not less than a second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than or equal to the first threshold. For example, if the second threshold is <NUM> degree, lights such as in a range of [<NUM> degree, <NUM> degrees] are allowed to pass through, and lights in other directions except the range of [<NUM> degree, <NUM> degrees] are not allowed to pass through.

The third region refers to such a part of the polarizing layer <NUM> that has the polarizing function, but the polarizing function is destroyed. That is, the polarizing function of the third region is between that of the first region and that of the second region, i.e., the polarizing function of the third region is inferior to that of the first region but superior to that of the second region.

In some embodiments, a part of the third region has the polarizing function, and another part of the third region does not have the polarizing function. In a case where the polarizing layer <NUM> includes the third region, the polarizing layer <NUM> may include one third region or a plurality of the third regions. In the embodiments, the third region is located between the first region and the second region and used as a transitional region between the first region and the second region.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the polarizing function is achieved by a polarizing material which, for example, may be an iodine molecular material or other materials having a polarizing characteristic.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the polarizing layer <NUM> includes a first region <NUM> and a second region <NUM>. Transmittance of the first region <NUM> is lower than that of the second region <NUM>. The first region <NUM> has a polarizing function, and the second region <NUM> does not have the polarizing function. In an implementation, the first region <NUM> includes a polarizing material, and the polarizing material has the polarizing function; the second region <NUM> does not include the polarizing material.

For example, the first region <NUM> includes an iodine molecular material, and iodine molecules in the iodine molecular material have the polarizing characteristic and are aligned in a specified manner, as a result, the first region <NUM> has the polarizing function; the second region <NUM> does not include the iodine molecular material and thus does not have the polarizing function. In another implementation, the first region <NUM> includes a first polarizing material which has the polarizing function; and the second region <NUM> includes a second polarizing material which does not have the polarizing function.

For example, the first region <NUM> includes an iodine molecular material, and iodine molecules in the iodine molecular material have the polarizing characteristic and are aligned in a specified manner, as a result, the first region <NUM> has the polarizing function; the second region <NUM> also includes an iodine molecular material, and iodine molecules in the iodine molecular material have the polarizing characteristic, but are not aligned in a specified manner, as a result, the second region <NUM> does not have the polarizing function.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the second region <NUM> having no polarizing function is obtained by deactivating the polarizing function of the second polarizing material by means of at least one of followings:.

In addition, the second region <NUM> may be located at one or more parts selected from a top border, a bottom border, a right border, a left border and a middle part of the polarizing layer <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the second region <NUM> is located at the top border of the polarizing layer <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

In some embodiments, the second region <NUM> is located at the left border of the polarizing layer <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

In some embodiments, the second region <NUM> is located at the right border of the polarizing layer <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

In some embodiments, the second region <NUM> is located at the bottom border of the polarizing layer <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

In some embodiments, the second region <NUM> is located at the middle part of the polarizing layer <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

In the above embodiments as illustrated in <FIG>, the polarizing layer <NUM> includes one first region <NUM> and one second region <NUM>. In some other embodiments, the polarizing layer <NUM> may include a plurality of the first regions <NUM> and/or a plurality of the second regions <NUM>.

For example, schematic diagrams of several implementations of the polarizing layer <NUM> are illustrated in <FIG>, respectively in panels (a), (b), and (c).

In some embodiments, the first region <NUM> is larger than the second region <NUM> in size. The first region <NUM> may have a regular or irregular shape and has at least one notch, and the second region <NUM> is located at the notch. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the first region <NUM> has a rectangular shape and has one notch, and the second region <NUM> is located at the notch. In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention, there is no limitation to a cross-sectional shape of the second region <NUM>, which may have a regular shape such as a rectangle, a rounded rectangle, a circle, a semicircle, or has an irregular shape such as a teardrop shape or an arc-shape, etc..

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the polarizing layer <NUM> includes a first region <NUM>, a second region <NUM>, and a third region <NUM>.

The third region <NUM> is located between the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM> and used as a transitional region between the first region <NUM> and the second region <NUM>.

The first region <NUM> is of transmittance lower than that of the second region <NUM>, and the third region <NUM> is of transmittance between that of the first region <NUM> and that of the second region <NUM>.

The first region <NUM> has a polarizing function, and the second region <NUM> does not have the polarizing function. The third region <NUM> has the polarizing function, but the polarizing function is destroyed. That is, the polarizing function of the third region <NUM> is between that of the first region <NUM> and that of the second region <NUM>, i.e., the polarizing function of the third region <NUM> is inferior to that of the first region <NUM> but superior to that of the second region <NUM>. In some embodiments, a part of the third region <NUM> has the polarizing function, and another part thereof does not.

Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the polarizer <NUM> is of an integrated structure, that means the base layer <NUM> of the polarizer <NUM> is of an integrated structure, and the different types of regions included in the polarizing layer <NUM> are formed on a complete base layer <NUM>. The base layer <NUM> may be a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film, which has characteristics of high transparency, high extensibility, excellent iodine adsorption, and good film-forming property.

Further, the polarizer <NUM> has a regular or irregular shape. For example, the polarizer <NUM> may have a regular shape such as a rectangle, a rounded rectangle, a circle, or some other irregular shapes.

In some embodiments, in addition to the base layer <NUM> and the polarizing layer <NUM> as described above, the polarizer <NUM> further includes at least one of a TAC film, a protective film, a PSA layer, and a release film.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in <FIG> which is a schematic diagram of a laminated structure of the polarizer <NUM>, the polarizer <NUM> includes a release film <NUM>, a PSA layer <NUM>, a lower TAC film <NUM>, a PVA film <NUM>, an upper TAC film <NUM> and a protective film <NUM> from bottom to top.

The PVA film <NUM> acts as the above-described base layer <NUM> and is provided with the above-described polarizing layer <NUM> thereon. In some embodiments, the polarizing layer <NUM> is located between the PVA film <NUM> and the upper TAC film <NUM>. In another embodiment, the polarizing layer <NUM> is located between the PVA film <NUM> and the lower TAC film <NUM>.

In yet some other embodiments, there are two polarizing layers <NUM>, of which one is located between the PVA film <NUM> and the upper TAC film <NUM>, and the other one is located between the PVA film <NUM> and the lower TAC film <NUM>.

<FIG> only illustrates one implementation of the laminated structure of the polarizer <NUM>, and in some other embodiments, certain layer(s) may be added, reduced or replaced as required, which will not be limited herein.

In addition, some examples of the properties and functions of individual layers of the polarizer <NUM> are listed in Table <NUM>.

It should be noted that, the polarizer <NUM> according to embodiments of the present invention is applicable to various types of display screens, including but not limited to an LCD or an OLED display screen, such as a rigid Active-matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display screen, a flexible AMOLED display screen, etc..

As such, with the polarizer according to embodiments of the present invention, by forming the polarizing layer on the base layer, and producing at least one of the second region or the third region with better light transmission property in the polarizing layer through a manufacturing process, an optical component (such as a camera, a light sensor, etc.) may be set under at least one of the second region or the third region and is able to work properly. As a result, the working performance of the optical component under the display screen may be ensured to the greatest extent.

In the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a display screen which includes the polarizer as described hereinbefore. As illustrated in <FIG>, the display screen <NUM> includes a polarizer <NUM> and a display panel <NUM>.

The display panel <NUM> is configured to have an image displaying function, and may be an LCD panel, an OLED display panel, or other types of display panels, which will not be limited herein.

The polarizer <NUM> is configured to play a light filtering function, so as to ensure that the display panel <NUM> is capable of displaying images.

For different types of display screens, the number of the polarizer <NUM> needed may be different. For example, when the display screen <NUM> is an LCD (i.e., the display panel <NUM> is the LCD panel), the LCD includes two polarizers <NUM>, of which one is located under the LCD panel and known as a lower polarizer, and the other one is located above the LCD panel and known as an upper polarizer. For another example, when the display screen <NUM> is an OLED display screen (i.e., the display panel <NUM> is the OLED display panel), the OLED display screen includes one polarizer <NUM> located above the OLED display panel.

In some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a terminal, which may be an electronic device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, an e-book reader, a multimedia player, a wearable device, a vehicle terminal, etc. The terminal includes the display screen that includes a polarizer as described hereinbefore.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in <FIG>, the terminal <NUM> includes a display screen <NUM>, the display screen <NUM> includes a display panel and a polarizer (not shown in <FIG>). The polarizer is located above the display panel, for example, the polarizer is located above and attached to the display panel.

The polarizer includes a base layer and a polarizing layer attached to the base layer. As illustrated in <FIG>, the polarizing layer includes a first region <NUM> and a second region <NUM>, and the second region <NUM> is of a light transmission property superior to that of the first region <NUM>. In the embodiments, the polarizing layer further includes a third region. Descriptions regarding the polarizer may be referred to the related embodiments as described hereinbefore, and will not be elaborated here.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in <FIG> which is a schematic diagram of a display panel <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present invention, the display panel <NUM> includes a substrate <NUM> and a display layer <NUM> located above the substrate <NUM>.

The display layer <NUM> is configured to realize an image displaying function. In some embodiments, the display layer <NUM> includes a first display region <NUM> as a main display region; and a second display region <NUM> as an auxiliary display region. The first display region <NUM> and the second display region <NUM> both have a displaying function. In some embodiments of the present invention, the display layer <NUM> may include one second display region <NUM> or a plurality of the second display regions <NUM>. Referring to <FIG>, some embodiments where the display layer <NUM> includes one second display region <NUM> is illustrated. Even the display layer <NUM> includes two different types of display regions, i.e., the first display region <NUM> and the second display region <NUM>, the first display region <NUM> and the second display region <NUM> are physically integrated, i.e., the display layer <NUM> has an integrated structure, and is not divided into several independent parts.

If the display layer <NUM> includes several independent parts, and these independent parts are spliced to form the display layer <NUM>, there must be a certain gap at splicing positions, which finally results in gaps present between display contents of individual parts, and integral and gapless displaying effect of the whole display layer <NUM> cannot be achieved. However, in some embodiments of the present invention, the first display region <NUM> and the second display region <NUM> are a unified whole in physical structure, and no gap is present there between, as a result, there is no gap between the display content of the first display region <NUM> and that of the second display region <NUM>, thereby achieving the integral and gapless displaying effect of the content of the whole display layer <NUM>.

Further, the substrate <NUM> is of an integrated structure, that means the first display region <NUM> and the second display region <NUM> are formed on a complete substrate. In some embodiments, the substrate <NUM> includes a first substrate region corresponding to the first display region <NUM>; and a second substrate region corresponding to the second display region <NUM>. If the first substrate region and the second substrate region are made of a same material, the substrate <NUM> is a complete substrate made of the same material. If the first substrate region and the second substrate region are made of different materials, the first substrate region and the second substrate region may be spliced by a related process to form an integrated substrate <NUM> with no gap at the splicing position.

In the embodiments, the second display region <NUM> is of a light transmission property superior to that of the first display region <NUM>. Transmittance of the second display region <NUM> is greater than that of the first display region <NUM>. The light transmission property of the second display region <NUM> may be improved by a related manufacturing process.

For example, in a process that is not according to the claims, a luminescent control component (such as a driving circuit, a Thin-Film Transistor (TFT), a storage capacitor, and the like) for controlling sub-pixels in the second display region <NUM> is set outside the second display region <NUM>, such that the transmittance of the second display regions <NUM> may be improved. For another example, in a process that is not according to the claims, at least one sub-pixel sequence is formed in the second display region <NUM>, each of the at least one sub-pixel sequence includes at least two sub-pixels, and individual sub-pixels included in any sub-pixel sequence have the same color.

In this way, sub-pixels of the same color may share the same control trace (also known as signal feed), the number of control traces in the second display region <NUM> may be reduced, and layout of the control traces is optimized, so that the number of the luminescent control component such as the storage capacitor and the TFT in the second display region <NUM> is reduced, and thus the transmittance of the second display region <NUM> is improved. According to the claimed invention, sizes of sub-pixels in the second display region <NUM> are set to be larger than that of sub-pixels in the first display region <NUM>, so that a pixel distribution density in the second display region <NUM> is less than that of the first display region <NUM>. In this way, the number of the control traces in the second display region <NUM> may be reduced as much as possible, the layout of the control traces may be optimized, and a Pixel Delineation Layer (PDL) between pixels may become as large and regular as possible in shape, thereby enabling light transmission regions (including regions occupied by the sub-pixels and the PDL) in the second display region <NUM> to possess a better light transmission property.

In the embodiments, the first display region <NUM> corresponds to the first region <NUM>, and the second display region <NUM> corresponds to the second region <NUM>. That is, the first display region <NUM> has a size and shape same as or similar to that of the first region <NUM>, and a projection area of the first display region <NUM> in a direction perpendicular to the display screen coincides with that of the first region <NUM> in the direction perpendicular to the display screen.

The second display region <NUM> has a size and shape same as or similar to that of the second region <NUM>, and a projection area of the second display region <NUM> in the direction perpendicular to the display screen coincides with that of the second region <NUM> in the direction perpendicular to the display screen.

In the claimed embodiments, the polarizing layer further includes the third region, and the display layer further include includes a third display region corresponding to the third region. The third display region is located between the first display region and the second display region and used as a transitional display region between the first display region and the second display region.

The third display region has a size and shape same as or similar to that of the third region, and a projection area of the third display region in the direction perpendicular to the display screen coincides with that of the third region in the direction perpendicular to the display screen. The third display region has a pixel distribution pattern different from that of the first display region and that of the second display region. Sizes of sub-pixels in the third display region are larger than that of the sub-pixels in the first display region but smaller than that of the sub-pixels in the second display region. The individual sub-pixels in the third display region may have the same or different size. For example, the closer the sub-pixel in the third display region to the second display region is, the larger the size of the sub-pixel is, and the closer the sub-pixel in the third display region to the first display region is, the smaller the size of the sub-pixel is. By this way, the resolution transition between the first display region and the second display region may be smoother and more natural, and the displaying effect of the entire terminal screen is improved.

In some embodiments of the present invention, an optical component (not shown in <FIG>) is disposed under the second region <NUM>. The optical component refers to such a functional component that needs to receive and/or transmit lights in operation. The optical component includes, but is not limited to, at least one selected from a camera, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, an optical transmitter and an optical receiver. In some embodiments, in the case where the display layer of the display panel includes the second display region corresponding to the second region, the optical component is disposed under the second display region.

Further, considering that a distance between the display layer and the substrate is small, which, for example, may be only <NUM>, it is unlikely to dispose the optical component between the display layer and the substrate. In some embodiments, the optical component is disposed under the substrate, that is, the optical component and the display screen are laminated, and the optical component is located under the display screen, thereby not occupying space of the display screen. Of course, in some embodiments, if the optical component is of a smaller thickness, it is also possible to arrange the optical component between the display layer and the substrate, which is not limited herein.

The display screen according to embodiments of the present invention may be an LCD display screen or an OLED display screen. When the display screen is the OLED display screen, the display screen may be a flexible display screen or a non-flexible display screen.

When the display screen is the LCD display screen, the display layer of the LCD panel may include a TFT array, a liquid crystal layer, and a color filter (CF) arranged in sequence from bottom to top. The substrate located under the display layer may be made of a glass material and referred to as a lower substrate. Typically, above the display layer, there is also provided an upper substrate, which may also be made of a glass material. In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention, a lower polarizer may be disposed under the lower substrate, and an upper polarizer may be disposed above the upper substrate. Moreover, the LCD display screen further includes a backlight module located under the lower polarizer.

When the display screen is the OLED display screen, the display layer of the OLED display panel may include an indium tin oxide (ITO) anode, a hole transport layer, an organic luminescent layer, an electron transport layer, and a metal cathode arranged in sequence from bottom to top. The substrate located under the display layer may be made of a glass material, a plastic, a metal foil or other materials. The polarizer is disposed above the OLED display panel.

It should be noted that, the above descriptions with respect to layer structures of the LCD display screen and the OLED display screen are merely exemplary and explanatory, and shall not be construed to limit the present invention.

In some embodiments of the present invention, by arranging the optical component under the display screen, space of a front panel of the terminal is released, and a screen-to-body ratio of the terminal is increased to be closer to or even reach <NUM>%. Further, since the second region of the polarizing layer has a superior light transmission property, arranging the optical component under the second region may guarantee the working performance of the optical component under the display screen to the greatest extent.

In some embodiments of the present invention, which are not according to the claims, there is further provided a method for manufacturing a polarizer. It should be noted that, the polarizer manufactured by the method may be any polarizer as described hereinbefore.

In the following, the method for manufacturing the polarizer will be described with reference to several embodiments.

<FIG> is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing a polarizer according to some embodiments of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the method may include the following operations as illustrated at blocks of <FIG>.

At operation <NUM>, a base layer is provided.

In some embodiments, the base layer is a PVA film. The base layer may be used to manufacture one polarizer, or may be used to manufacture a plurality of polarizers. When the base layer is used to manufacture a plurality of the polarizers, the plurality of the polarizers may be separated from each other by cutting or tailoring in a subsequent process.

At operation <NUM>, a polarizing layer is produced on the base layer. The polarizing layer includes, in a same plane, a combination of any two or more of a first region, a second region or a third region. The first region, the second region and the third region have different light transmission properties.

With respect to the polarizing layer and the individual regions in the polarizing layer, reference may be made to embodiments described hereinbefore, which will not be elaborated herein.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a PVA film <NUM> is dyed to adsorb a polarizing material <NUM> having a dichroic absorption function, by stretching the PVA film <NUM>, molecules in the polarizing material <NUM> are aligned orderly on the PVA film <NUM>, afterwards, the polarizing material <NUM> is immobilized and dried to form the polarizing layer having uniform dichroic absorption function. A transmission axis of the polarizing layer is perpendicular to the stretching direction. In some embodiments, the above polarizing material <NUM> is an iodine molecular material.

In some embodiments, the polarizing layer is produced on the base layer by:.

In these embodiment, by providing the barrier layer on such a region of the base layer coated with the impregnation solution that corresponds to at least one of the second region or the third region, the polarizing material on said region of the base layer is squeezed out by the barrier layer, such that region covered by the barrier layer does not include the polarizing material or only includes a small amount of polarizing material, so as to produce the polarizing layer including at least one of the second region or the third region. In addition, a region of the base layer coated with the impregnation solution but uncovered by the barrier layer will be realized as the first region of the polarizing layer.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a barrier layer according to some embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in <FIG>, the barrier layer <NUM> includes a grid-shaped frame <NUM> and a projection part <NUM> located in each compartment of the frame <NUM> and connected with the frame <NUM>. The frame <NUM> includes a plurality of compartments, each of which corresponds to one polarizer. The shape and size of the compartment may be designed according to the shape and size of the polarizer to be produced.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a region corresponding to the projection part <NUM> in the compartment of the frame <NUM> will be realized as at least one of the second region or the third region of the polarizing layer, and a region outside the projection part <NUM> in the compartment will be realized as the first region of the polarizing layer. The barrier layer <NUM> may be made as a film, a plastic adhesive layer or any other forms easy to peel off.

In addition, the way of removing the barrier layer includes but is not limited to the followings: peeling off the barrier layer; rinsing away the barrier layer; or subjecting the barrier layer to exposure. For example, when the barrier layer is made as the forms easy to peel off, such as a film, a plastic adhesive layer, the barrier layer may be removed by peeling off the barrier layer. For another example, when the barrier layer is made of a material which is removable by exposure, the barrier layer may be removed by exposure or rinsing.

In addition, if the polarizing material is oriented by stretching the base layer, the shape of the base layer will change. In an implementation, the barrier layer may be provided before the base layer is stretched, subsequently, the barrier layer and the base layer may be stretched together, in this case, the deformation quantity of the barrier layer before and after stretched needs to be considered in advance, such that the shape and the size of the barrier layer after stretched meet the requirements of the polarizer to be produced. In another implementation, the barrier layer may be provided after the base layer is stretched, so that it does not need to stretch the barrier layer.

In some other embodiments, the polarizing layer is produced on the base layer by:.

As compared with the previous embodiments, the sequence of the first two steps is changed in this embodiment. It should be noted that, the barrier layer used in this embodiment may also be as shown in <FIG>, and may be made as a film, a plastic adhesive layer or any other forms which are easy to peel off.

In other embodiments, the barrier layer may also be made of a material which is removable by exposure. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the barrier layer is provided on the base layer by: coating the base layer <NUM> with a barrier layer material that is removable by exposure (as indicated by oblique lines in <FIG>); and removing the barrier layer material at a target region by exposure or by rinsing while retaining the barrier layer material at a remaining region <NUM> (as indicated by circles in <FIG>) except the target region, so as to obtain the barrier layer. Accordingly, in the operation of removing the barrier layer, the barrier layer may be removed by exposure and/or by rinsing, so as to obtain the required polarizing layer on the base layer.

In yet some other embodiments, the polarizing layer is produced on the base layer by:.

In some embodiments, treating a specified region of the polarizing precursor layer may be performed by one or more of the followings:.

In addition, when the base layer is used to manufacture a plurality of the polarizers, the plurality of the polarizers may be separated at different steps. In some embodiments, after the polarizing material is immobilized and dried, the plurality of the polarizers may be separated from each other first by cutting or tailoring, etc., and then a specified region of each polarizer is processed to make the specified region lose a polarizing function or to weaken the polarizing function of the specified region. In some embodiments, it is also feasible that when the base layer with the polarizing precursor layer is still in a larger size, for example in a form as a roll, a specified region of the polarizing precursor layer may be processed first to make the specified region lose a polarizing function or to weaken the polarizing function of the specified region so as to obtain the polarizing layer, followed by separating the plurality of the polarizers from each other by cutting or tailoring.

It should be noted that, even though in some embodiments regarding the method for manufacturing the polarizer, the production process of the polarizing layer is mainly described, the polarizer may further include a TAC film, a protective film, a PSA layer, a release film, etc., which may be added as required and will not be limited herein.

As such, with the method for manufacturing a polarizer according to embodiments of the present invention, by forming the polarizing layer on the base layer, and producing at least one of the second region or the third region with better light transmission property in the polarizing layer through a manufacturing process, an optical component (such as a camera, a light sensor, etc.) may be set under at least one of the second region or the third region, and is able to work properly. As a result, the working performance of the optical component under the display screen may be ensured to the greatest extent.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide a variety of production processes for the polarizing layer, which may be flexibly selected according to production requirements.

It is to be understood that, a phase of "a plurality of" used herein means two or more than two, unless specified otherwise. It should also be understood that, the term "and/or" used herein describes relationships of one or more associated listed items, represents and contains any one and all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items, for example, the expression "A and/or B" indicates three cases where A exists separately, B exists separately, and A and B exist at the same time. In addition, the character "j" indicates that the associated items are in an "or" relationship.

The terminology used in the present invention is for the purpose of describing exemplary examples only and is not intended to limit the present invention. As used in the present invention and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes" and/or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

It shall be understood that, although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used herein to describe various information, the information should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one category of information from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, first information may be termed as second information; and similarly, second information may also be termed as first information.

In the specification, it is to be understood that terms such as "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise" should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the present invention be constructed or operated in a particular orientation.

In the present invention, unless specified or limited otherwise, a structure in which a first feature is "on" or "below" a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, and may also include an embodiment in which the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contact with each other, but are contacted via an additional feature formed therebetween. Furthermore, a first feature "on," "above," or "on top of" a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is right or obliquely "on," "above," or "on top of" the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height higher than that of the second feature; while a first feature "below," "under," or "on bottom of" a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is right or obliquely "below," "under," or "on bottom of" the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height lower than that of the second feature.

In the present invention, the term "connected," and the like shall be understood broadly, and may be either a fixed connection or a detachable connection, or integrated, unless otherwise explicitly defined. These terms can refer to mechanical or electrical connections, or both. Such connections can be direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. These terms can also refer to the internal connections or the interactions between elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art on a case-by-case basis.

Reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment," "some embodiments," "one embodiment," "another example," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples," means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases such as "in some embodiments," "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," "in another example," "in an example," "in a specific example," or "in some examples," in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present invention. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the present invention being indicated by the following claims.

Claim 1:
A display screen (<NUM>), comprising a polarizer (<NUM>) and a display panel (<NUM>),
the polarizer (<NUM>) comprising:
a base layer (<NUM>); and
a polarizing layer (<NUM>), attached to the base layer (<NUM>),
wherein the polarizing layer (<NUM>) comprises, in a same plane, a first region (<NUM>), a second region (<NUM>) and a third region (<NUM>) located between the first region (<NUM>) and the second region (<NUM>),
wherein the first region (<NUM>) has a transmittance lower than a transmittance of the second region (<NUM>), and the third region (<NUM>) has a transmittance between the transmittance of the first region (<NUM>) and the transmittance of the second region (<NUM>);
wherein the display panel (<NUM>) comprises a substrate (<NUM>) and a display layer (<NUM>), disposed above the substrate (<NUM>) and comprising:
a first display region (<NUM>) corresponding to the first region (<NUM>);
a second display region (<NUM>) corresponding to the second region (<NUM>) and having a light transmittance higher than that of the first display region (<NUM>); and
a third display region corresponding to the third region (<NUM>) and located between the first display region (<NUM>) and the second display region (<NUM>),
wherein sizes of sub-pixels in the third display region are larger than that of the sub-pixels in the first display region but smaller than that of the sub-pixels in the second display region.