Patent Description:
Cell phones and laptops are the electronic equipments in our daily life. The electronic equipments often have a display, such as LCD or AMOLED display. The LCD or AMOLED displays needs a backlight module or a self-eliminating light source to provide light. However, the blue light portion of the light source may damage human eyes. To solve this issue, an RLCD that does not need the backlight module or the self-eliminating light source. The RLCD has a coated reflection layer inside the display. The reflection layer could absorb and reflect ambient light for lighting purposes. Due to the structure limitation, the ambient light needs to pass through multiple stacked layers, including a polarizer, a color filter layer and a liquid crystal layer and each of the layers may result in loss of light.

<CIT> discloses a liquid crystal display device is provided with the COA structure. For a display device with the COA structure, TFTs and a color filter layer are formed on the same substrate. The TFT, the color resin layer <NUM>, and the transparent resin layer <NUM> are formed on the same substrate.

<CIT> discloses a liquid crystal display panel having two oppositely arranged substrates and a color filter set on any substrate. The color filter located in a reflection area of the substrate has a plurality of light holes symmetrically distributed with the alignment bump as the center.

<CIT> discloses a transflective liquid crystal display device which includes a pixel region having reflective and transmissive portions. A first passivation layer having one or more protrusions in the reflective portion is disposed on a thin film transistor formed on a first substrate. A color filter layer disposed on an inner surface of the second substrate has at least one through hole in the reflective portion. An overcoat layer disposed on the color filter layer has an open portion in the transmissive portion. A common electrode is disposed on the overcoat layer and a liquid crystal layer is disposed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode.

<CIT> discloses in a color filter multiple thin portions that have smaller thickness and higher light transmittance.

<CIT> discloses color resists provided with a plurality of grooves.

Further relevant background art, which can be regarded as useful for understanding the invention, includes: <CIT> and <CIT>.

One objective of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a color filter that could reduce the loss of light and raise the incoming and outgoing light rates.

This disclosure could reduce the transmission loss of the light and thus raises the incident/outgoing light efficiency.

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of this application, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

In addition, the term "first", "second" are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or imposing a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature that limited by "first", "second" may expressly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "plural" is two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

It should be understood that, when an element or layer is referred to herein as being "disposed on", "connected to" or "coupled to" another element or layer, it can be directly disposed on, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or alternatively, that intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly disposed on," "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. In the figures, like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Different methods or examples are introduced to elaborate different structures in the embodiments of the present disclosure. To simplify the method, only specific components and devices are elaborated by the present disclosure. These embodiments are truly exemplary instead of limiting the present disclosure. Identical numbers and/or letters for reference are used repeatedly in different examples for simplification and clearance. It does not imply that the relations between the methods and/or arrangement. The methods proposed by the present disclosure provide a variety of examples with a variety of processes and materials. However, persons skilled in the art understand ordinarily that the application of other processes and/or the use of other kinds of materials are possible.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a display device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention. The display device <NUM> could comprise a display panel <NUM>, a control circuit <NUM>, and a shell <NUM>. It should be noted that the display device <NUM> shown in <FIG> is only an example, not a limitation of the present invention. In fact, the display device <NUM> could comprise more components, such as a camera, an antenna, and a fingerprint identification module. The display device <NUM> is placed on the shell <NUM>.

The display panel <NUM> could be fixed on the shell <NUM>. The display panel <NUM> and the shell <NUM> form a sealed space to place the control circuit <NUM> in it.

The shell <NUM> could be made with a flexible material, such as a plastic shell or a silicone shell.

The control circuit <NUM> is installed in the shell <NUM>. The control circuit <NUM> could be a main board of the display device <NUM>. The control circuit <NUM> could integrate one, two or more of a battery, an antenna, a microphone, a speaker, an earphone port, a USB port, a camera, a distance sensor, an ambient light sensor, a receiver, and a processor.

The display panel <NUM> is installed in the shell <NUM>. The display panel <NUM> is electrically connected to the control circuit <NUM> to form a display surface of the display device <NUM>. The display panel <NUM> could comprise a display region and a non-display region. The display region could be used to display images of the display device <NUM> or used for a user to perform a touch control. The non-display region could be used to place other functional components.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

From the bottom top, the display panel in order comprises: a display substrate <NUM>, a reflection layer <NUM>, a liquid crystal layer <NUM>, a color filter <NUM>, and a polarizer <NUM>.

The display substrate <NUM> could be a thin-film-transistor (TFT) substrate. The TFT substrate has TFTs and pixel electrodes, corresponding to each of the pixels. The TFT substrate further comprises scan lines for providing scan signals and data lines for providing data signals. The gate electrodes, source electrodes, and drain electrodes of the TFTs are respectively electrically connected to the gate lines, data lines and pixel electrodes.

Specifically, because the display substrate <NUM> needs to display images, the display substrate <NUM> further comprises a backlight module (not shown). The backlight module generates light and the light is transmitted into the light-incident surface of the light guiding plate. The light is emitted from the light-outgoing surface of the light guiding plate through reflection, refraction, and scattering, and is diffused to the external of the backlight module through a diffusion plate.

The reflection layer <NUM> is a functional layer for reflection LCD (RLCD). The RLCD has a coated reflection layer inside the display. The reflection layer could absorb and reflect ambient light for lighting purposes.

The liquid crystal layer <NUM> is used to control whether the light generated by the backlight module could be emitted or not. The liquid crystal layer <NUM> comprises a upper electrode plate, a lower electrode plate and a liquid crystal box between the two electrode plates. The liquid crystal box has liquid crystal molecules. When voltages are applied on the electrode plates, the liquid crystal molecules may have a change in their arrangement due to the effect of the electric field such that the outgoing light has amplitude change through the liquid crystal molecules. This change becomes more apparent under the effect of the polarizer such that the image could be displayed. Because there are a control circuit and a driving circuit in the peripheral regions of the liquid crystal material, when the electric field is generated between the electrode plates in the LCD, the liquid crystal molecules rotate such that the light is refracted by the liquid crystal molecules (due to the optical rotation of the liquid crystal molecules) and is then filtered by the polarizer <NUM> to be shown on the display.

Specifically, the light generated by the backlight module is often the white light. A color filter should be placed between the liquid crystal <NUM> and the polarizer <NUM> such that the display device could display light of different colors. The color filter has color resistors of different colors, such as red color resistor, blue color resistor and green color resistor. When the white light is incident into the color resistor, only the light of the color corresponding to the color resistor could be outputted. For example, the white light becomes the red light after passing through the red color resistor.

Here, because RLCD needs to use the ambient light, the ambient light needs to pass through the polarizer <NUM>, the color filter <NUM>, the liquid crystal layer <NUM> to reach the reflection layer <NUM>. However, the light may have some loss every time when it pass through a layer. Therefore, the present invention arranges a transparent structure on a color filter <NUM> to reduce the loss of the ambient light.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a color filter according to a first embodiment which is not covered by the features of the appended claims, but which is useful for understanding the claimed invention. The color filter <NUM> comprises a substrate <NUM>, color resistors <NUM>, and a light blocking layer <NUM>. The color resistors <NUM> are periodically arranged on the substrate <NUM> and adjacent two color resistors <NUM> have an interval A. The light blocking layer <NUM> is placed in the interval A. A transparent structure <NUM> is placed on each of the color resistors <NUM>.

The substrate <NUM> is a transparent substrate and thus does not block the incident light or outgoing light. The light blocking layer <NUM> is a black matrix for isolating color resistors of different colors to avoid the mixed color effect. Due to the transparent structure <NUM>, the ambient light could have lower loss when the light pass through the color resistor <NUM> of the color filter <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the color filter comprises a substrate, color filters and a light blocking layer. The color resistors are periodically arranged on the substrate and have an interval between adjacent color resistors. The light blocking layer is placed in the interval. A transparent structure is placed on each of the color resistors. This could reduce the transmission loss of the light and thus raises the incident/outgoing light efficiency.

The transparent structure <NUM> comprises a via <NUM> on the color resistor <NUM>. The via is formed by opening a hole on the color resistor <NUM> from its side close to the substrate <NUM>. The via extends along the direction of the substrate <NUM> and passes through the color resistor <NUM>.

In order to reduce the transmission loss when the light passes through the color filter <NUM>, the via <NUM> could be arranged on the color resistors <NUM>. In this way, the light could pass through the via <NUM> between the color resistors <NUM> without passing through the color resistors <NUM> when the light passes through the color filter <NUM>. Therefore, the via should be formed by opening a hole on the color resistor <NUM> from its side close to the substrate <NUM>. The via extends along the direction of the substrate <NUM> and passes through the color resistor <NUM>. Accordingly, the transmission loss of the light could be reduced and the incident/outgoing light efficiency could be raised.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a color filter according to a second embodiment which is not covered by the features of the appended claims, but which is useful for understanding the claimed invention. The via <NUM> comprises a plurality of sub-vias. The sub-vias are periodically arranged on the color filter along a predetermined direction.

In order to further reduce the transmission loss of light, multiple sub-vias could be arranged on the color resistor. In addition, in order to ensure the outgoing light equality from each of the color resistors, the sub-vias could be arranged along a predetermined direction. The predetermined direction could be the Y-axis positive direction or the Y-axis negative direction as shown in <FIG>.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a color filter according to a third embodiment which is not covered by the features of the appended claims, but which is useful for understanding the claimed invention. Here, the color resistor <NUM> comprises a center region B and a non-center region C.

The diameter R1 of the sub-vias in the center region B is greater than the diameter R2 of the sub-vias in the non-center region C.

In order to further reduce the transmission loss of light, the center region B, where more light passes through, could have the sub-vias having a greater diameter R1. The non-center region C, which does not have much incident light, could have the sub-vias having a smaller diameter R2.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a color filter according to a fourth embodiment which is not covered by the features of the appended claims, but which is useful for understanding the claimed invention. The transparent structure <NUM> comprises a first blind via <NUM> arranged on the color resistor <NUM>. The first blind via <NUM> is formed by opening a hole on the color resistor <NUM> from its side comparatively far away from the substrate <NUM>. The first blind via extends along the direction of the substrate <NUM>.

If the white light remains its color if the white light does not pass through the color resistor <NUM>, the blind via is adopted to reduce the thickness of the color resistor <NUM> and also reduce the transmission loss of light. The blind via could be formed by opening a hole on the color resistor <NUM> from its side comparatively far away from the substrate <NUM>. The first blind via extends along the direction of the substrate <NUM>.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a color filter according to a fifth embodiment which is not covered by the features of the appended claims, but which is useful for understanding the claimed invention. Here, the transparent structure <NUM> further comprises a second blind via <NUM> on the color resistor <NUM>. The second blind via <NUM> is formed by opening a hole on the color resistor <NUM> from its side close to the substrate <NUM>. The second blind via extends along a direction away from the substrate <NUM>.

Accordingly, the blind vias could be an upward concave blind via or a downward concave blind via on the color resistor <NUM>. These blind vias could reduce the thickness of the color resistor <NUM> and thus reduce the transmission loss of light.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a color filter according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, the first blind via <NUM> and the second blind via <NUM> are coaxial and the sum of the first depth of the first blind via <NUM> and the second depth of the second blind via <NUM> is less than a thickness of the color filter <NUM>.

For the ambient light to enter or for the light from the backlight module to output, the two sides of the color resistor could both have an opening, the first blind via <NUM> and the second blind via <NUM> are correspondingly arranged and extend to the inside of the color resistor. Furthermore, in order to prevent from leaking the white light, the sum of the first depth of the first blind via <NUM> and the second depth of the second blind via <NUM> could be less than the thickness of the color resistor <NUM>. This could prevent the color resistor <NUM> from having any via and thus could prevent the white light from passing through the via without changing its color.

Please refer to <FIG> is a diagram of a color filter according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. Here, the first blind via <NUM> and the second blind via <NUM> are dislocated to each other. The first depth of the first blind via <NUM> and a second depth of the second blind via <NUM> are both greater than half of a thickness of the color filter <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A color filter (<NUM>) for a display panel (<NUM>), comprising:
a substrate (<NUM>);
a plurality of color resistors (<NUM>), arranged in a matrix on the substrate, wherein each of the color resistors (<NUM>) is configured to pass light of a specific color, and two adjacent color resistors have an interval in-between;
a light blocking layer (<NUM>), placed in the interval; and
a plurality of transparent structures arranged in the color resistors respectively for reducing transmission loss when light passes through the color resistors (<NUM>),
wherein for each of the plurality of transparent structures, a first blind via (<NUM>) and a second blind via (<NUM>) are formed in the color resistor as the transparent structure,
wherein the first blind via is formed by opening a hole on the color resistor from a side away from the substrate, and the first blind via extends toward the substrate, and
wherein the second blind via is formed by opening a hole on the color resistor from a side close to the substrate, and the second blind via extends away from the substrate.