Patent Description:
Terminals are provided with sensors, such as cameras and optical fingerprint sensors, and such type of sensors are usually disposed at the front panel of the terminal.

For the purpose of increasing the screen-to-body ratio of the terminal, the current mainstream method is to design an under-screen sensor. In such design, the sensor is disposed below the display screen, and the position of the display screen corresponding to the sensor is constructed as a through hole structure. The through hole structure includes an opening A in the liquid crystal layer and an opening B of the backlight assembly, and the opening B is configured to place the sensor.

In the above design, since after the openings are formed in the liquid crystal screen, the opening A in the liquid crystal layer needs to be subjected to a liquid crystal edge sealing treatment, and the opening B of the backlight assembly needs to be subjected to a light-shielding treatment, the black edge of the liquid crystal screen at the through hole will be too wide, which seriously affects the aesthetics of the terminal.

<CIT> discloses a display module and a display device. The display module includes a cover plate, a display screen, and a backlight module. The display screen includes a display region, a first non-display region, and at least one first hollowed-out part. The at least one first hollowed-out part penetrates through the display screen. The backlight module includes a metal frame and at least one second hollowed-out part penetrating through the backlight module. The metal frame includes a main part and a first bending part connected to the main part. The first bending part is disposed on inner sidewalls of the at least one second hollowed-out part and is opaque. The first bending part intersects a plane for the main part; and one end of the first bending part away from the main part extends inside the at least one first hollowed-out part. Further similar prior art devices are disclosed in <CIT> and in <CIT>.

The aspects of the present disclosure provide a terminal and a liquid crystal display screen.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a terminal according to appended claim <NUM>.

Optionally, the first opening, when viewed in a plan view, comprises at least one of a circular opening, a water drop-shaped opening, an elliptical opening, a rectangular opening, and an irregular shaped opening;
or;
the first opening comprises a semi-open groove structure formed at the edge of the backlight assembly.

The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure at least includes the following beneficial effects.

Only the backlight assembly below the unpunched liquid crystal layer will be punched, the unpunched liquid crystal layer will not be punched, the sensor or the photosensitive portion of the sensor is disposed in the first opening below the unpunched liquid crystal layer, and the liquid crystal edge sealing operation is not required, thereby avoiding that the black edge of the liquid crystal screen at the through hole is too wide. Since the light-shielding layer is disposed on the sidewall of the first opening, a support structure is not required, and the area of the unpunched liquid crystal layer occupied by the light-shielding layer is relatively small, thereby effectively reducing the width of the black edge at the first opening and improving the aesthetics of the terminal.

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

<FIG> illustrates a side cross-sectional schematic view of a terminal in the related art. The terminal includes a liquid crystal display screen <NUM> and a sensor <NUM> disposed below the liquid crystal display screen.

The liquid crystal display screen <NUM> includes a liquid crystal layer <NUM> and a backlight assembly <NUM> disposed below the liquid crystal layer <NUM>, and the liquid crystal layer <NUM> and the backlight assembly <NUM> are disposed in a stacked manner. The liquid crystal layer is provided with a first opening, and the backlight assembly <NUM> is provided with a second opening. The first opening and the second opening form a through hole <NUM> of the liquid crystal display screen.

The liquid crystal layer <NUM> includes an upper glass substrate, a lower glass substrate, and liquid crystal disposed between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate. Since the first opening is disposed in the liquid crystal layer <NUM>, in order to prevent the liquid crystal from flowing out, the first opening of the liquid crystal layer <NUM> is provided with a liquid crystal sealing edge <NUM>, and the liquid crystal sealing edge has a first width.

The backlight assembly <NUM> at least includes a light source and a light guide plate. In order to prevent the light source of the backlight assembly <NUM> from affecting the operation of the sensor <NUM>, an iron frame structure <NUM> is disposed around the second opening. The iron frame structure <NUM> is fixed on the lower glass substrate of the liquid crystal layer <NUM> by an iron frame sealant <NUM>. The iron frame structure <NUM> and the iron frame sealant <NUM> have a second width.

In the related art, in order to ensure that the sensor disposed below the screen works normally, it is necessary to set the viewing angle of the sensor, the reserved gap A of the liquid crystal sealing edge <NUM>, the distance B between the iron frame sealant <NUM> and the viewing angle, the size C of the iron frame sealant <NUM>, as well as the size D of the iron frame structure <NUM> and the liquid crystal sealing edge <NUM>, and the first width and the second width are combined. As a result, the black edge at the through hole <NUM> is too wide, which seriously affects the aesthetics of the terminal.

<FIG> shows a side cross-sectional schematic view of a terminal provided by an example of the present disclosure. The terminal includes a liquid crystal display screen <NUM> and a sensor <NUM>. The liquid crystal display screen <NUM> has a top side and bottom side. The top side faces the user and the bottom side faces the device. The liquid crystal display screen <NUM> includes a liquid crystal layer <NUM> and a backlight assembly <NUM> located below the liquid crystal layer <NUM>.

The liquid crystal layer <NUM> includes an upper glass substrate, a lower glass substrate, and liquid crystal disposed between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate and configured to display picture content.

The backlight assembly <NUM> is provided with a first opening <NUM>, and the sensor <NUM> is mounted inside or below the first opening <NUM>. In another example, the backlight assembly <NUM> at least includes a light source and a light guide plate, and is configured to provide a light source with uniform brightness for the liquid crystal display screen <NUM>.

The sidewall of the first opening <NUM> is provided with a light-shielding layer <NUM>. The light-shielding layer <NUM> is configured to prevent the light emitted by the backlight assembly <NUM> from interfering with the operation of the sensor <NUM>.

For example, the light-shielding layer <NUM> is attached to the sidewall of the first opening <NUM>, and does not need a support structure, so that the light emitted by the backlight assembly <NUM> around the first opening is effectively blocked in a case where the occupied regional area of the liquid crystal layer <NUM> is relatively small.

According to the present example, only the backlight assembly below the liquid crystal layer will be punched, the liquid crystal layer will not be punched, the sensor or the photosensitive portion of the sensor is disposed in the first opening below the liquid crystal layer, and the liquid crystal edge sealing operation is not required, thereby avoiding that the black edge of the liquid crystal screen at the through hole is too wide. Since the light-shielding layer is disposed on the sidewall of the first opening, a support structure is not required, and the area of the liquid crystal layer occupied by the light-shielding layer is relatively small, thereby effectively reducing the width of the black edge at the first opening and improving the aesthetics of the terminal.

In another embodiment based on <FIG>, the light-shielding layer <NUM> is light-shielding coating formed on the sidewall. After being disposed on the sidewall of the first opening <NUM>, the light-shielding coating can absorb or reflect the light of the backlight assembly <NUM> for preventing the light emitted by the backlight assembly <NUM> from interfering with the operation of the sensor <NUM>. Illustratively, the light-shielding coating may be silicone coating or fluorocarbon coating, etc. It should be noted that the above light-shielding coatings are only examples, and other coatings may also be used. The present embodiment does not limit the type and component of the light-shielding coating.

In one implementation, the light-shielding layer <NUM> is a light-shielding film formed on the sidewall. The light-shielding film is a film-like structure and is disposed on the sidewall of the first opening <NUM>.

In an alternative implementation, the light-shielding film is formed on the sidewall by a coating process or a screen-printing process. A projection of the light-shielding layer onto the liquid crystal layer has a thickness of less than <NUM>.

Since the light-shielding film is a film-like structure, when the light-shielding film is disposed on the sidewall of the first opening <NUM>, no gap is formed between the layers in the backlight assembly <NUM>, and it can be ensured that the sidewall of the first opening is in a light-shielding state. Meanwhile, due to the coating or screen-printing process, the light-shielding material can be set to be a relatively thin film structure, and the light-shielding layer <NUM> is attached to the sidewall of the first opening <NUM>. Therefore, the support structure is not required, no gap is formed between the support structure and the backlight assembly, and no further excessive space under the screen is occupied, thereby effectively reducing and the unrealistic regional area of the liquid crystal layer <NUM>, and further reducing the black edge width at the first opening <NUM>.

For example, the sensor <NUM> is a photosensitive sensor. The sensor <NUM> is a sensor which operates according to received external light. Illustratively, the sensor <NUM> includes any one of a camera, a distance sensor, and an ambient light sensor.

Based on the embodiment of <FIG>, in conjunction with <FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a first opening of a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The first opening <NUM> is an edge-closed opening structure. For example, the shape of the first opening <NUM> includes at least one of a circular opening, a water drop-shaped opening, an elliptical opening, a rectangular opening, and an irregular shaped opening. Alternatively, the first opening includes a semi-open groove structure formed at the edge of the backlight assembly. In conjunction with <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a liquid crystal display screen of a terminal provided by another embodiment of the present invention. The first opening <NUM> below the liquid crystal layer is a semi-open structure, which includes a semi-open rounded rectangular shape (fringe screen), or a semi-open semi-circular (pearl screen) structure.

For example, the opening is formed by laser breakdown, or die cutting.

For example, the first opening <NUM> is perpendicular to the liquid crystal layer <NUM>, and the photosensitive portion of the sensor <NUM> or the sensor <NUM> is disposed in the first opening <NUM> or below the first opening <NUM>. External light passes through the transparent the liquid crystal layer <NUM> and enters the sensor <NUM>, so that the sensor <NUM> can operate normally.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the shape, the forming manner, and the opening angle of the first opening <NUM> are only examples, and can be adjusted correspondingly according to the actual situation, which is not limited in this disclosure.

According to the embodiment, the opening is disposed below the liquid crystal layer. Since edge sealing of the liquid crystal layer is not involved, the shape of the opening can be flexibly set according to the type and shape of the sensor, and can be applied to the design of most under-screen sensors.

<FIG> illustrates a side cross-sectional schematic view of a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The liquid crystal layer <NUM> is a thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal layer. The TFT liquid crystal layer is further provided with a polarizer <NUM>. A second opening <NUM> is formed in the region of the polarizer <NUM> corresponding to the first opening <NUM>.

In order to ensure the display effect and brightness adjustment of the TFT liquid crystal layer, the polarizer <NUM> is disposed on the TFT liquid crystal layer in an attaching manner, and the polarizer <NUM> is provided with the second opening <NUM> matched with the first opening <NUM> in position.

The second projection range of the second opening <NUM> onto the liquid crystal layer covers the first projection range of the first opening <NUM> onto the liquid crystal layer, that is, the second projection range of the second opening <NUM> is not less than the first projection range of the first opening <NUM> onto the liquid crystal layer, and the first projection range is within the second projection range. The first projection range and the second projection range refer to the regions of the liquid crystal layer <NUM>, which are formed by the fact that the second opening <NUM> and the first opening <NUM> are subjected to projection operation in a manner of being perpendicular to the liquid crystal layer <NUM>.

The second projection range is not less than the range of the viewing angle of the sensor <NUM>. The viewing angle is the angle of the maximum light-taking range of the sensor <NUM>. By taking the camera as an example of the sensor <NUM>, the viewing angle of the camera is the maximum viewing range that can be obtained by the camera without interference. In order to ensure that the polarizer <NUM> does not affect the viewing range of the camera, the second opening <NUM> on the polarizer should be set to be equal to or slightly larger than the range of the viewing angle. In an example implementation manner, the sensor is not limited to the camera, and may be at least one of an ambient light sensor, a distance sensor, or a photosensitive fingerprint sensor.

In conjunction with <FIG>, the liquid crystal layer does not need the edge sealing operation, and the liquid crystal display range is only decided by the size A of the sensor per se, the distance B between the viewing angle and the point of intersection between the upper and lower glass substrates, and the gap C reserved between the polarizer and the viewing angle. The thickness of the light-shielding film is relatively low and is generally smaller than the range of the distance B, and the light-shielding layer does not require an additional space for a support member. Therefore, the influence of the light-shielding layer on the unrealistic region of the terminal display screen can be controlled to be a smaller value, and the width of the black edge of the liquid crystal screen at the opening is further reduced.

Understandably, the term "plurality" herein refers to two or more. "And/or" herein describes the correspondence of the corresponding objects, indicating three kinds of relationship. For example, A and/or B, can be expressed as: A exists alone, A and B exist concurrently, B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the context object is an "OR" relationship.

The numerals in the present disclosure are merely intended for description and do not represent any merits.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps described in the above embodiments can be completed through hardware, or through hardware instructed by applications stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a disk or a CD, etc..

Claim 1:
A terminal, comprising: a liquid crystal display screen (<NUM>) and a sensor (<NUM>), wherein the liquid crystal display screen (<NUM>) comprises a liquid crystal cell (<NUM>) and a backlight assembly (<NUM>), wherein no through-hole is present in the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>), wherein,
the backlight assembly (<NUM>) is located below the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>) and comprises a first opening (<NUM>);
the first opening (<NUM>) is formed in the backlight assembly (<NUM>), and a light-shielding layer (<NUM>) is disposed on the entire sidewall of the first opening (<NUM>); and
the sensor (<NUM>) is mounted inside or below the first opening (<NUM>), and the sensor (<NUM>) is disposed below the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>), and the light-shielding layer (<NUM>) is configured to prevent the light emitted by the backlight assembly (<NUM>) from interfering with the sensor (<NUM>); wherein
the light-shielding layer (<NUM>) is a light-shielding coating or a light-shielding film formed on the sidewall by either a coating process or a screen-printing process;
the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>) comprises an upper glass substrate, a lower glass substrate, and a liquid crystal disposed between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate; an orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer (<NUM>) onto the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>) has a thickness of less than <NUM>;
the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>) is a thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal cell comprising a polarizer (<NUM>) , wherein the polarizer (<NUM>) is disposed on the TFT liquid crystal cell in an attaching manner;
a second opening (<NUM>) is formed in a region of the polarizer (<NUM>) corresponding to the first opening (<NUM>); and
a second orthographic projection area of the second opening (<NUM>) onto the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>) covers a first orthographic projection area of the first opening (<NUM>) onto the liquid crystal cell (<NUM>), and/or the second orthographic projection area is not less than an area corresponding to the viewing angle of the sensor (<NUM>).