WO2017008433A1

WO2017008433A1 - Surface relief liquid crystal lenticular device, manufacturing method, and display device

Info

Publication number: WO2017008433A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/096890
Authority: WO
Inventors: 林明彦
Original assignee: 张家港康得新光电材料有限公司
Priority date: 2015-07-13
Filing date: 2015-12-10
Publication date: 2017-01-19
Also published as: CN104977773B; CN104977773A

Abstract

A surface relief liquid crystal lenticular device (60), a manufacturing method for same, and a display device using same. The surface relief liquid crystal lenticular device (60) is constituted primarily by an upper substrate element (171), a lower substrate element (161), a plano-convex lens element (64), a plurality of liquid crystal molecules (81), a sealing plastic structure (82), an electrically-conductive structure (83), and an external power supply (V). The lower substrate element (161) comprises a lower ITO electrode layer (62), a secondary ITO electrode (62a), a plurality of shading parts (65), and several lower alignment targets (63). The upper substrate element comprises an upper ITO electrode layer (72) and several upper alignment targets (73). The plano-convex lens element (64) is arranged on the lower ITO electrode layer (62) of the lower substrate element (161). The plurality of liquid molecules (81) are arranged on the convex lens surface (64a). The external power supply (V) is electrically connected to the lower ITO electrode layer (62) and to the secondary ITO electrode (62a). The plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses are driven by an appropriate voltage to achieve the goal of a 2D and 3D switchable display.

Description

Surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, manufacturing method and display device

Technical field

The invention belongs to the field of naked-view 3D image display, and belongs to the technical field of liquid crystal lenticular lens arrays, and particularly relates to a technology for utilizing a Surface Relief Method to achieve 2D and 3D image switching.

Background technique

As shown in FIG. 1, it is a schematic diagram of a known 2D and 3D image switching display device. For the well-known 2D and 3D Image Switchable Display (10D), a liquid crystal view separation component 12 (Liquide Crystal View Separator) is generally used and mounted in front of the screen of the liquid crystal display 11. For the viewing position of the viewer 13, the liquid crystal viewing and separating unit 12 is mounted on the front of the screen of the liquid crystal display 11, and is hereinafter referred to simply as the Front Installation Method.

In addition, by driving the external appropriate electrical voltage V, the liquid crystal view separating component 12 can exhibit a transparent light penetration state to achieve the effect of 2D image display; or present a state of separation of the view to achieve the effect of 3D image display. .

Generally, the liquid crystal view separating component 12 can be composed of a liquid crystal lens array component or a liquid crystal parallax barrier module. Due to the related art of the present invention, it belongs to the field of liquid crystal lenticular lens array components, especially to the field of using the Surface Relief Method to achieve 2D and 3D image switching technology, and the following only refers to the known surface floating method. The liquid crystal lenticular lens array assembly describes a well-known technique.

As shown in FIG. 2, it is a schematic diagram of a floating-type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device. The structure shown in the figure is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,069,650, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The surface-lifting liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 15 mainly comprises a conventional cylindrical array element assembly 30, two

ITO electrode layers

34, 37, and a photoelectric material having an electronically variable optical refractive index (Elecro). -Optic Material 38 is formed with a transparent planar substrate 36. Wherein, the conventional lenticular array assembly 30 is composed of a plurality of Parallel Lenticular Elements 16 arranged in parallel, and the lenticular lens assembly 16 is optically composed of a convex lens, and the material is composed of The transparent polymer material is formed by a mold forming, or a mechanical processing, or a photolithographic process to produce the lenticular lens assembly. The transparent planar substrate 36 is made of a flat transparent glass or plastic material. The two

ITO electrode layers

34, 37 are each over the surface 32 of the lenticular lens assembly 16 and above the surface 34 of the transparent planar substrate 36. Between the two surfaces, an electro-optic material (Elecro-Optic Material) 38 having an electrically changeable optical refractive index is filled, and the electro-optic material 38 which can be electronically controlled to change the optical refractive index is composed of a liquid crystal material. Generally, It can be composed of a Nematic Liquid Crystal material.

The technique of the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 15 disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Patent No. 6,069,650 is only The structure of the theoretical structure does not meet the requirements of the existing liquid crystal process. For example, the ITO electrode layer 34 is disposed on the arcuate surface of the lenticular lens, and a parallel distributed electric field cannot be formed between the ITO electrode layer 37 and finally, the liquid crystal molecules cannot be aligned in a uniform direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, it is a schematic diagram of an improved surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device. The structure shown in the figure is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,028,028, 923, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The improved Surface Relief Based Liquid Crystal Lenticular Device 50 is a modification of the above-mentioned patent US 6,069,650, which is an improvement of the ITO electrode, which is moved from the arc surface of the lens. Set it on a plane. The improved surface-lifting liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 50 is mainly composed of upper and lower

transparent substrates

39 and 41, upper and lower

ITO electrode layers

43, 45, plano-concave lens assembly 47, and a plurality of liquid crystal molecules 49. The plano-concave lens assembly 47 has an optical refractive index n _p ; the plurality of liquid crystal molecules 49 are made of a Nematic Liquid Crystal material and have birefringent optics. The refractive index (Ordinary Refractive Index) is n _o , the extraordinary refractive index (Extraordinary Refractive Index) is n _e , and has a relationship of n _o =n _p and n _e >n _p . The upper and lower

ITO electrode layers

39 and 41 are connected to the power source V.

In addition, the liquid crystal lenticular lens array assembly 50 is mounted on the front of a liquid crystal screen (not shown) for displaying 2D or 3D images (not shown); the 2D or 3D image light source passes through After the action of the outermost polarizer (not shown) of the liquid crystal screen, the light source 53 is linearly polarized, so that the polarization direction is perpendicular to the paper surface.

When there is no applied electric field, that is, V = OFF, the alignment of the nematic liquid crystal molecules 49 has a characteristic that the optical axis is perpendicular to the paper surface. The incident light 53 has an abnormal light refractive index n _e due to its light polarization direction being parallel to the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules 49. Further, when the incident light 53 passes through the plano-concave lens array 47, since the incident light 53 senses the action of the convex lens because n _e > n _p , the above optical characteristics are suitable for presenting the display of the 3D image.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, under the applied electric field, that is, V=ON, the arrangement of the nematic liquid crystal molecules 49 has an optical axis lying flat on the paper surface and perpendicular to the upper and lower

ITO electrode layers

43, 45. The characteristic is parallel to the direction of the electric field (not shown). For the incident light 53, the light polarization direction is perpendicular to the optical axis of the liquid crystal molecules 49, and the ordinary n _o is felt. In addition, when the incident light 53 passes through the plano-concave lens array 47, the incident light 53 is not affected by the plano-concave lens array 47 due to n _o = n _p , and can directly penetrate the plano-concave lens array 47. The above optical characteristics are suitable for presenting a display of 2D images.

The technique of the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 50 disclosed in the above-mentioned US20080259233 patent is still a constitution of a theoretical structure and does not meet the requirements of the existing liquid crystal cell (Liquid Crystal Cell) process. For example, the plano-concave lens array 47 and the lower ITO electrode layer 45 are not provided with a (1) alignment film layer, (2) spacer layer, (3) electrical connection, and (4) encapsulation. Eventually, the improved surface lift-off liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 50 does not constitute a truly manufacturable, usable component.

In summary, the three liquid crystal lenticular lens array assemblies described above all have liquid crystal molecules to achieve a variable optical refractive index. Therefore, the above three well-known techniques can be classified into the technical field of a liquid crystal dependent liquid crystal lenticular lens array assembly.

Summary of the invention

The invention discloses a surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, comprising: a lower substrate assembly, a lower transparent substrate, a lower ITO electrode layer, a secondary ITO electrode, an electrical blocking structure, a plurality of light shielding portions and a plurality of The upper substrate assembly is composed of an upper transparent substrate, an upper ITO electrode layer, a plurality of upper alignment targets, and an upper alignment film; the plano-convex lens assembly is composed of a transparent material, which includes a plurality of convex lens surfaces, a sealing surface, a plurality of alignment liquid buffer surfaces, and a lower alignment film, wherein the plano-convex lens assembly is disposed on the lower ITO electrode layer of the lower substrate assembly; and a plurality of liquid crystal molecules are disposed on the convex lens surface Driving the voltages of the upper and lower ITO electrode layers and the external power source to form a plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses; the sealing structure is disposed on the sealing surface for connecting and fixing the upper substrate assembly and the lower substrate assembly, and Sealing the plurality of liquid crystal molecules; and electrically conducting a structure disposed on the secondary ITO electrode to connect the upper ITO electrode layer; the external power source is electrically connected to the lower ITO electrode The sub-layer and the ITO electrode, the driving voltage V by the plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lens, to achieve the object of the 2D and 3D switchable.

Preferably, the lower transparent substrate and the upper transparent substrate are both made of transparent glass.

Preferably, the lower ITO electrode layer, the secondary ITO electrode, the electrical blocking structure, and the plurality of light shielding portions are disposed on the same surface of the lower transparent substrate, and the electrical blocking structure is disposed on the lower ITO electrode layer and the Between the secondary ITO electrodes.

Preferably, the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode are each electrically connected to the external power source through a metal wire.

Preferably, the plurality of light shielding portions are made of a black photoresist material.

Preferably, the plurality of light shielding portions are disposed on the lower ITO electrode layer.

Preferably, the plurality of lower alignment targets are disposed at four corners of the lower transparent substrate, wherein the plurality of lower alignment targets are composed of a metal material; or the plurality of upper alignment targets The target is disposed at four corners of the upper transparent substrate, and the plurality of upper alignment targets are composed of a metal material.

Preferably, the plano-convex lens assembly having an optical refractive index transparent material n _p, is selected from glass or UV curable resin.

Preferably, when the transparent material of the plano-convex lens assembly is selected from a UV curable resin, the plano-convex lens assembly can be directly formed on the lower substrate assembly by a planar ultraviolet curing process.

Preferably, the convex lens surface is used to fill the plurality of liquid crystal molecules, and the convex lens surface is selected from an arcuate convex lens surface or a multi-faceted convex lens surface.

Preferably, when the convex lens surface is selected from an arcuate convex lens surface, the arcuate convex lens surface has a radius R, a periodic width P _L , a lens height h, and a bottom layer thickness t.

Preferably, the underlayer thickness t is less than 10 μm.

Preferably, the encapsulation surface is disposed on both sides of the plano-convex lens assembly.

Preferably, the plurality of alignment liquid buffer faces are disposed between the seal faces on the two sides to absorb excess alignment a liquid to maintain a uniform alignment film thickness, each of the alignment liquid buffer faces having a width S.

Preferably, the width S of the alignment liquid buffer surface is less than 10 μm.

Preferably, the lower alignment film is processed by rotating, or immersing, or letterpress printing, or printing to coat the surface of the plurality of convex lens surfaces and the plurality of alignment liquid buffer surfaces; The alignment film liquid is further subjected to a process of thermal baking and alignment, so that the plurality of liquid crystal molecules can be arranged in the same direction; the alignment direction of the lower alignment film is parallel to the direction of the long axis of the switchable liquid crystal lenticular lens. Applying an alignment liquid on the surface of the plurality of convex lens faces and the plurality of alignment liquid buffer faces, and performing a thermal baking process to produce the lower alignment film; by rotating or soaking or letterpress printing or printing, An alignment liquid is coated on the surface of the upper ITO electrode layer and subjected to a thermal baking process to produce an alignment film on the lower alignment film.

Preferably, the plurality of liquid crystal molecules are composed of a nematic liquid crystal material and have the characteristics of birefringent optics, the ordinary refractive index is n _o , the extraordinary refractive index is n _e , and has n _o =n _p and n The relationship between _e >n _p .

Preferably, the plurality of light shielding portions have a period width P _B and a line width B, and have a relationship of P _B =P _L and B>S, and the plurality of light shielding portions are disposed in a one-to-one correspondence and aligned with the plurality The alignment buffer surface shields the crosstalk of the plurality of alignment liquid buffer faces.

Preferably, the upper plate assembly is disposed on the upper transparent substrate by a photolithography process for the upper ITO electrode layer and the plurality of upper alignment targets.

Preferably, the upper alignment film is processed by rotating, or immersing, or letterpress printing, or printing, to apply an alignment film liquid on the surface of the upper ITO electrode layer; the alignment film liquid is further baked by heat. The alignment process allows the plurality of liquid crystal molecules to be aligned in the same direction.

Preferably, the material of the sealant structure is composed of a UV curable resin, and the sealant structure can be disposed on the sealant surface by a precision alignment, precision dispensing and UV pre-curing process.

Preferably, the material of the electrical conduction structure is composed of a conductive silver paste, and the electrical conduction structure can be disposed on the secondary ITO electrode by a process of precise alignment and precision dispensing.

Preferably, when the voltage of the external power source is V=OFF, the optical characteristics of the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device are suitable for presenting a display of 2D images; when V=ON, the surface is a floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array. The optical properties of the device are suitable for presenting a display of 3D images.

Preferably, the geometry of the upper and lower alignment targets may each be selected to have a geometrically complementary square structure, a square ring structure, or may each be selected to have a circular structure with complementary geometric shapes, The ring structures may each be selected to have a geometrically complementary cross structure and an anti-cross structure; the upper and lower alignment targets may have a geometry ranging from ten micrometers to hundreds of micrometers.

The present invention discloses a display device comprising image incident light and the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, wherein the image incident light has a linear polarization direction, an alignment direction of the upper alignment film and the image incident light. The polarization directions are parallel.

The invention discloses a method for manufacturing the above surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, comprising: a first step of forming a lower ITO electrode layer, a sub-ITO electrode, an electrical blocking structure on a lower transparent substrate by a photolithography process; a plurality of lower alignment targets are formed into a lower substrate assembly; an upper ITO electrode layer, a plurality of light shielding portions and a plurality of upper alignment targets are formed on the upper transparent substrate by a photolithography process to form an upper substrate assembly; a second step, providing a planar mold having a mold structure opposite to the plano-convex lens assembly; passing the liquid UV curable resin through a precision jetting process to fill the planar mold; passing the lower substrate assembly in the vacuum chamber Precision optical alignment in the vacuum chamber, the lower ITO electrode layer of the lower substrate assembly can be precisely pressed against the planar mold and covered on the liquid UV curable resin; the liquid in the planar mold The UV curable resin illuminates the UV light to cure the liquid UV curable resin and is formed into the plano-convex lens assembly; and a demolding process to remove the plano-lens lens assembly The planar mold is taken out, and the plano-lens lens assembly is fixedly disposed on the lower ITO electrode layer of the lower substrate assembly; and the third step is a process of rotating or immersing or letterpress printing or printing, and applying an alignment liquid to the plurality of convex lenses And a surface of the plurality of alignment liquid buffer surfaces, and subjected to a thermal baking process to produce the lower alignment film; applying an alignment liquid to the upper ITO electrode by a process such as rotation or immersion or letterpress printing or printing a surface of the layer and subjected to a thermal baking process to produce the upper alignment film; and a fourth step of aligning the alignment film by a alignment process, parallel to a linear polarization direction of incident light of an image, and passing The alignment process is such that the alignment direction of the lower alignment film is parallel to the direction of the long axis of the switchable liquid crystal lenticular lens; in the fifth step, the encapsulation structure is set by precision alignment, precision dispensing and UV pre-curing process In the sixth step, a plurality of liquid crystal molecules are dripped into the concave lens surface by a liquid crystal dropping process; and a seventh step is to pass the conductance through a precision alignment and precision dispensing process. The through structure is disposed on the secondary ITO electrode; in the eighth step, the upper substrate assembly and the lower substrate assembly are combined by a precision alignment and vacuum bonding process, and then the UV light is irradiated to cure the sealing structure. That is, the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device is formed.

Preferably, the alignment process is selected from a rubbing process or a photo-alignment process.

The present invention improves the conventional surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, and provides a truly usable and usable 2D and 3D switchable device.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only It is a few embodiments described in the present invention, and other drawings and embodiments can be obtained from those skilled in the art without departing from the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 2D and 3D image switching display device;

2 is a schematic view showing the structure of a surface relief liquid crystal lenticular lens array assembly;

3 is a schematic view showing the structure of a surface relief liquid crystal lenticular lens array assembly;

4 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a surface relief liquid crystal lenticular lens array assembly;

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing the structure of a surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device of the present invention;

6 is a side view showing the structure of a lower substrate assembly of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a top plan view showing the structure of the lower substrate assembly of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a schematic view showing the constitution of the plano-convex lens assembly of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a schematic view showing a planar mold for forming a plano-convex lens assembly of the present invention;

10 is a schematic view showing a process of filling a liquid mold with a liquid UV resin according to the present invention;

Figure 11 is a schematic view showing the process of pressing and covering the liquid UV resin of the lower substrate assembly of the present invention;

12 is a schematic view showing a curing process of a liquid UV resin according to the present invention;

Figure 13 is a schematic view showing the release of the convex lens assembly of the present invention;

Figure 14 is a schematic view showing the structure of a lens substrate assembly 3D of the present invention;

Figure 15 is a side elevational view showing the structure of the upper substrate assembly of the present invention;

Figure 16 is a top plan view showing the structure of the upper substrate assembly of the present invention;

17 is a schematic view showing the assembly process of the sealing structure and the electrical conduction structure of the present invention;

18 is a schematic view showing a process of assembling a liquid crystal drop according to the present invention;

19 is a schematic view showing an assembly process of an upper substrate assembly and a lower lens liquid crystal cell assembly according to the present invention;

20 is a schematic view showing the finished product of the surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device of the present invention;

21 is a schematic view showing the geometry of a square alignment target of the present invention;

Figure 22 is a schematic view showing the geometry of the quadrilateral ring alignment target of the present invention;

Figure 23 is a schematic view showing the geometry of a circular alignment target of the present invention;

Figure 24 is a schematic view showing the geometry of the ring alignment target of the present invention;

Figure 25 is a schematic view showing the geometry of a cross-alignment target of the present invention;

Figure 26 is a schematic illustration of the geometry of the anti-cross alignment target of the present invention.

detailed description

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the configuration of a surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device of the present invention. The surface of the floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 60 mainly comprises upper and lower

transparent substrates

71, 61; upper and lower ITO electrode layers 72, 62 and secondary ITO electrodes 62a; and a plurality of upper and lower alignment targets 73. 63; upper and

lower alignment films

76, 66; a plurality of light shielding portions 65; a plano-convex lens assembly 64; a plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81, a sealing structure 82, an electrical conduction structure 83, and an external power source V.

Here, the so-called upper and lower, just for the convenience of explaining each structure, the relevance of the installation position is not limited. It has a top-bottom relationship as shown in FIG. That is to say, the above-mentioned so-called up and down can be reversed to the relationship between the bottom and the top. Here, the upper substrate assembly 171 and the lower substrate assembly 161 are additionally defined to more clearly explain the constitution and process of each of the above components.

As shown in FIGS. 6-7, the lower substrate assembly 161 is mainly composed of the lower transparent substrate 61, the lower ITO electrode layer 62, the secondary ITO electrode 62a, the electrical blocking structure 62b, the plurality of light shielding portions 65, and the plurality of The lower alignment target 63 is constructed;

As shown in FIGS. 15-16, the upper substrate assembly 171 is composed of an upper transparent substrate 71, an upper ITO electrode layer 72, an upper alignment film 76, and a plurality of upper alignment targets 73.

6 to 7, it is a schematic view of the structure of the lower substrate assembly. The lower transparent substrate 61 is made of a transparent glass, and the lower ITO electrode layer 62, the secondary ITO electrode 62a, and the electrical blocking structure 62b are provided by a photo-lithography process. The plurality of lower alignment targets 63. In addition, the photoetching process is also performed, and a black photoresist (Black Photo-Resistor) is used to form a plurality of light blocking portions 65 on the lower ITO electrode layer 62. The plurality of light blocking portions 65 have a period width P. _B , and line width B.

Between the lower ITO electrode layer 62 and the secondary ITO electrode 62a, an electrical blocking structure 62b is provided to electrically isolate the lower ITO electrode layer 62 and the secondary ITO electrode 62a; the secondary ITO electrode 62a passes through the electrical conduction structure 83. Electrical connection is made to the upper ITO electrode layer 72. Further, the lower ITO electrode layer 62 and the sub-ITO electrode 62a are electrically connected to the external voltage V through a metal wire 62h.

In addition, the plurality of light shielding portions 65 are disposed on the lower ITO electrode layer 62, and have a period width P _B and a line width B. The plurality of light shielding portions 65 are disposed in one-to-one correspondence and aligned with the plurality of light shielding portions 65. The alignment liquid buffer surface 64c shields the light of the crosstalk occurring at the plurality of alignment liquid buffer faces 64c.

In addition, the plurality of lower alignment targets 63 are disposed at the appropriate places, and the best ones are four corners, which are made of a metal material to improve the recognition and precision of the optical image alignment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the plano-convex lens assembly 64 is made of a transparent material, and includes a plurality of arcuate convex lens faces 64a, a sealant face 64b, a plurality of alignment liquid buffer faces 64c, and a lower alignment film 66. The lower ITO electrode layer 62 of the lower substrate assembly 161 is disposed.

The arcuate lens surface 64a has a radius R, a lens width P _L , a lens height h, and a bottom layer thickness t, wherein the lens width P _L has P _L =P _B . Generally, in order to reduce the driving voltage of the external power source V, it is necessary to reduce the lens height h as much as possible in optical design; in the process, the underlying thickness t is preferably as low as possible, t < 10 μm. Of course, the convex surface may be selected from a multi-faceted convex lens surface (not shown). For the surface structure and optical effect of the multi-faceted convex lens surface, please refer to US Patent Application No.: US 8,780,188. B2; Chinese Patent Application No.: CN 102077601B.

In addition, the sealing surface 64b is disposed on both sides of the plano-convex lens assembly 64, and the plurality of alignment liquid buffering surfaces 64c are installed therebetween. The encapsulation surface 64b has a height T and has a relationship of T≧h+t. The alignment liquid buffer surface 64c has a width S and has a relationship of S<B. The plurality of alignment liquid buffering surfaces 64c are for absorbing excess alignment film liquid on the convex lens surface 64a to produce a uniform alignment film thickness, and in the process, the width S is minimized, preferably, S< 10 μm. In addition, as will be described later, the arcuate convex lens surface 64a is used to fill the plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81 to form a switchable liquid crystal lenticular lens; the sealing surface 64b is used to set the sealing structure 82 to achieve Upper substrate assembly 171, lower substrate group The connection and fixing of the piece 161.

The lower alignment film 66 is coated by the spin, dipping, or letterpress printing, or inkjet printing, and the alignment liquid is applied to the plurality of arcuate lens faces 64a, and plural The surface of the alignment liquid buffer surface 64c is subjected to a thermal baking process to produce the lower alignment film 66. Generally, the alignment liquid is composed of a polyimide material. In addition, the lower alignment film 66 also needs to undergo an alignment process in order to allow the plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81 to be aligned in the same direction. Generally, the alignment process of the lower alignment film is selected from a rubbing process (Rubbing Proess) or a photo-alignment process (Photo-Alignment Process). Further, the alignment direction of the lower alignment film is preferably a direction parallel to the long axis of the switchable liquid crystal lenticular lens.

In addition, the plano-convex lens assembly 64 is made of a transparent material such as glass or a UV curable resin (VU-Cured Resin, UV resin for short), and has an optical refractive index n _p ; the plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81 (not shown) Marked by a nematic liquid crystal material having birefringent optics, having an ordinary refractive index n _o , an extraordinary refractive index n _e , and having n _e =n _p and n _e >n _p relationship.

Wherein, when the plano-convex lens assembly 64 is composed of a UV resin material, the plano-convex lens assembly 64 can be directly disposed on the lower substrate assembly through a Plate-to-Plate UV-Cured Manufacturing Process. 161.

As shown in FIGS. 9-13, it is a schematic diagram of a planar ultraviolet curing process. The process is mainly to form a plano-convex lens assembly 64 composed of a UV resin on the lower substrate assembly 161 by a flat mold and a UV curing process.

First, as shown in Fig. 9, is a schematic view of a planar mold for forming a plano-convex lens assembly. The Plane Mould 64d has a structure opposite to that of the plano-convex lens assembly 64.

As shown in FIG. 10, it is a schematic view of filling a planar mold with a liquid UV resin. The planar mold 64d can be filled with a liquid UV resin 64e by means of Inkjet Printing.

As shown in FIG. 11, a schematic diagram of a process of pressing and covering a liquid UV resin for a lower substrate assembly. The lower ITO electrode layer 62 of the lower substrate assembly 161 can be precisely pressed against the planar mold 64d and covered by the liquid UV resin by the optical alignment (High Alignment with High Accuracy) of the lower substrate assembly 161. 64e. Further, in order to avoid the incorporation of air bubbles, the above-described press-fitting and covering processes are generally carried out in a vacuum chamber.

As shown in FIG. 12, it is a schematic diagram of a process for curing a liquid UV resin. Generally, the liquid UV resin 64e in the planar mold is irradiated for a suitable time by a parallel UV light source 64f of a suitable wavelength and light intensity, so that the liquid UV resin can be cured.

As shown in FIG. 13, a schematic view of the film removal of the convex lens assembly. After the curing of the liquid UV resin, the stripping lens assembly 64 is finally formed on the lower ITO electrode layer 62 of the lower substrate assembly 161.

As shown in FIG. 14, it is a schematic view of the structure of the lens substrate assembly 3D. For the convenience of the following description, the lower lens substrate assembly 161' is constituted by the plano-convex lens assembly 64 and the lower substrate assembly 161.

15 to 16 are schematic views showing the configuration of the upper substrate assembly. The upper transparent substrate 71 is made of a transparent glass. The upper ITO electrode layer 72 and the plurality of upper alignment targets 73 can be disposed by a photolithography process.

In addition, the upper alignment film 76 may be coated on the surface of the upper ITO electrode layer 72 by spin, dipping, or letterpress printing, or inkjet printing. And passing through a thermal baking process to produce the upper alignment film 76. Generally, the alignment liquid is composed of a polyimide material. In addition, the upper alignment film 76 also needs to undergo an alignment process in order to allow the plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81 to be aligned in the same direction. Generally, the alignment process of the lower alignment film is selected from a rubbing process or a photo-alignment process. In addition, the alignment direction of the upper alignment film, as shown in FIG. 5, is a linear polarization direction parallel to the incident light of the image, the incident light includes a 2D/3D image, and the incident light is incident from the end of the upper substrate assembly 171. .

17 to 20 are schematic views showing the assembly process of the upper substrate assembly and the lower lens substrate assembly. The process is mainly after the plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81, the encapsulation structure 82, and the electrical conduction structure 83 are disposed on the lower lens substrate assembly 161', and then the upper substrate assembly 171 and the lower lens substrate assembly. The 161' is linked and fixed, and finally, the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 60 is produced.

As shown in FIG. 17, it is a schematic diagram of an assembly process of a sealant structure and an electrical conduction structure. The material of the sealant structure 82 is composed of a UV resin. The sealant structure 82 can be disposed on the sealant surface 64b by a precision alignment and precision dispensing process and UV pre-curing. The above process is generally referred to as a sealing process to achieve connection and fixation of the upper substrate assembly 171 and the lower substrate assembly 161, and to achieve the purpose of sealing the plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81.

In addition, the material of the electrical conduction structure 83 is composed of a conductive silver paste, and the electrical conduction structure 83 can be disposed on the secondary ITO electrode 62a by a process of precise alignment and precision dispensing. The above process, generally referred to as a spot silver paste process, is used to electrically connect the upper ITO electrode layer 72 to the external voltage V.

Figure 18 is a schematic view showing the assembly process of the liquid crystal dropping. The plurality of liquid crystal molecules 81 can be filled on the arcuate convex lens surface 64a by a precision alignment and an on-line drop-off (ODF) process to form a switchable liquid crystal lenticular lens. The above process is generally referred to as liquid crystal. Drop the process.

The lower lens substrate assembly 161' for completing the above-mentioned sealing, spot silver paste and liquid crystal dropping process is hereinafter referred to as the lower lens liquid crystal cell assembly 161". Of course, according to the actual production line production efficiency, the above sealing material Or the silver paste process, the object to be implemented is not limited to the lower lens substrate assembly 161', and may be the upper substrate assembly 171.

As shown in FIG. 19, it is a schematic diagram of an assembly process of the upper substrate assembly and the lower lens liquid crystal cell assembly. The upper substrate assembly 171 can be combined with the lower lens liquid crystal cell assembly 161 by a precision alignment and vacuum bonding process. Finally, the sealing structure 82 is cured by the UV light source 84, as shown in FIG. That is, the surface-lifting liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 60 of the present patent is produced.

As shown in FIG. 7, when V=OFF, the surface has the optical characteristics of the floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device 60, and is suitable for presenting a display of 2D images; when V=ON, the surface is a floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array. The optical characteristics and optical characteristics of the device 60 are suitable for displaying a 3D image and achieving the purpose of switchable display of 2D and 3D images.

In addition, the above-described geometric configurations of the upper and

lower alignment targets

73 and 63 can be selected as shown in FIGS. 21 to 26, respectively. A square structure 73a having a complementary geometric shape, a square ring structure 63a, or a circular structure 73b having a geometric complement each other, and a ring structure 63b, each of which may be selected to have a cross-shaped structure 73c complementary to the geometric shape, and an anti-cross Structure 63c. In addition, the above-mentioned upper and

lower alignment targets

73a, 63a, 73b, 63b, 73c, and 63c may have a geometric size ranging from ten micrometers (μm) to several hundreds of micrometers.

The above surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device provided by the present invention is a truly usable and usable 2D and 3D switchable device.

According to an aspect of the invention, a surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device is provided, comprising:

a lower substrate assembly comprising a lower transparent substrate, a lower ITO electrode layer, a secondary ITO electrode, an electrical blocking structure, and a plurality of light shielding portions; the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode are respectively located on the same side surface of the lower transparent substrate, electrically The blocking structure is located between the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode, and the light shielding portions are spaced apart on the surface of the lower ITO electrode layer away from the side of the lower transparent substrate;

The upper substrate assembly is located above the lower substrate assembly and includes an upper transparent substrate, an upper ITO electrode layer and an upper alignment film; the upper ITO electrode layer is located on a surface of the upper transparent substrate adjacent to the lower substrate assembly, and the upper alignment film is located on the upper substrate The ITO electrode layer is away from the surface on the side of the upper transparent substrate;

The plano-convex lens assembly includes an upper surface facing the upper substrate assembly and a lower alignment film, the upper surface includes a plurality of convex lens surfaces, an alignment liquid buffer surface, and a sealing surface, and the alignment liquid buffer surface is disposed between the adjacent convex lens surfaces and the convex lens The surface of the lower alignment film is located on the surface of the convex lens surface and the buffer surface of the alignment liquid. The convex lens surface and the buffer surface of the alignment liquid are located in a region surrounded by the sealing surface, and the plano-lens lens assembly is disposed between the lower substrate assembly and the upper substrate assembly. ;

a plurality of liquid crystal molecules disposed in a groove formed by the surface of the convex lens, driven by a voltage between the upper ITO electrode layer and the lower ITO electrode layer and an external power source to form a plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses;

a sealing structure disposed on the sealing surface for connecting and fixing the upper substrate assembly and the flat lens assembly, and sealing the plurality of liquid crystal molecules;

An electrical conduction structure is connected to the ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode;

The external power source is electrically connected to the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode, and the plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses are driven by the voltage V to achieve the purpose of switching between 2D and 3D display.

In the above surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, ITO is disposed in two planes, and a uniform electric field can be formed, which can well control the alignment of liquid crystal molecules.

In a preferred embodiment, the lower ITO electrode layer is disposed on a surface away from the side of the lower transparent substrate, and/or the surface of the secondary ITO electrode away from the side of the lower transparent substrate is further provided with a plurality of lower alignment targets. A plurality of upper alignment targets are further disposed on the surface of the upper ITO electrode layer away from the upper transparent substrate. Setting the upper alignment target and the lower alignment target can improve the recognition and accuracy of the optical image alignment.

In a preferred embodiment, the transparent material of the plano-convex lens assembly has an optical refractive index n _p selected from glass or UV curable resin; the liquid crystal molecules are composed of a nematic liquid crystal material, characterized by birefringence optics, liquid crystal molecules The ordinary refractive index is n _o , the extraordinary refractive index is n _e , and has a relationship of n _o =n _p and n _e >n _p .

In practical application, preferably, the alignment direction of the lower alignment film is parallel to the direction of the long axis of the liquid crystal lenticular lens, and when the driving voltage is turned off, the liquid crystal molecules exhibit an ordinary refractive index n _o to realize 3D display; when the driving voltage is When turned on, the liquid crystal molecules exhibit an extraordinary refractive index n _e for 2D display.

Optionally, the convex lens surface is an arcuate convex lens surface or a multi-faceted convex lens surface. When the concave lens surface is selected from the arcuate convex lens surface, the thickness t of the bottom layer of the arcuate convex lens surface is less than 10 μm. More preferably, the arcuate convex lens surface has a period unit width P _L , the alignment liquid buffer surface has a width S, and the light shielding portion has a period unit width P _B and a line width B, where P _B =P _L , B>S, and The arrangement positions of the light shielding portions are one-to-one correspondence and aligned with the alignment liquid buffer surface.

Preferably, the material of the sealing structure is a UV curable resin, the material of the electrical conduction structure is a conductive silver paste, and the light shielding portion is composed of a black photoresist material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a display device comprising image incident light and a surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, wherein the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device is a surface floating type described above In the liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, the incident light of the image has a linear polarization direction, and the alignment direction of the upper alignment film in the floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device is parallel to the polarization direction of the incident light of the image.

Claims

A surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, comprising:

The lower substrate assembly is composed of a lower transparent substrate, a lower ITO electrode layer, a secondary ITO electrode, an electrical blocking structure, a plurality of light shielding portions, and a plurality of lower alignment targets;

The upper substrate assembly is composed of an upper transparent substrate, an upper ITO electrode layer, a plurality of upper alignment targets, and an upper alignment film;

The plano-convex lens assembly is composed of a transparent material, and includes a plurality of convex lens surfaces, a sealing surface, a plurality of alignment liquid buffer surfaces, and a lower alignment film, wherein the plano-convex lens assembly is disposed on the lower ITO electrode layer of the lower substrate assembly;

a plurality of liquid crystal molecules disposed on the surface of the convex lens, driven by the voltages of the upper and lower ITO electrode layers and an external power source to form a plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses;

a sealing structure disposed on the sealing surface for connecting and fixing the upper substrate assembly and the lower substrate assembly to seal the plurality of liquid crystal molecules;

An electrical conduction structure is disposed on the sub-ITO electrode to connect and connect the upper ITO electrode layer;

The external power source is electrically connected to the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode, and the plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses are driven by the voltage V to achieve the purpose of switching between 2D and 3D display.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the lower transparent substrate and the upper transparent substrate are each made of transparent glass.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the lower ITO electrode layer, the secondary ITO electrode and the electrical blocking structure are disposed on the same side of the lower transparent substrate, and the electrical blocking The structure is disposed between the lower ITO electrode layer and the sub-ITO electrode.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode are electrically connected to the external power source through a metal wire.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light shielding portions are made of a black photoresist material.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of lower alignment targets are disposed at four corners of the lower transparent substrate, and the plurality of lower alignment targets It is composed of a metal material; and the plurality of upper alignment targets are disposed at four corners of the upper transparent substrate, and the plurality of upper alignment targets are composed of a metal material.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the transparent material of the plano-convex lens assembly has an optical refractive index np selected from glass or UV curable resin.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 7, wherein when the transparent material of the plano-convex lens assembly is selected from a UV curable resin, the plano-convex lens assembly can pass a planar ultraviolet curing process to The plano-convex lens assembly is directly formed on the lower substrate assembly.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the convex lens surface is used to fill the plurality of liquid crystal molecules, and the convex lens surface is selected from an arcuate convex lens surface or a multi-faceted convex lens surface. .
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 9, wherein when the convex lens surface is selected from an arcuate convex lens surface, the circular convex lens surface has a radius R, a periodic width PL, and a lens height h. And the thickness of the bottom layer t.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 10, wherein said underlayer thickness t is less than 10 μm.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing surface is disposed on both sides of the plano-convex lens assembly, has a thickness T, and has a relationship of T ≧ h + t.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of alignment liquid buffering surfaces are disposed between the sealing surfaces of the two sides for absorbing excess alignment liquid, so that the The alignment film on the convex lens surface can maintain a uniform alignment film thickness, and each of the alignment liquid buffer faces has a width S.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 13, wherein the alignment liquid buffer surface has a width S of less than 10 μm.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein an alignment direction of said lower alignment film is a direction parallel to a long axis of said switchable liquid crystal lenticular lens.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of liquid crystal molecules are composed of a nematic liquid crystal material and have birefringence optical characteristics, and the ordinary refractive index is n o , The extraordinary light has a refractive index n e and has a relationship of n e =n p and n e >n p .
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light shielding portions have a period width P B and a line width B, and have a relationship of P B =P L and B>S, The plurality of shading portions are disposed in a one-to-one correspondence and are aligned with the plurality of alignment liquid buffering surfaces to shield the crosstalk of the plurality of alignment liquid buffer surfaces.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the material of the sealant structure is composed of a UV curable resin.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the material of the electrically conductive structure is composed of a conductive silver paste.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein when the voltage of the external power source is V=OFF, the optical characteristics of the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device are suitable for presenting 2D images. Display; when V=ON, the optical characteristics of the surface-lifting liquid crystal lenticular lens array device are suitable for presenting a display of 3D images.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 1, wherein the geometric structures of the upper aligning target and the lower aligning target are respectively selected to have a square structure with complementary geometric shapes, and square Ring structures, or each may be selected to have a circular structure having a geometric complement, a ring structure, each of which may be selected to have a cross structure having a geometric complement, and an anti-cross structure; the upper alignment target and the lower alignment mark The geometry of the target can range from ten microns to hundreds of microns.
A display device comprising image incident light and a surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein the image incident light has a linear polarization direction, The alignment direction of the alignment film is parallel to the polarization direction of the incident light of the image.
A method of manufacturing the surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to any one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that:

In the first step, a lower ITO electrode layer, a secondary ITO electrode, an electrical blocking structure, a plurality of light shielding portions, and a plurality of lower alignment targets are formed on the lower transparent substrate by a photolithography process to form a lower substrate assembly; The process comprises forming an upper ITO electrode layer and a plurality of upper alignment targets on the upper transparent substrate to form an upper substrate assembly;

a second step of providing a planar mold having a mold structure opposite to the plano-convex lens assembly; passing the liquid UV curable resin through a precision jetting process to fill the planar mold; passing the lower substrate in the vacuum chamber a precision optical alignment of the component, in which the lower ITO electrode layer of the lower substrate assembly is precisely pressed against the planar mold and overlaid on the liquid UV curable resin; The liquid UV curable resin irradiates the UV light to cure the liquid UV curable resin and is formed into the plano-convex lens assembly; and a demolding process, the plano-convex lens assembly is taken out from the planar mold, and the plano-convex lens assembly is fixedly disposed On the lower ITO electrode layer of the lower substrate assembly;

In a third step, the alignment liquid is applied to the surface of the plurality of convex lens surfaces and the plurality of alignment liquid buffer surfaces by a process such as rotation or immersion or letterpress printing or printing, and is subjected to a thermal baking process to generate the a lower alignment film; a process of rotating or immersing or letterpress printing or printing, applying an alignment liquid onto the surface of the upper ITO electrode layer, and performing a thermal baking process to produce the upper alignment film;

In a fourth step, the alignment direction of the upper alignment film is parallel to a linear polarization direction of incident light of an image by an alignment process; and the alignment direction of the lower alignment film is parallel to the switchable liquid crystal by an alignment process The direction of the long axis of the lenticular lens;

The fifth step, the precision sealing, precision dispensing and UV pre-curing process, the sealing structure is set on the sealing surface;

In the sixth step, a plurality of liquid crystal molecules are dropped on the convex lens surface by a liquid crystal dropping process;

In the seventh step, the electrical conduction structure is disposed on the secondary ITO electrode by a process of precision alignment and precision dispensing;

In the eighth step, the upper substrate assembly and the lower substrate assembly are combined by a precision alignment and vacuum bonding process, and then the UV light is irradiated to cure the sealing structure, thereby forming the surface floating liquid crystal column. Lens array device.
The method according to claim 23, wherein the alignment process of the lower alignment film and the upper alignment film is selected from a rubbing process or a photo-alignment process.
The manufacturing method according to claim 24, wherein said alignment liquid is composed of a polyimide material.
A surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, comprising:

a lower substrate assembly comprising a lower transparent substrate, a lower ITO electrode layer, a secondary ITO electrode, an electrical blocking structure, and a plurality of light shielding portions; wherein the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode are respectively located on the lower transparent substrate On the same side surface, the electrical blocking structure is located between the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode, and the light shielding portion is spaced apart from the side of the lower ITO electrode layer away from the lower transparent substrate On the surface

An upper substrate assembly, located above the lower substrate assembly, including an upper transparent substrate, an upper ITO electrode layer, and an upper alignment film; the upper ITO electrode layer being located on a side of the upper transparent substrate adjacent to the lower substrate assembly Surface, the upper alignment film is located on a surface of the upper ITO electrode layer away from the upper transparent substrate;

The plano-convex lens assembly includes an upper surface facing the upper substrate assembly and a lower alignment film, wherein the upper surface includes a plurality of convex lens surfaces, a matching liquid buffer surface, and a sealing surface, and the alignment liquid buffer surface is disposed adjacent to the Between the convex lens surfaces and the convex lens surface, the lower alignment film is located on the surface of the convex lens surface and the alignment liquid buffer surface, and the convex lens surface and the alignment liquid buffer surface are located in the sealing The plano-convex lens assembly is disposed between the lower substrate assembly and the upper substrate assembly in a region surrounded by the rubber surface;

a plurality of liquid crystal molecules disposed in the recess formed by the convex lens surface, driven by a voltage between the upper ITO electrode layer, the lower ITO electrode layer and an external power source to form a plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses;

a sealant structure disposed on the encapsulation surface for connecting and fixing the upper substrate assembly and the plano-lens lens assembly, and sealing the plurality of liquid crystal molecules;

An electrically conductive structure connecting the upper ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode;

The external power source is electrically connected to the lower ITO electrode layer and the secondary ITO electrode, and the plurality of liquid crystal lenticular lenses are driven by a voltage V to achieve the purpose of switching between 2D and 3D display.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 26, wherein the lower ITO electrode layer is away from a surface of the lower transparent substrate side, and/or the secondary ITO electrode is away from the surface A plurality of lower alignment targets are further disposed on a surface of one side of the transparent substrate; and a plurality of upper alignment targets are further disposed on a surface of the upper ITO electrode layer away from the upper transparent substrate.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 27, wherein an alignment direction of the lower alignment film is a direction parallel to a long axis of the liquid crystal lenticular lens.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 28, wherein the transparent material of the plano-convex lens assembly has an optical refractive index n p selected from glass or UV curable resin; The nematic liquid crystal material is characterized by birefringence optics having an ordinary refractive index n o , an extraordinary refractive index n e , and having a relationship of n o =n p and n e >n p .
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to any one of claims 26 to 29, wherein the convex lens surface is an arcuate convex lens surface or a multi-faceted convex lens surface.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 30, wherein when the concave lens surface is selected from an arcuate convex lens surface, the thickness t of the bottom layer of the arcuate convex lens surface is less than 10 μm.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 31, wherein the arcuate convex lens surface has a period unit width P L , and the width of the alignment liquid buffer surface is S, the light shielding portion The cycle unit width P B and the line width B, wherein P B =P L , B>S, and the arrangement positions of the light shielding portions are one-to-one correspondence and aligned with the alignment liquid buffer surface.
The surface floating type liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 32, wherein the alignment liquid buffer surface has a width S of less than 10 μm.
The surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device according to claim 26, wherein the material of the sealing structure is a UV curable resin, the material of the electrical conduction structure is a conductive silver paste, and the light shielding portion It is made of black photoresist material.
A display device comprising image incident light and a surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, wherein the surface floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device is the surface according to any one of claims 26 to 34 In the floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device, the image incident light has a linear polarization direction, and the alignment direction of the upper alignment film in the floating liquid crystal lenticular lens array device is parallel to the polarization direction of the incident light of the image.