阅读说明：本技术 具有集成的光学操作接近传感器系统的显示装置 (Display device with integrated optically operated proximity sensor system ) 是由 罗杰·施密特 托比亚斯·施瓦布 托马斯·塔尔诺夫斯基 于 2018-07-12 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种具有集成的光学操作的接近传感器系统(30)的显示装置,用于检测存在于显示装置前面的观察空间内的对象,例如人的手或人手的手指。显示装置具有显示单元(22),其具有带信息显示表面(20)前侧,与显示表面邻接但不用于信息显示的边缘区域(18),以及后侧。显示装置还具有接近传感器系统(30),具有至少一个发射器(32),用于向观察空间发射传感器辐射,并具有至少一个接收器(34),用于接收从观察空间反射的传感器辐射。接近传感器系统(30)设置在前侧的边缘区域(18)中或者至少一个发射器(32)设置在显示单元(22)的后侧或者面对显示单元(22)的后侧或者在显示单元(22)中,并且至少一个接收器(34)设置在邻接显示表面(20)的边缘区域(18)中的显示单元(22)的前侧。(The invention relates to a display device with an integrated optically operated proximity sensor system (30) for detecting an object, such as a human hand or a finger of a human hand, present in an observation space in front of the display device. The display device has a display unit (22) having a front side with an information display surface (20), an edge region (18) adjacent to the display surface but not used for information display, and a rear side. The display device also has a proximity sensor system (30) having at least one transmitter (32) for transmitting sensor radiation into the observation space and having at least one receiver (34) for receiving the sensor radiation reflected from the observation space. The proximity sensor system (30) is arranged in the edge region (18) of the front side or the at least one transmitter (32) is arranged on the rear side of the display unit (22) or facing the rear side of the display unit (22) or in the display unit (22), and the at least one receiver (34) is arranged on the front side of the display unit (22) in the edge region (18) adjoining the display surface (20).)

1. A display device with an integrated optically operated proximity sensor system for detecting an object, for example a human hand or a finger of a human hand, present in an observation space in front of the display device, has

-a display unit (22) comprising a front side having an information display surface (20), an edge area (18) adjoining the display surface (20) but not used for information display, and a rear side, and

a proximity sensor system (30) having at least one transmitter (32) for transmitting sensor radiation to the observation space and having at least one receiver (34) for receiving the sensor radiation reflected from the observation space,

-wherein

-a proximity sensor system (30) or at least one said receiver (34) and at least one said transmitter (32) are arranged in the edge region (18) of the front side of the display unit (22),

or

-at least one transmitter (32) is arranged below the display unit (22), for example below a side of the display unit (22), a rear side of the display unit (22), or a rear side facing the display unit (22), or in the display unit (22), and at least one receiver (34) is arranged in an edge region (18) of a front side of the display unit (22) adjoining the display surface (20),

or

-at least one receiver (34) is arranged below the display unit (22), for example below the side of the display unit (22), at the rear side of the display unit (22), or facing the rear side of the display unit (22), or in the display unit (22), and at least one transmitter (32) is arranged in an edge region (18) of the front side of the display unit (22) adjacent to the display surface (20).

2. A display device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the display unit (22) comprises a display panel (12) having a display surface (14) and an edge region (18), the display panel (12) comprising a plurality of information-displaying optical display elements, in particular pixels, and the proximity sensor system (30) or at least one emitter thereof and/or at least one receiver thereof being arranged in the edge region (18) of the display panel (12).

3. The display device according to claim 1,

-said display unit (22) comprises a display panel (12) and a color filter layer (40) arranged above said display panel (12), wherein said color filter layer defines said display surface (20),

-the display panel (12) protrudes from at least one edge portion beyond said color filter layer (40) and said protrusion forms an edge region (18) laterally abutting said display surface (14), an

-wherein

-said at least one receptacle (34) is arranged in and/or on and/or under a protrusion of said display panel (12),

or

-at least one emitter (32) and at least one receiver (34) of said proximity sensor system (30) are arranged in and/or on and/or under a protrusion of said display panel (12).

4. A display device as claimed in any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the display panel (12) is a TFT panel.

5. A display device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a backlight unit (38) is provided for backlighting the display unit (22), wherein the at least one emitter (32) is arranged in or laterally in and/or above and/or below the backlight unit (38).

6. A display device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the sensor radiation is IR radiation.

7. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display unit (22) is an LCB matrix display.

8. A display device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the at least one emitter (32) and/or the at least one receiver (34) are provided with an optical system for directing radiation towards a viewing space in front of the display surface (14).

9. A display device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised by a non-optically operating touch sensor system, for example a capacitively or resistively or ultrasonically based operating touch sensor system.

10. A display device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the touch sensor system comprises a touch panel on the front side of the display unit (22) and/or on the color filter layer (40) and/or behind a cover glass, which is arranged in front of the display unit (22) and/or in front of the color filter layer (40).

11. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the at least one transmitter (32) and the at least one receiver (34) are sealed from each other when they are arranged in the edge region (18) of the front side of the display unit (22) to prevent cross-talk.

12. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the proximity sensor system (30) comprises a receiver matrix (e.g. an image sensor), optionally with an optical system, as a receiver for the edge region (18) arranged on the front side for image capturing, in particular for 3D capturing of the viewing space.

13. The display device according to claim 12, wherein the proximity sensor system (30) does not comprise an emitter (32) or the proximity sensor system (30) comprises an emitter (32) that can be activated when there is insufficient ambient light for 2D or 3D capture of the viewing space.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a display device with an integrated optically operated proximity sensor system (proximity sensor system) for detecting objects, such as a human hand or a finger of the hand, present in a viewing space in front of the display device.

Background

A display system in a vehicle may be equipped with a sensor system that detects the approach of a driver. Such so-called proximity sensors operate optically, based to a large extent on IR light that is invisible to the user. As is known from practice, these sensors are mounted below or to the side of the display system, respectively. Due to the highly limited installation space and the increasingly large displays, sensors have recently been placed under the cover glass (cover glass) of display systems. However, they still require installation space, which may negatively affect the appearance of the display system.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device with an integrated proximity sensor system, wherein the display device is characterized by a compact design.

A display device is described in the following, comprising a display accommodated in a housing and an optical proximity sensor system also accommodated in the housing:

-DE 10 2016 100 363 A1；

-GB 2486 000 A；

-swern. kratz; michael ross: suspended flow (Hoverflow): exploration for device-around interactions with IR distance sensors, 11 th international man-machine interaction conference with mobile devices and services, MobileHCI'09, bourne, germany, 2009, 9 months, 15 days to 18 days ISBN 978-1-60558-: ACM, 2009. item 42;

-swern. kratz: paper, university of Munich, Leishg-MakeCimilaries, mathematics, informatics, and statistics. Munich: LMUs, 2012;

and

-jingsai europe; yellow world longevity; yew et al: gesture sensor of mobile device-white paper, company address, samsung electronics ltd. Three stars, 2013.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by proposing a display device with an integrated optically operated proximity sensor system for detecting an object, for example a human hand or a finger of a human hand, present in an observation space in front of the display device, wherein the display device is equipped with

A display unit comprising a front side having an information display surface, an edge area adjoining the display surface and not used for information display, and a rear side, and

a proximity sensor system having at least one transmitter for transmitting sensor radiation into the observation space and at least one receiver for receiving sensor radiation reflected from the observation space,

-wherein

The proximity sensor system or the at least one receiver and the at least one transmitter are arranged in an edge region of the front side of the display unit,

or

At least one transmitter is arranged below the display unit, for example, below the side of the display unit, at the rear side of the display unit, or facing the rear side of the display unit, or in the display unit, and at least one receiver is arranged in an edge region adjacent to the display surface on the front side of the display unit,

or

The at least one receiver is arranged below the display unit, for example, below the side of the display unit, at the rear side of the display unit, or facing the rear side of the display unit or in the display unit, and the at least one transmitter is arranged in an edge region adjoining the display surface on the front side of the display unit.

In the invention proposed herein, the proximity sensors or at least their optical components are integrated into the display unit itself, i.e. into the display. Thus, no additional mounting space is required outside the display, so that a slim and almost frameless design can be achieved.

The proposal according to the invention consists in integrating the entire proximity sensor system or a part of the proximity sensor system, namely the sensor radiation receiver, in or behind an edge region of the front side of the display unit, wherein the front side is defined by the information display unit and the adjacent edge region. The emitter for the sensor radiation may be arranged below the display surface, for example at the rear side of the display unit, in the backlight unit or behind the display surface. However, it is also possible to arrange the transmitter also in the aforementioned edge region.

In any case, according to the invention, either the entire proximity sensor system is arranged closer to the display surface of the front side of the display unit, or at least a part of the proximity sensor system is arranged in this way.

The display unit is typically accommodated in a housing and surrounded by a housing frame surrounded by a front wall of the housing or incorporated into side walls of the housing. Typically, the proximity sensor system is accommodated in the housing frame or in an area of the front wall of the housing adjacent to the display, i.e. arranged outside the actual display. The present invention differs from this concept in that the proximity sensor system is at least partially integrated into the display. If the display according to the invention is not surrounded by a housing, the proximity sensor system will remain wholly or at least partly part of the display and will for that matter be integrated into the display, i.e. into or below the edge region on the display panel of the display comprising the image and symbol generating optical elements. It is decisive for the invention that the entire proximity sensor system or at least a part thereof is part of the display and is not implemented as a separate element in the surrounding area of the display.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the display unit comprises a display panel having a display surface and an edge region. Conventionally, display panels are configured as so-called TFT panels, which define a display surface defined by pixels or a surface occupied by pixels. The TFT panel also includes a protrusion protruding laterally beyond the display surface, with driver electronics for the pixels or the entire display unit disposed in the protrusion. The driver electronics are then electrically connected, typically by a flexible circuit board. According to the invention, the proximity sensor system or at least a part thereof may now be arranged on said flexible circuit board, but may also be arranged directly on the display panel. This applies in both cases: the proximity sensor system or parts thereof are integrated on and/or in an edge area around the display surface of the display which is not used for information display.

According to the invention, the protrusion area of the TFT panel is now available for accommodating therein the proximity sensor system or at least a part of the proximity sensor system, i.e. the receiver according to the invention.

For this purpose, for example, provision is made for

The display unit comprises a display panel and a color filter layer arranged above the display panel and defining a display surface,

the display panel protrudes the super-filter layer from at least one edge portion and the protrusion forms an edge region laterally abutting the display surface, an

At least one receiver is arranged in and/or on and/or under the protrusion of the display panel,

or

The at least one transmitter and the at least one receiver of the proximity sensor system are arranged in and/or on and/or under the protrusion of the display panel.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a backlight unit may be provided for backlighting a display unit, wherein at least one emitter is provided in and/or on and/or under the backlight unit.

The sensor radiation is preferably invisible light in the IR region, i.e. IR radiation.

It is convenient if the display unit is an LCD display unit.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that at least one emitter has an optical system for aligning its radiation-sensitive region toward a viewing space in front of the display surface. The optical system may be a light deflecting foil, a fresnel lens, etc.

In addition to a proximity sensor system for detecting an object arranged in front of the display unit, in particular for detecting the distance of an object arranged in front of the display unit, the display device according to the invention can be equipped with a non-optically operating touch sensor system, for example an operating touch sensor system based on capacitance or resistance or ultrasound.

The non-optically operating touch sensor system is especially configured as a touch panel, on the front side of the display unit and/or on the color filter layer and/or behind a cover glass, which is positioned in front of the display unit and/or in front of the color filter layer.

Finally, in a further embodiment of the invention, it is also possible that the at least one transmitter and the at least one receiver are sealed off from one another when they are arranged in the edge region of the front side, in order to prevent crosstalk.

In the foregoing, the proximity sensor system is characterized by comprising at least one transmitter and at least one receiver. According to one variant of the invention, the proximity sensor system comprises a receiver matrix, for example an image sensor, as receivers, which are arranged in the edge region of the front side and provide 2D image capture. In particular, a receiver for 3D capture of a viewing space may also be provided. Such proximity sensor systems (with sensor radiation) are sometimes also interpreted as TOF sensors (time of flight) and can be configured as individual receivers and receiver matrices.

Drawings

In the following, two exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. The figures show:

fig. 1 is a plan view on a TFT panel of a display unit, as known from the prior art, comprising a proximity sensor system arranged on the edge of the display unit and outside the display unit,

figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of figure 1,

fig. 3 is a plan view of a display device according to the present invention, in which the proximity sensor system is completely accommodated in an edge region defined by a TFT panel of the display unit,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3, an

Fig. 5 shows an alternative display unit according to the invention in a sectional view.

Reference numerals

10 casing

12 TFT panel

14 display surface

16 polarizer

18 edge region

20 display surface

22 display unit

24 projection part

26 drive circuit

28 driver

29 Flexible conductor

30 proximity sensor system

32 emitter

34 receiver

36 circuit board

38 backlight unit

40 color filter

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 and 2 show solutions of the current state of the art for a display device with a proximity sensor system for detecting the proximity of an object to a display unit of the display device. The display device is spatially confined by the housing 10 and comprises a TFT panel 12 provided on its display surface 14 with a polariser 16 having a colour plate thereunder. The edge region 18 of the TFT panel 12 is blank, i.e. it does not comprise pixels and therefore does not belong to the display surface 20 of the display unit 22.

In the edge region 18, which is defined by the projection 24 of the TFT panel 12, as it were, for example, a drive circuit 26 for operation of the display unit 22 is provided. The TFT panel 12 is in electrical contact with a flexible circuit board (indicated at 29).

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, a proximity sensor system 30 having at least one transmitter 32 and at least one receiver 34 is disposed beside a housing 10 of a display device. The proximity sensor system 30 is disposed on an additional circuit board 36.

The additional installation space for accommodating the proximity sensor system 30, which is disposed as a separate unit from the display unit 22 in a position adjacent to the display 22 in the apparatus case in which the display unit 22 is disposed according to the related art, sometimes causes a problem. Therefore, it is proposed according to the invention to accommodate at least part of the proximity sensor system 30, i.e. for example the receiver 34; in the edge region 18 of the TFT panel 12 provided by the protrusion 24, the driver 28 is disposed between the receivers 34.

In a variant of the invention, in addition to the receiver 34, at least one emitter 32 is accommodated in the edge region 18 of the TFT panel 12 provided by the projection 24, wherein the driver 28 and between the receiver 34 and the emitter 32 is arranged in the edge region 18.

Refer to fig. 3 and 4. Fig. 4 shows, for example, that the emitter 32 is provided in a backlight unit 38 of the display unit 22. As can also be seen in fig. 4, a color filter layer (color plate) or color filter 40 is provided on the TFT panel 12. Backlight unit 38 and TFT panel 12 with color filter 40 and polarizer 16 are elements of a prior art display device.

If the proximity sensor system is based on TOF measurements of sensor radiation, the transmitter 32 and receiver 34 are disposed on the protrusion 24 of the TFT panel 12. However, the emitter 32 may also be part of the backlight unit 38.

Fig. 5 shows a further exemplary embodiment of the invention as an alternative to the embodiments according to fig. 3 to 4. In this exemplary embodiment, the entire proximity sensor system 30 or a portion thereof is disposed on a flexible circuit board 36, and the contact field of the flexible circuit board 36 is electrically connected to the TFT panel 12, as such, by a conductive adhesive.

The plurality of emitters 32 or receivers 34 of the proximity sensor system 30 may now be placed on a circuit board 36 disposed along the edge of the display. (in the exemplary embodiment, receiver 34 is placed on flexible circuit board 36, while transmitter 32 is disposed below the display.) in this regard, the electrical connections between proximity sensor system 30 or components of proximity sensor system 30 and flexible circuit board 36 should also be configured such that the disposition of the proximity sensor system, or portions thereof, are disposed in an edge region of the front side of display unit 22.

As an alternative to the above-described display device, it may also be provided to arrange the emitters of the proximity sensor system in a backlight, i.e. in a backlight unit of the display, in order then to arrange the receivers of the proximity sensor system in the edge area of the display unit. This may be advantageous for space saving reasons or for space limitation.

The advantages of the inventive concept are as follows:

the proximity sensor system has no additional installation space, since the latter is part of the display unit,

a slim design of the display unit and the display device, which can be achieved by a slim display frame,

no additional light conductor is needed if the emitter is part of the lighting unit to ensure proximity to the display unit or display surface.

The integration of the proximity sensor system, or at least a part thereof, on the protrusion area of the TFT panel makes it possible to use known and process-reliable electronic contacts and to make electrical connections through existing flexible conductors. Thus, the receiver (sensor) is not disposed below the color filter and also below the polarizer, whereby the radiation is not attenuated. Thus, the radiation received by the receiver is stronger and sensitivity and signal strength are improved without further measures.

An assembly with a sensor consisting of a transmitter and a receiver can be used for a proximity sensor system. As mentioned above, such special complex sensors can also be mounted and contacted. Thus, for example sensors measuring the travel time (time-of-flight principle) or array sensors (i.e. image sensors), optionally with micro-lenses in the form of foils, fresnel lenses, etc. may be used.

The invention has been described above by way of example in which the proximity sensor system as a whole, i.e. the transmitter and the receiver (optionally with control), is arranged in the edge region of the display, or in which at least one or all of the receivers are arranged in the edge region of the display, or in which one or all of the transmitters are arranged below the display (or below the display surface of the display, and thus in the display, but not in the edge region thereof). The last-described configuration may be provided according to the invention, but it is also possible to arrange one or all of the transmitters in the edge region of the display and one or all of the receivers below the display or below the display surface of the display unit (optionally below the alternative display surface, but not in the edge region thereof) when interchanging transmitters and receivers.