CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2018/074424 filed on Jan. 29, 2018, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710546419.0 filed on Jul. 6, 2017, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology, in particular to a peep-proof device, a display device, and a method for driving the display device.

BACKGROUND

Along with the development of science and technology, portable display devices, as necessities, have brought convenience and entertainment to our daily lives. Currently, the majority of people are in the habit of using portable electronic devices in public places, e.g., reading, learning or communicating through mobile phones or flat-panel computers when taking or waiting for a bus. However, due to a relatively wide viewing angle of the conventional electronic device, it is possible that others beside a user can also view clearly an image displayed by the electronic device in public places. At this time, it is very difficult to provide privacy protection for the user, and thereby the use of the electronic device may be adversely affected.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a peep-proof device, a display device and a method for driving the display device, so as to provide the privacy protection during the use of the display device.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments a peep-proof device, including at least one light beam adjustment layer. The light beam adjustment layer includes: a transparent base layer, a plurality of grooves being formed in a surface of the transparent base layer; and a liquid crystal layer arranged within the plurality of grooves. A refractive index of the transparent base layer is same as a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer to ordinary light beam.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of grooves is formed in the surface of the transparent base layer continuously.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, a surface of each of the grooves is a part of at least one of a spherical surface, a conical surface and a surface of a frustum of a prism.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of grooves includes at least two types of grooves having different structural parameters, and the structural parameter includes at least one of a shape of the groove or a size of the groove.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the predetermined rule is that the plurality of grooves is arranged in an array form, and the grooves having different structural parameters are arranged in a first direction periodically.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the peep-proof device further includes a first transparent substrate and a second transparent substrate arranged opposite to the first transparent substrate, the light beam adjustment layer is arranged between the first transparent substrate and the second transparent substrate, and the plurality of grooves is formed in a surface of the light beam adjustment layer proximate to the first transparent substrate.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the peep-proof film includes two light beam adjustment layers laminated one on another, one of the light beam adjustment layers is arranged between the other light beam adjustment layer and the first transparent substrate, and the grooves in the transparent base layers of the different light beam adjustment layers have different structural parameters.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the transparent base layers of the different light beam adjustment layers are made of a same material.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the peep-proof device further includes a first transparent electrode layer arranged between the transparent base layer and the first transparent substrate, and a second transparent electrode layer arranged between the liquid crystal layer and the second transparent substrate.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid crystal layer includes liquid crystal molecules which have been solidified in such a manner as to enable a long-axis direction of each liquid crystal molecule to be perpendicular to a plane where the first transparent substrate is located.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the peep-proof device further includes a polarizer arranged at a light-entering side of the light beam adjustment layer and configured to allow an incident light beam in a first polarization direction to pass therethrough. The long-axis direction of each liquid crystal molecule in the liquid crystal layer is perpendicular to the first transparent substrate, the first polarization direction is parallel to a first plane, and the first plane is perpendicular to the first transparent substrate and parallel to a direction in which a long side of the first transparent substrate extends.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the peep-proof device further includes a polarization state conversion mechanism arranged between the polarizer and the light beam adjustment layer, and configured to allow the incident light beam in the first polarization direction to pass therethrough, or convert the light beam in the first polarization direction into a light beam in a second polarization direction perpendicular to the first plane and emit the light beam in a second polarization direction.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the polarization state conversion mechanism includes a liquid crystal panel.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments a peep-proof device, including a first transparent substrate, a second transparent substrate arranged opposite to the first transparent substrate, and a light beam adjustment layer arranged between the first transparent substrate and the second transparent substrate. The light beam adjustment layer includes a plurality of microlens structures each consisting of a transparent base layer and a liquid crystal layer. A plurality of grooves is arranged continuously in an array form in a surface of the transparent base layer adjacent to the first transparent substrate, and liquid crystal molecules are filled within the grooves. A long-axis direction of each liquid crystal molecule in the liquid crystal layer is capable of being perpendicular to the first transparent substrate, and a refractive index of the transparent base layer is same as a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer to ordinary light beam.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the grooves in adjacent rows have different shapes, different sizes or both.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, a surface of each of the grooves is a part of at least one of a spherical surface, a conical surface, and a surface of a frustum of a prism.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the peep-proof device further includes a first transparent electrode layer arranged between the transparent base layer and the first transparent substrate, and a second transparent electrode layer arranged between the liquid crystal layer and the second transparent substrate.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer have been cured in such a manner as to enable a long-axis direction of each of the liquid crystal molecules to be perpendicular to a plane where the first transparent substrate is located.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments a display device, including a display module and the above-mentioned peep-proof device. The peep-proof device is arranged at a light-exiting side of the display module, and a light beam from the display module is a linearly-polarized light beam.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, an orthogonal projection of each curved surface structure of the peep-proof device onto the first transparent substrate covers at least one pixel unit of the display module.

In still yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments a method for driving the above-mentioned display device. A polarization direction of a linearly-polarized light beam from a display module is parallel to a first plane, and the first plane is perpendicular to a plane where a first transparent substrate is located and parallel to a direction where a long side of the first transparent substrate extends. The method includes, in a peep-proof mode, enabling a long axis of each liquid crystal molecule in a liquid crystal layer of the peep-proof device to be perpendicular to the plane where the first transparent substrate is located.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes, in a display mode, enabling the long axis of each liquid crystal molecule in the liquid crystal layer of the peep-proof device to be perpendicular to the polarization direction of the light beam entering the liquid crystal layer.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the light beam adjustment layer includes the transparent base layer and the liquid crystal layer, and the plurality of curved surface structures is formed in the surface of the transparent base layer, so the light beam adjustment layer is provided with the plurality of microlens mechanisms. Through the microlens mechanisms, when the peep-proof device is arranged at the light-exiting side of the display device and a user is located at a frontal viewing region, it is able for the user to clearly view an image displayed by the display device through the peep-proof device. When the user is located at a lateral viewing region, due to a scattering effect caused by the microlens structures to the display panel, it is impossible for the user to view clearly the image displayed by the display device.

