Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080309627 | Integrated in-plane switching - This relates to adding multi-touch functionality to a display without the need of a separate multi-touch panel or layer overlaying the display. Instead, embodiments of the invention can advantageously utilize existing display circuitry to provide multi-touch functionality while adding relatively little circuitry that is specific to the multi-touch functionality. Thus, by sharing circuitry for the display and the multi-touch functionalities, embodiments of the invention can be implemented at a lower cost than the alternative of superimposing additional multi-touch related layers onto an existing display panel. Furthermore, since the display and multi-touch functionality can be implemented on the same circuit, they can be synchronized so that noise resulting from the display functionality does not detrimentally affect the multi-touch functionality and vice versa. | 12-18-2008 |
20080309633 | Touch-sensitive display - A substantially transparent mutual-capacitance touch sensor panel is disclosed having sensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate for detecting multi-touch events. Substantially transparent row and column traces can be formed on the same side of the substrate, separated by a thin dielectric material, using diamond, rectangular, or hexagonal rows and columns. Dummy shapes of the same material as the row and column traces can be formed alongside the rows and columns to provide optical uniformity. The metal traces in the border areas used to route the rows to the short edge of the substrate can also be formed on the same side of the substrate as the rows and columns. The metal traces can allow both the rows and columns to be routed to the same short edge of the substrate so that a small flex circuit can be bonded to only one side of the substrate. | 12-18-2008 |
20090091551 | SINGLE-LAYER TOUCH-SENSITIVE DISPLAY - A touch sensor panel having co-planar single-layer touch sensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate is disclosed. The drive and sense lines can be fabricated as column-like patterns in a first orientation and patches in a second orientation, where each column-like pattern in the first orientation is connected to a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel, and all patches in each of multiple rows in the second orientation are connected together using a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel. The metal traces in the border areas can be formed on the same side of the substrate as the patches and columns, but separated from the patches and column-like patterns by a dielectric layer. | 04-09-2009 |
20090266621 | Reliability Metal Traces - The formation of improved reliability conductive traces in touch sensor panels that are less prone to failures due to environmental effects is disclosed. Conductive traces, which can be formed from a stackup of metal layers or a single metal layer, can be protected with an additional photoimageable passivation layer of a material such as an organic polymer. This photoimageable coating can be patterned so that it does not appear in the visible area of the touch sensor panel, with much finer tolerances than conventional passivation layers to help keep product dimensions to a minimum. | 10-29-2009 |
20090273577 | Moire-Free Touch Screen with Tilted or Curved ITO Pattern - Touch screens that generate reduced Moiré effects are disclosed. To reduce Moiré effects, the columns (drive or sense lines) of a touch sensor panel can be oriented at an angle with respect to a display device so that the columns are not parallel with the sub-pixel and pixel arrangements of the display device. In some embodiments, the entire touch sensor panel can be oriented at an angle with respect to the display device. In other embodiments, certain lines in the touch sensor panel can be tilted, curved or formed in a zig-zag shape. | 11-05-2009 |
20090324899 | FULL PERIMETER CHEMICAL STRENGTHENING OF SUBSTRATES - Methods and apparatus for protecting the thin films during chemical and/or thermal edge strengthening treatment. In one embodiment, a portion of each individual sheet is laminated. Pairs of sheets are then sealed together such that the thin film sides face inward to form a thin film sandwich. In some embodiments, the sandwich in then immersed in a chemical strengthener. In other embodiments, a localized treatment is applied to the unstrengthened edges. | 12-31-2009 |
20090324939 | Method for Fabricating Thin Sheets of Glass - Fabrication of thin sheets of glass or other substrate material for use in devices such as touch sensor panels is disclosed. A pair of thick glass sheets, typically with thicknesses of 0.5 mm or greater each, may each be patterned with thin film on a surface, sealed together to form a sandwich with the patterned surfaces facing each other and spaced apart by removable spacers, either or both thinned on their outside surfaces to thicknesses of less than 0.5 mm each, and separated into two thin glass sheets. A single thick glass sheet, typically with a thickness of 0.5 mm or greater, may be patterned, covered with a protective layer over the pattern, thinned on its outside surface to a thickness of less than 0.5 mm, and the protective layer removed. This thinness of less than 0.5 mm may be accomplished using standard LCD equipment, despite the equipment having a sheet minimum thickness requirement of 0.5 mm. | 12-31-2009 |
20100001973 | DISPLAY WITH DUAL-FUNCTION CAPACITIVE ELEMENTS - A touch screen including display pixels with capacitive elements is provided. The touch screen includes first common voltage lines connecting capacitive elements in adjacent display pixels, and a second common voltage line connecting first common voltage lines. The pixels can be formed as electrically separated regions by including breaks in the common voltage lines. The regions can include a drive region that is stimulated by stimulation signals, a sense region that receives sense signals corresponding to the stimulation signals. A grounded region can also be included, for example, between a sense region and a drive region. A shield layer can be formed of a substantially high resistance material and disposed to shield a sense region. A black mask line and conductive line under the black mask line can be included, for example, to provide low-resistance paths between a region of pixels and touch circuitry outside the touch screen borders. | 01-07-2010 |
20100035030 | INDIUM TIN OXIDE (ITO) LAYER FORMING - A layer of material, such as crystalline indium tin oxide (ITO), is formed on top of a substrate by heating the material to a high temperature, while a temperature increase of the substrate is limited such that the temperature of the substrate does not exceed a predetermined temperature. For example, a layer including amorphous ITO can be deposited on top of the substrate, and the amorphous layer can be heated in a surface anneal process using radiation while limiting substrate temperature. Another process can pass electrical current through the amorphous ITO. In another process, the substrate is passed through a high-temperature deposition chamber quickly, such that a portion of a layer of crystalline ITO is deposited, while the temperature increase of the substrate is limited. | 02-11-2010 |
20100060667 | ANGULARLY DEPENDENT DISPLAY OPTIMIZED FOR MULTIPLE VIEWING ANGLES - Methods and apparatus for providing optimized gamma settings for each of a plurality of viewing angles and/or device orientations. In certain types of display devices, off-axis viewing leads to contrast degradation and/or color aberrations in a perceived image, as luminance values depend on the angle at which the output is viewed. By remapping grayscale and/or color values to new output voltages, an image can be presented at an optimized luminance level when viewed from any specific angle. In some embodiments, the display device comprises an inclination sensor adapted to sense device rotation about at least one axis. Display parameter optimization logic reads data from the inclination sensor and automatically adjusts the display to an optimized gamma setting. | 03-11-2010 |
20100118235 | DISPLAY THAT EMITS CIRCULARLY-POLARIZED LIGHT - One embodiment of the present invention provides a display that emits circularly-polarized light. This display includes a display mechanism that emits linearly-polarized light and a layer placed in the path of the linearly-polarized light. The layer receives the linearly-polarized light on one surface, converts the linearly-polarized light to circularly-polarized light, and then emits the circularly-polarized light from another surface. By emitting circularly-polarized light, the display reduces the perceived distortion found at some angles when the display is viewed through a linearly-polarizing filter. | 05-13-2010 |
20100123866 | Common Bus Design for a TFT-LCD Display - Embodiments of the present invention provide for a FFS TFT LCD with a high refresh rate without limiting the aperture of individual pixels. More specifically, embodiments of the invention provide for the use of common bus lines to reduce the effective resistance of the common electrode and to therefore allow for higher refresh rates of the display. Furthermore, the common bus lines can be positioned in such a manner so that they do not further reduce the aperture of the display. More specifically, the common bus lines can be positioned above or below existing elements of the display that are already opaque. Thus, adding the common bus lines need not reduce the aperture. The above can be achieved by, for example, placing the common bus lines above or below existing non-transparent lines, such as gate lines or data lines. | 05-20-2010 |
20100141608 | Index Matching For Touch Screens - Index matching for touch screens is provided. An index matching stackup for a touch screen can be formed including a substantially transparent substrate, a substantially transparent conductive layer disposed in a pattern, and an index matching layer for improving an optical uniformity of the touch screen. The index matching layer can also be designed to operate as a dual-function layer. In one dual-function design, the index matching layer design performs both index matching and passivating the conductive layer. In another dual-function design, the index matching layer performs both index matching and adhesion of layers. The index matching layer can also be designed to serve all three functions of index matching, passivating, and adhering. | 06-10-2010 |
20100144391 | Integrated touch panel for a TFT display - This relates to displays for which the use of dual function capacitive elements does not result in any decreases of the aperture of the display. Thus, touch sensitive displays that have aperture ratios that are no worse than similar non-touch sensing displays can be manufactured. More specifically, this relates to placing touch sensing opaque elements so as to ensure that they are substantially overlapped by display related opaque elements, thus ensuring that the addition of the touch sensing elements does not substantially reduce the aperture ratio. The touch sensing display elements can be, for example, common lines that connect various capacitive elements that are configured to operate collectively as an element of the touch sensing system. | 06-10-2010 |
20100154992 | Layer-Specific Energy Distribution Delamination - Delamination of a laminated multilayer stack is provided by generating a layer-specific energy distribution in the stack during delamination. A localized energy transferrer can generate localized heating, cooling heating, cooling, or other form of energy absorption or transmission, in a bonding layer of a multilayer stack. Localized energy transfer can include thermal energy transfer, such as heating and/or cooling, acoustic energy transfer, such as applying ultrasonic energy, electromagnetic energy transfer, such as applying laser light, directed microwaves, etc. Localized energy transfer can generate a layer-specific energy distribution that can weaken the bonding layer while reducing damage to other layers of the stack. | 06-24-2010 |
20100165551 | REDUCING OPTICAL EFFECTS IN A DISPLAY - One embodiment may take the form of a system for reducing the appearance of optical effects in a display. The system may include an enclosure with a first surface and a second surface. Furthermore, the system may include spacers that may be deposited on the bottom face of the first surface and/or the top face of the second surface, where the first surface may be a touch panel and/or cover lens and the second surface may be a display module. The spacers may be deposited in one layer with an anti-reflection coating. The thickness of the coating may be less than the diameter of the spacers. | 07-01-2010 |
20100175249 | Method for Fabricating Thin Touch Sensor Panels - A method for fabricating thin DITO or SITO touch sensor panels with a thickness less than a minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. In one embodiment, a sandwich of two thin glass sheets is formed such that the combined thickness of the glass sheets does not drop below the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment when thin film process is performed on the surfaces of the sandwich during fabrication. The sandwich may eventually be separated to form two thin SITO/DITO panels. In another embodiment, the fabrication process involves laminating two patterned thick substrates, each having at least the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. One or both of the sides of the laminated substrates are then thinned so that when the substrates are separated, each is a thin DITO/SITO panel having a thickness less than the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. | 07-15-2010 |
20100194697 | Integrated Touch Screen - Displays with touch sensing circuitry integrated into the display pixel stackup are provided. Circuit elements, such as touch signal lines, such as drive lines and sense lines, grounding regions, in the display pixel stackups can be grouped together to form touch sensing circuitry that senses a touch on or near the display. An integrated touch screen can include multi-function circuit elements that can operate as circuitry of the display system to generate an image on the display, and can also form part of a touch sensing system that senses one or more touches on or near the display. The multi-function circuit elements can be, for example, capacitors in display pixels that can be configured to operate as storage capacitors/electrodes, common electrodes, conductive wires/pathways, etc., of the display circuitry in the display system, and that may also be configured to operate as circuit elements of the touch sensing circuitry. | 08-05-2010 |
20100194707 | Integrated Touch Screen - Displays with touch sensing circuitry integrated into the display pixel stackup are provided. Circuit elements, such as touch signal lines, such as drive lines and sense lines, grounding regions, in the display pixel stackups can be grouped together to form touch sensing circuitry that senses a touch on or near the display. An integrated touch screen can include multi-function circuit elements that can operate as circuitry of the display system to generate an image on the display, and can also form part of a touch sensing system that senses one or more touches on or near the display. The multi-function circuit elements can be, for example, capacitors in display pixels that can be configured to operate as storage capacitors/electrodes, common electrodes, conductive wires/pathways, etc., of the display circuitry in the display system, and that may also be configured to operate as circuit elements of the touch sensing circuitry. | 08-05-2010 |
20100207857 | Undulating Electrodes for Improved Viewing Angle and Color Shift - The present disclosure generally provides for a variety of multi-domain pixel configurations that may be implemented in the unit pixels of an LCD display device, such as a fringe field switching LCD display panel. An LCD display device utilizing one or more of the presently disclosed techniques disclosed herein may exhibit improved display properties, such as viewing angle, color shift, and transmittance properties, relative to those exhibited by conventional multi-domain designs. | 08-19-2010 |
20100207858 | LCD Pixel Design Varying by Color - A liquid crystal display (LCD) having a plurality of pixels is provided. In one embodiment, the pixels of the LCD each include common and pixel electrodes formed on an insulating layer, and a liquid crystal layer responsive to electric fields generated by the electrodes. The plurality of pixels may include two or more sets of pixels each configured to transmit light of a different color, and the pixel electrodes of one set of pixels may be configured differently from those of another set. In other embodiments, the sizes of the pixels may differ. Various additional devices and methods are also provided. | 08-19-2010 |
20100207860 | VIA DESIGN FOR USE IN DISPLAYS - A liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided having transistors disposed within via holes having elongated (e.g., rectangular or oval) contact areas. The use of via holes having elongated contact areas allows an opaque mask defining an aperture for light transmission to be lengthened, thereby increasing the overall area of the aperture. The increase in the area of the aperture may increase the amount of light that can pass through the aperture. | 08-19-2010 |
20100207861 | Advanced Pixel Design for Optimized Driving - Systems, devices, and methods for reducing common voltage loading and/or enabling a simplified manner of polarity inversion in liquid crystal display (LCD) devices are provided. In accordance with one embodiment, a device may include a processor, a memory device, and a liquid crystal display having a pixel array including rows and columns of pixels. The pixels of each row of the pixel array may be configured to cause an approximately even amount of common voltage loading to be shared between one of a first plurality of common electrodes and one of a second plurality of common electrodes when the pixels of each row of the pixel array receive a scanning signal and a data signal. | 08-19-2010 |
20100207862 | Pseudo Multi-Domain Design for Improved Viewing Angle and Color Shift - Aspects of the present disclosure relate to single-domain electrode configurations that may be implemented in the unit pixels of a LCD device, such as a fringe field switching (FFS) LCD, to provide a “pseudo-multi-domain” effect, wherein the benefits of both conventional single-domain and multi-domain pixel configuration devices are retained. In accordance with aspects of the present technique, single-domain unit pixels are angled or tilted in differing directions with respect to a vertical axis of the LCD panel (e.g., y-axis) to provide an alternating and/or periodic arrangement of different-angled pixel electrodes along each scanning line, data line, or a combination of both scanning and data lines. In this manner, the transmittance rates of conventional single-domain LCD panels may be retained while providing for improved viewing angle and color shift properties typical of conventional multi-domain LCD panels. | 08-19-2010 |
20100207959 | LCD TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL DITHERING - A method and system for temporal dithering of pixels in a display. The dithering of the pixels may allow for simulation of 8-bit color from a 6-bit display. Moreover, the dithering of the pixels may be selected to follow a specific pattern to minimize display artifacts, which might otherwise result from interference generated by pixel inversion techniques performed during the pixel dithering. Through application of selective dithering techniques, including utilization of specific dithering patterns, the generation of display artifacts via interference from pixel inversion techniques during the display of an image may be minimized. | 08-19-2010 |
20100208179 | Pixel Black Mask Design and Formation Technique - A display panel is provided having a first substrate including an electrode configured to generate an electric field and a second substrate including a black mask. The black mask includes an aperture configured to enable light to be transmitted through the aperture, wherein the aperture is at least substantially rectangular and includes corners that are not substantially chamfered. The display panel also includes liquid crystal disposed between the first and second substrates and configured to facilitate passage of light through the display panel in response to the electric field. | 08-19-2010 |
20100244701 | TEMPERATURE BASED WHITE POINT CONTROL IN BACKLIGHTS - Systems, methods, and devices are provided for maintaining a target white point on a light emitting diode based backlight. In one embodiment, the backlight may include two or more strings of light emitting diodes, each driven at a respective driving strength. Each string may include light emitting diodes from a different color bin, and the respective driving strengths may be adjusted, for example, through pulse width modulation or amplitude modulation, to maintain the target white point. In certain embodiments, the driving strengths may be adjusted to compensate for shifts in the white point that may occur due to temperature or aging. A controller may adjust the driving strengths based on feedback from a temperature sensor, from an optical sensor, from a user input, or from calibration data included within the backlight or system. | 09-30-2010 |
20100245224 | LCD ELECTRODE ARRANGEMENT - Systems, devices, and methods for reducing direct current bias and/or enabling a simplified manner of polarity inversion in liquid crystal display (LCD) devices are provided. In accordance with one embodiment, a device may include a processor, a memory device, and a liquid crystal display having a pixel array including rows and columns of pixels. Each pixel of the pixel array may include a pixel electrode separated from a common electrode by a dielectric passivation layer, and may include a transistor to provide a data signal when the transistor is activated. The pixel array is configured such that a neutral amount of direct current bias is generated on the passivation layer when each row of pixels is activated. The common electrodes of certain pixels may be disposed above their respective pixel electrodes, while the common electrodes of certain other pixels may be disposed below their respective pixel electrodes. | 09-30-2010 |
20100245227 | WHITE POINT CONTROL IN BACKLIGHTS - Systems, methods, and devices are provided for maintaining a target white point on a light emitting diode based backlight. In one embodiment, the backlight may include two or more strings of light emitting diodes, each driven at a respective driving strength. Each string may include light emitting diodes from a different color bin, and the respective driving strengths may be adjusted, for example, through pulse width modulation or amplitude modulation, to maintain the target white point. In certain embodiments, the driving strengths may be adjusted to compensate for shifts in the white point that may occur due to temperature or aging. A controller may adjust the driving strengths based on feedback from a temperature sensor, from an optical sensor, from a user input, or from calibration data included within the backlight or system. | 09-30-2010 |
20100245228 | AGING BASED WHITE POINT CONTROL IN BACKLIGHTS - Systems, methods, and devices are provided for maintaining a target white point on a light emitting diode based backlight. In one embodiment, the backlight may include two or more strings of light emitting diodes, each driven at a respective driving strength. Each string may include light emitting diodes from a different color bin, and the respective driving strengths may be adjusted, for example, through pulse width modulation or amplitude modulation, to maintain the target white point. In certain embodiments, the driving strengths may be adjusted to compensate for shifts in the white point that may occur due to temperature or aging. A controller may adjust the driving strengths based on feedback from a temperature sensor, from an optical sensor, from a user input, or from calibration data included within the backlight or system. | 09-30-2010 |
20100245723 | LCD PANEL HAVING IMPROVED RESPONSE - A liquid crystal display (LCD) having a liquid crystal layer is provided. In one embodiment, the liquid crystal layer includes a nematic liquid crystal material having liquid crystal molecules in an untwisted state. A chiral dopant is dispersed within the liquid crystal layer and configured to bias the liquid crystal molecules toward a twisted state. Furthermore, a polymer network is disposed among the liquid crystal molecules and configured to bias the liquid crystal molecules toward the untwisted state. Various additional devices and methods are also provided. | 09-30-2010 |
20100321609 | EDGE-LIT BACKLIGHT UNIT WITH THIN PROFILE - An edge-lit backlight unit for a display is provided. In one embodiment, the backlight unit may include a light guide configured to receive light from a source and emit such light in a broad distribution to a turning film disposed over the light guide. The turning film may be configured to redirect light received from the light guide toward a normal of the turning film. In one embodiment, the light guide may be configured such that peak light distribution therefrom occurs at an incident angle of approximately sixty degrees, with broad light distribution substantially occurring over an angular range between incident angles of thirty-five and eighty-five degrees. Additionally, in one embodiment, the turning film may include multiple prisms that receive and redirect the light emitted from the light guide, and that include apex angles of less than or about sixty degrees. Additional edge-lit backlight units and methods are also disclosed. | 12-23-2010 |
20100323166 | Transparent Conductor Thin Film Formation - Substantially transparent conductor layers in touch sensing systems may be formed by forming a barrier layer between an organic layer and a substantially transparent conductive layer. For example, a barrier layer can be formed over the organic layer, and the transparent conductor layer can be formed over the barrier layer. The barrier layer can reduce or prevent outgassing of the organic layer, to help increase the quality of the transparent conductor layer. In another example, a combination layer of two different types of a transparent conductor may be formed over the organic layer by forming a barrier layer of the transparent conductor, and forming a second layer of the transparent conductor on the barrier layer. Outgassing that can occur when forming the barrier layer can cause the transparent conductor of the barrier layer to be of lower-quality, but can result in a higher-quality transparent conductor of the second layer. | 12-23-2010 |
20110005820 | FULL PERIMETER CHEMICAL STRENGTHENING OF SUBSTRATES - Methods and apparatus for protecting the thin films during chemical and/or thermal edge strengthening treatment. In one embodiment, a portion of each individual sheet is laminated. Pairs of sheets are then sealed together such that the thin film sides face inward to form a thin film sandwich. In some embodiments, the sandwich in then immersed in a chemical strengthener. In other embodiments, a localized treatment is applied to the unstrengthened edges. | 01-13-2011 |
20110006999 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING TOUCH SENSOR PANELS - A method for manufacturing a patterned thin film layer on an uneven substrate is provided. The substrate having an outer surface and an inner surface. The method includes creating a cavity on the inner surface of the substrate, the cavity creating a cavity surface on a different plane as compared to the inner surface and a step between the cavity surface and the inner surface; forming a thin film layer on the inner surface of the substrate covering at least a part of the cavity surface, the step and the inner surface; performing laser ablation on the thin film layer to create patterns, at least some of which are created on the cavity surface, the step and the inner surface. | 01-13-2011 |
20110030209 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING THIN TOUCH SENSOR PANELS - A method for fabricating thin DITO or SITO touch sensor panels with a thickness less than a minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. In one embodiment, a sandwich of two thin glass sheets is formed such that the combined thickness of the glass sheets does not drop below the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment when thin film process is performed on the surfaces of the sandwich during fabrication. The sandwich may eventually be separated to form two thin SITO/DITO panels. In another embodiment, the fabrication process involves laminating two patterned thick substrates, each having at least the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. One or both of the sides of the laminated substrates are then thinned so that when the substrates are separated, each is a thin DITO/SITO panel having a thickness less than the minimum thickness tolerance of existing manufacturing equipment. | 02-10-2011 |
20110043383 | PATTERNING OF THIN FILM LAYERS - Simplified patterning of layers of a thin film is disclosed. In some embodiments, the patterning can include patterning a first conductive layer using a patterned dielectric layer as a mask and patterning a second conductive layer using a patterned passivation layer as another mask. In other embodiments, the patterning can include patterning a first conductive layer using a removable photosensitive layer as a mask, patterning a black mask layer using a removable photo mask, and patterning a second conductive layer using a patterned passivation layer as another mask. In still other embodiments, the patterning can include patterning a first conductive layer using a patterned black mask layer as a mask and patterning a second conductive layer using a patterned passivation layer as another mask. An exemplary device utilizing the thin film so patterned can include a touch sensor panel. | 02-24-2011 |
20110050585 | INTEGRATED TOUCH SCREEN - Displays with integrated touch sensing circuitry are provided. An integrated touch screen can include multi-function circuit elements that form part of the display circuitry of the display system that generates an image on the display, and also form part of the touch sensing circuitry of a touch sensing system that senses one or more touches on or near the display. The multi-function circuit elements can be, for example, capacitors in display pixels of an LCD that are configured to operate as display circuitry in the display system, and that may also be configured to operate as touch circuitry of the touch sensing system. For example, one or more circuit elements of the display pixel stackup can form a conductive portion of the touch sensing system, such as a charge collector, which can be operated with switches and conductive lines to sense touch. | 03-03-2011 |
20110109829 | METHODS FOR FABRICATING DISPLAY STRUCTURES - An electronic device display may have a color filter layer and a thin film transistor layer. A layer of liquid crystal material may be interposed between the color filter layer and the thin film transistor layer. A layer of polarizer may be laminated onto the surface of the color filter layer. Laser trimming may ensure that the edges of the polarizer are even with the edges of the color filter layer. The thin film transistor layer may have an array of thin film transistors that control pixels of the liquid crystal material in the display. Driver circuitry may be used to control the array. The driver circuitry may be encapsulated in a planarized encapsulant on the thin film transistor layer or may be mounted to the underside of the color filter layer. Conductive structures may connect driver circuitry on the color filter layer to the thin film transistor layer. | 05-12-2011 |
20110124260 | DISPLAY THAT EMITS CIRCULARLY-POLARIZED LIGHT - One embodiment of the present invention provides a display that emits circularly-polarized light. This display includes a display mechanism that emits linearly-polarized light and a layer placed in the path of the linearly-polarized light. The layer receives the linearly-polarized light on one surface, converts the linearly-polarized light to circularly-polarized light, and then emits the circularly-polarized light from another surface. By emitting circularly-polarized light, the display reduces the perceived distortion found at some angles when the display is viewed through a linearly-polarizing filter. | 05-26-2011 |
20110151202 | Controllable Placement of Liquid Adhesive on Substrate - Controllable placement of a liquid adhesive on a substrate to confine the adhesive to a desired area of the substrate is disclosed. A controllable placement method can include dispensing a liquid adhesive into a designated area on a surface of a substrate, controllably confining the dispensed liquid adhesive to the designated area, and curing the confined liquid adhesive. The dispensed liquid adhesive can be controllably confined using various techniques, such as electrical repulsion, electrical attraction, capacitance, electrowetting, light curing, adhesive attracting-repulsing coatings, and substrate topography. A substrate having a controllably placed liquid adhesive thereon can be incorporated into electronic devices, such as a mobile telephone, a digital media player, or a personal computer. | 06-23-2011 |
20110187677 | SEGMENTED VCOM - Disclosed herein are liquid-crystal display (LCD) touch screens that integrate the touch sensing elements with the display circuitry. The integration may take a variety of forms. Touch sensing elements can be completely implemented within the LCD stackup but outside the not between the color filter plate and the array plate. Alternatively, some touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates with other touch sensing elements not between the plates. In another alternative, all touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates. The latter alternative can include both conventional and in-plane-switching (IPS) LCDs. In some forms, one or more display structures can also have a touch sensing function. Techniques for manufacturing and operating such displays, as well as various devices embodying such displays are also disclosed. | 08-04-2011 |
20110285640 | ELECTRIC FIELD SHIELDING FOR IN-CELL TOUCH TYPE THIN-FILM-TRANSISTOR LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS - Displays such as liquid crystal displays may be used in electronic devices. During operation of a display, electrostatic charges on the surface of the display may give rise to electric fields. One or more electric field shielding layers may be provided in the display to prevent the electric fields from disrupting operation of the liquid crystals material in the display. The shielding layers may be formed at a location in the stack of layers that make up the display that is above the liquid crystal material of the display. Touch sensors and thin film transistors may be located below the shielding layer. | 11-24-2011 |
20110298730 | Thin Sheet Glass Processing - Improved techniques are disclosed for fabrication of touch panels using thin sheet glass. Thin touch sensor panels each having a thickness of substantially less than approximately one-half millimeter can be produced. A thin mother glass sheet having a thickness of substantially less then approximately one half millimeter can be used. A thin film can be coupled to a surface of the thin mother glass sheet, and the thin film can be photolithographically patterned, while avoiding breakage of the thin mother glass sheet. The thin mother glass sheet can be singulated into the thin touch sensor panels. | 12-08-2011 |
20110298833 | HIGH CONTRAST LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY - Devices and methods related to high-contrast liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are provided. For example, such an electronic device may include an LCD with two liquid crystal alignment layers not symmetric to one another and upper and lower polarizing layers respectively above and below the alignment layers. Light transmittance through the plurality of pixels may increase monotonically with gray scale voltage. The display may operate using a gray scale level | 12-08-2011 |
20110300908 | Thin Glass for Touch Panel Sensors and Methods Therefor - Improved techniques are disclosed for fabrication of touch panels using thin sheet glass, coupling external circuitry, and securely holding the touch panel within a portable electronic device. The thin sheet glass may be chemically strengthened and laser scribed. | 12-08-2011 |
20120009703 | THIN GLASS PROCESSING USING A CARRIER - A method of fabricating a display panel from a thin substrate using a carrier substrate is disclosed. The method includes depositing a bonding agent on a first surface of the thin substrate; depositing a bonding agent on a second surface of the carrier substrate; bonding the thin substrate and the carrier substrate with the bonding agent deposited on the first surface and the second surface; performing thin film processing on a third surface of the thin substrate opposite the first surface; and separating the processed thin substrate from the carrier substrate. The thin substrate has a thickness less than a required thickness for sustaining thin film processing while a thickness of the bonded thin substrate and the carrier substrates is greater than or equal to that the required thickness. | 01-12-2012 |
20120013819 | MANUFACTURING AND TESTING TECHNIQUES FOR ELECTRONIC DISPLAYS - A method for testing photosensitivity of an electronic display module, such as a liquid crystal display module, is provided. In one embodiment, a method includes exposing a display module to light at a first intensity and measuring an amount of light transmitted through the display module. The method may also include exposing the display module to light at a second intensity and measuring an amount of that light transmitted through the display module. The measured amounts may then be compared to determine an optical property, such as photosensitivity, of the display panel. Various other methods, systems, and manufactures are also disclosed. | 01-19-2012 |
20120020001 | METHODS FOR FABRICATING DISPLAY STRUCTURES - An electronic device display may have a color filter layer and a thin film transistor layer. A layer of liquid crystal material may be interposed between the color filter layer and the thin film transistor layer. A layer of polarizer may be laminated onto the surface of the color filter layer. Laser trimming may ensure that the edges of the polarizer are even with the edges of the color filter layer. The thin film transistor layer may have an array of thin film transistors that control pixels of the liquid crystal material in the display. Driver circuitry may be used to control the array. The driver circuitry may be encapsulated in a planarized encapsulant on the thin film transistor layer or may be mounted to the underside of the color filter layer. Conductive structures may connect driver circuitry on the color filter layer to the thin film transistor layer. | 01-26-2012 |
20120024816 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING TOUCH SENSOR PANELS - A method for fabricating a touch sensor panel is disclosed. The method includes providing a substrate for the touch sensor panel, depositing a conductive material layer on a top surface of the substrate, depositing a metal layer on top of the conductive material layer, affixing a resist to a first area of the metal layer, the resist also adapted to serve as a passivation layer during passivation, removing metal from the metal layer outside of the first area; and performing passivation on the substrate while leaving the affixed resist intact. | 02-02-2012 |
20120026132 | INTEGRATED IN-PLANE SWITCHING - This relates to adding multi-touch functionality to a display without the need of a separate multi-touch panel or layer overlaying the display. Instead, embodiments of the invention can advantageously utilize existing display circuitry to provide multi-touch functionality while adding relatively little circuitry that is specific to the multi-touch functionality. Thus, by sharing circuitry for the display and the multi-touch functionalities, embodiments of the invention can be implemented at a lower cost than the alternative of superimposing additional multi-touch related layers onto an existing display panel. Furthermore, since the display and multi-touch functionality can be implemented on the same circuit, they can be synchronized so that noise resulting from the display functionality does not detrimentally affect the multi-touch functionality and vice versa. | 02-02-2012 |
20120111491 | CURVED TOUCH SENSOR - A method of forming a curved touch surface is disclosed. The method can include depositing and patterning a conductive thin film on a flexible substrate to form at least one touch sensor pattern, while the flexible substrate is in a flat state. According to certain embodiments, the method can include supporting the flexible substrate in the flat state on at least one curved forming substrate having a predetermined curvature; and performing an anneal process, or an anneal-like high-heat process, on the conductive thin film, wherein the anneal process can cause the flexible substrate to conform to the predetermined curvature of the at least one curved forming substrate. According to an embodiment, the curved forming substrate can include a first forming substrate having a first predetermined curvature and a second forming substrate having a second predetermined curvature complementing the first predetermined curvature. | 05-10-2012 |
20120154731 | COMMON BUS DESIGN FOR A TFT-LCD DISPLAY - Embodiments of the present invention provide for a FFS TFT LCD with a high refresh rate without limiting the aperture of individual pixels. More specifically, embodiments of the invention provide for the use of common bus lines to reduce the effective resistance of the common electrode and to therefore allow for higher refresh rates of the display. Furthermore, the common bus lines can be positioned in such a manner so that they do not further reduce the aperture of the display. More specifically, the common bus lines can be positioned above or below existing elements of the display that are already opaque. Thus, adding the common bus lines need not reduce the aperture. The above can be achieved by, for example, placing the common bus lines above or below existing non-transparent lines, such as gate lines or data lines. | 06-21-2012 |
20120162104 | INTEGRATED TOUCH SCREENS - Integrated touch screens are provided including drive lines formed of grouped-together circuit elements of a thin film transistor layer and sense lines formed between a color filter layer and a material layer that modifies or generates light. The common electrodes (Vcom) in the TFT layer can be grouped together during a touch sensing operation to form drive lines. Sense lines can be formed on an underside of a color filter glass, and a liquid crystal region can be disposed between the color filter glass and the TFT layer. Placing the sense lines on the underside of the color filter glass, i.e., within the display pixel cell, can provide a benefit of allowing the color filter glass to be thinned after the pixel cells have been assembled, for example. | 06-28-2012 |
20120162156 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO IMPROVE IMAGE EDGE DISCOLORATION - Present techniques involve methods and systems for reducing edge discoloration in a display. In one embodiment, the first and last columns of a display are dimmed by adjusting a black mask or reducing transmittance of the relevant pixels. Further, the first and last columns of a display may be entirely covered by the black mask. In some embodiments, using a coupling extrusion on a neighboring sub-pixel can be used to control the coupling between the neighboring sub-pixels to reduce edge discoloration. Display software may also be used to reduce edge discoloration. For example, software may automatically reduce the brightness of the first and last column. In some embodiments, software may be used to detect edges of objects within the display area. Edges of an object are detected, and the last sub-pixel of the background and/or the first sub-pixel of the object are compensated. | 06-28-2012 |
20120162584 | INTEGRATED TOUCH SCREENS - Integrated touch screens are provided including drive lines formed of grouped-together circuit elements of a thin film transistor layer and sense lines formed between a color filter layer and a material layer that modifies or generates light. The common electrodes (Vcom) in the TFT layer can be grouped together during a touch sensing operation to form drive lines. Sense lines can be formed on an underside of a color filter glass, and a liquid crystal region can be disposed between the color filter glass and the TFT layer. Placing the sense lines on the underside of the color filter glass, i.e., within the display pixel cell, can provide a benefit of allowing the color filter glass to be thinned after the pixel cells have been assembled, for example. | 06-28-2012 |
20120262406 | INTEGRATED TOUCH SCREEN - Displays with touch sensing circuitry integrated into the display pixel stackup are provided. An integrated touch screen can include multi-function circuit elements that can operate as circuitry of the display system to generate an image on the display, and can also form part of a touch sensing system that senses one or more touches on or near the display. The multi-function circuit elements can be, for example, capacitors in display pixels that can be configured to operate as storage capacitors/electrodes, common electrodes, conductive wires/pathways, etc., of the display circuitry in the display system, and that may also be configured to operate as circuit elements of the touch sensing circuitry. | 10-18-2012 |
20120268423 | TOUCH SCREEN LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY - Disclosed herein are liquid-crystal display (LCD) touch screens that integrate the touch sensing elements with the display circuitry. The integration may take a variety of forms. Touch sensing elements can be completely implemented within the LCD stackup but outside the not between the color filter plate and the array plate. Alternatively, some touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates with other touch sensing elements not between the plates. In another alternative, all touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates. The latter alternative can include both conventional and in-plane-switching (IPS) LCDs. In some forms, one or more display structures can also have a touch sensing function. Techniques for manufacturing and operating such displays, as well as various devices embodying such displays are also disclosed. | 10-25-2012 |
20120280957 | DISPLAY EDGE SEAL IMPROVEMENT - Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and electronic devices incorporating LCDs having an organic passivation layer positioned between edge-sealed two substrates. Specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure employ lithographic techniques (e.g., a half-tone mask, diffractive exposure mask, etc.) to remove or not deposit a portion of the organic passivation layer near the edges of the substrates prior to sealing the substrates along these edges. As described herein, this reduction in the thickness of the organic layer near the edges of the device may improve the strength of the edge seal due to reduced strain in the organic layer. | 11-08-2012 |
20120287378 | CONTROLLING REFLECTION IN LCD DEVICES - Systems and methods are provided for controlling the light reflected from a display panel. In one embodiment, a prism mirror and a diffuse reflector are positioned between the bottom polarizer and the liquid crystal layer of a pixel to control the polarization of reflected light transmitted through the display panel. The diffuse reflector diffuses light towards the prism mirror, and the prism mirror affects the polarization of the light. When the pixel is on, the liquid crystals of the liquid crystal layer may shift the polarization of the reflected light such that it can be transmitted through the top polarizer. When the pixel is off, the liquid crystals may not substantially shift the polarization of the reflected light, and the reflected light may be polarized to be absorbed by the top polarizer. Accordingly, reflected light is substantially transmitted through the pixel when the pixel is on, and substantially absorbed by the top polarizer when the pixel is off | 11-15-2012 |
20120287605 | DISPLAY WITH COLOR CONTROL - Techniques are provided for controlling the colors of reflected light out of a display surface in a display device, such that display discoloration (e.g., green tinting) may be reduced, particularly when the display is operating in bright ambient environments. In one embodiment, a display device may include a color filter black mask layer having an arrangement of red, green, and blue color filter areas, where the red and/or blue color filter areas are substantially greater than the green color filter area. In some embodiments, the display device may include red and blue color filter pigment resin areas which may be disposed over the reflective areas to increase the overall amount of red and blue light that will be generated by reflected light to result in a total light reflection that is substantially neutral in color. | 11-15-2012 |
20120306771 | TOUCH PANEL DISPLAY WITH IMPROVED PATTERN VISIBILITY - Systems and methods are directed to reducing surface reflections on an electronic display device having a touch-screen panel. A touch-screen panel may contribute to undesirable reflection of external light. For example, a touch-screen panel typically includes conductive electrodes which may significantly reflect ambient light, resulting in decreased visibility of displayed images. In some embodiments, a circular polarizer is disposed over a touch-screen panel in the display device. The circular polarizer includes a linear polarizer and a quarter-wave plate to modify the polarization of the external light traveling towards and reflecting from the touch-screen panel and absorbing the reflected light from the touch-screen panel to significantly reduce undesirable light reflections from the touch-screen panel. | 12-06-2012 |
20120307364 | Reducing Optical Effects in a Display - One embodiment may take the form of a system for reducing the appearance of optical effects in a display. The system may include an enclosure with a first surface and a second surface. Furthermore, the system may include spacers that may be deposited on the bottom face of the first surface and/or the top face of the second surface, where the first surface may be a touch panel and/or cover lens and the second surface may be a display module. The spacers may be deposited in one layer with an anti-reflection coating. The thickness of the coating may be less than the diameter of the spacers. | 12-06-2012 |
20120313894 | INTEGRATED IN-PLANE SWITCHING - This relates to adding multi-touch functionality to a display without the need of a separate multi-touch panel or layer overlaying the display. Instead, embodiments of the invention can advantageously utilize existing display circuitry to provide multi-touch functionality while adding relatively little circuitry that is specific to the multi-touch functionality. Thus, by sharing circuitry for the display and the multi-touch functionalities, embodiments of the invention can be implemented at a lower cost than the alternative of superimposing additional multi-touch related layers onto an existing display panel. Furthermore, since the display and multi-touch functionality can be implemented on the same circuit, they can be synchronized so that noise resulting from the display functionality does not detrimentally affect the multi-touch functionality and vice versa. | 12-13-2012 |
20120320327 | VARIABLE WIDTH SEAL - Forming a seal between plates (e.g., glass plates within an LCD or electrodes within an OLED display) using a non-uniform pattern of adhesive applied between the plates is disclosed. The pattern of adhesive can include more adhesive material in portions of the plate that are expected to experience higher levels of stress. The pattern of adhesive can be determined based at least in part on the width of the surface of the plates that contact each other, where wider and narrower portions of the surface can have different adhesive patterns. The amount of adhesive applied to the plates can be varied by adjusting the speed at which a dispensing nozzle traverses the contact surface of the plate, the flow rate at which adhesive is dispensed from the nozzle, or both. | 12-20-2012 |
20130021289 | TOUCH SENSITIVE DISPLAYS - Displays such as organic light-emitting diode displays may be provided with touch sensing capabilities. A touch sensor may be formed from electrodes located on a thin-film encapsulation layer or one or more sides of a polarizer. A single-sided or double-sided touch sensor panel may be attached to the upper or lower surface of a polarizer. Control circuitry may be used to provide control signals to light-emitting diodes in the display using a grid of control lines. The control lines and transparent electrode structures such as indium tin oxide structures formed on a thin-film encapsulation layer or polarizer may be used as electrodes for a touch sensor. Displays may have active regions and inactive peripheral portions. The displays may have edge portions that are bent along a bend axis that is within the active region to form a borderless display. Virtual buttons may be formed on the bent edge portions. | 01-24-2013 |
20130021567 | UNDULATING ELECTRODES FOR IMPROVED VIEWING ANGLE AND COLOR SHIFT - The present disclosure generally provides for a variety of multi-domain pixel configurations that may be implemented in the unit pixels of an LCD display device, such as a fringe field switching LCD display panel. An LCD display device utilizing one or more of the presently disclosed techniques disclosed herein may exhibit improved display properties, such as viewing angle, color shift, and transmittance properties, relative to those exhibited by conventional multi-domain designs. | 01-24-2013 |
20130044074 | IN-CELL OR ON-CELL TOUCH SENSOR WITH COLOR FILTER ON ARRAY - Methods and devices employing in-cell and/or on-cell touch sensor components, including in-cell and/or on-cell black matrix material that also may serve as a touch drive or sense electrode, are provided. In one example, an electronic display may include a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a black matrix material that shields light between pixels of the electronic display. At least a portion of the black matrix material may form all or part of a component of a touch sensor of the electronic display. | 02-21-2013 |
20130044120 | THERMAL COLOR SHIFT REDUCTION IN LCDS - Systems, methods, and devices are provided for an electronic display with thermally compensated pixels. Such an electronic display may have an array of pixels, at least some of which may be thermally compensated pixels that exhibit reduced color shift over a 20° C. change in temperature. These thermally compensated pixels may have numbers of pixel electrode fingers, pixel electrode widths and spacings, cell gap depths, and/or pixel edge distances that cause the array of pixels to exhibit a reduced color shift than otherwise (e.g., a color shift of less than delta u′v′ of about 0.0092 from a starting white point) when the temperature of the electronic display changes from about 30° C. to about 50° C. | 02-21-2013 |
20130044282 | Electronic Devices with Flexible Glass Polarizers - Electronic devices may be provided with displays having polarizer structures. Polarizer structures may incorporate flexible layers of glass. The flexible glass layers may be laminated to other sheets of material in the polarizer structures using roll-to-roll lamination equipment. After the polarizer structures are cut into panels, the panels may be laminated to liquid crystal display structures, organic light-emitting-diode display structures or other display structures using sheet-to-sheet lamination tools. Ultraviolet-light-blocking material may be incorporated into a display to prevent damage to the polarizer layers in the polarizer structures. Coatings such as antireflection coatings, antistatic coating, and anti-smudge coatings may be provided on the polarizer structures. Displays may use the flexible glass layers and additional protective layers to prevent a polarizer layer from being exposed to excessive moisture. A birefringent layer may be incorporated into a display and may serve as a protective layer for a polarizer. | 02-21-2013 |
20130045762 | COMMON BUS DESIGN FOR A TFT-LCD DISPLAY - Embodiments of the present invention provide for a FFS TFT LCD with a high refresh rate without limiting the aperture of individual pixels. More specifically, embodiments of the invention provide for the use of common bus lines to reduce the effective resistance of the common electrode and to therefore allow for higher refresh rates of the display. Furthermore, the common bus lines can be positioned in such a manner so that they do not further reduce the aperture of the display. More specifically, the common bus lines can be positioned above or below existing elements of the display that are already opaque. Thus, adding the common bus lines need not reduce the aperture. The above can be achieved by, for example, placing the common bus lines above or below existing non-transparent lines, such as gate lines or data lines. | 02-21-2013 |
20130063684 | DUAL PURPOSE TOUCH SENSOR PANEL AND OPTICAL RETARDER - When a user operates a touch sensor panel having an LCD device outdoors or in a bright environment, light reflecting off the device can create glare. In order to reduce glare, a user can view the device through polarized filters such as polarized sunglasses. | 03-14-2013 |
20130068505 | PERFORATED MOTHER SHEET FOR PARTIAL EDGE CHEMICAL STRENGTHENING - Methods for chemically strengthening the edges of glass sheets are provided. Voids can be formed in a mother sheet. The edges of these voids may correspond to a portion of the new edges that would normally be created during separation and free shaping of the mother sheet. The mother sheet can then be immersed in a chemical strengthener. The edges of the voids can be chemically strengthened in addition to the front and back sides of the mother sheet. After thin film processing and separation, each of the resulting individual sheets has been chemically strengthened on both sides and on a portion of its edges. | 03-21-2013 |
20130076600 | DATA LINE-TO-PIXEL DECOUPLING - Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to display devices and electronic devices incorporating a data line distribution segment between neighboring pixel electrodes. Specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure employ a uniformly distributed data line distribution segment coupled to a data line so as to cause a substantially uniform data line-to-pixel electrode capacitance with the neighboring pixel electrodes even when the data line is disposed closer to one of the neighboring pixel electrodes than the other. | 03-28-2013 |
20130100039 | OPAQUE THIN FILM PASSIVATION - A touch sensitive device that includes a touch sensor having an opaque passivation layer is disclosed. The opaque passivation layer can be made from an organic or inorganic material, such as acrylic. The opaque passivation layer can be positioned in the touch sensitive device between the cover material of the device and conductive traces located on the touch sensor to hide the conductive traces from the user's view and protect the conductive traces from corrosion. Processes for making the touch sensitive devices that include a touch sensor having an opaque passivation layer are also disclosed. | 04-25-2013 |
20130106755 | INTEGRATED TOUCH SCREEN | 05-02-2013 |
20130120283 | TOUCH SENSOR PANEL HAVING AN INDEX MATCHING PASSIVATION LAYER - Touch sensor panels typically include a plurality of layers that can be stacked on top of each other. When the touch sensor panel is used in a bright environment, incident light can hit the interfaces between those layers of the stackup having mismatched refractive indices and can reflect off those interfaces. The light reflected from those interfaces can give rise to the appearance of fringes on the touch sensor panel, which can be visually distracting. In order to reduce the appearance of these fringes, embodiments of the disclosure are directed to the addition of an index matching passivation layer between a conductive layer of traces and an adhesive layer in the touch sensor panel stackup. | 05-16-2013 |
20130128193 | Displays with Multilayer Masks and Color Filters - An electronic device may have a display such as a liquid crystal display. The display may have multiple layers of material such as a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. An opaque masking layer may be formed on a display layer such as the color filter layer. In an inactive portion of the display, the opaque masking layer may form a rectangular ring that serves as a border region surrounding a rectangular active portion of the display. In the active portion of the display, the opaque masking layer may be patterned to from an opaque matrix that separates color filter elements in an array of color filter elements. The opaque masking layer and color filter elements may be formed from polymers such as photoresist. The opaque masking layer may include a black pigment such as carbon black. Color filter elements and opaque masking material may include multiple sublayers. | 05-23-2013 |
20130194281 | Moisture Barrier for Electronic Devices - An electronic display configured to provide a visual output, such as a liquid crystal display. The electronic display includes an optical shutter and a first polarizer operably connected to the optical shutter. The first polarizer includes an optical filter layer, a protective layer, and a moisture barrier positioned on a first surface of either the optical filter or the protective layer. The moisture barrier substantially prevents water molecules from being transmitted therethrough. | 08-01-2013 |
20130194759 | TOUCH SENSOR WITH INTEGRATED SIGNAL BUS EXTENSIONS - A touch sensor may be formed from a flexible substrate such as a sheet of polymer. The flexible substrate may have a main rectangular portion and a protruding portion. Capacitive touch sensor electrodes may be formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible substrate. Signal lines may be coupled to the touch sensor electrodes. The ends of the signal lines may extend onto the protruding portion. Signal lines may be formed on upper and lower surfaces of the flexible substrate. The signal lines may be coupled to circuitry on a printed circuit using a connector that receives the end of the protruding portion. Ground structures on the protruding portion may be configured to overlap the signal lines or may be laterally interposed between upper surface signal lines and lower surface signal lines. | 08-01-2013 |
20130233482 | UV Mask with Anti-Reflection Coating and UV Absorption Material - One embodiment may take the form of a UV mask for use while curing sealant on LCD displays. The UV mask includes a mother glass and a UV mask layer on the mother glass. A UV absorption film is located adjacent the UV mask layer and an anti-reflection (AR) film is located adjacent the UV absorption film. | 09-12-2013 |
20130235020 | PIXEL INVERSION ARTIFACT REDUCTION - A system and device for driving high resolution monitors while reducing artifacts thereon. Utilization of Z-inversion polarity driving techniques to drive pixels in a display reduces power consumption of the display but tends to generate visible horizontal line artifacts caused by capacitances present between the pixels and data lines of the display. By introducing a physical shield between the pixel and data line elements, capacitance therebetween can be reduced, thus eliminating the cause of the horizontal line artifacts. The shield may be a common voltage line (Vcom) of the display. | 09-12-2013 |
20130314648 | Display With Broadband Antireflection Film - Display layers in an electronic device may be used to generate images. The display layers may include liquid crystal display layers such as upper and lower polarizers and a layer of liquid crystal material. A display cover layer may be mounted in a housing adhesive. A touch sensor layer may be mounted under the display cover layer. An air gap may separate the upper polarizer from the touch sensor layer and display cover layer. Antireflection coatings may be formed on the lower surface of the display cover layer or touch sensor layer and may be formed on the upper surface of the upper polarizer. The antireflection coatings may include coatings formed from a polymer hard coat covered with a polymer layer having a different index of refraction and may include broadband antireflection coating material formed from textured polymer or other structure exhibiting a continuously varying index of refraction. | 11-28-2013 |
20130329150 | COLUMN SPACER DESIGN FOR A DISPLAY INCORPORATING A THIRD METAL LAYER - A display that contains a column spacer arrangement which takes advantage of a protrusion on a TFT substrate is provided. One set of column spacers is disposed on top of the protrusion, while a second set of column spacers of substantially the same height as the first set of column spacers are disposed throughout the display. In this way, the display is adequately protected against deformation from external forces while at the same maintaining enough room to allow for a liquid crystal to spread out during the manufacturing process. | 12-12-2013 |
20140004704 | TFT Mask Reduction | 01-02-2014 |
20140016043 | Touch Screen Display with Transparent Electrical Shielding Layer - A polarizer includes a polarizer component having a top surface and an opposite bottom surface. The bottom surface is configured to couple to a color filter layer for a liquid crystal display. The polarizer also includes a transparent conducting layer disposed over the top surface. The transparent conducting layer being configured to electrically shield the LCD from a touch panel. The polarizer further includes a coating layer disposed over the transparent conducting layer. | 01-16-2014 |
20140042406 | Flexible Displays - An electronic device may be provided with an organic light-emitting diode display with minimized border regions. The border regions may be minimized by providing the display with bent edge portions having neutral plane adjustment features that facilitate bending of the bent edge portions while minimizing damage to the bent edge portions. The neutral plane adjustment features may include a modified backfilm layer of the display in which portions of the backfilm layer are removed in a bend region. A display device may include a substrate, a display panel on the substrate having display pixels, and peripheral circuitry proximate the display panel and configured to drive the display pixels. A portion of the periphery of the substrate may be bent substantially orthogonal to the display panel to reduce an apparent surface area of the display device. The bent portion may include an electrode for communication with the peripheral circuitry. | 02-13-2014 |
20140049500 | Display With Bent Inactive Edge Regions - An electronic device may be provided with a display having substrate layers such as a glass color filter layer substrate and a glass thin-film-transistor layer substrate. Display layers such as first and second layers of polymer, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the layers of polymer, color filter elements, and thin-film-transistor circuitry may be formed between the color filter layer substrate and the thin-film-transistor layer substrate. Flexible inactive portions of the display layers may protrude outward from between the color filter layer substrate and the thin-film-transistor substrate. Touch sensor circuitry may be formed from a flexible polymer substrate. The touch sensor circuitry may include conductive touch sensor lines and capacitive electrodes. Each conductive line may be coupled to only a single end of a respective one of the capacitive electrodes. | 02-20-2014 |
20140055702 | Displays with Bent Signal Lines - A display may be provided with an active central region and a peripheral inactive region. The display may have one or more flexible edges in the peripheral inactive region. Conductive lines may pass between components in the active central region such as display pixels and touch sensor electrodes and components in the inactive peripheral region such as gate driver circuitry and patterned interconnect lines. Each conductive line may have an unbent segment on a portion of a display layer in the active central region and may have a segment on the bent edge of the display layer. The display layer may be formed from a polymer or other flexible material. The bent segments may be configured to be less susceptible to increases in resistance from bending than the unbent segments. | 02-27-2014 |
20140061652 | ROUTING FOR HIGH RESOLUTION AND LARGE SIZE DISPLAYS - Embodiments of the present disclosure related to electronic displays and electronic devices incorporating such displays which employ a device, method, or combination thereof for reducing the width of gate lines and/or data lines in the display. The result of which allows for increased pixel aperture size. The present disclosure provides techniques for reducing the width of gate lines and/or data lines while maintaining an acceptable resistance level in the gate lines and/or data lines. | 03-06-2014 |
20140063393 | Displays with Reduced Driver Circuit Ledges - An electronic device display may have a color filter layer, a thin-film-transistor layer, and a layer of liquid crystal material. The display may have a display cover layer such as a layer of glass or plastic. Adhesive may be used to attach the upper polarizer to the display cover layer. The thin-film transistor layer may have a substrate with upper and lower surfaces. Thin-film-transistor circuitry may be formed on the upper surface. A display driver integrated circuit may be mounted to the lower surface or a flexible printed circuit and may be coupled to the thin-film-transistor circuitry using wire bonding wires. Through vias that are formed through the thin-film-transistor layer substrate may be used in coupling the thin-film-transistor circuitry to the display driver integrated circuit. | 03-06-2014 |
20140065321 | PULL-BACK DESIGN TO MITIGATE PLASTIC SENSOR CRACKS - The described embodiments relate generally to the singulation of circuits and more particularly to a method of cutting of a polymer substrate that is overlaid with a conductive element and a passivation layer. In one embodiment, the passivation layer is applied selectively to the polymer substrate in an area covering the conductive element and extending at least a first distance past an outer edge of the conductive element. Then, a cutting operation is performed along a cutting path located a second distance from an outer edge of the passivation layer. The second distance is a minimum distance between the edge of the passivation layer and the cutting path that prevents a load applied at the second distance from causing a stress crack in the passivation layer. | 03-06-2014 |
20140069244 | ALLEVIATING EFFECTS OF PLASTIC FILM DISTORTION IN TOUCH SENSORS - Systems and processes for die-cutting stretched base films are disclosed. In some examples, the systems can include fixed or adjustable die-cut heads that are offset from one another based on an amount of distortion of the base film. Systems and processes for reducing the amount of distortion or shrinking of base films are also disclosed. In some examples, the processes can include pre-shrinking the base film by exposing the film to elevated temperatures sufficient to shrink the film. The pre-shrinking can be performed on the base film material alone, or can be applied during subsequent annealing stages. The pre-shrinking can be used alone or in combination with the offset die-cutters. | 03-13-2014 |
20140069568 | REDUCED CONTACT ROLL-TO-ROLL PROCESSING - Processes for reducing physical contact to sheets of base film in roll-to-roll processing of touch sensors are disclosed. In one example, the process includes the use of rollers having rings circumferentially extending away from the roller and operable to contact the sheets of base film. The rings can be configured to contact portions of the sheet of base film away from touch sensor areas of the base film. The rings can further be configured to prevent the sheets of base film from contacting a shaft of the rollers. In another example, a reduced strength vacuum seal can be formed between a photo mask and the sheet of base film to reduce the amount of force applied to a passivation layer of the sheet of base film. | 03-13-2014 |
20140069785 | CORROSION MITIGATION FOR METAL TRACES - Processes for manufacturing touch sensors with one or more guard traces to reduce the effect of moisture damage are provided. One example process can include forming one or more guard traces between an edge of the touch sensor and the metal traces that route the drive and sense lines to bond pads. The one or more guard traces can be uncoupled from the drive lines and sense lines to protect the inner metal traces from moisture damage. In some examples, ends of the one or more guard traces can be coupled to ground by copper. In other examples, ends of the one or more guard traces can be coupled to ground by indium tin oxide or the one or more guard traces can be coupled to ground by a strip of indium tin oxide. In yet other examples, the guard trace can be floating (e.g., not coupled to ground). | 03-13-2014 |
20140070824 | SHORTING STRUCTURE IN PLASTIC ROLL-TO-ROLL PROCESS - Roll-to-roll processes for manufacturing touch sensors on a plastic base film are provided. The touch sensors can be deposited on the base film using various patterning techniques. One or more shorting bars can also be patterned onto the base film to couple together traces, such as drive lines, sense lines, conductive traces, and the like, of the touch sensor to prevent a potential difference from forming between traces due to static buildup during the manufacturing process. After the touch sensor is fully formed on the base film, the touch sensor can be removed from the base film using lithography or a physical cutting process. The removal process can separate the touch sensor from the one or more shorting bars, thereby uncoupling the traces of the touch sensor. | 03-13-2014 |
20140084292 | Connection to First Metal Layer in Thin Film Transistor Process - A method of connecting to a first metal layer in a semiconductor flow process. Disclosed embodiments connect to the first metal layer by etching a first portion of a viahole through an etch stop layer and a gate insulation layer to reach a first metal layer, depositing a second metal layer such that the second metal layer contacts the first metal layer within the viahole, and etching a second portion of the viahole through a first passivation layer and an organic layer to reach the second metal layer. | 03-27-2014 |
20140085556 | Display with inverted thin-film-transistor layer - An electronic device may be provided with a display that has a layer of liquid crystal material interposed between a color filter layer and a thin-film-transistor layer. The thin-film-transistor layer may have a substrate with an upper surface and a lower surface. A circular polarizer may be formed on the upper surface. Thin-film transistor circuitry such as gate driver circuitry may be formed on the lower surface. A display driver circuit may be mounted on an inactive border region of the lower surface of the thin-film transistor substrate. Display pixels may form an array in a central active region of the display. A grid of metal gate and data lines may distribute signals from the display driver circuit and gate driver circuitry to the display pixels. A grid of non-reflecting lines may be interposed between the grid of metal lines and the lower surface. | 03-27-2014 |
20140098332 | Displays With Logos and Alignment Marks - An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may include a color filter layer, a liquid crystal layer, and a thin-film transistor layer. The color filter layer may form the outermost layer of the display. A color filter layer substrate in the color filter layer may have opposing inner and outer surfaces. A layer of patterned metal on the inner surface may form metal alignment marks. The metal alignment marks may include alignment marks for color filter elements, alignment marks for a black matrix layer that is formed on top of the color filter elements, and post spacer alignment marks. The layer of patterned metal may also form structures such as logo structures that are visible on the outer surface in an inactive border region of the display. | 04-10-2014 |
20140104527 | Process Architecture for Color Filter Array in Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display - An active matrix liquid crystal display having an array of pixels is provided. The display includes a thin film transistor (TFT) for each pixel. The TFT has a gate electrode, a source electrode overlapping with a first area of the gate electrode, and a drain electrode overlapping with a second area with the gate electrode. The display also includes a color filter layer disposed over the TFT. The color filter layer has a first via hole to expose a portion of the drain electrode. The display further includes a metal layer disposed over the color filter layer and covering the gate electrode. The metal layer is configured to connect to the drain electrode through the first via hole. The display also includes an organic insulator layer disposed over the metal layer. The organic insulator layer has a second via hole to expose a first portion of the metal layer and a third via hole to expose a second portion of the metal layer. | 04-17-2014 |
20140120657 | Back Channel Etching Oxide Thin Film Transistor Process Architecture - A method is provided for fabricating a back channel etching (BCE) oxide thin film transistor (TFT) for a liquid crystal display. The method includes forming a first metal layer having a first portion and a second portion over a substrate, depositing a gate insulator over the first metal layer, and disposing a semiconductor layer over the gate insulator. The method also includes depositing a half-tone photoresist to cover a first portion of the semiconductor layer and the first portion of the first metal layer. The half-tone photoresist has a first portion and a second portion thicker than the first portion. The first portion has a via hole above the second portion of the first metal layer. The second portion of the half-tone photoresist covers the first portion of the first metal layer. The method further includes etching a portion of the gate insulator through the via hole such that the second portion of the first metal layer is exposed, removing the first portion of the half-tone photoresist while remaining the second portion of the half-tone photoresist, and etching to remove a second portion of the semiconductor layer that is not covered by the half-tone photoresist. | 05-01-2014 |
20140138637 | FLEXIBLE DISPLAY - A flexible display having an array of pixels or sub-pixels is provided. The display includes a flexible substrate and an array of thin film transistors (TFTs) corresponding to the array of pixels or sub-pixels on the substrate. The display also includes a first plurality of metal lines coupled to gate electrodes of the TFTs and a second plurality of metal lines coupled to source electrodes and drain electrodes of the TFTs. At least one of the first plurality of metal lines and the second plurality of metal lines comprises a non-stretchable portion in the TFT areas and a stretchable portion outside the TFT areas. | 05-22-2014 |
20140141565 | GATE INSULATOR UNIFORMITY - Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to display devices and methods for manufacturing display devices. Specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure employ an enhanced etching process to create uniformity in the gate insulator of thin-film-transistor (TFTs) by using an active layer to protect the gate insulator from inadvertent etching while patterning an etch stop layer. | 05-22-2014 |
20140152943 | Display With Shielding Antireflection Layer - An electronic device may be provided with a display such as a liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal display may have a color filter layer, a thin-film-transistor layer, and a layer of liquid crystal material between the color filter layer and the thin-film-transistor layer. A lower polarizer may be formed under the thin-film-transistor layer. An upper polarizer may be formed on the color filter layer. A shielding antireflection layer may be formed on the upper polarizer. The shielding antireflection layer may serve both as a shielding layer that protects against display damage due to electrostatic charge and as an antireflection coating that helps to minimize reflections from the surface of the display. The shielding antireflection layer may include low and high index of refraction layers and a conductive layer such as a transparent conductive oxide layer that provides shielding. | 06-05-2014 |
20140175049 | PRE-PATTERNED FILM-BASED RESIST - Roll-to-roll processes for manufacturing touch sensors using a sheet of patterned photoresist film are disclosed. The photoresist film can include a sheet of photoresist material, such as DFR, that has been patterned by removing portions of the photoresist film using a die or laser cutting technique. In some examples, the photoresist film can be patterned such that the patterned photoresist film can be laminated to a base film and used as an etching mask or a photoresist layer in a roll-to-roll manufacturing process. In this way, the patterned photoresist film can be used in place of conventional photoresist films in roll-to-roll processes, thereby obviating the need for subsequent exposure and development operations that would otherwise be performed when using conventional photoresist films. As a result, the chance that a defect is introduced into the touch sensors is reduced by reducing the number of operations performed in the roll-to-roll process. | 06-26-2014 |
20140184057 | Narrow Border Displays For Electronic Devices - An electronic device may be provided with an organic light-emitting diode display with minimized border regions. The border regions may be minimized by providing conductive structures that pass through polymer layers of the display and/or conductive structures that wrap around an edge of the display and couple conductive traces on the display to conductive traces on additional circuitry that is mounted behind the display. | 07-03-2014 |
20140196933 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING THIN SHEETS OF GLASS - Fabrication of thin sheets of glass or other substrate material for use in devices such as touch sensor panels is disclosed. A pair of thick glass sheets, typically with thicknesses of 0.5 mm or greater each, may each be patterned with thin film on a surface, sealed together to form a sandwich with the patterned surfaces facing each other and spaced apart by removable spacers, either or both thinned on their outside surfaces to thicknesses of less than 0.5 mm each, and separated into two thin glass sheets. A single thick glass sheet, typically with a thickness of 0.5 mm or greater, may be patterned, covered with a protective layer over the pattern, thinned on its outside surface to a thickness of less than 0.5 mm, and the protective layer removed. This thinness of less than 0.5 mm may be accomplished using standard LCD equipment, despite the equipment having a sheet minimum thickness requirement of 0.5 mm. | 07-17-2014 |
20140211120 | Third Metal Layer for Thin Film Transistor witih Reduced Defects in Liquid Crystal Display - A liquid crystal display (LCD) includes an array of pixels over a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate. The TFT substrate includes a TFT that has a first metal layer to form a gate electrode and a second metal layer to form a source electrode and a drain electrode for each pixel. The LCD also includes an organic insulation layer disposed over the TFT substrate, where the organic insulator layer has trenches on a top surface. The LCD further includes a third metal layer disposed over the organic insulation layer in the trenches, the trenches having a trench depth at least equal to the thickness of the third metal layer. The LCD also includes a passivation layer over the third metal layer, and a pixel electrode for each pixel over the passivation layer. The LCD further includes a polymer layer over the pixel electrode, and liquid molecules on the polymer layer. | 07-31-2014 |
20140247247 | DISPLAY WITH DUAL-FUNCTION CAPACITIVE ELEMENTS - A touch screen including display pixels with capacitive elements is provided. The touch screen includes first common voltage lines connecting capacitive elements in adjacent display pixels, and a second common voltage line connecting first common voltage lines. Groups of pixels can be formed as electrically separated regions by including breaks in the common voltage lines. The regions can include a drive region that is stimulated by stimulation signals, a sense region that receives sense signals corresponding to the stimulation signals. A grounded region can also be included, for example, between a sense region and a drive region. A shield layer can be formed of a substantially high resistance material and disposed to shield a sense region. A black mask line and conductive line under the black mask line can be included, for example, to provide low-resistance paths between a region of pixels and touch circuitry outside the touch screen borders. | 09-04-2014 |
20140252317 | REDUCING SHEET RESISTANCE FOR COMMON ELECTRODE IN TOP EMISSION ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE DISPLAY - An organic light emitting diode display includes a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, which has TFTs for an array of pixels. Each TFT has a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode. An organic layer is disposed over the TFT substrate. The organic layer has through-hole above the drain electrode. The display also includes pixel electrodes disposed over the organic layer. Each pixel electrode is connected to the drain electrode in the through-hole of the organic layer for each pixel. An organic light emitting diode (OLED) layer is disposed over the pixel electrode for each pixel. The organic light emitting layer is divided into pixels or sub-pixels by a pixel defining layer over the pixel electrode. The display further includes a common electrode and a conductive layer disposed over the OLED layer such that the conductive layer does not block light emission from the organic light emitting layer. | 09-11-2014 |
20140340831 | Methods for Fabricating Display Structures - An electronic device display may have a color filter layer and a thin film transistor layer. A layer of liquid crystal material may be interposed between the color filter layer and the thin film transistor layer. A layer of polarizer may be laminated onto the surface of the color filter layer. Laser trimming may ensure that the edges of the polarizer are even with the edges of the color filter layer. The thin film transistor layer may have an array of thin film transistors that control pixels of the liquid crystal material in the display. Driver circuitry may be used to control the array. The driver circuitry may be encapsulated in a planarized encapsulant on the thin film transistor layer or may be mounted to the underside of the color filter layer. Conductive structures may connect driver circuitry on the color filter layer to the thin film transistor layer. | 11-20-2014 |