Method of mounting flexible circuit boards, and display device

• US 20030095227A1
• Filed: 11/12/2002
• Published: 05/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Advanced Display Technologies
• Inventors: Kohtaka, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,054 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/151
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13452 Conductors connecting driver circuitry and terminals of panels
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/147 at least one of the printed circuits being bent or folded, e.g. by using a flexible printed circuit H05K1/148 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention is a method of mounting flexible circuit boards including: electrode groups formed on an insulating substrate; terminal groups formed in the vicinity of at least one side of the insulating substrate in such a manner as to be connected to outside at the electrode ends of the electrode groups; and terminals to be connected to the terminal groups; and a plurality of flexible circuit boards equipped with driver circuits inputting signals to the electrode groups via the terminals, wherein the method includes the step of mounting the flexible circuit boards on the insulating substrate in a manner that the flexible circuit boards share overlap regions with adjacent flexible circuit boards.

Claims

1. Method of mounting flexible circuit boards including:

electrode groups formed on an insulating substrate;

terminal groups formed in the vicinity of at least one side of the insulating substrate in such a manner as to be connected to outside at the electrode ends of the electrode groups; and

terminals to be connected to the terminal groups; and

a plurality of flexible circuit boards equipped with driver circuits inputting signals to the electrode groups via the terminals,

wherein said method includes the step of mounting the flexible circuit boards on the insulating substrate in a manner that the flexible circuit boards share overlap regions with adjacent flexible circuit boards.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step includes either the step of first mounting odd-numbered flexible circuit boards when counted from one end of the aligned flexible circuit boards, and then mounting even-numbered flexible circuit boards or the step of first mounting even-numbered flexible circuit boards when counted from one end of the aligned flexible circuit boards, and then mounting odd-numbered flexible circuit boards.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said flexible circuit boards further include driver signal lines which are outputted from the driver circuits and are connected to the electrode groups on the insulating substrate, and common signal lines which are connected between the flexible circuit boards, wherein said method further includes the step of connecting the common signal lines between adjacent flexible circuit boards through conductive patterns on the flexible circuit boards.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step further includes the step of connecting the common signal lines in regions where adjacent flexible circuit boards overlap each other and which also overlap with the surface of the insulating substrate that has the electrode groups thereon.

5. Method of mounting flexible circuit boards including:

electrode groups formed on an insulating substrate;

terminal groups formed in the vicinity of at least one side of the insulating substrate in such a manner as to be connected to outside at the electrode ends of the electrode groups; and

a plurality of flexible circuit boards equipped with driver circuits containing terminals to be connected to the terminal groups and supplying the electrode groups with signals through the terminals and also equipped with common signal lines which are commonly connected to the driver circuits and driver signal lines which are outputted from the driver circuits and are connected to the electrode groups on the insulating substrate,

wherein said method includes the steps of;

mounting the flexible circuit boards on the insulating substrate in such a manner as to be arranged close to adjacent flexible circuit boards,

forming connection terminals in regions of the insulating substrate that overlap with the vicinity of gaps between adjacent flexible circuit boards, and

connecting the common signal lines on the flexible circuit boards via the connection terminals.

6. A display device comprising:

electrode groups formed on an insulating substrate,

terminal groups formed in the vicinity of at least one side of the insulating substrate in such a manner as to be connected to outside at the electrode ends of the electrode groups,

a driver circuits inputting the signals to the electrode groups via terminals to be connected to the terminal groups and the terminals, and

a plurality of flexible circuit boards mounted on the mounted on the insulating substrate,

wherein said flexible circuit boards share overlap regions with adjacent flexible circuit boards.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein said overlap regions of adjacent flexible circuit boards are formed by mounting the flexible circuit boards either in a manner that even-numbered flexible circuit boards when counted from one end of the aligned flexible circuit boards are partly overlaid on odd-numbered flexible circuit boards, or in a manner that odd-numbered flexible circuit boards when counted from one end of the aligned flexible circuit boards are partly overlaid on even-numbered flexible circuit boards.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein said flexible circuit boards further include driver signal lines which are outputted from the driver circuits and are connected to the electrode groups on the insulating substrate and common signal lines which are connected between the flexible circuit boards, and that the common signal lines are connected between adjacent flexible circuit boards through conductive patterns on the flexible patterns.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein said common signal lines, which are connected between adjacent flexible circuit boards by the conductive patterns on the flexible circuit boards, are connected in regions which are the overlap regions shared by adjacent flexible circuit boards and which also overlap with the surface of the insulating substrate that has the electrode groups thereon.

10. A display device comprising:

electrode groups formed on an insulating substrate,

terminal groups formed in the vicinity of at least one side of the insulating substrate in such a manner as to be connected to outside at the electrode ends of the electrode groups, and a plurality of flexible circuit boards equipped with driver circuits containing terminals to be connected to the terminal groups and inputting signals to the electrode groups via the terminals and also equipped with common signal lines which are commonly connected between adjacent flexible circuit boards and driver signal lines which are outputted from the driver circuits and are connected to the electrode groups on the insulating substrate,

wherein said flexible circuit boards is mounted on the insulating substrate,

wherein said flexible circuit boards are mounted on the insulating substrate in such a manner as to be arranged close to adjacent flexible circuit boards, and said common signal lines on the flexible circuit boards are connected via connection terminals formed in the vicinity of gaps between adjacent flexible circuit boards and on the insulating substrate.