DISPLAY SCREEN SHIELD LINE SYSTEM

• US 20120313881A1
• Filed: 03/03/2011
• Published: 12/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Ge, Zhibing, Yu, Cheng Ho, Park, Young-Bae, Chang, Shih Chang, Chen, Cheng, Zhong, John, Roudbari, Abbas Jamshidi, yousefpor, Marduke
• Granted Patent: US 10,761,358 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134318 having a patterned common electrode
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134372 for fringe field switching [FFS] where the common electrode is not patterned
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1362 Active matrix addressed cells G02F1/134336, G02F1/134363 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136218 Shield electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136286 Wiring, e.g. gate line, drain line
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer

Abstract

Electrical shield line systems are provided for openings in common electrodes near data lines of display and touch screens. Some displays, including touch screens, can include multiple common electrodes (Vcom) that can have openings between individual Vcoms. Some display screens can have an open slit between two adjacent edges of Vcom. Openings in Vcom can allow an electric field to extend from a data line through the Vcom layer. A shield can be disposed over the Vcom opening to help reduce or eliminate an electric field from affecting a pixel material, such as liquid crystal. The shield can be connected to a potential such that electric field is generated substantially between the shield and the data line to reduce or eliminate electric fields reaching the liquid crystal.

Claims

1. A display, including a display pixel stackup, the display comprising:

a transparent cover;

a plurality of display pixels, each display pixel including a pixel electrode;

a plurality of data lines;

a first set of one or more conductively connected common electrodes including a first common electrode at least partially disposed between a first data line and a first pixel electrode and second set of one or more conductively connected common electrodes including a second common electrode at least partially disposed between the first data line and a second pixel electrode, the first common electrode having a first edge, and the second common electrode having a second edge disposed at a distance from the first edge, the first and second edges forming an opening between the first and second common electrodes;

a pixel material that controls an amount of light passing through the transparent cover based on a strength of an electric field through the pixel material; and

a shield disposed between the first and second pixel electrodes such that the opening is between the data line and the shield.

2. The display of claim 1, wherein the display pixel stackup includes touch sensing circuitry, the touch sensing circuitry including a plurality of operational systems including a first operation system and a second operational system, the first operational system including a first conductive line, the first conductive line including the first set of common electrodes, and the second operational system including a second conductive line, the second conductive line including the second set of common electrodes, wherein the plurality of operational systems includes a drive system and a sense system, the drive system including a drive line, the drive line including one or more drive regions, and the sense system including a sense line, the sense line including one or more sense regions.

3. The display of claim 2, wherein the first conductive line includes the drive line, and the second conductive line includes the sense line.

4. The display of claim 2, wherein the plurality of operational systems includes a grounding system including a grounding line disposed between one of the drive regions and one of the sense regions, wherein the first conductive line includes the grounding line, and the second conductive line includes one of the drive line and the sense line.

5. The display of claim 2, the display further comprising:

a first plurality of shields associated with the first conductive line and a second plurality of shields associated with the second conductive line.

6. The display of claim 5, wherein the first plurality of shields is conductively connected to the second plurality of shields, the display further comprising:

a first voltage source that applies a first voltage to the first and second pluralities of shields.

7. The display of claim 5, wherein the first plurality of shields is conductively disconnected from the second plurality of shields, the display further comprising:

a first voltage source that applies a first voltage to the first plurality of shields; and

a second voltage source that applies a second voltage to the second plurality of shields.

8. The display of claim 7, the display further comprising:

one or more first connection pads disposed in a border region of the display, the one or more first connection pads conductively connecting the first plurality of shields to the first voltage source; and

more second connection pads conductively connecting the second plurality of shields to the second voltage source.

9. The display of claim 7, wherein the first voltage source includes one of a ground and a voltage applied to common electrodes of the first conductive line.

10. The display of claim 1, further comprising:

a first conductive connection electrically connecting the shield to one of the first and second common electrodes.

11. The display of claim 10, further including a second conductive connection electrically connecting the first common electrode and the second common electrode.

12. The display of claim 11, wherein the first conductive connection includes a conductive via disposed on the second conductive connection.

13. The display of claim 10, wherein the first conductive connection includes a conductive via.

14. The display of claim 1, wherein the shield is in same material layer of the stackup as the pixel electrode.

15. The display of claim 1, the display further comprising:

a driver that applies a voltage to the shield.

16. The display of claim 15, wherein the voltage is one of a ground and a voltage applied to one of the first and second common electrodes.

17. The display of claim 1, wherein the shield includes a transparent conductor.

18. The display of claim 1, wherein the pixel material is liquid crystal.

19. The display of claim 1, wherein the first common electrode is conductively disconnected from the second common electrode.

20. A display panel stackup comprising:

a transparent cover;

a plurality of pixel electrodes;

a plurality of data lines;

a plurality of common electrodes including a first common electrode and a second common electrode, the first common electrode having a first edge, at least a portion of the first common electrode being disposed under a first pixel electrode and above a first data line, and the second common electrode, at least a portion of the second common electrode being disposed under a second pixel electrode, the second common electrode having a second edge disposed at a distance from the first edge, the first and second edges forming an opening between the first and second common electrodes; and

a pixel material that controls an amount of light passing through the transparent cover based on a strength of an electric field through the pixel material,

wherein the opening between the first and second common electrodes is disposed under the second pixel electrode.

21. The display of claim 20, wherein the second pixel electrode includes a plurality of pixel electrode fingers, and the opening is disposed under one of a plurality of pixel electrode fingers.

22. The display of claim 21, wherein the opening is a slit, and a width of the slit is less than or equal to a width of the pixel electrode finger disposed above the slit.

23. The display of claim 21, wherein a width of the pixel electrode finger disposed over the slit is greater than a width of one or more other pixel electrode fingers of the second pixel electrode.