Display Having Gate Lines With Zigzag Extensions

• US 20170084214A1
• Filed: 05/24/2016
• Published: 03/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Ono, Shinya, Huang, Chun-Yao, Chiu, Hao-Lin, Knez, Ivan, Bennett, Patrick B., Chang, Shih Chang, Yang, Byung Duk
• Granted Patent: US 10,839,733 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13456 Cell terminals located on one side of the display only
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136286 Wiring, e.g. gate line, drain line
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0413 Details of dummy pixels or dummy lines in flat panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/043 Compensation electrodes or other additional electrodes in matrix displays related to distortions or compensation signals, e.g. for modifying TFT threshold voltage in column driver
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/08 Active matrix structure, i.e. with use of active elements, inclusive of non-linear two terminal elements, in the pixels together with light emitting or modulating elements
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0278 Details of driving circuits arranged to drive both scan and data electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0281 Arrangement of scan or data electrode driver circuits at the periphery of a panel not inherent to a split matrix structure
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0209 Crosstalk reduction, i.e. to reduce direct or indirect influences of signals directed to a certain pixel of the displayed image on other pixels of said image, inclusive of influences affecting pixels in different frames or fields or sub-images which constitute a same image, e.g. left and right images of a stereoscopic display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0219 Reducing feedthrough effects in active matrix panels, i.e. voltage changes on the scan electrode influencing the pixel voltage due to capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/124 with a particular composition, shape or layout of the wiring layers specially adapted to the circuit arrangement, e.g. scanning lines in LCD pixel circuits wiring structures per se H01L23/52

Abstract

A display may have an array of pixels arranged in rows and columns. Display driver circuitry may be provided along an edge of the display. Data lines that are associated with columns of the pixels may be used to distribute data from the display driver circuitry to the pixels. Gate lines in the display may each have a horizontal straight portion that extends along a respective row of the pixels and may each have one or more non-horizontal segments such as zigzag segments. The non-horizontal portion of each gate line may be connected to the horizontal straight portion of the gate line by a via. The non-horizontal portions may each have portions that are overlapped by portions of the data lines. Dummy gate line structures may be provided on the display that are not coupled to any of the pixels in the display.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

an array of pixels organized in rows and columns;

vertically extending data lines each of which is associated with a respective one of the columns of pixels; and

a plurality of gate lines each of which has a straight horizontal portion associated with a respective one of the rows of pixels and each of which has a non-horizontal portion that crosses more than one of the data lines.

2. The display defined in claim 1 wherein each of the non-horizontal portions includes at least one zigzag portion.

3. The display defined in claim 2 further comprising:

a substrate having one or more edges; and

display driver circuitry along a given one of the edges, wherein the display driver circuitry supplies image data signals to the data lines and gate line signals to the zigzag portions.

4. The display defined in claim 3 further comprising vias, wherein the straight horizontal portion of each gate line is connected to the at least one zigzag portion of that gate line by a respective one of the vias.

5. The display defined in claim 1 further comprising dummy gatelines.

6. The display defined in claim 5 wherein the dummy gate lines are maintained at a fixed voltage.

7. The display defined in claim 6 wherein the dummy gate lines are not connected to any straight horizontal gate line segments.

8. The display defined in claim 4 further comprising:

display driver circuitry; and

auxiliary gate line portions, wherein the display driver circuitry drives signals onto at least one auxiliary gate line portion with a first swing direction while driving a gate line signal onto a given one of the gate lines that is adjacent to the auxiliary gate line portion with a second swing direction that is opposite to the first swing direction.

9. The display defined in claim 8 wherein the auxiliary gate line portion is not connected to any straight horizontal gate line.

10. The display defined in claim 4 wherein each of the non-horizontal portions includes at least one zigzag portion and wherein at least some of the zigzag portions comprise active segments of gate lines that have respective dummy gate line segments that are separated by gaps from the active segments.

11. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the zigzag portions have a staircase pattern.

12. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the zigzag portions have a waterfall pattern.

13. The display defined in claim 1 wherein at least some of each of the zigzag portions has vertically extending segments that traverse a number of the rows of pixels that changes as a function of increasing distance from the display driver circuitry.

14. The display defined in claim 5 further comprising dummy gate lines, wherein the dummy gate lines include at least some portions that run parallel to portions of the gate lines and wherein the dummy gate lines are not connected to any straight horizontal gate line portions.

15. The display defined in claim 1 wherein each zigzag portion is overlapped by portions of the vertically extending data lines.

16. The display defined in claim 1 wherein at least some of the data lines are each overlapped by the zigzag portions of more than one of the gate lines.

17. The display defined in claim 16 wherein the array of pixels is formed on a non-rectangular substrate.

18. The display defined in claim 16 further comprising:

a substrate having at least one edge, wherein the array of pixels is formed on the substrate; and

display driver circuitry along a given edge of the substrate, wherein the display driver circuitry supplies image data signals to the data lines and gate line signals to the zigzag portions of the gate lines.

19. The display defined in claim 18 wherein the substrate has four edges.

20. The display defined in claim 18 wherein the substrate is oval.

21. A display, comprising:

an array of pixels organized in rows and columns;

data lines, wherein each of the data lines is associated with a respective one of the columns of pixels; and

gate lines, wherein each gate line has a first portion that is associated with a respective one of the rows of pixels and has at least one second portion that is not straight and that is connected to the first portion.

22. The display defined in claim 21 wherein the second portion of each gate line is a zigzag-shaped metal line.

23. The display defined in claim 21 further comprising a via that connects the second portion of each gate line to the first portion of each gate line.

24. The display defined in claim 21 wherein at least some of each second portion is overlapped by portions of the data lines.

25. The display defined in claim 21 wherein each second portion forms an active gate line segment that is electrically isolated from a corresponding dummy gate line segment by a gap.

26. The display defined in claim 21 further comprising dummy gate lines that are not coupled to pixels.

27. A display, comprising:

an array of pixels;

display driver circuitry;

data lines that supply data to the pixels from the display driver circuitry; and

control lines that provide control signals to the pixels from the display driver circuitry, wherein each of the control lines includes a straight horizontal segment that runs along a row of the pixels connected to at least one non-horizontal segment.

28. The display defined in claim 27 wherein each non-horizontal segment has a zigzag shape.

29. The display defined in claim 27 wherein each non-horizontal segment has at least one diagonal portion that is oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to the horizontal segment and that is oriented at a non-perpendicular angle with respect to the horizontal segment.