Pen-based computer system

• US 6,756,970 B2
• Filed: 11/20/1998
• Issued: 06/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Keely, Jr., Leroy Bertrand, Evanicky, Daniel E., Alexander, Charles Ford
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEWIS, DAVID LEE
• Application Number:
  US09/196,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20020063694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,048 Days
• Field of Search: 345/179, 345/173, 345/178, 345/104, 349/60, 349/155, 349/133, 349/157, 178/18-1-, 359/483, 359/81, 359/82
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display

Abstract

The invention provides a liquid crystal, TFT display with driver lines folded around a light pipe and a digitizer. The digitizer has grid routing lines folded around a shield where the shield is connected to a shield of the computer system electronics. The display drivers and grid controller are mounted inward of an edge of the display. The glass layers surrounding the beads can have different thicknesses and composition while the liquid crystal surrounding the beads can be at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure. A surface of the display provides pen/pencil on paper feel as a digitizer pen is moved across the surface via hardness coatings and surface topography.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a light source having a front surface and a rear surface;

a digitizer abutting the rear surface of said light source;

a liquid crystal display having;

a rear surface confronting the front surface of said light source,

a display controller located rearward of the digitizer,

row and column driver electronics that are connected to the display controller and also located rearward of the digitizer,

driver lines that connect pixel cells of the liquid crystal display to the row and column driver electronics and that are folded around said light source and said digitizer,

sub-pixels, and

a front glass having a polarizer and a 3H hardness hard coat surface on an external surface of said polarizer, and wherein

the hard coat surface comprises bumps and pits of size and depth sufficient to reduce glare and contribute to a pen/pencil on paper feel when a stylus tip is moved against the hard coat surface, and

the thickness of the front glass is approximately 10 times greater than the diameter of a sub-pixel.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a stylus with a tip having a 2H maximum hardness.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a stylus with a tip having a S hardness.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display further comprises:

a first alignment layer on said front glass;

a liquid crystal layer;

a second alignment layer;

a back glass beneath said second alignment layer;

spacer beads positioned between said first and second alignment layers, wherein;

said beads occupy less than about 5% of a liquid crystal cell area and are provided in a quantity sufficient to provide a mean distance between beads that is less than or equal to one quarter of the thickness of the first glass, and

the spacer beads retain residual compression from assembly of the display.

5. A display as recited in claim 4, wherein the residual compression of the spacer beads exceeds the compression that would result from only atmospheric pressure upon the display.

6. A display as recited in claim 4, wherein said spacer beads are glass beads.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display further comprises:

a first alignment layer on said front glass;

a liquid crystal layer;

a second alignment layer;

a back glass beneath said second alignment layer;

spacer beads positioned between said first and second alignment layers, wherein said liquid crystal layer surrounding said beads and between said alignment layers is at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure.

8. A display as recited in claim 4, further comprising a color filter layer between said front glass and first alignment layer.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display further comprises:

a first alignment layer on said front glass;

a liquid crystal layer;

a second alignment layer;

a back glass beneath said second alignment layer;

spacer beads positioned between said first and second alignment layers, wherein said back glass is thinner than said front glass and the back glass can deform with the front glass without compressing the spacer beads.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display further comprises:

a first alignment layer on said front glass;

a liquid crystal layer;

a second alignment layer;

a back glass beneath said second alignment layer;

spacer beads positioned between said first and second alignment layers, wherein said front glass has a different composition and is stiffer than said back glass.

11. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said digitizer further comprises:

a substrate;

a metal shield having a first surface facing the substrate and a second surface facing rearward, said metal shield separating the substrate from the display controller and from the driver electronics;

a digitizer grid having conductor routing lines routed behind said shield and confronting the second surface of said shield; and

a grid controller coupled to said routing lines and mounted inward of an edge of said shield.

12. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising system electronics confronting the second surface of said metal shield and having an electromagnetic noise shield coupled to said metal shield.

13. A notepad computer, comprising:

a light source having a front surface and a rear surface;

a digitizer abutting the rear surface of said light source, said digitizer comprising;

a metal shield having first and second surfaces,

a digitizer grid confronting the first surface of said shield, having conductor routing lines routed behind said shield and confronting the second surface of said shield, and

a grid controller coupled to said routing lines and mounted inward of an edge of said grid;

a liquid crystal display having;

a rear surface confronting the front surface of said light source,

a display controller located rearward of the digitizer,

row and column driver electronics that are connected to the display controller and also located rearward of the digitizer,

driver lines that connect pixel cells of the liquid crystal display to the row and column driver electronics and that are folded around said light source and said digitizer,

a first glass,

a first alignment layer on said first glass,

a liquid crystal layer,

a second alignment layer,

spacer beads positioned between said first and second alignment layers, and precompressed against said first and second alignment layers, said precompression exceeding that which would be imposed by only atmospheric pressure upon the display,

a second glass deformable with the first glass without compressing the spacer beads,

liquid crystal surrounding said beads and between said alignment layers at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure,

sub-pixels, the thickness of the first glass being approximately 10 times greater than the diameter of a sub-pixel, and

a 3H hardness hard coat surface associated with an external surface of said first glass and providing a pen/pencil on paper feel as a digitizer pen is held against or moved across said surface;

computer system electronics confronting the second surface of said metal shield and having an electromagnetic noise shield coupled to said metal shield; and

a plastic case having a display opening with a rim adhesively bonded to the first glass.