Display devices and methods forming the same

• US 7,924,269 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Original Assignee: TPO Displays Corporation (InnoLux Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Ying-Chih, Chen, Din-Guo, Ho, Shyuan-Jeng
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdulselam; Abbas I.
• Application Number:
  US11/311,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20060146033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,939 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/156, 345/157, 345/158, 178/18.01, 178/19.01, 235/462.42, 235/462.45, 235/462.46, 715/856, 715/859
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

Display devices and methods forming the same. A digitizer sensor board is integrated on an upper substrate or a lower substrate of a display panel to provide a display device. In the display device, the display panel displays images, and the digitizer sensor board is integrated into the display panel to sense position of a position pointer or finger contact on a surface.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising:

a display panel, wherein the display panel comprises an upper substrate having a color filter and a lower substrate having a thin film transistor (TFT) array;

a digitizer sensor film integrated in the display panel for sensing position of a position pointer on a surface of the display panel; and

a control unit coupled to the display panel and the digitizer sensor film according to an image signal from a host system via an interface, driving the display panel and generating a scan timing signal to the digitizer sensor film,

wherein the display panel further comprises a non-transparent area generated by a black matrix in the color filter, in the top substrate, and coils and conductor wires in the digitizer sensor film are formed in the non-transparent area.

2. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the digitizer sensor film is located between the upper substrate and the lower substrate.

3. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the digitizer sensor film is integrated between the color filter and the upper substrate.

4. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the digitizer sensor film is integrated between the TFT array and the lower substrate.

5. A display system, comprising:

a display device as claimed in claim 1.

6. The display system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the digitizer sensor film executes a sensing operation to detect the position of a position pointer or finger contact on the surface in response to the scan timing signal.

7. The display system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the image signal comprises image data and a clock signal, and the control unit generates the scan timing signal according to the clock signal.

8. The display system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the control unit is a chip on glass (COG) on the display module.

9. The display system as claimed in claim 5, the control unit is mounted on a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) coupled to the display panel.

10. The display system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the display panel is a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display module or a field emission display (FED) module.

11. The display system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the digitizer sensor film is a capacitive sensing digitizer module, a resistive sensing digitizer module, an acoustic wave sensing digitizer module, a piezoelectric force sensing digitizer module, an electrostatic sensing digitizer module, or a sonic pulse sensing digitizer module.

12. The display system as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

a shield film laminated with the display panel to screen external noise.

13. The display system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a backlight device coupled to the display panel.

14. The display system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a reflector laminated with the display panel to reflect light.

15. An electronic device, comprising:

a display system as claimed in claim 5; and

a DC/DC converter operatively coupled to the display system, powering the display system to display images and sense position of a position pointer or finger contact on a surface.

16. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the electronic device is a display monitor, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a cellular phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).

17. A fabrication method of a display panel, comprising:

forming a digitizer sensor film on a glass substrate to serve as an upper substrate of the display panel, wherein the upper substrate includes a color filter and a black matrix, wherein a non-transparent area is generated by the black matrix, and coils and conductor wires in the digitizer sensor film are formed in the non-transparent area;

forming a thin film transistor (TFT) array to serve as a lower substrate of the display panel;

assembling the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the display panel; and

providing a control unit coupled to the display panel and the digitizer sensor film according to an image signal from a host system via an interface, driving the display panel and generating a scan timing signal to the digitizer sensor film.

18. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising forming a color filter on the digitizer sensor film of the upper substrate.

19. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising injecting liquid crystal material between the upper substrate and the lower substrate.

20. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the display panel is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel.

21. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the display panel is an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel or a field emission display (FED) panel.

22. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the digitizer sensor film is a capacitive sensing digitizer film, a resistive sensing digitizer film, an acoustic wave sensing digitizer film, a piezoelectric force sensing digitizer film, an electrostatic sensing digitizer film, or a sonic pulse sensing digitizer film.

23. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the digitizer sensor film is located between the upper substrate and the lower substrate.

24. A fabrication method of a display panel, comprising:

forming a digitizer sensor film on a glass substrate;

forming a thin film transistor (TFT) array on the digitizer sensor film, such that the TFT array and the digitizer sensor film on the glass substrate serve as a lower substrate of a display panel;

forming an upper substrate of the display panel;

assembling the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the display panel, wherein the digitizer sensor film is located between the upper substrate and the lower substrate; and

providing a control unit coupled to the display module and the digitizer sensor film according to an image signal from a host system via an interface, driving the display panel and generating a scan timing signal to the digitizer sensor film.

25. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 24, further comprising forming a color filter on the upper substrate.

26. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 25, further comprising injecting liquid crystal material between the upper substrate and the lower substrate.

27. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the display panel is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel.

28. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the display panel is an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel or a field emission display (FED) panel.

29. The fabrication method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the digitizer sensor film is a capacitive sensing digitizer film, a resistive sensing digitizer film, an acoustic wave sensing digitizer film, a piezoelectric force sensing digitizer film, an electrostatic sensing digitizer film, or a sonic pulse sensing digitizer film.