Display with bent inactive edge regions

• US 9,110,320 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2012
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Chen, Cheng, Chang, Shih-Chang, Zhong, John Z., Chen, Wei, Zhang, Hao, Kang, Sunggu
• Primary Examiner(s): LAMB, CHRISTOPHER RAY
• Application Number:
  US13/585,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20140049500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1333 Constructional arrangements; Manufacturing methodsG02F1/135, G02F1/136 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133302 Rigid substrates, e.g. inorganic substrates
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133305 Flexible substrates, e.g. plastics, organic film
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133388 with constructional differences between the display region and the peripheral region
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13452 Conductors connecting driver circuitry and terminals of panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1368 in which the switching element is a three-electrode device G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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

An electronic device may be provided with a display having substrate layers such as a glass color filter layer substrate and a glass thin-film-transistor layer substrate. Display layers such as first and second layers of polymer, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the layers of polymer, color filter elements, and thin-film-transistor circuitry may be formed between the color filter layer substrate and the thin-film-transistor layer substrate. Flexible inactive portions of the display layers may protrude outward from between the color filter layer substrate and the thin-film-transistor substrate. Touch sensor circuitry may be formed from a flexible polymer substrate. The touch sensor circuitry may include conductive touch sensor lines and capacitive electrodes. Each conductive line may be coupled to only a single end of a respective one of the capacitive electrodes.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

first and second glass substrate layers; and

display layers interposed between the first and second glass substrate layers, wherein the display layers include a liquid crystal display layer, first and second polymer layers, color filter elements, and thin-film-transistor circuitry, wherein the color filter elements and thin-film-transistor circuitry are interposed between the first and second polymer layers, wherein the display layers have an active area containing display pixels and have an inactive area, wherein the active area is located between the first and second glass substrate layers, and wherein at least one of the polymer layers protrudes outwardly from between the first and second glass substrate layers and has a bend.

2. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the color filter elements are formed on the first polymer layer.

3. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the first and second polymer layers comprise polyimide.

4. The display defined in claim 1 further comprising thin-film-transistor gate driver circuitry, wherein the thin-film-transistor gate driver circuitry is formed on a portion of the polymer layer that protrudes outwardly from between the first and second glass substrate layers.

5. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the color filter elements are formed on the first polymer layer, the display further comprising:

a black mask border on the first polymer layer; and

an array of display pixels each of which contains a thin-film-transistor on the second polymer layer.

6. The display defined in claim 5 wherein the thin-film-transistors include indium gallium zinc oxide transistors.

7. The display defined in claim 1 further comprising:

an array of display pixels on the second polymer layer; and

conductive lines on the second polymer layer, wherein the conductive lines include gate lines and data lines.

8. The display defined in claim 7 wherein the display layers are bent along at least one horizontal fold line, at least one vertical fold line, and at least one diagonal fold line and wherein the conductive lines include at least one conductive line segment that runs perpendicular to the diagonal fold line.

9. The display defined in claim 1 further comprising at least one display driver integrated circuit, wherein the display driver integrated circuit is mounted to the second polymer layer within the inactive area.

10. The display defined in claim 1 further comprising:

at least one display driver integrated circuit; and

a flexible printed circuit substrate on which the display driver integrated circuit is mounted.

11. The display defined in claim 10 wherein the flexible printed circuit is coupled to conductive lines on the second polymer layer.

12. The display defined in claim 11 wherein the second polymer layer includes an array of display pixels and gate lines and data lines in the conductive lines that distribute signals from the display driver integrated circuit to the display pixels.

13. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a rectangular front face with opposing upper and lower edges and opposing left and right edges;

a glass color filter layer substrate;

a glass thin-film-transistor layer substrate; and

display layers interposed between the glass color filter layer substrate and the glass thin-film-transistor layer substrate, wherein the display layers include color filter elements and thin-film-transistor circuitry interposed between first and second polymer layers, wherein the polymer layers include a flexible left inactive edge portion that extends outwards from between the glass color filter layer substrate and the glass thin-film-transistor layer substrate along the left edge of the housing and include a flexible right inactive edge portion that extends outwards from between the glass color filter layer substrate and the glass thin-film-transistor layer substrate along the right edge of the housing.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the flexible left inactive edge portion has a right-angle bend and wherein the flexible right inactive edge portion has a right-angle bend.