Electronic device display with shielding layer

• US 9,423,897 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2013
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Bae, Hopil
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): KHAN, IBRAHIM A
• Application Number:
  US13/854,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20140293144A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/102, 178/18.06, 349/12, 349/61, 349/69, 349/70, 362 971- 973
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13452 Conductors connecting driver circuitry and terminals of panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display

Abstract

A display may have a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. A layer of liquid crystal material may be located between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer. A transparent conductive shielding layer may be formed on the lower surface of the thin-film transistor layer. Grounding structures may ground the transparent conductive shielding layer to a ground. The ground may be formed form metal traces on a flexible printed circuit. The display may have a backlight unit. Light-emitting diodes may be used to provide backlight for the backlight unit. The light-emitting diodes may be mounted on the flexible printed circuit. The grounding structures may be formed from a rectangular ring-shaped conductive tape or other conductive structures.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

display layers configured to display images, wherein the display layers include a transparent thin-film transistor layer having a glass substrate;

a conductive transparent shielding layer on the glass substrate;

a backlight unit;

a metal trace on a first surface of a dielectric, wherein the dielectric has a second surface opposite the first surface;

signal lines on the second surface that provide signals to the backlight unit; and

a grounding structure having first and second opposing surfaces that grounds the conductive transparent shielding layer to the metal trace, wherein the grounding structure is interposed between the transparent thin-film transistor layer and the dielectric such that the first surface contacts the conductive transparent shielding layer and the second surface contacts the metal trace.

2. The display defined in claim 1, wherein the backlight unit comprises light-emitting diodes.

3. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the dielectric comprises a flexible polymer layer.

4. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the grounding structure comprises conductive tape having a conductive metal layer sandwiched between opposing conductive adhesive layers.

5. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the display layers include a touch sensor array.

6. The display defined in claim 5 wherein the touch sensor array comprises an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes.

7. The display defined in claim 6 wherein the grounding structure comprises a rectangular ring-shaped structure that runs along a peripheral edge of the thin-film transistor layer.

8. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the glass substrate has opposing first and second surfaces, wherein the thin-film transistor layer comprises thin-film transistor circuitry on the first surface, wherein the conductive transparent shielding layer is formed on the second surface, and wherein the display further comprises a polarizer layer on the conductive transparent shielding layer.

9. The display defined in claim 8 wherein the grounding structure has a rectangular opening in which the polarizer layer is located and wherein the metal trace and the dielectric form portions of a flexible printed circuit backlight unit cable.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the second surface directly contacts the metal trace.

11. A display, comprising:

a color filter layer;

a thin-film transistor layer having a thin-film transistor substrate;

a layer of liquid crystal material between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer;

a backlight;

an upper polarizer and a lower polarizer, wherein the color filter layer, the thin-film transistor layer, and the layer of liquid crystal material are located between the upper polarizer and the lower polarizer, and wherein the lower polarizer is interposed between the backlight and the thin-film transistor layer;

a conductive transparent shielding layer interposed between the thin-film transistor substrate and the lower polarizer;

a ground trace on a first surface of a dielectric substrate;

patterned metal traces on a second surface of the dielectric substrate opposite the first surface, wherein the patterned metal traces supply signals to the backlight; and

grounding structures that couple the conductive transparent shielding layer to the ground trace.

12. The display defined in claim 11 wherein the backlight comprises light-emitting diodes mounted to the flexible printed circuit.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 11, wherein the color filter layer is interposed between the thin-film transistor layer and the upper polarizer.

14. Apparatus, comprising:

a color filter layer;

a thin-film transistor layer having a surface with a layer of thin-film circuitry and an opposing surface with a conductive transparent shielding layer;

a layer of liquid crystal material between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer;

a dielectric substrate that is separate from the thin-film transistor layer and that has first and second opposing surfaces;

a metal trace on the first surface of the dielectric substrate;

at least one signal line on the second surface of the dielectric substrate;

grounding structures that ground the conductive transparent shielding layer to the metal trace on the first surface of the dielectric substrate, wherein the grounding structures are interposed between the thin-film transistor layer and the dielectric substrate; and

a display backlight unit having light-emitting diodes, wherein the at least one signal line on the second surface of the dielectric substrate comprises patterned metal traces that supply signals to the light-emitting diodes.

15. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein the dielectric substrate comprises a flexible polymer.

16. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein the grounding structures include a layer of metal.

17. The apparatus defined in claim 16 wherein the layer of metal has a rectangular ring shape that runs along a peripheral edge of the thin-film transistor layer.

18. The apparatus defined in claim 16 wherein the layer of metal has opposing upper and lower surfaces and wherein the grounding structures include a first layer of conductive adhesive on the upper surface and a second layer of conductive adhesive on the lower surface.

19. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein the grounding structures comprise:

a rectangular ring-shaped conductive layer that is adjacent to the conductive transparent shielding layer and that runs along a peripheral edge of the conductive transparent shielding layer; and

a conductive structure that is separate from the rectangular ring-shaped conductive layer and that grounds the rectangular ring-shaped conductive layer to the metal trace.