Display on a stretchable substrate

• US 9,947,262 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2016
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Hodges, Stephen Edward, Chen, Nicholas Yen-Cherng, Sweeney, David, Thieme, Anja, Grosse-Puppendahl, Tobias, Steiner, Helene
• Primary Examiner(s): Edun, Muhammad N
• Application Number:
  US15/257,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20170352306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2255/00 Coating on the layer surface
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/202 Conductive
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2457/20 Displays, e.g. liquid crystal displays, plasma displays
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/266 characterised by an apertured layer, the apertures going through the whole thickness of the layer, e.g. expanded metal, perforated layer, slit layer regular cells B32B3/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0469 Details of the physics of pixel operation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/141 the light conveying information used for selecting or modulating the light emitting or modulating element
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2088 with use of a plurality of processors, each processor controlling a number of individual elements of the matrix
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2092 Details of a display terminals using a flat panel, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto suitable for both CRT and flat panel G09G5/003; specific for a CRT G09G1/165
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1218 with a particular composition or structure of the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1446 in a repetitive configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/10 characterised by potential barriers, e.g. phototransistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/14 the light source or sources being controlled by the semiconductor device sensitive to radiation, e.g. image converters, image amplifiers or image storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED

Abstract

A display comprises a plurality of autonomous pixels on a stretchable substrate. Each autonomous pixel comprises a display element and a control element arranged to sense an external stimulus and to generate, entirely within the autonomous pixel, a control signal to drive the display element based, at least in part, on a magnitude of the sensed external stimulus. The stretchable substrate comprises a plurality of less elastic regions separated by stretchable areas, where the less elastic regions are less stretchable than the surrounding stretchable areas and each control element of an autonomous pixel is located in or on a less elastic region of the stretchable substrate.

Claims

1. A display comprising:

a plurality of autonomous pixels on a stretchable substrate, an autonomous pixel comprising;

a display element and

a control element arranged to sense an external stimulus and to generate, entirely within the autonomous pixel, a control signal to drive the display element based, at least in part, on a magnitude of the sensed external stimulus

and the stretchable substrate comprising a plurality of less elastic regions separated by stretchable areas,

wherein the less elastic regions are less stretchable than the surrounding stretchable areas, and wherein each control element of an autonomous pixel is located in or on one of the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

2. A display according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable substrate comprises:

a uniformly stretchable layer; and

a layer of variable thickness attached to at least one face of the uniformly stretchable layer.

3. A display according to claim 2, wherein the layer of variable thickness comprises regions of a first thickness separated by areas of a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness and the regions of the first thickness correspond to the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

4. A display according to claim 2, wherein the layer of variable thickness comprises regions with no apertures separated by areas with one or more apertures, wherein the regions with the one or more apertures correspond to the stretchable areas of the stretchable substrate.

5. A display according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable substrate comprises:

a uniformly stretchable layer; and

a layer of variable stretchiness formed from a plurality of different materials with different material properties.

6. A display according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable substrate comprises regions of a first thickness separated by areas of a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness and the regions of the first thickness correspond to the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

7. A display according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable substrate comprises:

a uniformly stretchable layer; and

a layer of material which changes stretchiness when exposed to heat, UV or light.

8. A display according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable substrate is formed from a material which changes stretchiness when exposed to heat, UV or light.

9. A method of fabricating a display comprising a plurality of autonomous pixels, the method comprising:

forming a stretchable substrate comprising a plurality of less elastic regions separated by stretchable areas, wherein the less elastic regions are less stretchable than the surrounding stretchable areas; and

forming a plurality of autonomous pixels on the stretchable substrate, each autonomous pixel comprising a display element and a control element arranged to sense an external stimulus and to generate, entirely within the autonomous pixel, a control signal to drive the display element based, at least in part, on a magnitude of the sensed external stimulus and wherein each control element of an autonomous pixel is located in or on one of the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein forming a stretchable substrate comprises:

attaching a layer of variable thickness to at least one face of a uniformly stretchable layer.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the layer of variable thickness comprises regions of a first thickness separated by areas of a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness and the regions of the first thickness correspond to the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the layer of variable thickness comprises regions with no apertures separated by areas with one or more apertures, wherein the regions with the one or more apertures correspond to the stretchable areas of the stretchable substrate.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein forming a stretchable substrate comprises:

selectively removing material from at least one face of a uniformly stretchable layer to form a layer of variable thickness comprising regions of a first thickness separated by areas of a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness and the regions of the first thickness correspond to the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein forming a stretchable substrate comprises:

applying a layer of material to a uniformly stretchable layer, wherein the material changes stretchiness when exposed to heat, UV or light; and

selectively exposing regions of the material to form the less elastic regions separated by stretchable areas.

15. A method of fabricating a display comprising a plurality of autonomous pixels, the method comprising:

forming a plurality of autonomous pixels on a uniformly stretchable layer, each autonomous pixel comprising a display element and a control element arranged to sense an external stimulus and to generate, entirely within the autonomous pixel, a control signal to drive the display element based, at least in part, on a magnitude of the sensed external stimulus; and

adding material to or removing material from the uniformly stretchable layer to form a plurality of less elastic regions separated by stretchable areas, wherein the less elastic regions are less stretchable than the surrounding stretchable areas and wherein each control element of an autonomous pixel is located in or on one of the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein adding material to or removing material from the uniformly stretchable layer comprises:

attaching a layer of variable thickness to at least one face of a uniformly stretchable layer.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the layer of variable thickness comprises regions of a first thickness separated by areas of a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness and the regions of the first thickness correspond to the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein the layer of variable thickness comprises regions with no apertures separated by areas with one or more apertures, wherein the regions with the one or more apertures correspond to the stretchable areas of the stretchable substrate.

19. A method according to claim 15, wherein adding material to or removing material from the uniformly stretchable layer comprises:

selectively removing material from at least one face of the uniformly stretchable layer to form a layer of variable thickness comprising regions of a first thickness separated by areas of a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness and the regions of the first thickness correspond to the less elastic regions of the stretchable substrate.

20. A method according to claim 15, wherein adding material to or removing material from the uniformly stretchable layer comprises:

applying a layer of material to the uniformly stretchable layer, wherein the material changes stretchiness when exposed to heat, UV and/or light; and

selectively exposing regions of the material to form the less elastic regions separated by stretchable areas.