Virtual borderless display

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10067583-B2
Application number	US-201514673955-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2015
Priority date	Mar 31, 2015
Publication date	Sep 4, 2018
Grant date	Sep 4, 2018

Abstract

A display comprising a display panel, wherein the display panel comprises two or more bonding areas; a driver configured to drive the display panel; a layer that provides a medium via which signals can propagate to and from the driver, and wherein the driver is mounted to the layer; and two or more flexible connectors, wherein the two or more flexible connectors provide communication paths between the display panel and the driver, and wherein a first end of each of the two or more flexible connectors connects to the display panel at a corresponding one of the two or more bonding areas, and wherein a second end of each of the two or more flexible connectors connects to the driver via the layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A display comprising:
a display panel having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the display panel comprises two or more bonding areas on the top surface;
a touch panel operable in at least one of an on-touch mode or a touchless mode, wherein the touch panel has a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the touch panel and display panel are in a stacked relationship such that the top surface of the display panel is adjacent the bottom surface of the touch panel and a longitudinal axis of the display traverses the touch panel and the display panel;
a driver configured to drive the display panel and the touch panel;
a layer that provides a medium via which signals can propagate to and from the driver, wherein the layer has a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the layer and display panel are in stacked relationship such that the top surface of the layer is adjacent the bottom surface of the display panel and the longitudinal axis of the display traverses the display panel and the layer, and wherein the driver is mounted to the layer;
two or more display panel flexible connectors each having a first end and a second end, wherein the two or more display panel flexible connectors provide communication paths between the display panel and the driver, and wherein the first end of each of the two or more display panel flexible connectors connects to the display panel at a corresponding one of the two or more bonding areas, and wherein the second end of each of the two or more display panel flexible connectors connects to the bottom surface of the layer thereby connecting to the driver via the layer; and
a touch panel flexible connector, wherein the touch panel flexible connector has a first end connected to the bottom surface of the touch panel and a second end connected to the bottom surface of the layer thereby connecting the touch panel to the driver via the layer, and wherein the touch panel flexible connector has a portion radially outwardly spaced from at least one of the display panel flexible connectors.

2. The display of claim 1 , further comprising:
a backlight, wherein the backlight is located between the display panel and the layer, and wherein each of the two or more flexible connectors comprises one of a flexible printed circuit, a chip-on-flex, or a chip-on-foil.

3. The display of claim 1 , wherein the layer is located between the second end of each of the two or more display panel flexible connectors and the display panel.

4. The display of claim 1 , further comprising:
a main processing system flexible connector, wherein the main processing system flexible connector connects the layer to a main processing system of a user device that comprises the display.

5. The display of claim 1 , wherein the layer is one of a chip-on-flex, a printed circuit board, a chip-on-glass, a glass panel, or a flexible printed circuit.

6. A user device comprising:
a display comprising:
a display panel, wherein the display panel comprises two or more bonding areas spaced from each other around a periphery of the display panel and has one of a circular shape that defines a circular area, a rectangular shape that defines a rectangular area, a square shape that defines a square area, or a hexagonal shape that defines a hexagonal area, wherein the two or more bonding areas are located on a top surface of the display panel within the circular area, the rectangular area, the square area, or the hexagonal area;
a driver configured to drive the display panel;
a layer that provides a medium via which signals can propagate to and from the driver, wherein the layer has a top surface and a bottom surface, and wherein the driver is mounted to the bottom surface of the layer; and
two or more flexible connectors that provide communication paths between the display panel and the driver, wherein a first end of each of the two or more flexible connectors connects to the display panel at a corresponding one of the two or more bonding areas, and wherein a second end of each of the two or more flexible connectors connects to the bottom surface of the layer thereby connecting to the driver via the layer;

a memory, wherein the memory stores software; and
a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the software.

7. The user device of claim 6 , wherein the display further comprises a backlight, and wherein the backlight is located between the display panel and the layer.

8. The user device of claim 6 , further comprising:
a touch panel operable in at least one of an on-touch mode or a touchless mode; and
a touch panel flexible connector, wherein the touch panel flexible connector has a first end connected to a bottom surface of the touch panel and a second end connected to the bottom surface of the layer thereby connecting the touch panel to the driver via the layer, and wherein the driver is further configured to drive the touch panel.

9. The user device of claim 6 , further comprising:
a flexible connector, wherein the flexible connector connects the layer to a main processing system of the user device.

10. The user device of claim 9 , wherein the display panel comprises:
a thin-film transistor layer; and
a color filter layer, and wherein the two or more bonding areas are located on the thin-film transistor layer, and wherein the thin-film transistor layer and the color filter layer have a circular configuration.

11. A touch display comprising:
a touch panel operable in at least one of an on-touch mode or a touchless mode;
a display panel having a base layer and a top layer positioned above the base layer and having the same geometric shape as one another, wherein the base layer has a greater area than an area of the top layer such that a step portion is formed between the base layer and the top layer, and wherein the base layer comprises two or more bonding areas located on area top surface of the base layer;
a driver configured to drive the display panel;
a layer that provides a medium via which signals can propagate to and from the driver, and wherein the driver is mounted to the layer; and
two or more flexible connectors separate from each other, wherein the two or more flexible connectors provide communication paths between the display panel and the driver, and wherein a first end of each of the two or more flexible connectors connects to the display panel at a corresponding one of the two or more bonding areas, and wherein a second end of each of the two or more flexible connectors connects to the driver via the second ends connections to the layer.

12. The touch display of claim 11 , further comprising:
a backlight, wherein the backlight is located between the display panel and the layer, and wherein each of the two or more flexible connectors comprises one of a flexible printed circuit, a chip-on-flex, or a chip-on-foil.

13. The touch display of claim 11 , further comprising:
a flexible connector, wherein the flexible connector connects the touch panel to the driver via the layer, and wherein the driver is further configured to drive the touch panel; and wherein the display panel comprises:
a thin-film transistor layer, wherein the two or more bonding areas are located on a top surface of the thin-film transistor layer, and the second end of each of the two or more flexible connectors connects to a bottom surface of the layer.

14. The touch display of claim 11 , wherein the display panel is one of a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode display, or an electrophoretic display.

15. The display of claim 1 , wherein the display panel is circular

Assignees

• Sony Corp
• Sony Mobile Communications Inc

Inventors

• Grip Martin

Classifications

• G04G21/08

  Touch switches specially adapted for time-pieces · CPC title

• G09F9/30

  in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements (panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell controlling light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. electro-optical or magneto-optical cell, G02F1/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/041

  Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means · CPC title

• H05K2201/10128

  Display · CPC title

• G06F3/0412 Primary

  Digitisers structurally integrated in a display · CPC title