Transparent display device with touch sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12182359-B2
Application number	US-202418435460-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2024
Priority date	Dec 16, 2021
Publication date	Dec 31, 2024
Grant date	Dec 31, 2024

Abstract

A transparent display device with a touch sensor is provided, which may reduce loss of light transmittance due to a touch sensor and a touch line, and may detect a line area, in which a defective touch sensor is included. The device includes a substrate provided with a plurality of transmissive areas and a non-transmissive area disposed between the transmissive areas adjacent to each other. The device includes a touch line extended from the non-transmissive area and connected to a touch sensor electrode, and a common power line connected to a cathode electrode to supply a cathode power source. The non-transmissive area includes a cathode power area to which the cathode power source is applied through the common power line, the cathode power area includes a first cathode power area and a second cathode power area. The second cathode power area may have resistance higher than that of the first cathode power area.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A transparent display device with a touch sensor, the transparent display device comprising:
a substrate;
a plurality of transmissive areas and a non-transmissive area disposed between transmissive areas adjacent to each other on the substrate;
a plurality of touch sensors respectively provided in the plurality of transmissive areas on the substrate, each touch sensor including a touch sensor electrode;
a plurality of pixels disposed in the non-transmissive area on the substrate, each pixel including an anode electrode, a light emitting layer, and a cathode electrode;
a touch line extended in the non-transmissive area in a first direction and electrically connected to the touch sensor electrode; and
a common power line electrically connected to the cathode electrode to supply a cathode power source,
wherein the non-transmissive area includes a cathode power area to which the cathode power source is applied through the common power line,
wherein the cathode power area includes a first cathode power area disposed between the touch sensors adjacent to each other in a second direction and a second cathode power area disposed between the touch sensors adjacent to each other in the first direction, and
wherein the second cathode power area has a width narrower than that of the first cathode power area.

2. The transparent display device of claim 1 , wherein the second cathode power area has resistance of 1 kΩ or more.

3. The transparent display device of claim 1 , wherein the cathode electrode includes a first cathode electrode provided in the first cathode power area, having a first width, and a second cathode electrode provided in the second cathode power area, having a second width smaller than the first width.

4. The transparent display device of claim 3 , wherein the second cathode electrode has resistance of 1 kΩ or more.

5. The transparent display device of claim 3 , wherein the second width of the second cathode electrode is smaller than 50 μm.

6. The transparent display device of claim 1 , wherein the common power line includes a first common power line provided in a first layer in the first cathode power area and a second common power line provided in a second layer in the second cathode power area.

7. The transparent display device of claim 6 , wherein the second common power line is made of a silicon-based semiconductor material or an oxide-based semiconductor material.

8. The transparent display device of claim 6 , wherein the second common power line has resistance of 1 kΩ or more.

9. The transparent display device of claim 6 , wherein the first common power line is formed in a same layer as one of a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode of a driving transistor, and
wherein the second common power line is provided in a same layer as an active layer of the driving transistor.

10. The transparent display device of claim 1 , further comprising a switching transistor electrically connecting or separating the common power line to or from a cathode power supply source.

11. The transparent display device of claim 10 , wherein the switching transistor separates the common power line from the cathode power supply source in accordance with a defect detection control signal and connects the common power line to the cathode power supply source in accordance with a general control signal.

12. The transparent display device of claim 1 , wherein the first cathode power area at least partially overlaps the plurality of pixels, and the second cathode power area does not overlap the plurality of pixels.

13. The transparent display device of claim 1 , wherein the cathode electrode is disposed to be spaced apart from the touch sensor electrode in a same layer as the touch sensor electrode.

14. The transparent display device of claim 13 , further comprising a first undercut structure provided in the transmissive area, having a planar closed shape,
wherein the cathode electrode and the touch sensor electrode are separated from each other by the first undercut structure.

15. The transparent display device of claim 12 , further comprising:
a plurality of touch line areas in which the plurality of touch sensors are disposed in a line in the first direction;
a pixel power line electrically connected to the anode electrode; and
a defect detector controlling the pixel power line and the touch line to apply a first voltage and a second voltage to each of the pixel power line and the touch line and determining a touch line area, in which a defective touch sensor is included, among the plurality of touch line areas based on a current or luminance of the plurality of pixels emitting light by a current generated between the pixel power line and the touch line.

16. The transparent display device of claim 15 , wherein the pixel power line is provided as a plurality of pixel power lines to correspond to the plurality of touch line areas one-to-one, and
wherein the defect detector senses a current per pixel line of the plurality of pixels through the plurality of pixel power lines and determines a touch line area corresponding to a pixel line having current higher than that of a left pixel line and a right pixel line, which are adjacent thereto, as a line area in which the defective touch sensor is included.

17. A transparent display device with a touch sensor, the transparent display device comprising:
a substrate;
a plurality of transmissive areas and a non-transmissive area disposed between transmissive areas adjacent to each other on the substrate;
a plurality of touch sensors respectively provided in the plurality of transmissive areas on the substrate, each touch sensor including a touch sensor electrode;
a plurality of pixels disposed in the non-transmissive area on the substrate, each pixel including an anode electrode, a light emitting layer, and a cathode electrode;
a touch line extended in the non-transmissive area in a first direction and electrically connected to the touch sensor electrode; and
a common power line electrically connected to the cathode electrode to supply a cathode power source,
wherein the non-transmissive area includes a cathode power area to which the cathode power source is applied through the common power line,
wherein the cathode power area includes a first cathode power area disposed between the touch sensors adjacent to each other in a second direction and a second cathode power area disposed between the touch sensors adjacent to each other in the first direction, and
wherein a first width of the second cathode power area is smaller than a corresponding second width of the first cathode power area.

Assignees

• Lg Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Park Jaehee
• Lee Mireum
• LEE Kihyung

Classifications

• H10K59/40

  OLEDs integrated with touch screens · CPC title

• G06F3/0412 Primary

  Digitisers structurally integrated in a display · CPC title

• G06F3/0446

  using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes · CPC title

• G06F3/04164 Primary

  Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads · CPC title

• G06F2203/04112

  Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material · CPC title