Display module with electronic ink

Abstract

Display module with electronic ink, comprising a TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink (1) having an active area (2) and an inactive area, a light guide plate (3), the light sources (4) located on one side of the light guide plate (3), and an upper protective layer (5), characterized in that the light guide plate (3) covers the surface of the inactive area, while the light guide plate (3) is located between a masking layer (6) and an upper protective layer (5), and the display layers are arranged in the following order (from bottom to top): the TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink (1); the masking layer (6); the light guide plate (3); light sources (4); the upper protective layer (5).

Description

Field of invention

[0001] The invention relates to displays of electronic devices for individual use, which are implemented based on electronic ink technology, serving for the visual reproduction of electronic texts and graphic information. State of the art

[0002] The technology of “electronic ink” or “electronic paper” is known from the prior art as an information display technology that mimics conventional ink on paper.

[0003] The most common ways to implement this technology are the following technical solutions.

[0004] The use of "Janus particles," i.e., spherical elements consisting of negatively charged black plastic on one side and positively charged white plastic on the other, involves placing all the spheres within a transparent silicone film. Each sphere is suspended in a lubricated bubble, allowing it to rotate freely. The polarity of the voltage applied to each electrode pair determines whether the white or black side of the sphere faces the user, thus defining the white or black color of the conventional pixel (see Crowley, JM; Sheridon, NK; Romano, L. "Dipole moments of gyricon balls" Journal of Electrostatics 2002, 55, (3-4), 247).

[0005] An electrophoretic display that forms an image by redistributing charged pigment particles using an electric field. In its simplest form, titanium dioxide particles approximately one micrometer in diameter are dispersed in mineral oil to which black dye and other additives are added. The mixture is placed between two conductive plates separated by a gap of 10 to 100 micrometers. When a voltage is applied to one of the plates, the particles move toward the plate carrying the opposite charge. When the particles are closer to the front plate of the display, it appears white because the light is reflected by the titanium particles, which have a high refractive index. When the particles are closer to the back of the display, it appears dark due to the color of the mineral oil (see Srikanth, G.; Kariyappa, B. (2016). “Amorfinio silicio plonasluoksnių tranzistorių parametrinė analizė”).IEEE International: 1642-1646).

[0006] Unlike conventional liquid crystal displays, which use the backlight of a matrix to create an image, electronic paper reflects light like regular paper. It can display text and images for as long as needed without consuming power, while still allowing the user to change the image later. These features of electronic ink technology are successfully used in e-books.

[0007] There are various technologies for creating electronic devices based on electronic ink technology. Some of these use a plastic substrate and electronic components to create a flexible display. An electronic ink display is likely to be easier to read than conventional displays. This is achieved through a stable image that does not require constant refreshing, a wide viewing angle, and the fact that an electronic ink display reflects ambient light instead of emitting it. An electronic ink display can be read in direct sunlight without any loss of image quality.

[0008] The biggest disadvantage of these devices is that they cannot be used in poor lighting conditions, which is also typical for conventional paper books. Constant use of such displays causes eye fatigue and strain.

[0009] US Patent No. US7777954B2 describes a display based on electronic ink technology and equipped with conventional backlighting technology, enabling the use of devices with such a display in low-light conditions. This device consists of the following main layers (in bottom to top order): a TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink, including the active area, i.e., the area of ​​the electronic ink layer on which visual information is displayed; a light guide plate, i.e., a plate made of thin optical plastic with a microcapsule structure that distributes the light from the light source evenly across its entire surface; and the light sources, i.e., "warm" and "cold" LEDs soldered in parallel onto a flexible printed circuit board (FPC).The main disadvantage of the above solution is that only the active area of ​​the display is illuminated and that it is impossible to cover other parts of the display, which leads to significant limitations in the design of the device, namely the need to cover inactive parts of the display with a housing, decorative glass, etc., which in turn leads to a significant percentage of the inefficient area of ​​the device (given the considerable size of the technical parts of the display that cannot display any information). Brief description of the invention

[0010] The aim of the claimed invention is to create a display module based on electronic ink technology, such as E-Ink, which enables more efficient use of the active area without loss of user comfort, brings the appearance of the display closer to the appearance of a page of paper, and enables the efficient use of various devices incorporating the claimed invention in poor lighting conditions without excessive strain on the user's eyes.

[0011] The display module based on electronic ink technology includes a TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink, which has an active area that displays the image and an inactive area, i.e., a part of the display module that does not display the image, a light guide plate, light sources arranged on one side of the light guide plate, and an upper protective layer.

[0012] The light guide plate is located between the masking layer and the top protective layer. The surface of the light guide plate has topographic dimensions sufficient to partially, completely, or excessively cover the surface of the inactive area. The display layers are arranged in the following order (from bottom to top): a TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink, a masking layer, a light guide plate, the light sources, and a top protective layer.

[0013] The masking layer includes opaque and / or reflective elements applied in a color that closely matches the color of the TFT matrix with the layer of electronic ink.

[0014] The display module includes one or more additional light sources located on other sides of the light guide plate.

[0015] The display module also includes a touch panel that is placed between the TFT matrix and the masking layer.

[0016] The surface of the active area of ​​the touch panel has topographic dimensions that are larger than the topographic dimensions of the surface of the active area of ​​the TFT matrix.

[0017] The upper protective layer consists of a masking element in the form of a screen-printed frame.

[0018] The claimed invention achieves an increase in the usable area of ​​the active zone of the display by placing the light guide plate between the masking layer and the upper protective layer. The light guide plate has topographic dimensions sufficient to partially, completely, or excessively cover the inactive area. The masking layer comprises opaque and / or reflective elements applied with a layer of electronic ink in a color close to that of the TFT matrix. The upper protective layer can include the masking element in the form of a screen-printed frame.

[0019] These reflective elements reflect the light and illuminate the fields to match the color tone of the display, while the upper masking layer is designed to mask the area of ​​the light sources (depending on the design of the device, the area of ​​the light sources may also be masked by the housing).

[0020] Because the reflective elements are flush with the active area of ​​the display, the user's visual perception of the display size shifts as the display size increases. This effect minimizes the visual boundaries between the text on the display and the edge of the active area, increasing the amount of text that can be displayed by approximately 10 to 20%, depending on the display size, without changing the width of the frame. These features also allow for a frameless design of the product, more similar to a page of paper in a book, which further enhances the user's visual perception of the text.

[0021] The claimed invention makes it possible to reduce the fatigue of the user's eyes when using the device in poor lighting conditions, which is achieved by the presence of an additional light source or additional light sources located on other sides of the light guide plate.

[0022] The claimed invention enables the use of an improved interface for software products designed for devices containing a display module based on electronic ink technology. This improved interface enhances user interaction, for example, by allowing tracking of the device's position, the use of additional gesture control elements, touch control scenarios utilizing a combination of sensors over the active and inactive areas, additional touch buttons, and so on. This technical result of the claimed invention is achieved through the presence of an active area of ​​the touch panel whose surface has topographical dimensions larger than those of the active area of ​​the TFT matrix. Brief description of characters

[0023] Features of the invention that are novel and not obvious are set forth in the claims. However, the invention can best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, which, without limiting the scope of the invention, describes exemplary embodiments of the invention together with the accompanying figures illustrating the invention: Fig. Figure 1 shows a multi-layered structure (cross-section) of the proposed display module according to the invention; Fig. 2 is the comparative visualization of devices with a) a typical display module and b) a display module according to the invention.

[0024] The preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the figures. Each figure has the same reference numeral for the same or equivalent element. Detailed description of the invention

[0025] It is understood that the application sets out many specific details to provide a complete and comprehensible description of the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the details of the preferred embodiments of the invention do not limit other embodiments that can be realized without such specific instructions. Known methods, processes, and components are not described in detail herein so that the examples of embodiments of the invention are not considered misleading. Furthermore, this description should not be considered as limited to the examples of the invention given, but rather as only one embodiment of the invention. The technology of “electronic ink” or “electronic paper,” such as “e-ink,” developed by E-Ink Corporation is known and is therefore not explained in detail in the description.

[0026] A display module based on electronic ink technology comprises a TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink (1) having an active area (2) and an inactive area (not shown in the figures), a light guide plate (3), the light sources (4) located on one side of the light guide plate (3), an upper protective layer (5), a masking layer (6), light-tight elements (7), reflective elements (8), a touch panel (9), and a masking element (10) designed in the form of a screen-printed frame.

[0027] The dimensions of the light guide plate (3) are such that its surface partially (1 to 99%), completely, or excessively (more than 101%) covers the surface of the inactive area. The usable area of ​​the active area of ​​the display module is increased by placing the light guide plate (3) between the masking layer (6) and the upper protective layer (5). The display layers are arranged as follows (from bottom to top): the TFT matrix with the electronic ink layer (1), the masking layer (6), the light guide plate (3), the light sources (4), and the upper protective layer (5). The masking layer (6) is covered with light-tight elements (7) and / or reflective elements (8) whose color closely matches the color of the TFT matrix with the electronic ink layer (1).These reflective elements (8) reflect the light and illuminate the fields to match the color tone of the display, while the masking layer (6) is designed to conceal the area of ​​the light sources (4). Depending on the design of the device, the LED area (4) may also be masked by the housing.

[0028] Since the reflective elements (8) are flush with the active area of ​​the display, this allows the user to adjust their visual perception of the display size as it increases. This effect minimizes the visual boundaries between the text on the display and the edge of the active area, increasing the amount of text that can be displayed by approximately 10 to 20%, depending on the display size, without changing the width of the frame. These features also allow for the implementation of a frameless product design, which more closely resembles a page of paper and enhances the user's visual perception of the text.

[0029] The electronic ink display module can further comprise one or more additional light sources (4) placed on the other sides of the light guide plate (3), provided that the light sources (4) can be placed on all sides of the light guide plate (3). This reduces the strain on the user's eyes when using the device in low-light conditions.

[0030] The claimed display module functions as follows. After the device and the light sources (4) are switched on, the luminous flux generated by the LEDs enters the light guide plate (3), which distributes the luminous flux and directs it onto the active area (2). This active area is part of the TFT matrix, which includes a layer of electronic ink (1) and a masking layer (6) with a complex structure that provides both light-tightness and reflection. Opaque elements (7) conceal the structural elements located beneath the layer (6), while reflective elements (8) make the concealed area appear as a continuation of the active area (2). The color temperature and the intensity of the luminous flux of the light sources (4) are adjusted by means of the control module, which is not a component of the display module. The upper protective layer (5) is considered the upper layer of the display module.

[0031] Optionally, the touch panel (9) can be used to control the device in which the display module is used. Preferably, the dimensions of the active area of ​​the touch panel (9) are such that the surface of the active area of ​​the touch panel (9) covers more than 100% of the surface of the active area (2) of the TFT matrix (1). This makes it possible to use advanced interface functions of software products for devices with the display module based on electronic ink technology, which improves user interaction, for example, tracking the position of a handheld device using additional gesture control, touch control scenarios using a combination of a sensor in the active and inactive areas, additional touch buttons, etc.

[0032] Optionally, the surface of the protective layer (5) can be covered with a masking frame (10), e.g. by screen printing, which makes it possible to hide light sources (4) and opaque areas of the touch panel (9) from the user. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] US 7777954B2

[0009] Cited non-patent literature

[0000] Crowley, J.M.; Sheridon, N.K.; Romano, L. “Dipole moments of gyricon balls” Journal of Electrostatics 2002, 55, (3-4), 247

[0004] Srikanth, G; Kariyappa, B (2016). “Parametric Analysis of Amorphous Silicon Thin Film Transistors”. IEEE International: 1642-1646

[0005]

Claims

[1] Electronic ink display module comprising a TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink (1) having an active area (2) and an inactive area, a light guide plate (3), the light sources (4) located on one side of the light guide plate (3), and an upper protective layer (5), characterized by , that the light guide plate (3) covers the surface of the inactive area, while the light guide plate (3) is located between a masking layer (6) and an upper protective layer (5), and display layers are arranged in the following order (from bottom to top): the TFT matrix with a layer of electronic ink (1); the masking layer (6); the light guide plate (3); light sources (4); the upper protective layer (5). [2] Display module with electronic ink according to claim 1, characterized by, that the masking layer (6) includes the light-tight elements (7) and / or reflective elements (8) applied to it with a color that is close to the color of the TFT matrix with the layer of electronic ink (1). [3] Display module with electronic ink according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by , that it includes one or more additional light sources (4) located on other sides of the light guide plate (3). [4] Display module with electronic ink according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by , that it further comprises a touch panel (9) which is placed between the TFT matrix (1) and the masking layer (6). [5] Display module with electronic ink according to claim 4, characterized by , that the surface of the active area of ​​the touch panel (9) covers more than 100% of the surface of the active area (2) of the TFT matrix (1). [6] Display module with electronic ink according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by , that the upper protective layer (5) includes a masking element (10) in the form of a screen printing frame. [7] Display module with electronic ink according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by , that the surface of the light guide plate (3) covers the surface of the inactive area to 1 to 99%. [8] Display module with electronic ink according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by , that the surface of the light guide plate (3) completely covers the surface of the inactive area. [9] Display module with electronic ink according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by , that the surface of the light guide plate (3) covers the surface of the inactive area to more than 101%.

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