Bezel-enabled touchable OLED displays for wearables

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an electronic device utilizing a flexible display panel, the flexible display panel having a plurality of bendable flaps formed within a peripheral bend portion of the flexible display panel. The flexible display panel can have a circular shape utilized in a wearable device. The active area and touch-sensitive area for displaying images and receiving touch input can be extended to the peripheral bend portion of the flexible display panel, thus providing a wide viewing range, extending the utilization of the touch-sensitive area, and enhancing the overall aesthetic appearance of the electronic device.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] background Electronic devices often include a display assembly for displaying content to a user. For example, portable devices, personal digital assistants, wearable devices such as smart watches and smart glasses, and the like often include a display assembly for presenting content and information to a user. An electronic device may have a housing, such as a housing formed from plastic or metal, that exposes an active area of ​​a display for displaying content. Some designs seek to maximize the active area of ​​the display panel relative to the total device footprint, such as by minimizing non-display areas at the borders, bezels, or edges of the display panel. For example, reducing the relative size of the housing at the borders of the active area of ​​the display enhances the overall aesthetics of the display assembly.

[0002] To maximize the active area of ​​the display, a curved housing, such as a curved cover glass, can be used to extend the active area of ​​the display into the bezel area of ​​the display assembly. However, the active area in the bezel area is not sensitive to touch input from the user. In such a structure, buttons or other mechanical structures are still required to enable control from the bezel area of ​​the wearable device. Summary of the Invention

[0003] overview The present disclosure provides a flexible display panel for an electronic device. The flexible display panel has one or more contact sensors disposed in a bezel region of the electronic device. In one example, a display assembly includes a flexible display panel disposed under a cover layer, the flexible display panel having a bent portion formed in a peripheral region of the flexible display panel. A plurality of relief features are formed in the bent portion of the flexible display panel to form a plurality of bendable flaps in the peripheral region of the flexible display panel. A first plurality of contact sensors are formed on the bendable flaps of the flexible display panel.

[0004] In one example, the flexible display panel includes a flat portion formed on a central region of the flexible display panel, the flat portion having a circular shape, and a second plurality of contact sensors formed on the flat portion of the flexible display panel.

[0005] In one example, the second plurality of contact sensors are in electrical communication with the display device integrated circuit. The second plurality of contact sensors are connected to the display device integrated circuit via routing wires that extend through the active areas between the contact sensors. The first plurality of contact sensors are in electrical communication with the display device integrated circuit via routing wires that are disposed on the inactive areas formed in the bendable flap. The first plurality of contact sensors and the second plurality of contact sensors are collectively coupled to the display device integrated circuit.

[0006] In one example, each bendable flap includes one or more contact sensors from a first plurality of contact sensors. The first plurality of contact sensors includes a transmitter electrode and a receiver electrode formed in a common layer. A jumper wire is coupled to the transmitter electrode. The jumper wire is formed in a metal layer below or above an insulating material in contact with the common layer. The jumper wire is coupled to the transmitter electrode via a connection plug formed in the insulating material. The flexible display panel further includes an active area formed in a bent portion of the flexible display panel. An OLED film stack is formed below the first plurality of contact sensors.

[0007] In one example, an optically transparent adhesive is disposed between the OLED film stack and the first plurality of contact sensors. The display assembly is integrated into a wearable device. The bending portion of the flexible display panel has a curvature that matches the curved side region of the cover layer.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure includes an electronic device. The electronic device includes a cover layer. The flexible display panel has a flat central region and a curved peripheral region. The curved peripheral region includes a plurality of bendable flaps. The flat central region has a circular shape. The curved peripheral region is touch sensitive.

[0009] Each bendable flap of the plurality of bendable flaps includes one or more contact sensors. An OLED film stack is formed below the one or more contact sensors. Each contact sensor of the one or more contact sensors disposed within each bendable flap is connected in series.

[0010] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure includes a method of forming a display assembly for an electronic device, the method including forming a plurality of bendable flaps in a peripheral region of a flexible display panel, folding the bendable flaps of the flexible display panel, and forming one or more contact sensors within the plurality of bendable flaps in the peripheral region of the flexible display panel. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary smart watch having a flexible display panel according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an example functional block diagram of an example electronic device according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a display assembly according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a display assembly according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a top view of an active and touch-sensitive area in a display assembly according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 1A is a top view of an example peripheral portion of a flexible display panel having multiple bendable flaps prior to bending to form a bezel region of an electronic device according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 6A] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6B] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7A] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7B] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8A] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8B] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9A] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9B] 1A-1D are cross-sectional and top views of an exemplary contact sensor during different stages of manufacture according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 10A] FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a layout of a portion of a contact sensor utilized in an electronic device having a flexible display panel with multiple bendable flaps in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10B] 10B is a cross-sectional view of the contact sensor taken along line AA shown in FIG. 10A. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a top view of an example of a display assembly having routing wiring around a contact sensor disposed in a smartwatch in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 12A] FIG. 13 is a top view of an example of a display assembly having routing wiring in a bezel area of ​​a smart watch according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 12B] FIG. 12B is an enlarged view of a portion of a bezel area of ​​the display assembly of FIG. 12A according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Detailed Description The present disclosure provides an electronic device utilizing a flexible display panel to present or display information, content or images to a user. The electronic device may be a portable device, a wearable device or other electronic device. In one example, the electronic device is a smart watch. The electronic device includes a flexible display panel embedded therein, the flexible display panel having a plurality of bent portions forming bendable flaps. A plurality of contact sensor devices can be disposed in a bezel area formed by the bendable flaps of the flexible display panel. The bezel area formed by the bendable flaps of the flexible display panel can have a curvature that conforms to and attaches to the curved side portions of the curved cover layer.

[0013] In one example, a first plurality of contact sensors is formed in a bezel region of an electronic device and a second plurality of contact sensors is formed in a flat region of the electronic device. The second plurality of contact sensors are in electrical communication with a display device integrated circuit. The second plurality of contact sensors are connected to the display device integrated circuit via routing wires that extend through active areas between the contact sensors. The first plurality of contact sensors are in electrical communication with the display device integrated circuit via routing wires that are disposed on inactive areas formed in the bendable flap.

[0014] Thus, the panel touch-sensitive active area of ​​the flexible display can be extended into the bezel area of ​​the electronic device to provide additional active and touch-sensitive areas for use in the electronic device. Thus, buttons or other mechanical structures traditionally located in the bezel area of ​​the electronic device can be eliminated. In this regard, the overall device aesthetics and utilization area can be enhanced, and also the user experience and satisfaction can be improved.

[0015] 1 illustrates an exemplary electronic device. In this example, the electronic device is a wearable device, such as a smart watch 100. However, it should be understood that the wearable device may be any of a variety of wearable devices, such as a pendant, a head mounted display, smart glasses, a smart helmet, earphones, or any of a variety of other devices.

[0016] The smartwatch 100 includes a watch body 145. A housing 199 is utilized to enclose the watch body 145. In the illustrated example, the watch body 145 is round or circular in shape, but the watch body 145 may be rectangular, square, irregular, oval, polygonal, any shape, and the like. The watch body 145 may include a display assembly 150. The display assembly 150 includes a cover layer 141 and a display panel 142 disposed below the cover layer 141. In one example, the cover layer 141 may be made of various materials, such as metal, plastic, glass, ceramic, or a combination of these or other materials. In the illustrated example herein, the cover layer 141 may be made of a transparent material, such as glass.

[0017] The display panel 142 may be an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display or other suitable display. The display panel 142 may include a flat portion 120 and a curved portion 122. The curved portion 122 joins the flat portion 120 to form a bezel, perimeter, border or edge region of the display panel 142. The curved portion 122 may extend the active area 124 and the touch-sensitive area from the flat portion 120 to the border / corner / bezel region of the watch body 145 to continuously display content, information or images within the display panel 142. Multiple touch-sensitive devices may be disposed within the curved portion 122 such that the border / corner / bezel region of the watch body 145 may be used not only to display content but also to receive touch-sensitive or touch-controllable commands or inputs from a user. Thus, the continuous viewing and touch-sensitive area extending from the flat portion 120 to the curved portion 122 of the display panel 142 can provide the user with a wide viewing range and angle, such as a high screen-to-body ratio for an "all-screen" design, as well as enhance the overall aesthetic appearance and increase the usable / operable area of ​​the watch body 145.

[0018] In one example, the active area 124 includes an array of vertically stacked contact sensors and an array of display pixels to display an image while simultaneously detecting touch actions from a user's input. The contact sensors (not visible in FIG. 1 ) are disposed between a touch surface, such as the cover layer 141, and the display panel 142 on which the display pixels are disposed to detect touch input based on capacitance changes, such as changes in capacitance between a receiver electrode and a transmitter electrode disposed in the contact sensor. Other suitable contact sensors may also be utilized to receive touch input from a user. The contact sensors may be formed on the flat portion 120 as well as the curved portion 122 of the display panel 142. Details of the structure of the contact sensors are described below with reference to FIGS. 6A-10.

[0019] In one example, a display pixel may include at least one switching thin film transistor (TFT) and at least one drive TFT. Each pixel circuit may be electrically connected to gate and data lines and communicates with drive circuitry, such as gate and data drivers, located within the non-active areas of the display panel 142 to operate the associated pixel.

[0020] Additionally, display panel 142 may include components having functions other than those for operating pixels disposed within active area 124 and tactile input. For example, display panel 142 may include components for providing haptic feedback processes and / or various other processes or operations for an electronic device utilized with display panel 142.

[0021] The curved portions 122 of the display panel 142 can eliminate, reduce, or minimize inactive areas viewed from the front side of the display assembly 150. By utilizing curved portions 122 in the edge, bezel, border, or perimeter areas of the display panel 142, inactive areas of the display panel 142, such as non-visibility from the front side by a user, can be minimized, thus maximizing the active display area of ​​the display panel 142 and enhancing overall device aesthetics.

[0022] In one example, the flat portion 120 can have a rounded or circular shape. The flat portion 120 can also have an irregular shape, a polygonal shape, or any other suitable shape.

[0023] A plurality of relief features 143 are formed in the bent portion 122 of the display panel 142 to form a plurality of bendable flaps 125 at an edge, bezel, border, or peripheral region of the display panel 142. The relief features 143 can relieve mechanical or bending stresses associated with bending at the bent portion 122. The relief features 143 can be cut-out portions or cut-out structures that remove some material from the peripheral region of the display panel 142. The relief features 143 can be of any configuration, pattern, or dimension. For example, the relief features 143 can be in the form of an arc configuration, a triangular configuration, an oval configuration, a semicircular configuration, or other suitable configuration. In the examples shown herein, some of the relief features 143 can be omitted or can be modified from the configuration shown, for example, by forming more or fewer relief features 143, relief features 143 of a different cross-section, number, or shape than those shown, or by other structures that relieve mechanical stresses associated with bending at the bent portion 122.

[0024] The cover layer 141 may be attached or bonded to the display panel 142 by a lamination process. In one example, the cover layer 141 includes a flat region 161 and a curved side region 162. The flat region 161 is bonded to the flat portion 120 of the display panel 142, while the curved side region 162 is bonded to the curved portion 122 of the display panel 142. An adhesive material 302 shown in FIG. 3A may be utilized to bond the cover layer 141 to the display panel 142 within minimal interface defects such as air bubbles or gaps. Contact sensors may be disposed on both the flat portion 120 and the curved portion 122 of the display panel 142 and below the cover layer 141. The cover layer 141 may act as a touch interface that may receive touch input from a user. Relief features 143 formed in the curved portion 122 of the display panel 142 may also facilitate gap gap minimization or air venting during the lamination process to prevent wrinkling or cracking and provide a good fitting interface. Because the active area of ​​the display panel 142 extends to the bent portion 122, which includes a contact sensor formed on the active area of ​​the display panel 142, buttons or other mechanical structures can be eliminated from the bezel area of ​​the smartwatch 100. This can reduce manufacturing complexity and costs during the lamination process.

[0025] The smartwatch 100 can include one or more accessories, such as a watch band 130. In other examples where the smartwatch 100 is a different device, the body of the device can have different types of accessories. For example, a pendant can include an accessory such as a necklace. The watch band 130 can be made from a variety of materials, such as metal, rubber, nylon, cotton, plastic, glass, ceramic or any combination thereof, or other materials. The watch band 130 can be adapted to be worn around a person's wrist. For example, the watch band 130 includes a strap 140. The strap 140 can be adjusted to provide a firm, comfortable fit around the wearer's wrist. In other examples, the watch band can be a bracelet, such as for a looser fit or for another type of attachment mechanism.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows the cover layer 14 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a watch body 145 in a smartwatch 100, 190 that includes multiple electronic components, including a display panel 142 laminated with a display panel 142. The example block diagrams shown herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure or the usefulness of the features described herein. In the example, as shown, the watch body 145 can include one or more processors 112, memory 114, and other components typically present in a general-purpose computing device.

[0027] The memory 114 may store information that can be accessed by the one or more processors 112, including instructions 116 that can be executed by the one or more processors 112. The memory 114 may also include data 118 that the processor 112 may retrieve, manipulate, or store.

[0028] As further shown in FIG. 2, the watch body 145 includes a user interface 12 that includes one or more input devices 111 and one or more output devices 113.1 For example, the input device 111 may include a touch screen 202, and the output device 113 may include a display panel 142. 1 may also include other components such as soft actuators, peripheral devices, sensors, and / or other suitable features. It should be noted that the touch screen 202 and display panel 142 described herein may refer to the same subject matter for providing multiple functionalities. For example, the display panel 142 may not only display content but may also provide a touch-activated interface, referred to as a touch screen 202, that allows a user to input commands and actively interact. In some examples, the touch screen 202 may be placed on top of the display panel 142 or beneath a cover layer 14 1 The contact sensor may include a plurality of contact sensors disposed on a lower layer formed on the lower surface of the substrate.

[0029] A user can use the input device 111 to interact with the smartwatch 100, for example, to open web pages or emails, compose messages, control display or audio functions, control sensors to monitor heart rate or temperature, locate location via GPS, etc. The watch body 145 can include one or more output devices, such as the output device 113. For example, the output device 113 can include one or more speakers, transducers or other audio outputs, a display panel 142, a tactile interface or other haptic feedback that provides non-visual and non-audible information to the user. For example, the display panel 142 in the output device 113 can display visual information, content or images, such as text, graphics, videos, etc. to the user. As another example, the speaker in the output device 113 can be used to play music and emit sound for navigation or other guidance, for multimedia files, for voice calls, translated speech, etc. Additionally, tactile or haptic feedback in the output device 113 can be used to generate non-visual and non-audible alerts, such as by vibration.

[0030] The watch body 145 may include one or more sensors other than the contact sensors utilized for the touch screen 202, such as the sensors 115. For example, the sensors may include visual sensors, audio sensors, contact sensors, and the like. The sensors may also include motion sensors, such as an inertial measurement unit ("IMU"). According to some examples, the IMU may include an accelerometer, such as a three-axis accelerometer, and a gyroscope, such as a three-axis gyroscope. The sensors may further include a barometer, a vibration sensor, a heat sensor, a radio frequency (RF) sensor, a magnetometer, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a heart rate sensor, and a body temperature sensor. Additional or different sensors may also be used. In some examples, the sensors 115 may include sensors for detecting a battery status, the presence of a wireless charging device, or any of a variety of other conditions.

[0031] The watch body 145 may include a communication interface 110. The communication interface 110 may enable the exchange of information with other devices. The communication interface 110 may include a communication receiver and transmitter system for modulating and transmitting signals for data transmission or signal transmission. The communication interface 110 may be controlled by a processor 112. In some examples, the communication interface 110 may be configured to transmit and / or receive data according to a wireless signal transmission standard, such as the Bluetooth standard or other suitable standard.

[0032] The communication interface 110 can enable wireless network connections, wireless ad-hoc connections, and / or wired connections. The communication system can be configured to support communications via cellular, LTE, 4G, 5G, WiFi, GPS, and other networked architectures. The communication interface 110 can be configured to support Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Near Field Communication (NFC) standard, Qi standard, and non-networked wireless deployments. The communication interface 110 can support wired connections, such as USB, micro USB, USB Type-C, or other connectors, to receive data and / or power, for example, from a laptop, tablet, smartphone, or other device.

[0033] The watch body 145 may include one or more energy storage devices, such as the energy storage device 119, configured to receive and store the generated power. In one example, the energy storage device 119 may be a battery.

[0034] The watch body 145 also includes a user interface 12 1The display panel 142 also includes a display device integrated circuit (DDIC) 117 that can electrically communicate with the touch screen 202 and the display panel 142 within the display panel 142. The DDIC 117 can control and provide a desired level of display resolution for the display panel 142. The DDIC 117 provides an interface between the processor 112 and the display panel 142. The DDIC 117 sends electrical signals to activate the array of pixels and touch sensors in the display panel 142, ultimately generating images, and also receives touch input on the display panel 142.

[0035] Although not shown, the watch body 145 may also include other additional components. For example, the watch body 145 may include a positioning module, which may include a GPS chipset or other positioning system components. Information from sensors and / or information from data received or determined from remote devices, such as wireless base stations or wireless access points, may be used by the positioning module to calculate or otherwise predict the physical location of the watch body 145 and / or watch band 130. As another example, the watch body 145 may include one or more internal clocks. The internal clocks may provide timing information that may be used for applications and other programs executed by the computing device, as well as time measurements for basic operations by the computing device, sensors, input / output, GPS, communication systems, and the like.

[0036] It should be noted that although the components shown in FIG. 2 are contained within the watch body 145, one or more of the components in FIG. 2 may be implemented elsewhere in the smartwatch 100, such as in the watch band 130.

[0037] 3A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a display assembly 300 including a cover layer 141 and a display panel 142 bonded together via an adhesive material 302. In one example, the adhesive material 302 may be an optically clear adhesive (OCA). It should be noted that the example shown in FIG. 3A is for illustrative purposes only. Some components, such as devices, transistors, signal lines, or other details or components, are not shown in FIG. 3A for clarity of illustration.

[0038] The cover layer 141 may be a transparent material utilized to protect the display panel 142. The cover layer 141 may be formed from a flexible material, such as plastic, or a more rigid material, such as glass. The cover layer 141 may function as a touch or input surface for receiving touch input from a user to trigger an operation in the touch sensor.

[0039] The display assembly 300 generally includes a flat zone 304, such as a central zone, and a curved zone 306, such as a peripheral zone formed on an edge, bezel, border, or peripheral region of the display assembly 300. The flat zone 304 includes a flat region 161 in the cover layer 141 that is bonded to a flat portion 120 from the display panel 142, while the curved zone 306 includes a curved region 161 in the cover layer 141 that is bonded to a curved portion 122 from the display panel 142. 141 The flat zone 304 may have a substantially rounded or circular shape when viewed in a top view (not shown). In other examples, the flat zone 304 may be elliptical, irregular, polygonal, or other suitable shape. The curved side regions 162 of the cover layer 141 may provide a curved surface with a desired curvature to match the bent portion 122 from the display panel 142.

[0040] The curved zone 306 of the display assembly 300 provides a bezel minimization effect at the edges of the display assembly 300, thus improving the utilized active area of ​​the display panel 142 while providing an immersive viewing experience 350 and aesthetics to the user.

[0041] Additionally, touch sensors are also formed in the curved portion 122 of the display panel 142 such that the curved zones 306 in the display panel 142 are also touch-sensitive or touch-operable, thereby receiving touch commands or inputs from a user.

[0042] In one example, the display panel 142 may be a flexible display including a plurality of structures formed on a substrate 314. FIG. 3B illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of the display panel 142 having a structure 360 ​​formed on the substrate 314 of the display panel 142. The structure 360 ​​formed in the display panel 142 includes an array of contact sensors 367 formed on an array of pixels formed in an OLED film stack 365. For example, an OLED film stack 365 for emitting light to display an image is disposed on the substrate 314. The OLED film stack 365 includes an encapsulation layer 362 formed on an organic light emitting material layer 364 having a plurality of thin film transistor devices 366 formed thereon. Each pixel may be associated with a pixel circuit including at least one switching thin film transistor (TFT) device and at least one driving TFT device. Each pixel circuit may be electrically connected to gate and data lines and may communicate with driving circuits such as gate and data drivers for operating the associated pixel. A base layer, such as the substrate 314, is then formed in contact with the organic light emitting material layer 364. Substrate 314 may include a thin flexible plastic film formed from polyimide, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), other suitable polymers, combinations of these polymers, etc. Other suitable substrates that can be used to form substrate 314 include glass, metal foils coated with a dielectric, multi-layer polymer stacks, thin glass films bonded to thin polymers, polymer composite films including polymeric materials in combination with nano- or microparticles dispersed therein, etc.

[0043] A number of contact sensors 367 may be disposed on the OLED film stack 365. An optically clear adhesive (not shown) may be disposed between the contact sensors 367 and the OLED film stack 365 to facilitate interfacial bonding therebetween. The contact sensors 367 may detect a contact input based on a change in capacitance. For example, such a change in capacitance detected between electrodes in the contact sensors 367 may be used to determine where a contact input is received. Further details regarding the configuration of the contact sensors 367 are described below with reference to FIGS. 6A-10.

[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of a display assembly 402 in which the dimensions of the active area 124 formed in the display panel 142 as well as the touch-sensitive area are expanded. The display assembly 402 illustrated in FIG. 4 may be a top view of the smartwatch 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. A plurality of relief features 143, such as cutout portions, may be formed in the bent portion 122 to form a plurality of bendable flaps 125, thereby helping to relieve local bending stresses. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the active area 124 is formed in the flat portion 120 and extends to the bent portion 122 of the display panel 142. Thus, the non-active area 404, such as the bendable flaps 125, formed in the bent portion 122 is relatively minimal. The relief features 143 formed in the bent portion 122 remove a portion of the active area from the display panel 142.

[0045] In one example, the bend portion 122 is a bendable portion, such as a bendable flap 125, that can create a curved surface that matches the curvature defined by the curved side region 162 of the cover layer 141. Thus, a good matching interface can be obtained by matching the curvature therebetween, thus eliminating interface defects, cracks or wrinkles during the lamination process. Because the bend portion 122 connects with the flat portion 120, the bend portion 122 defined between the relief features 143 can flare out from the circular edge 405 or perimeter of the flat portion 120.

[0046] In some examples, for the overall aesthetic appearance of the display assemblies 402, 404, ink or other material may be applied to the cover layer 141 to cover or hide the relief features 143. For example, the ink or other material may be applied in a pattern or mask that corresponds to the relief features 143. Additionally, the ink may be colored to match the color of the active areas of the display assemblies, thus hiding or disguising the relief features 143.

[0047] 5 illustrates a top view of the display panel 142 with a plurality of contact sensors 367 disposed thereon. A first plurality of contact sensors 367a may be disposed on the flat portion 120, while a second plurality of contact sensors 367b may be disposed on the curved portion 122. The active area 124 includes an OLED film stack 365 configured to display an image in the active area 124 on the flat portion 120 as well as in the curved portion 122.

[0048] In the example shown in Figure 5, 367a, 3 6 A contact sensor 367, also shown as .7b, can be formed on one or more of the bendable flaps 125 such that the bendable flaps 125 disposed within the bezel region of the smartwatch can also be touch-sensitive and touch-operable by a user. In one example, each bendable flap 125 can include one or more contact sensors disposed thereon such that each active area disposed within each bendable flap 125 is touch-sensitive and touch-operable. The contact sensors disposed within each bendable flap 125 can be electronically connected by wiring to enable electrical communication therebetween.

[0049] 6A-6B, 7A-7B, 8A-8B, and 9A-9B respectively depict cross-sectional and top views of an example contact sensor utilized in smartwatch 100 during different stages of manufacturing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one example, the contact sensor may be formed on substrate 600. In the examples shown in FIGS. 6A-6B, 7A-7B, 8A-8B, and 9A-9B, the contact sensor may be a capacitive contact sensor including transmitter and receiver electrodes, i.e., sensor electrodes formed in a common layer utilizing jumper wires formed in vias to route between the transmitter electrodes to facilitate electrical communication therebetween, or sensor electrodes formed in a common layer as shown in the example shown in FIGS. 7A-7B.

[0050] As shown in Figures 6A-6B, the substrate 600 on which the contact sensor is formed may be similar to the substrate 314 on which a number of structures, such as an OLED film stack 365, are formed on the substrate 600. The detailed structures formed in the OLED film stack 365 have been removed from Figures 6A-6B for clarity of illustration. Although not shown in Figures 6A-6B, additional layers, such as an adhesion layer, a passivation layer, or other suitable interface layer, may be formed on top of the OLED film stack 365, or at the interface between the OLED film stack 365 and the substrate 600, or other suitable interface or surface.

[0051] In FIGS. 7A-7B, a first metal layer 602 is formed on a substrate 600 as shown in FIGS. 7A-7B. The first metal layer 602 may later be utilized to form a transmitter electrode, a receiver electrode, or a jumper wire for any suitable sensor electrode arrangement. In some examples, the first metal layer 602 may be utilized to form a sensor electrode in a common layer. In one example, the first metal layer 602 may include a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO). It should be noted that the first metal layer 602 formed on the substrate 600 may be patterned or etched to form any suitable features or patterns in the first metal layer 602 as shown in the top view of FIG. 7B.

[0052] 8A-8B, an insulating material 604 is formed on a first metal layer 602. The insulating material 604 may be any suitable dielectric material capable of insulating electrical communication between the first metal layer 602 and the second metal layer 606, as shown in Figures 9A-9B. In one example, the insulating material 604 may be a silicon oxide material or any suitable silicon-containing material.

[0053] In FIGS. 9A-9B, a second metal layer 606 is formed on an insulating material 604. The second metal layer 606 may be utilized to form transmitter electrodes, receiver electrodes, or jumper wires for any suitable sensor electrode arrangement. In one example, the transmitter and receiver electrodes may be formed in a common layer, such as the second metal layer 606, while the jumper wires may be formed in the first metal layer 602, or vice versa. In the example shown in FIGS. 9A-9B ... metal The first metal layer 602 is formed in a substantially diamond shape in the layer 606, while jumper wires may be formed in the first metal layer 602 so as to electrically communicate via connection plugs formed in the insulating material 604, as will be further described below with reference to FIG. 10.

[0054] The first metal layer 602 and the second metal layer 606, and the insulating material 604 formed therebetween, combine to form a capacitive touch sensor capable of detecting and receiving touch input from a user.

[0055] 10A illustrates a top view of a layout of a portion of a contact sensor 367 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 6 can be patterned and etched to form transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b and receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b of any suitable shape, such as diamond, rectangle, circle, star, square, non-convex, convex, non-concave, concave, etc. In the example shown in FIG. 10A, the transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b and receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b are substantially diamond shaped. The transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b are disposed in close proximity to the receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b. By utilizing the transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b and receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b in a common layer, a touch input can be received by detecting a change in capacitive coupling between the transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b and the receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b. The jumper wire 706 is formed in the first metal layer 602, which is in electrical communication with the transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b and / or receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b formed in the second metal layer 606 via connection plugs formed in the insulating material 604.

[0056] FIG. 10B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the contact sensor 367 along the section line AA shown in FIG. 10A. As shown, a connection plug 704 is formed in an insulating material 604 to facilitate communication of the transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b via a jumper wire 706. The multiple transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b are coupled and in communication via the jumper wire 706. The jumper wire 706 is separated from the receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b by the insulating material 604. In one example, the transmitter electrodes 1002a, 1002b are configured to transmit a transmitter signal and sense a resulting signal from the receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b. Thus, detection of a capacitance change caused by a contact input can be determined by the resulting signal received from the receiver electrodes 1004a, 1004b. The contact sensor 367 can be in communication with a processor, such as the processor 112 shown in FIG. 2, to facilitate execution of touch commands from a user to the electronic device in which the contact sensor 367 is formed.

[0057] 11 illustrates a top view of a display panel 142 with routing wires 1117, shown in bold, disposed around a contact sensor 367 in a smartwatch 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The contact sensor 367 is disposed in both the flat portion 120 as well as the bent portion 122 of the display panel 142, and therefore the routing wires 1117 disposed therein. 7 can facilitate electrical connection and communication to the DDIC 1110 and / or other suitable touch control integrated circuits of the contact sensors 367 located in different areas, such as the flat portion 120 and the bent portion 122. In one example, the routing wires 1117 can be formed on the same common layer on which the transmitter electrodes or receiver electrodes are formed.

[0058] In one example, each contact sensor 367, such as the second plurality of contact sensors 367b disposed within each of the bendable flaps 125, may be connected to a conductive trace 1115. The conductive traces 1115 disposed within the bendable flaps 125 may then be electrically connected to one another. Each contact sensor 367 of the one or more contact sensors disposed within each bendable flap 125 is connected in series. The conductive traces 1115 from each bendable flap 125 may be collectively coupled to a display device integrated circuit (DDIC) 1110 to facilitate operation and control of the contact sensors. In one example, the conductive traces 1115 may be disposed around or proximate to and in electrical communication with the DDIC 1110 to facilitate signal transmission. The conductive traces 1115 may then be collectively merged into one or more connection pins 1114 and coupled to the DDIC 1110 disposed on the tail portion 1127 of the display panel 142. Groups of routing wires 1117 can connect with contact sensors 367, such as the first plurality of contact sensors 367a disposed in the flat portion 120. The routing wires 1117 can extend through active areas between the contact sensors 367. The routing wires 1117 can facilitate communication between the contact sensors 367a disposed in the flat portion 120 to the DDIC 1110. The routing wires 1117 can be disposed at corners or boundaries of the first plurality of contact sensors 367a to collectively route the routing wires 1117 to the DDIC 1110 through an edge of the display panel 142.

[0059] The tail portion 1127 may provide additional inactive area to facilitate the formation of the DDIC 1110 or other additional peripheral devices, drivers or circuits thereon. Alternatively, the DDIC 1110 or other additional peripheral devices, drivers or circuits may be located on or in an accessory such as a watch band connected to a portion of the smart watch 100. The location of the DDIC 1110 is selected to be in close proximity to the display panel 142 to minimize electrical signal transmission, i.e., electrical signal distance traveled between the display panel 142 and the DDIC 1110. It should be noted that other peripheral devices, drivers or circuits may also be located in close proximity to the display panel 142.

[0060] 12A-B illustrate another example of routing traces 1270 disposed around the perimeter 1254 of the display panel 142, such as along each edge of the bendable flap 125. In the example shown in FIG. 12A, contact sensors disposed in the active area 124 of the display panel 142 are not shown in this example for clarity of illustration. The routing traces 1270 can be disposed in the inactive area 404 of the display panel 142 in close proximity to the active area 124 of the bendable flap 125 of the display panel 142. FIG. 12B illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of a bend portion 122, such as a bendable flap 125, of the display panel 142, with the active area 124 unfolding along a bend line 1202 to the bend portion 122. A plurality of bend lines 1202 can be formed in the display panel 142 such that the bend portion 122 can be bent and / or folded along the bend lines 1202 to form the bendable flap 125. The inactive area 404 in the bent portion 122 can provide space to facilitate placement thereon of various peripheral drivers, such as drivers 1250a or circuits 1250b, as well as routing wiring 1270, circuitry or components. The routing wiring 1270 disposed around the periphery 1254 of the bendable flap 125 can be utilized to provide electrical connections between the contact sensors 367 and drivers, circuitry or components to a processor or display panel 142 disposed elsewhere in the smartwatch 100. Thus, the contact sensors and peripheral drivers, circuitry or components can be folded to the side, or even the bottom, of the display panel 142 to maximize the viewable and touchable active area formed on the front and bezel areas of the smartwatch 100.

[0061] Tail section 11 27 The area of ​​the display panel 142 to which the tail portion 11 is attached is 27It should be noted that the recessed portion may be configured with a relief feature of relatively larger size, for example a notch structure of relatively larger size, to facilitate coupling of the recessed portion to the recessed portion.

[0062] The present disclosure provides a wearable device utilizing a flexible display panel having contact sensors formed in the flat portion and the peripheral curved portion of the flexible display panel to extend the viewable and touch-sensitive area of ​​the display panel in the bezel area of ​​the wearable device. The active area and contact sensors formed in the curved portion of the flexible display panel can provide a wide viewing range and / or angle, as well as an extended touch-sensitive area for receiving touch input from a user, thus increasing the usable area of ​​the wearable device and also enhancing the overall aesthetic appearance of the wearable device.

[0063] Unless otherwise stated, the above alternatives are not mutually exclusive and can be implemented in various combinations to achieve their own advantages. These and other variations and combinations of features discussed above can be utilized without departing from the subject matter defined by the claims, and therefore the above description of the embodiments should be interpreted as illustrative, and not as limiting, the subject matter defined by the claims. Furthermore, the provision of examples described herein, as well as phrases expressed as "such as," "including," and the like, should not be interpreted as limiting the subject matter of the claims to specific examples, but rather, these examples are intended to illustrate merely one of many possible embodiments. Furthermore, the same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

Claims

1. a flexible display panel disposed under a cover layer, the flexible display panel having a flat portion formed on a central region of the flexible display panel and a curved portion formed on a peripheral region of the flexible display panel, the flat portion having a circular shape; a plurality of relief features formed in the bent portion of the flexible display panel to form a plurality of bendable flaps in the peripheral region of the flexible display panel, the plurality of relief features being cut-out portions or cut-out structures; A display assembly comprising a first plurality of contact sensors formed on the plurality of bendable flaps of the flexible display panel.

2. The display assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a second plurality of contact sensors formed in the flat portion of the flexible display panel.

3. The display assembly of claim 2 , wherein the second plurality of contact sensors are in electrical communication with a display device integrated circuit.

4. The display assembly of claim 3 , wherein the second plurality of contact sensors are connected to the display device integrated circuit via routing traces that route around edges of the plurality of bendable flaps.

5. The display assembly of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first plurality of contact sensors are in electrical communication with a display device integrated circuit via routing wires.

6. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein each bendable flap includes one or more contact sensors from the first plurality of contact sensors.

7. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of contact sensors further comprises a transmitter electrode and a receiver electrode formed in a common layer.

8. The display assembly of claim 7 , further comprising a jumper wire coupled to the transmitter electrode.

9. 9. The display assembly of claim 8, wherein the jumper wires are formed in a metal layer below or above an insulating material in contact with the common layer.

10. 10. The display assembly of claim 9, wherein the jumper wire is coupled to the transmitter electrode via a connection plug formed in the insulating material.

11. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of contact sensors further comprises a sensor electrode formed in a common layer.

12. The display assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an OLED film stack formed beneath the first plurality of contact sensors.

13. The display assembly of claim 12 , further comprising an optically clear adhesive disposed between the OLED film stack and the first plurality of contact sensors.

14. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the display assembly is integrated into a wearable device.

15. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bent portion of the flexible display panel has a curvature that matches the curved side regions of the cover layer.

16. A cover layer; a flexible display panel having a flat central region and a curved peripheral region; the curved perimeter region includes a plurality of bendable flaps and a plurality of relief features; the plurality of relief features are cut-out portions or cut-out structures, each of the plurality of relief features being disposed between a corresponding two of the plurality of bendable flaps; the curved peripheral region is touch sensitive; The electronic device, wherein the flat central region has a circular shape.

17. The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein each bendable flap of the plurality of bendable flaps includes one or more contact sensors.

18. 20. The electronic device of claim 17, further comprising an OLED film stack formed beneath the one or more contact sensors.

19. 20. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein each contact sensor of the one or more contact sensors disposed in each bendable flap is connected in series.

20. 1. A method of forming a display assembly for an electronic device, comprising: forming a plurality of bendable flaps and a plurality of relief features in a peripheral region of a flexible display panel, the plurality of relief features being cut-out portions or cut-out structures, each of the plurality of relief features being disposed between a corresponding two of the plurality of bendable flaps; folding the plurality of bendable flaps of the flexible display panel; forming one or more contact sensors in the plurality of bendable flaps in the peripheral region of the flexible display panel; The method, wherein the flexible display panel has a flat portion formed on a central region of the flexible display panel, the flat portion having a circular shape.

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