Flexible Display Substrate with Auxiliary Sensor Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional display devices are rigid and lack flexibility, making them unsuitable for applications that require bending, folding, or stretching without sustaining damage, such as in portable electronic devices where a flexible substrate is needed to accommodate varying display sizes and user interactions.
Innovation Solution
A display device design featuring a substrate with a main area and auxiliary areas that include scan lines, data lines, and sensor lines, connected to drivers and distribution circuits, allowing for flexible bending and curvature, with sensor and data fan-out lines reducing the number of connections and enhancing manufacturing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional rigid display devices are used, then structural stability is maintained, but flexibility and ability to bend/fold/stretch are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible substrates including plastic substrates and thin-film structures that enable the display device to bend, fold, and stretch without sustaining damage. The substrate architecture incorporates flexible support layers and connection structures that maintain structural integrity during deformation, allowing the display to adapt to various configurations while preserving operational stability.
2Reliability
If sensor lines and data lines are individually connected to all pixels, then sensing and display functions are complete, but manufacturing complexity and connection数量 increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines sensor lines and data lines into shared conductive structures where possible, and implements fan-out line architectures that allow multiple pixels to share common connection paths. The sensor lines are integrated with the data line structure in certain regions, reducing the total number of independent connections while maintaining complete sensing and display functionality across all pixels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes multi-layer substrate structures where sensor lines and data lines are arranged in different vertical layers, allowing them to overlap and share horizontal space without electrical interference. This three-dimensional routing approach reduces the two-dimensional connection complexity on the substrate surface while maintaining full functional connectivity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A display device includes a substrate which includes a main area, a first auxiliary area extending from a first side of the main area in a first direction, and a sub-area extending from a second side of the main area in a second direction intersecting the first direction. Scan lines are disposed in the main area and the first auxiliary area and extend in the first direction. Data lines are disposed in the main area and the first auxiliary area and extend in the second direction. Sensor lines are disposed in the main area and the first auxiliary area and extend in the first direction. Sensor electrodes are disposed in the main area and the first auxiliary area and are connected to the sensor lines, respectively.