LCD Integral Heater Grid for Low-Temperature Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flat panel LCDs face slow response times in low temperature environments, particularly in applications like electronic flight indicators and other temperature-exposed systems, where existing heater designs fail to provide sufficient and controlled heat output without causing Mura defects or image anomalies.
Innovation Solution
A flat panel LCD design incorporating an integral heater layer with a grid of intersecting conductors, where the continuity is selectively disrupted to predetermine heat output, ensuring controlled power dissipation and preventing Mura defects by maintaining uniform electrostatic fields across pixels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a heater is placed within the LCD panel to improve response time in low temperature environments, then the response speed is improved, but Mura effects and image anomalies occur due to uncontrolled heat output
Solution Approach 1:
The heater grid is segmented by selectively disrupting the continuity of horizontal and vertical conductors. This segmentation allows precise control over heat distribution patterns, enabling the heater to provide warmth without creating the uniform overheating that causes Mura effects. The disrupted conductor paths create localized heating zones that maintain image quality while improving response time.
Solution Approach 2:
The heater design implements local quality by varying the conductor continuity in different regions of the LCD panel. By selectively interrupting conductors in specific areas while maintaining continuity in others, the heater provides differentiated thermal management across the display surface, preventing uniform overheating and associated Mura effects while ensuring adequate warmth for fast response.
2Power
If the heater conductivity is increased to provide sufficient heat output in cold environments, then the heating capacity is improved, but the heat control precision deteriorates leading to image artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The heater design employs dynamic control through variable conductor continuity. By selectively disrupting conductors at different locations, the system can dynamically adjust the heating pattern and intensity across the display. This dynamic configuration allows the heater to provide sufficient total power while maintaining precise local control over heat distribution, preventing image artifacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameter of conductor continuity to control heating characteristics. By altering whether conductors are continuous or disrupted at various locations, the system adjusts the electrical resistance and current distribution, thereby controlling both the overall heating capacity and the spatial precision of heat output to prevent image artifacts.
3Ease of manufacture
If a continuous conductor grid is used for the heater, then the manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the heat distribution uniformity deteriorates causing Mura defects
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than using a fully continuous conductor grid, the invention selectively segments the conductors by disrupting continuity at specific locations. This segmentation approach maintains relative manufacturing simplicity while dramatically improving heat distribution uniformity. The disrupted conductors prevent excessive current concentration and create more evenly distributed heating patterns, eliminating Mura defects.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables reliable and timely response of LCDs in cold temperatures without image artifacts, maintaining image quality and contrast, and allowing for a wide range of heat output control within established material and process limits.
Implementation Method 1
A heater having a grid of intersecting conductors... to heat the liquid crystal material
Data Source
AI summary
A flat panel liquid crystal display has a front plate and a rear plate with a layer of liquid crystal material maintained in a cavity between them. A thin film transistor array layer is disposed in the cavity, as is an integral heater with a grid of intersecting sets of horizontal and vertical conductors. The heating capacity of the heater is predeterminably set by selectively interrupting continuity of at least some of the intersecting conductors. In some embodiments, the discontinuities occur in only one set of the intersecting conductors.