Overlapping Display Panels With Transmitting Region for Inconspicuous Seams
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing display devices face challenges in increasing size, minimizing seam visibility, reducing thickness and weight, suppressing display and luminance unevenness, and displaying images on curved surfaces while maintaining high reliability and quality.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a display panel design featuring a bottom-emission structure with a visible-light-transmitting common electrode and a dual-emission light-emitting element configuration, where the common electrode is optimized to prevent extension into the visible-light-transmitting region, allowing for the use of low-resistivity materials and reducing the need for auxiliary wiring, and the panels are arranged to overlap partially for reduced seams and increased reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the common electrode is made visible-light-transmitting to reduce resistance, then electrical conductivity is improved, but light extraction efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The common electrode is designed with spatially varying optical properties: in the display region it has high light transmission to allow bottom-emission, while in the visible-light-transmitting region it has reduced transmission (through increased thickness or material selection) to prevent light leakage and improve contrast. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between maintaining electrical conductivity and ensuring light extraction efficiency.
2Area of stationary object
If the display device size is increased to provide more information, then display area is improved, but seam visibility between panels worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The visible-light-transmitting region is extracted and positioned at the boundaries between display panels. This region allows light to pass through, creating optical continuity across panel seams and making the seams invisible. By removing the visual discontinuity at panel boundaries, large display areas can be assembled without noticeable seams.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple display panels are merged into a single large display device with continuous image display. The visible-light-transmitting regions at the panel boundaries are combined to create seamless optical transitions, allowing the assembly to function as a unified large-area display.
3Device complexity
If the common electrode extends into the visible-light-transmitting region to simplify structure, then device complexity is reduced, but light leakage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The common electrode's optical transmission property is locally adjusted in the visible-light-transmitting region. By increasing the thickness or selecting materials with lower light transmission in this specific region, light leakage is prevented while maintaining the simplified structure of having the common electrode extend across the entire pixel region.
4Reliability
If auxiliary wiring is added to compensate for high resistance, then electrical conductivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The need for auxiliary wiring is eliminated by extracting the resistance problem at its source: the common electrode material and structure are optimized in the visible-light-transmitting region to provide sufficient electrical conductivity without requiring additional conductive layers or auxiliary wiring structures.
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
This approach enables larger display devices with reduced seams, improved display quality, and enhanced reliability by minimizing resistance-related issues and impurity entry, while allowing for thinner and lighter designs capable of displaying images on curved surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
The first common electrode has a function of reflecting visible light
Implementation Method 2
The first pixel electrode, the second pixel electrode, and the second common electrode each have a function of transmitting visible light
Implementation Method 3
Light-emitting elements (also referred to as EL elements) utilizing electroluminescence
Data Source
AI summary
A display device including display regions with inconspicuous seam is provided. The display device includes a first display panel and a second display panel. The first display panel includes a first display region and a visible-light-transmitting region. The second display panel includes a second display region. The first display region is adjacent to the visible-light-transmitting region. The first display region includes a first light-emitting element and a second light-emitting element. A first common electrode included in the first light-emitting element includes a portion in contact with a second common electrode included in the second light-emitting element. The first common electrode has a function of reflecting visible light. The second common electrode has a function of transmitting visible light. The second light-emitting element is positioned closer to the visible-light-transmitting region than the first light-emitting element. The second display region includes a portion overlapping with the second light-emitting element and a portion overlapping with the visible-light-transmitting region.