Array Substrate, Display Panel, And Display Device
Patent No. US11695017 (titled "Array Substrate, Display Panel, And Display Device") was filed by Boe Technology Group Co Ltd on Oct 10, 2019.
What is this patent about?
’017 is related to the field of display technology, specifically addressing the challenge of integrating sensing components (like cameras) behind a display panel while maintaining a high screen-to-body ratio. Traditional approaches involve either punching holes in the display or creating transparent regions, both of which compromise the display area. The patent aims to improve light transmittance in the sensing region to enhance the performance of underlying sensors.
The underlying idea behind ’017 is to mitigate light diffraction in the transparent sensing region of a display panel. This is achieved by strategically grouping and gathering the first wirings (e.g., data lines) that traverse this region. By bringing adjacent wirings closer together to form gathering portions , the gaps between these groups become larger. These gaps are then covered by light-shielding strips.
The claims of ’017 focus on an array substrate comprising a base substrate, a plurality of first wirings, and at least one first light-shielding strip. The first wirings that pass through the sensing component region are grouped into at least one group, each group including at least two adjacent first wirings. These groups are gathered to form a first gathering portion. The orthographic projection of each first gathering portion is within the range of the orthographic projection of a corresponding first light-shielding strip.
In practice, the invention modifies the layout of the metal wiring on the array substrate in the area behind which a sensor will be placed. Instead of having evenly spaced wires, the wires are locally bunched together into groups, and each group is covered by a light-shielding strip. This increases the spacing between the light-shielding strips, reducing light diffraction as light passes through the transparent sensing region. The sensor behind the display then receives a less distorted image.
This approach differentiates itself from prior art by actively managing the diffraction of light. Instead of simply reducing the number of pixels or making the region fully transparent (which can lead to poor display quality), ’017 manipulates the wiring layout and introduces light-shielding strips to minimize diffraction effects. The patent also considers the dimensions and spacing of these strips to optimize light transmittance and minimize signal interference between the grouped wirings.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the late 2010s when ’017 was filed, display technology commonly involved optimizing screen-to-body ratios, at a time when integrating sensing components within the display area was typically implemented using transparent regions or cutouts. When hardware or software constraints made achieving high transparency in specific display regions non-trivial, systems commonly relied on optimizing the arrangement of wirings and light-shielding elements to balance display performance and sensor functionality.
Novelty and Inventive Step
This document does not contain examiner reasoning or explanations relevant to allowance.
Claims
This patent contains 19 claims, with claim 1 being independent. Independent claim 1 is directed to an array substrate having non-sensing and sensing component regions, focusing on the arrangement of wirings and light-shielding strips in the sensing region. The dependent claims elaborate on specific features, dimensions, and configurations of the array substrate, as well as display panels and devices incorporating the array substrate.
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Date
Description
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US11695017
- Application Number
- US16760236
- Filing Date
- Oct 10, 2019
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Jan 16, 2040
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents