2023 NOV 13 (NewsRx) -- By a
Patent number 11800756 is assigned to
The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors:
“Technical Field
“The present disclosure relates to a display apparatus.
“Description of the Related Art
“Recently, with entering into the information age, the field of display visually expressing electrical information signals has been promptly developed, and in response to this, various display apparatuses with excellent performance of a thin profile, light weight and low power consumption have been developed.
“Specific examples of the display apparatuses include a liquid crystal display apparatus (LCD), an organic light emitting display apparatus (OLED), a quantum dot display apparatus, and so on.
“The OLED may include a display panel and a plurality of components for providing various functions. For example, one or more display driving circuits for controlling a display panel may be included in a display assembly. Examples of driving circuits include gate drivers, light-emitting (source) drivers, power (VDD) routing, electrostatic discharge (ESD) circuits, multiplex (MUX) circuits, data signal lines, cathode contacts, and outer functional elements. A plurality of peripheral circuits for providing various types of additional functions, for example, touch sensing or fingerprinting identification functions, may be included in the display assembly. Some components may be disposed on the display panel itself or may be disposed on areas adjacent to a display area, which are non-display areas and/or inactive or non-active areas. In addition, an organic light-emitting device used in an organic light-emitting display apparatus is a self-luminous device in which a light-emitting layer is formed between two electrodes. The organic light-emitting device is a device that emits light when an exciton, which is generated by injecting and combining an electron and a hole inside from an electron injection electrode and a hole injection electrode, respectively, falls from the exited state into the ground state. The electron injection electrode may be an upper electrode or a cathode, and the hole injection electrode may be a lower electrode or an anode. It is beneficial to connect the upper electrode to a low voltage supply line, and a contact structure for connection may be disposed in the inactive area.
“The size of the display apparatus is a very important factor in design, and particularly, a high ratio of the size of the active area to the size of the inactive area, which is referred to as a ratio of a screen to a bezel, may be one of main characteristics. However, disposing some of the above-described components in the display assembly and disposing the contact structure of the upper electrode and the lower voltage supply line outside require a relatively large inactive area. The contact structure of the upper electrode and the lower voltage supply line disposed outside the component may be easily exposed to permeation of external moisture generated at a trimming line in an outmost inactive area of a substrate or from cracks at the trimming line of the substrate. Accordingly, to protect the elements from permeation of the external moisture, in the outside of the contact structure of the upper electrode and the lower voltage supply line, a certain distance is needed from the trimming line of the substrate, and there is a limitation on reducing the bezel area.”
In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The inventors of the present disclosure have recognized that various technologies including arrangement of the components such as the gate driver or the ESD and an optimal driving method are beneficial in order to implement a narrow bezel in which a size of the inactive area is reduced. Accordingly, the inventors of the present disclosure conducted various experiments about the arrangement of the components that can protect the organic light-emitting devices in the active area well while efficiently using a space of the inactive area. Through several experiments, a new structure in which the upper electrode constituting the organic light-emitting device and the lower voltage supply line contact each other was invented.
“For example, an isolation area may be provided in the inactive area of an organic insulation layer, which is one of paths through which external moisture permeates the active area. The organic insulation layer has been removed outside a gate-in-panel (GIP) area of the inactive area to prevent moisture permeation, but the isolation area of the organic insulation layer may also be provided in the GIP area. If a planarization layer, a bank layer and a spacer layer are removed for a certain period, an inorganic insulation layer can be the only path through the active area.
“In addition, a connection structure of the upper electrode and the low voltage supply line may be provided by using the isolation area of the organic insulation layer. The upper electrode and the low voltage supply line may have a connection structure outside the GIP area, and since an additional space for the connection structure is beneficial, there was a limitation on reduction of the bezel area. As a way to reduce this limitation, it is possible to save the space of the bezel area by connecting the upper electrode and an intermediate connection electrode in the GIP area and connecting the intermediate connection electrode and the low voltage supply line outside the GIP area.
“The intermediate connection electrode is beneficial in order to simplify the connection structure of the upper electrode and the low voltage supply line while forming the isolation area of the organic insulation layer. If the isolation area of the organic insulation layer is formed in the GIP area, a hole as deep as a thickness of the organic insulation layer is created. When the upper electrode is formed in a deep hole, the upper electrode may be broken or not sufficiently formed due to a thin thickness. In order to prevent such a phenomenon, the intermediate connection electrode may be disposed in the hole area, and a contact guarantee area in which the upper electrode and the intermediate connection electrode can contact each other may be formed, thereby achieving a more stable connection structure.
“Through these experiments, it is possible to implement a display apparatus capable of preventing moisture permeation while reducing the inactive area of the display apparatus.”
The claims supplied by the inventors are:
“1. A display apparatus, comprising: a display panel including an active area, an inactive area disposed adjacent to the active area, and a connection area disposed in the inactive area, wherein the active area includes an anode electrode, a light-emitting layer, and a cathode electrode over a substrate, wherein the inactive area includes a gate driving portion and a crack stopper pattern, wherein the gate driving portion includes an emission signal driving circuit, a scan signal driving circuit, and a link circuit, wherein the connection area is disposed between the emission signal driving circuit and the active area, wherein a connection electrode is disposed in the connection area, wherein a planarization layer is disposed between the connection electrode and the substrate, wherein a first insulation layer is disposed between the planarization layer and the substrate, and wherein the connection electrode extends downwards in the connection area and directly contacts a top surface of the first insulation layer.
“2. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the anode electrode and the connection electrode are formed of a same material.
“3. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connection area is disposed between the emission signal driving circuit and the scan signal driving circuit.
“4. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connection area includes a contact hole and a connection assistance area.
“5. The display apparatus of claim 4, wherein the connection assistance area is disposed between the contact hole and the active area.
“6. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connection area is disposed between the scan signal driving circuit and the link circuit.
“7. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connection area is disposed between the link circuit and the active area.
“8. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inactive area further includes a low voltage supply line and a dam structure, and wherein the connection electrode is connected to the low voltage supply line in an area adjacent to the dam structure.
“9. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inactive area includes a planarization layer and a bank layer extending from the active area, and wherein the connection area includes a first part where the planarization layer is removed and a second part where the bank layer is removed in the inactive area.
“10. The display apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first part and the second part have different widths.
“11. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the active area further includes a transistor coupled to the anode electrode, the transistor including a gate insulation layer, and wherein the first insulation layer includes the gate insulation layer.
“12. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a second insulation layer is disposed between the planarization layer and the first insulation layer, and wherein the connection electrode contacts a side surface of the second insulation layer.
“13. A display apparatus, comprising: a display panel including an active area and an inactive area; a thin film transistor over a substrate in the active area; a planarization layer, an organic light-emitting device, a bank layer, disposed on the thin film transistor, the organic light-emitting device including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a light-emitting layer between the first and second electrodes; a gate driving portion, a dam structure, and a crack stopper structure in the inactive area; and a connection area having a connection electrode disposed on the gate driving portion, wherein the second electrode extends from the active area to the inactive area of the display panel, wherein the planarization layer is disposed between the connection electrode and the substrate, wherein the connection electrode extends through a hole of the planarization layer at the connection area, wherein the second electrode of the organic light-emitting device directly contacts the connection electrode at the hole of the planarization layer, and wherein at least a portion of the bank layer is disposed between the connection electrode and the second electrode at the hole of planarization layer.
“14. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the gate driving portion includes an emission signal driving circuit, a scan signal driving circuit, and a link circuit, and wherein the connection area is disposed between the emission signal driving circuit and the scan signal driving circuit.
“15. The display apparatus of claim 14, wherein the connection area includes a first part and a second part, wherein the first part has a first width and the second part has a second width, and wherein the first width and the second width are different from each other, and the connection area further includes a connection assistance area disposed on the planarization layer exposed in an area where the bank layer is removed based on a difference between the first width and the second width.
“16. The display apparatus of claim 15, wherein the connection assistance area is disposed closer to the active area than a center of the connection area.
“17. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the gate driving portion includes an emission signal driving circuit, a scan signal driving circuit, and a link circuit, and wherein the connection area is disposed between the scan signal driving circuit and the link circuit.
“18. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first electrode and the connection electrode are formed of a same material.
“19. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the inactive area further includes a low voltage supply line, wherein at least a part of the low voltage supply line is disposed under the dam structure, and wherein the connection electrode is connected to the low voltage supply line around the dam structure.
“20. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein the hole of the planarization layer extends into an insulation layer between the substrate and the planarization layer, and the connection electrode has a step structure in the hole.”
URL and more information on this patent, see: Lim, Byung-Jun. Display apparatus including structure for protecting from external materials.
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