# US 10,373,586 B2 · Display device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,373,586 B2 - Document ID: US10373586B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/496,382 - Filed: 2017-04-25 - Published: 2018-03-01 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2016-08-23 - Assignees: Samsung Display Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Samsung Display Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Donghee Ye; Jeongman Son; Je-yun Lee; Dong-sung Im; Duyeon Han - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10373586B2 ## CPC - G09G 5/10: Intensity circuits - G02F 1/13452: {Conductors connecting driver circuitry and terminals of panels} - G02F 1/13458: {Terminal pads} - G09G 3/3406: {Control of illumination source (illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336)} - G09G 3/3677: {suitable for active matrices only} - G09G 3/3688: {suitable for active matrices only} - G09G 2300/0413: Details of dummy pixels or dummy lines in flat panels - G09G 2320/0233: Improving the luminance or brightness uniformity across the screen - H10D 86/441: {Interconnections, e.g. scanning lines} - H10D 86/60: wherein the TFTs are in active matrices - G09G: ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION (arrangements for transferring data between digital computers and displays G06F3/14; static indicating arrangements comprising an association of a number of separate sources or light control cells G09F9/00; static indicating arrangements comprising integral associations of a number of light sources H01J, H01K, H10H, H05B33/12; scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission, details thereof H04N1/00) - G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS - H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES ## Abstract A display device includes a display panel, a first flexible film, and a second flexible film. The display panel includes a non-display area outside a display area. The first flexible film is attached to a first side surface of the display panel. The second flexible film is attached to a second side surface of the display panel. The display panel includes a signal line, a pad electrode, and a side surface connection electrode. The signal line is in the display area and connects the first and second flexible films. The pad electrode extends from the signal line. The side surface connection electrode is on the first and second side surfaces and directly contacts the pad electrode. The first flexible film and the second flexible film are coupled to the side surface connection electrode and are electrically connected to the signal line. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A display device, comprising: a display panel including a display area including a top display surface, and a non-display area outside the display area; a printed circuit board electrically connected to the display panel and providing control signals; at least one first flexible film having a first end attached to a first side surface of the display panel and another end attached to the printed circuit board; and at least one second flexible film attached to a second side surface of the display panel, wherein: the first side surface and the second side surface are orthogonal to the top display surface, and the display panel includes: a signal line, in the display area, connecting the at least one first flexible film and the at least one second flexible film and transmitting at least one of the control signals to the second flexible film; a pad electrode extending from the signal line; and a side surface connection electrode on the first and second side surfaces and directly contacting the pad electrode, the at least one first flexible film and the at least one second flexible film being coupled to the side surface connection electrode and electrically connected to the signal line. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the display panel includes a data line and a gate line in the display area, the signal line includes a first signal line extending in a first direction along the data line in the display area and a second signal line extending in a second direction along the gate line in the display area, and the first signal line is electrically connected to the second signal line. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The display device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: the pad electrode includes a first pad electrode extending from the first signal line and a second pad electrode extending from the second signal line, and the side surface connection electrode includes: a first side surface connection electrode on the first side surface and directly contacting the first pad electrode; and a second side surface connection electrode on the second side surface and directly contacting the second pad electrode. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The display device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: the first signal line is divided into two or more sub-signal lines, and the two or more sub-signal lines are in the display area. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The display device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the sub-signal lines have a different widths in the second direction. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The display device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the display area includes: a pixel line area including the signal line, an active area excluding the signal line, and the widths of the sub-signal lines decrease with decreasing distance from the active area. ### Claim 7 (depends on 2) The display device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the display panel includes a dummy signal line in the non-display area and branched from the first signal line. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The display device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising: a plurality of first flexible films; and a plurality of second flexible films, wherein the first signal line is divided into a plurality of sub-signal lines in the first direction, a first sub-signal line of the sub-signal lines connects the first flexible film and the second flexible film, and a second sub-signal line of the sub-signal lines electrically connects the second flexible films to each other. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The display device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the sub-signal lines are in the display area. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The display device as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one of the second flexible films includes a connection line to electrically connect the first sub-signal line and the second sub-signal line. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The display device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: the first flexible film is a data side flexible film electrically connected to the data line, the second flexible film is a gate side flexible film electrically connected to the gate line, the first signal line is to receive the at least one of the control signals from the first flexible film, and the at least one of the control signals is to be applied to the second flexible film through the second signal line. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The display device as claimed in claim 11, further comprising: a data driving chip, mounted on the first flexible film, to output a data signal applied to the data line; and a gate driving chip, mounted on the second flexible film, to output a gate signal applied to the gate line based on the at least one of the control signals. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The display device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one of the control signals includes a driving voltage and an off voltage to drive the gate driving chip. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display area includes: a pixel line area including the signal line; an active area excluding the signal line; and an aperture ratio of a pixel in the pixel line area is different from an aperture ratio of a pixel in the active area. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The display device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising: a signal controller to compensate for a difference in brightness between the pixel line area and the active area, wherein the signal controller includes: a signal extractor to receive input image data corresponding to the display area and to extract first image data corresponding to the pixel line area from the input image data and second image data corresponding to the active area from the input image data; a brightness compensator to receive the first image data and compensate for a brightness of the first image data to output compensation image data; and a data synthesizer to synthesize the compensation image data and the second image data in order to output entire image data corresponding to an entire of the display area. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The display device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising: a backlight assembly at a rear side of the display panel to provide light to the display panel. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The display device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the backlight assembly includes: a light guide plate including a bottom surface, an exit surface facing the bottom surface, and side surfaces connecting the bottom and exit surfaces; and a light source, adjacent to one side surface of the side surfaces, to provide the light to the light guide plate. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The display device as claimed in claim 17, wherein: the light guide plate includes a brightness control pattern on at least one of the bottom surface or the exit surface, and the brightness control pattern is to compensate for a brightness difference between the pixel line area and the active area. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The display device as claimed in claim 18, wherein: the brightness control pattern is on the bottom surface, and a density of the brightness control pattern in an area corresponding to the pixel line area is greater than a density of the brightness control pattern in an area corresponding to the active area. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The display device as claimed in claim 16, wherein a first light to be provided to the pixel line area by the backlight assembly has an intensity greater than an intensity of a second light to be provided to the active area by the backlight assembly.