Drive circuit connection structure including a substrate,...

Details Drive circuit connection structure including a substrate,... Drive circuit connection structure including a substrate,...

1997-03-10

2004-05-18

Ngo, Julie-Huyen L. (Department: 2871)

Liquid crystal cells, elements and systems

Particular structure

Having significant detail of cell structure only

C349S149000, C349S150000, C349S151000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06738123

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART
The present invention relates to a drive circuit connection structure suitable for use in a display apparatus, and particularly a connection structure including a drive semiconductor device connected to a periphery of a transparent substrate of a display panel constituting such a display apparatus and a circuit board connected to the semiconductor device for supplying input signals and a power to the semiconductor device.
Hitherto, there have been known display apparatus including flat display devices having display electrodes arranged in the form of, e.g., a matrix, such as EL display panels and liquid crystal display panels of the simple matrix-type and the active matrix-type. Such display apparatus have conventionally included a circuit connection structure including a transparent substrate, such as a glass substrate or a plastic substrate, provided with display electrodes arranged in the form of, e.g., a matrix; a flexible tape carrier package (TCP) loaded with a driver IC by the TAB (tape-automated bonding) method; and a print circuit board (PCB, hereinafter sometimes called “PCB board”), connected in this order.
FIG.
12
and
FIG. 13
(a view showing a
13
-
13
section in
FIG. 12
) illustrate an example of such a drive circuit connection structure for a flat display panel. Referring to these figures, the connection structure includes TCPs
4
ap
and
8
p
loaded with driver ICs (as drive semiconductor circuits)
5
p
and
9
p
and copper foil patterns
32
(as output electrodes), glass substrates
1
ap
and
1
bp
for a liquid crystal panel
1
having electrode terminals
12
p
extended to peripheries thereof, and ACFs (anisotropic conductive films or anisotropic conductive adhesive)
31
for heat-bonding the copper foil patterns
32
on the TCPs with the electrode terminals
12
p
on the glass substrates. Further, PCB boards
3
p
for supplying a power and control signals to the driver ICs
5
p
and
9
p
are connected with copper foil patterns
17
(as input electrodes) of the TCPs
4
ap
with solder
20
p.
The input electrodes and the output electrodes of each driver IC
5
p
are connected to the copper foil electrodes
17
and
32
on the input side and output side TCPs
4
a,
respective via gold bumps
15
p.
The connections of each driver IC
5
p
are sealed with a resinous sealing agent
16
p.
In such a display panel connection structure for a display apparatus as shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13
, as the display panel (particularly a liquid crystal panel) is provided with a larger number of display electrodes at a higher density, the connection pitch for connection between the output electrodes of the TCPs and the electrode terminals on the transparent substrates are decreased down to a required pitch of 50 &mgr;m or smaller. However, according to a method for connecting TCP with a substrate as explained with reference to
FIGS. 12 and 13
, a very sophisticated and accurate bonding technique is required for ensuring such a minute connection pitch because of a limitation in size accuracy of TCPs and a deviation due to thermal expansion during connection by heat bonding of TCPS. Therefore, a connection structure as shown in
FIG. 14
including bonding of driver ICs
5
to a substrate
1
bp
by a face-down mode has been proposed or ensuring such a minute connection pitch.
More specifically, referring to
FIG. 14
, the connection structure includes a connection by the face-down bonding mode of driver ICs
5
with electrode terminals extended to peripheries of a pair of glass substrates
1
ap
and
1
bp
of a display panel and with input electrodes (not shown) formed on the glass substrates
1
ap
and
1
bp.
The connection structure further includes flat cables
7
a,
7
b
and
7
c
for supplying a drive power and control signals from an external control circuit.
However, in case where such a connection structure as shown in
FIG. 14
is adopted in a display panel of a larger size, particularly a liquid crystal display panel of an enlarged size as desired, in recent years, the substrates
1
ap
and
1
bp
retain only narrow non-opposing peripheral areas while the input electrodes are increased in length, so that the input electrodes are caused to have a higher impedance, thus being liable to cause a delay in transmission of drive waveforms to the display or pixel electrodes leading to pixels.
In order to obviate the difficulty, it may be conceived of lowering the impedance of the input electrodes by forming the electrodes in a larger thickness, but the realization thereof is difficult in view of the limitations from the production process and size. Further, the increased impedance of the input electrodes is liable to cause a mal-function of data transfer during transmission of image data for a liquid crystal display panel of a higher definition to driver ICs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A generic of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a circuit connection structure capable of providing a lower input electrode impedance while ensuring a minute connection pitch.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a display apparatus including such a circuit connection structure.
According to the present invention, there is provided a circuit connection structure, comprising: a first substrate having electrode terminals formed thereon, a semiconductor device having first electrodes and second electrodes with the first electrodes connected to the electrode terminals of the first substrate, a flexible wiring member having thereon a pattern of conductors each extending from a first end to a second end on the flexible wiring member with the first ends of the conductors connected to the second electrodes of the semiconductor device, and a circuit board having thereon electrode terminals connected to the second ends of the conductors on the flexible wiring member.
It is preferred that the first and second electrodes of the semiconductor device are used as output electrodes and input electrodes, respectively, of the semiconductor device, so as to receive input data from the circuit board and supply output signals to the first substrate, thereby driving an electronic device including the first substrate.
The flexible wiring member may alternatively be constituted by a plurality of conductor wires each extending from a first end to a second end and not carried on a carrier film.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus, comprising:
a display panel comprising at least one substrate having thereon pixel electrodes extending to form electrode terminals electrodes on a peripheral side of the substrate,
a semiconductor device having input electrodes, and output electrodes for supplying drive waveforms to the pixel electrodes of the display panel, and
a circuit board having electrode terminals for supplying an electric power and control signals to the semiconductor device; wherein
the electrode terminals on said at least one substrate of the display panel are connected to the output electrodes of the semiconductor device, and
the semiconductor device is connected to the circuit board via a flexible wiring member having thereon a pattern of conductors each extending from a first end to a second end so that the input electrodes of the semiconductor device are connected to the first ends of the conductors on the flexible wiring member, and the second ends of the conductors of the flexible wiring member are connected to the electrode terminals of the circuit board.
According to the circuit connection structure of the present invention, the first electrodes on one side of the semiconductor device may be connected to the electrode terminals on the first substrate which may carry pixel electrodes thereon via, e.g., an anisotropic conductive adhesive (ACF), etc., and without via a flexible wiring member according to the TAB method, thereby ensuring a minute connection pitch. On the other hand, the sec

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