Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-26
2004-12-14
Zarneke, David (Department: 2841)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S749000, C174S254000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06831841
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible substrate, an electro-optical device, and an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, as display devices for various electronic devices, electro-optical devices typified by liquid crystal display devices and EL (electroluminescence) display devices have been in widespread use. As this type of electro-optical device, there is a known arrangement wherein an IC chip which produces signals for driving an electro-optical substance such as a liquid crystal or an EL element is mounted, by the COG (chip on glass) mount technique, on a panel substrate which holds the above-mentioned electro-optical substance. Furthermore, in order to address the increase in the number of electrodes attendant upon the advance of higher definition displays, an arrangement wherein a plurality of IC chips is mounted on panel substrates, has also been proposed.
FIG. 10
is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of an electro-optical device (a liquid crystal device in this case) having a plurality of chips. As shown in the figure, this electro-optical device is configured so that a first panel substrate
81
and a second panel substrate
82
wherein electrodes are formed between the opposite surfaces thereof, are adhered together with a seal material
83
interposed therebetween, and that an electro-optical substance (a liquid crystal) is sealed between the two substrates. The first panel substrate
81
has a projecting area
81
a
which projects with respect to the second panel substrate
82
, and a first driver IC
84
for providing a driving signal to the electrode on the first panel substrate
81
is mounted in the area
81
a
. Likewise, the second panel substrate
82
has a projecting area
82
a
which projects with respect to the first panel substrate
81
, and a second driver IC
85
for providing a driving signal to the electrode on the second panel substrate
82
is mounted in the area
82
a.
However, when the arrangement shown in
FIG. 10
is adopted, both of the two panel substrates have a projecting area (
81
a
or
82
a
) which projects on one side with respect to the other panel substrate, so that a problem arises in that the shape of the picture-frame like region in the above-described electro-optical device, that is, the shape of the area outside the seal material
83
, is not bilaterally symmetrical in either the X direction or the Y direction. In contrast, the enclosure of an electronic device such as a portable telephone generally has a bilaterally symmetrical shape. This raises a problem that the electronic device in each of the conventional electro-optical devices has inferior properties for being incorporated into the enclosure.
The present invention has been developed in light of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an electro-optical device allowing the shape of the picture-frame like region to be symmetrical, an electronic device having this electro-optical device, and a flexible substrate used therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a flexible substrate bonded to an electro-optical panel in which a first driver IC is mounted in the area which includes one side of a panel substrate. This flexible substrate comprises a base material wherein the edge portion thereof is bonded to the vicinity of the one side of the panel substrate; a second driver IC mounted on the surface of the base material; and driver-controlling electronic components which are mounted on the same surface as the second driver IC in the base material, and which produce control signals to be provided to the first and second driver ICs.
According to this flexible substrate, the first driver IC is mounted on the panel substrate while the second driver IC is mounted on the base material. It is unnecessary, therefore, to mount the second driver IC, for example, in the vicinity of the side adjacent to one side on the first driver IC side in the panel substrate, and hence, the shape of the picture-frame like region in the electro-optical device can be made symmetrical with respect to the symmetrical axis in the direction perpendicular to the above-mentioned one side. Furthermore, since the second driver IC and the driver-controlling electronic components are mounted on the same surface in the base material, the processes of mounting these components can be facilitated.
Also, to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a flexible substrate bonded to an electro-optical panel in which a first driver IC is mounted in the area which includes one side of a panel substrate. This flexible substrate comprises a base material wherein the edge portion thereof is bonded to the vicinity of the one side of the panel substrate; a second driver IC mounted on the surface of the base material; and driver-controlling electronic components which are mounted in the electronic component mounting area situated between the edge portion bonded to the panel substrate and the area where the second driver IC are mounted, in the base material, and which produce control signals to be provided to the first and second driver ICs.
According to this flexible substrate, as in the foregoing, the shape of the picture-frame like region in the electro-optical device can be made symmetrical. Moreover, since the electronic component mounting area is arranged to be situated between the edge portion and the second driver IC, the wiring lines routed from the above-described electronic component mounting area to the first driver IC through the edge portion, and the wiring lines routed from the electronic component mounting area to the second driver IC can be easily formed.
Furthermore, to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an electro-optical device. This electro-optical device comprises an electro-optical panel having a panel substrate holding an electro-optical substance, and a first driver IC mounted in the area which includes one side of the panel substrate; a base material wherein the edge portion thereof is bonded to the vicinity of the one side of the panel substrate; a second driver IC mounted on the surface of the base material; and driver-controlling electronic components which are mounted on the same surface as the second driver in the base material, and which produce control signals to be provided to the first and second driver ICs.
According to this electro-optical device, for the same reason that was explained regarding the above-described flexible substrate, the shape of the picture-frame like region in the electro-optical device can be made symmetrical with respect to the axis in the direction perpendicular to the above-described one side. Furthermore, since the second driver IC and the driver-controlling electronic components are mounted on the same surface in the base material, the processes of mounting these on the base material can be facilitated. In addition, in this electro-optical device, if an arrangement is adopted wherein, in the base material, the driver-controlling electronic components are mounted in the electronic component mounting area situated between the edge portion bonded to the above-described panel substrate and the area where the second driver IC is mounted, the wiring lines extending out of the electronic component mounting area could be easily routed, in addition to providing the above-described effect.
Moreover, to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an electro-optical device. This electro-optical device comprises an electro-optical panel having a panel substrate holding an electro-optical substance, and a first driver IC mounted in the area which includes one side of the panel substrate; a base material wherein the edge portion thereof is bonded to the vicinity of the one side of the panel substrate; a second driver IC mounted on the surface of the base material; and driver-controlling el
Aruga Yasuhito
Oishi Eiji
Yumoto Masanori
Dinh Tuan
Harness & Dickey & Pierce P.L.C.
Seiko Epson Corporation
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