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EP-3660917-B1 - DISPLAY DEVICE WITH HOLE

EP3660917B1EP 3660917 B1EP3660917 B1EP 3660917B1EP-3660917-B1

Inventors

  • MOON, Dongjin
  • JEONG, Yeri
  • HAN, Inyoung

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20191127

Claims (15)

  1. A display device (1) comprising: a substrate (100) including a hole penetrating the substrate (OA), a display area (DA), and an intermediate area area (MA) between the hole and the display area; a display element (OLED) in the display area (DA); a switching element electrically connected to the display element; an encapsulation layer (300) covering the display element and extending into the intermediate area; a planarization layer (720) in the intermediate area (MA), wherein a first edge (720E1) of the planarization layer is located closer to the display element than a second edge (720E2) of the planarization layer and located on the encapsulation layer, wherein the second edge of the planarization layer coincides with a perimeter of the hole in a plan view; and a cover layer (730, 730') within the intermediate area, at least partially covering the first edge (720E1) of the planarization layer (720), wherein the cover layer has a shape at least partially surrounding the hole (OA) in a plan view, and wherein the cover layer consists of a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first edge of the planarization layer is located between the first portion and the second portion, wherein the first portion extends towards the display, and wherein the second portion overlaps the planarization layer and is wider than the first portion.
  2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a groove (G) in the intermediate area, wherein the planarization layer (720) covers the groove.
  3. The display device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover layer includes a metal layer.
  4. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a first insulating layer (710) arranged between the encapsulation layer and the planarization layer.
  5. The display device of claim 4, wherein the first insulating layer (710) includes an inorganic insulating material.
  6. The display device of claim 4 or 5, further comprising a second insulating layer arranged between the planarization layer and the cover layer; optionally wherein the second insulating layer includes an inorganic insulating material.
  7. The display device of claim 6, wherein the second insulating layer and the first insulating layer directly contact each other at the first edge of the planarization layer.
  8. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the encapsulation layer comprises an organic encapsulation layer, wherein the planarization layer partially overlaps the organic encapsulation layer, and wherein an edge of the organic encapsulation layer is located between and the first edge of the planarization layer and the second edge of the planarization layer.
  9. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: a conductive line electrically connected to the transistor and overlapping the cover layer, wherein the hole is located between two sections of the conductive line, and wherein the conductive line does not intersect a perimeter of the hole in a plan view of the display device.
  10. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: a conductive wire substantially extending along and substantially surrounding a perimeter of the hole in a plan view of the display device; optionally wherein the cover layer has at least one opening portion which is located between opposite end portions of the cover layer in the plan view of the display device, and a portion of the wiring is located in an open portion of the cover layer.
  11. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein display device comprises an input sensing layer (40) over the display element; optionally wherein the input sensing layer includes a conductive layer (410), and wherein a conductive material of the cover layer is identical to a conductive material of the conductive layer; optionally wherein encapsulation layer includes an inorganic encapsulation layer (310, 330) and an organic encapsulation layer (320).
  12. The display device of claim 11 when dependent on claim 6, wherein the second insulating layer directly contacts each of the cover layer and a conductive member of the input sensing layer.
  13. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: a conductive wire, wherein a portion of the conductive wire is located between the hole and the cover layer; optionally wherein the wire substantially surrounds a perimeter of the hole in a plan view of the display device and is configured to receive a signal for detecting whether a crack occurs around the hole; optionally wherein the cover layer has at least one opening portion which is located between opposite end portions of the cover layer in the plan view of the display device .
  14. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising: a plurality of lines located in the intermediate area and detouring around the hole, wherein the cover layer overlaps at least one of the plurality of lines; optionally wherein the at least one line is electrically connected to a gate electrode (GE) of the switching element or a source (SE) or drain electrode (DE) of the switching element; optionally further comprising: a shield layer located between the cover layer and the input sensing layer and overlapping a part of the plurality of lines.
  15. The display device of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the planarization layer surrounds the hole; optionally wherein the planarization layer has a ring shape surrounding the hole.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Field The technical field relates to a display device. 2. Description of the Related Art A display device may include a display area for displaying images. In a display area of a display device, functions may be added. For example, in addition to displaying images, the display area may receive user inputs. US20180183015 discloses a display apparatus which includes a flexible substrate, a thin-film transistor unit, and a light-emitting unit. EP3618120 discloses a display device which includes a substrate that includes an opening and a display aera. SUMMARY Embodiments may be related to a display device including an opening (or hole) that accommodates a functional component in a display area of the display device. One or more embodiments may be related a display panel including an opening (or hole) for accommodating a functional component. According to an aspect, there is provided a display device as set out in claim 1. Additional features of this aspect are set out in claims 2 to 15. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 3 is a plan view of a display panel according to an embodiment.FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one of the pixels of a display panel according to an embodiment.FIG. 5 is a plan view of a portion of a display panel according to an embodiment and shows trace lines located in an intermediate area.FIG. 6 is a plan view of a portion of a display panel according to an embodiment and shows a groove located in an intermediate area.FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a display panel according to an embodiment.FIG. 8 is a plan view of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 9A is a plan views of a first conductive layer of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG 9B is a plan view of a second conductive layer of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 10A is a plan view of a first conductive layer of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 10B is a plan view of a second conductive layer of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 11A is a plan view of a first conductive layer of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 11B is a plan view of a second conductive layer of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 11C is a cross-sectional view of an input sensing layer according to an embodiment.FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of region XIII of FIG. 12 according to an embodiment.FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of region XIV of FIG. 12 according to an embodiment and shows a cross-sectional view of a cover layer.FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of region XIV of FIG. 12 according to an embodiment and shows a cross-sectional view of a cover layerer.FIG 16 is an enlarged view of region XIV of FIG. 12 according to an embodiment and shows a cross-sectional view of a cover layer.FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 18 is a plan view of a first area and a neighborhood of the first area of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 19 is a plan view of an input sensing layer of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 20 is a plan view of a first area and a neighborhood of the first area in FIG. 19 according to an embodiment.FIG. 21 is an enlarged view of region XXI of FIG. 20 according to an embodiment.FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXII-XXII' of FIG. 21 according to an embodiment.FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines XXIIIa-XXIIIa' and XXIllb-XXIIIb' of FIG. 21 according to an embodiment.FIG. 24 is a plan view of a first area and a neighborhood of the first area of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 25 is a plan view of a portion of FIG. 24 according to an embodiment.FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXVI-XXVI' of FIG. 25 according to an embodiment.FIG. 27 is a plan view of a first area and a neighborhood of the first area of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 28 is a plan view of an opening area and a neighborhood of the opening area of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 30 is a plan view of a display device according to an embodiment.FIG. 31 is a plan view of a cover layer of a display device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example embodiments are described with reference to the drawings. Practical embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the described example embodiments. In th