Patent Application
20160018678
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean patent Application No. 10-2014-0090721, filed on Jul. 18, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
1. Field
The following disclosure relates to organic light emitting display devices. More particularly, the following disclosure relates to organic light emitting display devices including at least one light transmission controlling member.
2. Discussion of the Background
Recently, a transparent organic light emitting display device became one of the prospective next-generation display devices. The transparent organic light emitting display device may include a transparent region and a pixel region. In the transparent organic light emitting display device, an image of an object before or after a transparent region of the transparent organic light emitting display device may be recognized when the transparent organic light emitting display device is in an ON state. In an OFF state of the transparent organic light emitting display device, an image may be displayed in the pixel region of the transparent organic light emitting display device.
However, since the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device may have a substantially same transmittance, and an external light may be always transmitted through the transparent region of the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device, the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device may not implement a black mode. In addition, when the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device is used in an outdoor environment, a legibility of the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device may be reduced.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an organic light emitting display device including at least one light transmission controlling member having a shape memory polymer to control a transmittance of the organic light emitting display device.
Additional features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention include an organic light emitting display device including a substrate, a display structure disposed on a first face of the substrate, and a light transmission controlling member disposed on a second face of the substrate, the second face opposed to the first face, in which the light transmission controlling member includes a shape memory polymer configured to change its shape to control an amount of external light passing through the light transmission controlling member.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an organic light emitting display device may include a display structure disposed on a first face of the substrate and at least one light transmission controlling member disposed on a second face of the substrate opposed to the first face of the substrate. The light transmission controlling member may include a plurality of protruding portions having a shape memory polymer. When the light transmission controlling member is contracted according to an electric signal applied to the display structure, each of shapes of the protruding portions may vary. A degree of a transmission of an external light may vary according to a degree of the contraction of the light transmission controlling member. More specifically, since the light transmission controlling member and the display structure may share the electric signal, the transmittance of the organic light emitting display device may be simply controlled. Further, only one element for controlling the transmittance of the organic light emitting display device (e.g., the light transmission controlling member) may be additionally formed on the second face of the substrate, so that the organic light emitting display device may have a thickness below a reference value and may display images having various transmittances. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an organic light emitting display device may include a display structure disposed on a first face of the substrate, at least one light transmission controlling member having a shape memory polymer disposed on a second face of the substrate opposed to the first face of the substrate, and a switching device electrically connected to the display structure and the light transmission controlling member. The display structure and the light transmission controlling member may have an ON state and/or an OFF state using the switching device, so that the organic light emitting display device may operate in at least one of a transparent mode, a clear mode, and a black mode.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. Illustrative, non-limiting exemplary embodiments will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction containing the accompanying drawings.
The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It will be understood that for the purposes of this disclosure, “at least one of X, Y, and Z” can be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or more items X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XZ, XYY, YZ, ZZ). Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals are understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity.
It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it can be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, no intervening elements or layers may be present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” may include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections are not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.
Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's spatial relationship to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms may encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as being located “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented to be “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both a relative orientation of above and below with respect to a reference element or feature. The device may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms, “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes” and/or “including”, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise specified, various terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
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The substrate 110 may include a transparent insulation material. Further, the substrate 110 may include a flexible substrate. The substrate 110 may have a pixel region PA and a transparent region TA. The pixel region PA of the substrate 110 may have a driving region DA in which a transistor TR is disposed.
The display structure 170 may be disposed on a first face of the substrate 110. The display structure 170 may display an image in accordance with signals applied to the display structure 170. The display structure 170 may include the transistor TR, an insulating interlayer 140, a pixel defining layer 150, a first electrode 145, an organic light emitting layer 155, and a second electrode 160. The transistor TR may include a gate electrode 115, a gate insulation layer 120, an active pattern 125, a source electrode 130, and a drain electrode 135. The transistor TR may be disposed in the driving region DA of the substrate 110.
The light transmission controlling member 180 may be disposed a second face of the substrate 110, which may be opposite or across from the first face of the substrate 110. The light transmission controlling member 180 may transmit an external light passing therethrough or may block the external light. According to aspects of the invention, the light transmission controlling member 180 may operate in connection with the display structure 170. For example, when an electric signal (e.g., a data signal) is applied to the display structure 170, a shape of the light transmission controlling member 180 may be changed. More specifically, when the light transmission controlling member 180 operates by the electric signal applied to the display structure 170, the organic light emitting layer 155 may emit a light. Further, the shape of the light transmission controlling member 180 may vary in accordance with the light emitted from the organic light emitting layer 155. As a result, the external light may be transmitted through the light transmission controlling member 180.
An amount of a transmittance of the external light may vary in accordance with a size of the electric signal. According to aspects of the invention, the organic light emitting display device 100 may have a relatively thin thickness because the display structure 170 and the light transmission controlling member 180 may share the electric signal to control the transmittance of the organic light emitting display device 100. A state in which the shape of the light transmission controlling member 180 varies by applying the electric signal to the light transmission controlling member 180 may be referred to as an ON state. In addition, a state in which the shape of the light transmission controlling member 180 is not changed when the electric signal is applied to the light transmission controlling member 180 may be referred to as an OFF state.
According to aspects of the invention, the light transmission controlling member 180 may include a shape memory polymer. For example, the light transmission controlling member 180 may include polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In an example, the light transmission controlling member 180 may include an electro active polymer. As illustrated in
When the protruding portions may be spaced apart by a predetermined distance, the organic light emitting display device 100 may block the external light when the organic light emitting display device 100 is in the OFF state. Further, when the organic light emitting display device 100 is in the ON state, the organic light emitting display device 100 may transmit the external light. For example, when the electric signal, such as the data signal, is applied to the light transmission controlling member 180, the light transmission controlling member 180 including the shape memory polymer may be contracted and the shapes of the one or more protruding portions may vary according to the applied electrical signal.
According to aspects of the invention, the amount of the transmission of the external light may be adjusted by a degree of a contraction of the shape memory polymer because the degree of the contraction of the shape memory polymer may vary in accordance with the size or amount of the electric signal. As a result, the transmittance of the organic light emitting display device 100 may be controlled. More specifically, the organic light emitting display device 100 may display images with various transmittances because the amount of the transmittance of the external light passing through the light transmission controlling member 180 may vary by the applied electric signal.
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According to aspects of the invention, a shape of the shape memory polymer of the light transmission controlling member 180 may vary by an external stimulus applied to the light transmission controlling member 180. Further, the organic light emitting display device 100 may additionally include a temperature sensor (not illustrated) connected to the light transmission controlling member 180 to measure a temperature of the light transmission controlling member 180. The shape of the memory polymer of the light transmission controlling member 180 may vary in accordance with the temperature of the light transmission controlling member 180 sensed by the temperature sensor.
In the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device, since an external light leakage may be generated by an external light transmitted from a bottom surface of the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device, the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device may be unable to implement a complete black mode even though the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device is in an OFF state. In addition, since the external light may be reflected when the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device is used in an outdoor environment, a legibility of the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device may be substantially reduced. Further, when the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device is in the ON state, the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device may not display images having various transmittances because the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device may have the same transmittance.
In considerations of these problems associated with the conventional transparent organic light emitting display device, the organic light emitting display device according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention (e.g., the organic light emitting display device 100) may include at least one light transmission controlling member (e.g., the light transmission controlling member 180). The light transmission controlling member 180 may be disposed on the second face of the substrate 110, which may be located opposite of or across from the first face of the substrate 110 and may include a shape memory polymer. For example, the light transmission controlling member 180 may include the plurality of protruding portions.
When the electric signal (e.g., a data signal applied to the display structure 170) is applied to the light transmission controlling member 180, the shape memory polymer may be contracted to change the shapes of the protruding portions. Further, the degree of the contraction of the light transmission controlling member 180 may vary in accordance with the degree of the electric signal applied to the light transmission controlling member 180. As the shape memory polymer is further contracted, the degree of the transmission of the external light may be increased. On the other hand, as the shape memory polymer is further stretched, the degree of the transmission of the external light may be decreased. As a result, when the organic light emitting display device 100 is in the OFF state, the protruding portion of the light transmission controlling member 180 may uniformly block the external light. In addition, when the organic light emitting display device 100 is in the ON state, the transmittance of the organic light emitting display device 100 may be controlled according to the electric signal applied to the light transmission controlling member 180. As a result, the organic light emitting display device 100 may display images having a variety of transmittances.
As illustrated above, the organic light emitting display device 100 may include the light transmission controlling member 180 that shares the electric signal with the display structure 170, so that the transmittance of the organic light emitting display device 100 may be controlled. As a result, the organic light emitting display device 100 may have a thin thickness or a thickness below a reference threshold.
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It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variation can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2014-0090721 | Jul 2014 | KR | national |
