Patent Description:
A conventional display panel comprises an electro-static discharge (ESD) protection circuit to prevent damage to an element provided in a pixel circuit from electro-static discharge (ESD). A semiconductor chip forming the pixel circuit is integrated. Therefore, the ESD protection circuit is provided in order to avoid damage to the pixel circuit caused by static electricity input through a pad of the semiconductor chip.

The ESD protection circuit may include a resistance, a diode, a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), and the like. The ESD protection circuit may be disposed in a bezel area of a display panel to protect a pixel circuit from static electricity.

<CIT> discloses a display panel including a first current source and a first pixel unit. The first pixel unit includes a first switch and a first light-emitting diode. The first switch is coupled to the first current source and receives a first scan signal. When the first scan signal is enabled, the first switch is turned on and receives a first current provided by the first current source. The first light-emitting diode is coupled to the first switch. When the first switch is turned on, the first current passes through the first light-emitting diode so as to turn on the first light-emitting diode.

However, it has been practically difficult to realize a bezel-less display panel due to the ESD protection circuit in a bezel area of the display panel. Such bezel may be a block to miniaturization of the display panel, and at the time of embodying a display panel in which a plurality of display modules are connected in a tile type, visibility may be deteriorated due to the presence of the bezel.

Therefore, there is a need for a technique for realizing a completely bezel-less display panel.

An aspect of the embodiments relates to providing a completely bezel-less display panel capable of ESD protection.

According to an aspect, there is provided a display module as set out in claim <NUM>. Optional features of this aspect are set out in claims <NUM> to <NUM>.

According to the above-described various exemplary embodiments, it is possible to protect a display panel from ESD while implementing a bezeless display panel which does not include a bezel region.

All the terms used in this specification including technical and scientific terms have the same meanings as would be generally understood by those skilled in the related art. However, the meanings of these terms may vary depending on the intentions of the person skilled in the art, legal or technical interpretation, and the emergence of new technologies. In addition, some terms are arbitrarily selected by the applicant. These terms may be construed in the meaning defined herein and, unless otherwise specified, may be construed on the basis of the entire contents of this specification and common technical knowledge in the art.

Embodiments disclosed below may be implemented in various forms and the scope of the disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. In the following description, the configuration which is publicly known but irrelevant to the gist of the disclosure may be omitted.

The terms such as "first," "second," and so on may be used to describe a variety of elements, but the elements should not be limited by these terms. The terms are used simply to distinguish one element from other elements. The use of such ordinal numbers should not be construed as limiting the meaning of the term. For example, the components associated with such an ordinal number should not be limited in the order of use, placement order, or the like. If necessary, each ordinal number may be used interchangeably.

The singular expression also includes the plural meaning as long as it does not have a different meaning in context. In this specification, terms such as 'include' and 'have/has' should be construed as designating that there are such features, numbers, operations, elements, components or a combination thereof in the specification, not to exclude the existence or possibility of adding one or more of other features, numbers, operations, elements, components or a combination thereof.

In an embodiment, 'a module', 'a unit', or 'a part' perform at least one function or operation, and may be realized as hardware, such as a processor or integrated circuit, software that is executed by a processor, or a combination thereof. In addition, a plurality of 'modules', a plurality of 'units', or a plurality of 'parts' may be integrated into at least one module or chip and may be realized as at least one processor except for 'modules', 'units' or 'parts' that should be realized in a specific hardware.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the disclosure. However, the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In order to clearly illustrate the disclosure in the drawings, some of the elements that are not essential to the complete understanding of the disclosure are omitted for sharpness, and like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

Further, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the display module may be a single independent display panel, or a plurality of display modules may be combined to realize one display panel. When one display module is used as one display panel, the display module has the same meaning as the display panel.

Hereinafter, the disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to drawings attached herein.

<FIG> are views to explain a problem of an ESD protection circuit of a conventional display panel.

Referring to <FIG>, a display panel may include a backplane <NUM> that transmits an electrical signal to an element emitting an optical signal, i.e. a light emitting element.

Examples of the conventional backplanes used in display panels that have been massproduced include a-Si thin film transistor (TFT), Low Temperature Poly Silicon (LTPS) TFT, and an oxide TFT.

For example, a backplane used in an active matrix type display panel using a thin film transistor may have very high static electricity due to a potential difference between a scan line and a data line during a manufacturing process.

Therefore, the above-described various TFT backplanes may include an ESD protection circuit for protecting pixel circuits from static electricity. Generally, the ESD protection circuit may be disposed in an area of a backplane corresponding to a bezel area <NUM> of a display panel.

The position of the conventional ESD protection circuit is as shown in <FIG>.

The display panel may be configured such that a plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n are arranged in a matrix formation. The plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be connected to a power supply line (VDD) <NUM>, a data line <NUM>, a scan line <NUM>, and a ground line (VSS) <NUM>.

A voltage necessary for driving a scan driver (not shown), and a data driver (not shown) included in a driver and a voltage necessary for driving the pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be output through the power supply line <NUM>. The scan driver may apply a scan signal to a display panel through the scan line <NUM>, and the data driver may apply a data signal to a display panel through the data line <NUM>.

The display panel may have a structure comprising signal lines including the data line <NUM> arranged in a first direction, and the scan line <NUM> arranged in a second direction crossing the first direction, power source lines including the power supply line (VDD) <NUM> and the ground line (VSS) <NUM>, and the pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n in a pixel area where the data line <NUM> intersects the scan line <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be connected to the power supply line <NUM>, the data line <NUM>, the scan line <NUM>, and the ground line <NUM> connected to the plurality of pixel circuit <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-in a bezel area outside the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n. The ESD protection circuit <NUM> may include two TFTs for bypassing static electricity flowing through the data line <NUM> and the power supply line <NUM> to the ground line <NUM>. Through the two TFTs and a floating bar <NUM>, lines connected to the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n, and wires constituting the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may have equal potentials, thereby preventing the occurrence of static electricity.

However, the conventional ESD protection circuit has been a block for realizing a bezel-less display panel since it is disposed in a bezel area outside the plurality of pixel circuits. In addition, when the ESD protection circuit is removed for realizing a bezel-less display panel, a large amount of static electricity may occur during a process of glass scribing, grinding, etc., and a short circuit phenomenon may occur in the unprotected TFT backplane circuit by a leakage of electricity.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view of a conventional display panel. As shown in <FIG>, a conventional display panel may have a structure in which a TFT layer <NUM>, an ESD protection circuit <NUM>, and a pad are formed on a substrate <NUM>.

The conventional display panel includes a pixel circuit area corresponding to the TFT layer <NUM> in which the pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n described in <FIG> are disposed, and a bezel area in which a pixel circuit is not disposed, and the ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be disposed in the bezel area.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram illustrating configuration of a display module according to an embodiment.

A display apparatus may be an apparatus for converting an electrical signal into an optical signal that can be perceived by the naked eye, including a display module <NUM> for displaying an image in such a manner.

According to the disclosure, an implementation method of the display module <NUM> is not particularly limited. For example, the display module <NUM> may be embodied as various types of display modules such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), an active matrix (AM)-OLED, an inorganic light emitting diode, a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like.

For the display module <NUM>, a light emitting element may constitute a pixel or a sub-pixel depending on its implementation method, or additional constituent elements may be further included.

For example, in the case of the OLED or inorganic LED type display module <NUM>, the OLED or the inorganic LED of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors, which are light emitting elements, may constitute pixels or sub-pixels of the display module <NUM>. In addition, when the display module <NUM> is a liquid crystal type, the display module <NUM> may further include a single color backlight unit (not shown) for supplying light to the liquid crystal. The display module <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n constituting each pixel included in the display module <NUM>, a driver <NUM> and an ESD protection circuit (not shown) included in at least one of the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n.

The plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be arranged in a matrix form, and each of the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be driven to emit light of a gray scale corresponding to a gray data voltage (e.g., pulse amplitude modulation (PAM)) to which the display module <NUM> is applied or a pulse width modulation (PWM) data voltage.

The driver <NUM> may drive the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n and control a light emitting operation of each pixel included in the display module <NUM>.

The driver <NUM> may include various types of driving circuits for driving the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n such as a data driver (or a source driver), a scan driver (or a gate driver), and the like.

For the display module <NUM> of the OLED or the inorganic LED type, the OLED or the inorganic LED of R, G, and B may be mounted on the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n to constitute a pixel or a sub-pixel of the display module <NUM>.

The display module <NUM> of the LCD type may further include a backlight unit for providing single color light, and a color filter or a crystal liquid may be disposed on the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n to constitute the display module <NUM>.

The power source supplier (not shown) may output a voltage necessary for driving the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n according to the driving control of the driver <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the ESD protection circuit may be included in at least one of the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n and may protect the pixel circuit from ESD. The ESD protection circuit may be embodied as an ESD protection circuit of a first type including two thin film transistors (TFTs) for bypassing the static electricity flowing through the data line or the power supply line of the pixel circuit to the ground line.

The ESD protection circuit may be embodied as an ESD protection circuit of a second type including a transistor to allow the scan line, the data line, the power supply line and the ground line of the pixel circuit to have equal potentials due to a capacitive coupling effect.

The detailed configuration of the ESD protection circuit will be described in detail with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> shows an example in which the driver <NUM> is included in the display module <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The driver <NUM> may not be included in the display module <NUM>, but may be additionally provided.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram illustrating configuration of a display module of the inorganic LED type according to an embodiment of the disclosure. According to <FIG>, a display module <NUM> may include an inorganic light emitting element <NUM> and a pixel circuit <NUM>.

For ease of explanation, <FIG> illustrates the configuration relating to one pixel included in the display module <NUM>. However, the display module <NUM> may include a plurality of pixels, and each pixel (specifically, each sub-pixel) may include an inorganic light emitting element <NUM> and a pixel circuit <NUM>, and thus the display module <NUM> may include the inorganic light emitting element <NUM> and a plurality of pixel circuits <NUM> corresponding to the inorganic light emitting element <NUM>.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be arranged in at least one of the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n. Therefore, some of the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may include the ESD protection circuit <NUM> and some may not include the ESD protection circuit <NUM>. Therefore, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> are shown in dotted line in <FIG>.

The inorganic light emitting element <NUM> may constitute a pixel (specifically, a sub-pixel) of the display module <NUM>, and emit light according to the driving of the pixel circuit <NUM>.

The inorganic light emitting element <NUM> may have various types depending on the color of emitted light. For example, the inorganic light emitting element <NUM> may include a red (R) light emitting element for emitting light of a red color, a green (G) light emitting element for emitting light of a green color, and a blue (B) light emitting element for emitting light of a blue color.

The type of sub-pixel constituting one pixel of the display module <NUM> may be identified based on the type of inorganic light emitting element <NUM>. In other words, the R light emitting element may constitute an R sub-pixel, the G light emitting element may constitute a G sub-pixel, and the B light emitting element may constitute a B sub-pixel.

The inorganic light emitting element <NUM> may be a light emitting element formed of an inorganic material, which is different from an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) formed of an organic material.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the inorganic light emitting element may be a micro light emitting diode (LED). The micro LED may be a ultra-mini inorganic light emitting element with a size of less than <NUM> that emits light by itself without a backlight and a color filter.

The pixel circuit <NUM> may drive the inorganic light emitting element <NUM>. To be specific, when a grayscale data voltage is applied, the pixel circuit <NUM> may provide a driving current corresponding to the applied grayscale data voltage and drive the inorganic light emitting element <NUM>.

To be specific, according to an embodiment, the pixel circuit <NUM> may drive the inorganic light emitting element <NUM> through pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and/ or pulse width modulation (PWM). The pixel circuit <NUM> may control an amplitude and /or a pulse width of a driving current that drives the inorganic light emitting element <NUM> according to the applied grayscale data voltage, and provide the driving current of which the amplitude and/or the pulse width is controlled to the inorganic light emitting element <NUM>.

The pixel circuit <NUM> may be provided in each inorganic light emitting element <NUM>, and unlike a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel that uses a light emitting element with a single color as a backlight, may drive the inorganic light emitting element <NUM> and exhibit a grayscale in a unit of a sub-pixel.

The ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be included in the pixel circuit <NUM>. According to an embodiment, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be included or arranged in the pixel circuit <NUM> (or the pixel circuit <NUM> area), and thus unlike a conventional display panel having an ESD protection circuit in a separate bezel area <NUM>, a complete bezel-less panel may be constructed. Particularly, the micro LED may be most suitable for constructing a bezel-less module or a bezel-less panel due to its small size, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a pixel structure of a display module according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, a display module <NUM> may include a plurality of pixel areas <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n arranged in a matrix form. The plurality of pixel areas <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be arranged in an entire area of the display module <NUM> including an edge area at a predetermined interval (m).

Each of the plurality of pixel areas <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may include a pixel circuit corresponding thereto. Therefore, the pixel area may be referred to as a pixel circuit area. Referring to an embodiment of <FIG>, one pixel area may include three inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> such as red (R), green (G) and blue (B). Therefore, each pixel area may include three pixel circuits respectively corresponding to three inorganic light emitting elements R, G and B.

However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the display module may include a plurality of sub-pixel areas arranged in a matrix format, and in this case, each sub-pixel area may include one inorganic light emitting element and one pixel circuit corresponding thereto.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be arranged in a pixel circuit. Referring to <FIG>, the display module <NUM> may not include a bezel area unlike the display panel in <FIG>.

Therefore, ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be arranged, for example, in a pixel circuit in various positions of the plurality of pixel areas <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n as shown in <FIG>.

To be specific, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be arranged in a pixel circuit included in one pixel area <NUM>-<NUM>, or in pixel circuits included in two pixel areas <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> according to an example not falling within the scope of the claimed invention.

The ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be arranged in at least one pixel circuit of pixel circuits included in a pixel area disposed in an edge area (or an outer area) of the display module <NUM>, but is not limited thereto. As shown in <FIG>, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> is arranged in the pixel circuits included in pixel areas <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> at an internal portion of the display module <NUM> rather than on an outside edge of the display module <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may be micro LEDs. In this case, the micro LED may have a very small size. Therefore, the display module <NUM> may be formed such that a distance (l) between pixel areas from a scribe line to a first line may be smaller than a distance (m) between the pixel areas <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n.

Therefore, according to an embodiment, a display module capable of ESD protection without a bezel area may be provided.

Referring to <FIG>, R, G and B sub-pixels may be arranged in a left and right reversed L shape. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the R, G and B sub-pixels may be arranged in a line in a pixel area. However, such arrangement form of sub-pixels is merely descriptive, and a plurality of sub-pixels may be arranged in various forms in each pixel.

According to the above-described example, it is described that one pixel consists of three types of sub-pixels, but is not limited thereto. For example, a pixel may consist of four types of sub-pixel such as R, G, B and white (W), and according to an embodiment, the number of sub-pixels to form one pixel is not limited.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating a display module according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For ease of explanation, <FIG> illustrates one pixel included in the display module <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, a display module <NUM> may include a thin film transistor (TFT) layer <NUM> formed on a substrate <NUM> and inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> mounted on the TFT layer <NUM>.

The TFT layer <NUM> may be formed on an entire area of the substrate <NUM>, and the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be formed on the TFT layer <NUM> in a matrix form. The plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be arranged in an entire area of the substrate <NUM> including an edge area at a predetermined interval.

Although not explicitly shown, on the TFT layer <NUM>, a pixel circuit <NUM> for driving each of the inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may be provided for each of the inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>. Therefore, each of the inorganic light emitting elements R, G and B <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may be mounted or arranged on the pixel circuit <NUM> to be electrically connected to the pixel circuit <NUM> corresponding thereto.

Referring to <FIG>, the R light emitting element <NUM>-<NUM> may be mounted or arranged so that an anode electrode <NUM> and a cathode electrode <NUM> of the R light emitting element <NUM>-<NUM> may be respectively connected to an anode electrode <NUM> and a cathode electrode <NUM> formed on the pixel circuit <NUM> corresponding to the R light emitting element <NUM>-<NUM>, and the G light emitting element <NUM>-<NUM> and the B light emitting element <NUM>-<NUM> may be mounted or arranged in the same manner. According to an embodiment, one of the anode electrode <NUM> and the cathode electrode <NUM> may be embodied as a common electrode.

Unlike a conventional technique of <FIG>, the display module <NUM> of <FIG> may have a pixel circuit area, but may not have a bezel area. Therefore, according to an embodiment, the ESD protection circuit <NUM> and a pad <NUM> may be formed in the TFT layer <NUM>.

The pad <NUM> may transmit signals transmitted from the driver (not shown) or the power source supplier (not shown) to the pixel circuits included in the TFT layer <NUM>.

The substrate <NUM> may be formed of various materials. For example, the substrate <NUM> may be formed of glass or synthetic resin. In the example of <FIG>, the substrate <NUM> may be a flat substrate. In this case, the substrate <NUM> may be formed of a hard material rather than a flexible material.

Referring to <FIG>, a micro LED of flip chip type is exemplified as inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may be a micro LED of lateral type or vertical type.

<FIG> is an exemplary view showing that a display panel may be configured with a plurality of display modules of <FIG>.

According to an embodiment, a display module <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may constitute a display panel. In addition, according to another embodiment, a single display panel may be embodied with a consecutive arrangement of a plurality of display modules. <FIG> illustrates an example embodiment in which a display module <NUM> is arranged.

As described above, the display module <NUM> may not have a bezel area, particularly, when the inorganic light emitting element is a micro LED, the size thereof may be very small. Therefore, as shown in <FIG>, the display module may be arranged or combined so that a length (a) between the inorganic light emitting element <NUM>-<NUM> closest to a scribe line of a display module <NUM>-<NUM> and an inorganic light emitting element <NUM>-<NUM>'closest to a scribe line of a display module <NUM>-<NUM> may be identical to a length (a) between the inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM>' to130-<NUM>'of the display modules <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>. Here, the "identical" includes the case where there is a certain margin of errors (e.g., less than <NUM>%).

Therefore, according to an embodiment, even when one display panel is configured with the combination of the plurality of display modules <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>, a display panel can provide a complete seamless image without a phenomenon in which an image is cut off at the boundary where the display modules are combined.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the term 'bezel-less' encompasses the case where a bezel exists during a process of manufacturing a display panel but is removed after the process. Such example embodiment will be described through <FIG>.

A display module <NUM> of <FIG> may be similar to the display module <NUM> of <FIG> in that the ESD protection circuit <NUM> and the pad <NUM> are arranged in the TFT layer <NUM>, but the arrangement positions may be different. In other words, unlike the display module <NUM> of <FIG>, in the display module <NUM> of <FIG>, a pixel circuit for driving the inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may not be arranged in a certain area of the TFT layer <NUM> based on a scribe line, and the inorganic light emitting elements <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may not be mounted in that area.

In the example of <FIG>, a substrate <NUM>' of the display module <NUM> may be formed of a flexible material.

In this case, a display panel without a bezel area may be embodied by bending and fixing the outer area of the display module <NUM> in the direction of the substrate <NUM>'.

<FIG> illustrates an example embodiment in which a plurality of display modules <NUM> of <FIG> are combined to form a display panel. As shown in <FIG>, the display module <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> may be bent in the direction of the substrate <NUM>' to be coupled to each other, and a display panel can provide a complete seamless image without a phenomenon in which an image is cut off at the boundary where the display modules are combined.

Although not shown, when a single display panel is formed by using one display module <NUM>, a bezel-less display may be embodied by bending and fixing each outer area of the display module <NUM> in the direction of the substrate <NUM>'.

<FIG> is an exemplary view illustrating a display panel in which a plurality of display modules are connected. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, as shown in <FIG>, nine of display modules <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> may be consecutively disposed to form one bezel-less display panel <NUM>.

<FIG> shows an example in which the display module <NUM> has an arrangement of <NUM> X <NUM>, but is not limited thereto. The number and formation of display modules are not limited to form a bezel-less display panel.

The other display modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> described above may be formed in the same manner.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a connection relationship of an ESD protection circuit according to an embodiment. The ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> shown in the example of <FIG> may be an ESD protection circuit included in a p-type LTPS backplane.

In the backplane constituting the display modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, a driving voltage (VDD) wiring line <NUM> for driving each pixel circuit, a ground (VSS) voltage wiring line <NUM>, and various swing voltage (data, clock, scan signals, etc.) wiring lines <NUM> may be provided in each pixel circuit. For ease of illustration, <FIG> illustrates only one swing voltage wiring line <NUM>, but it could be easily understood that an additional wiring line may be provided for each type of swing voltage.

Referring to <FIG>, an ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> may include a first-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (PMOSFET) <NUM> in which a gate terminal and a source terminal area connected to a driving voltage wiring line <NUM>, and a drain terminal is connected to a swing voltage wiring line <NUM>, and a second PMOSFET <NUM> in which a gate terminal and a source terminal are connected to the swing voltage wiring line <NUM> and a drain terminal is connected to the ground voltage wiring line <NUM>.

The ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> may be included in at least one pixel circuit among a plurality of pixel circuits constituting the display modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

However, the type and connection relationship of the ESD protection circuit <NUM> is not limited to <FIG>. Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of an ESD protection circuit according to various embodiments of the disclosure will be described. The detailed connection manner of the ESD protection circuit will be shown with reference to <FIG>. The connection method of the ESD protection circuit is not limited to <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, an ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> may be connected to a power supply line <NUM>, a data line <NUM>, a scan line <NUM>, and a ground line <NUM> in the pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n. Referring to <FIG>, the ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> may be embodied as the ESD protection circuit of a first type.

One end of the ESD protection circuit of first type <NUM>-<NUM> may be connected to the data line <NUM> or the scan line <NUM>, and the other end may be connected to the ground line <NUM>.

To be specific, two TFTs included in the ESD protection circuit of first type <NUM>-<NUM> may have a source terminal connected to the floating bar <NUM>, and a drain terminal connected to one of the power supply line <NUM>, the data line <NUM>, the scan line <NUM>, and the ground line <NUM>. The gate terminal of the TFT may be connected to the floating bar <NUM>, or one of the power supply line <NUM>, the data line <NUM>, the scan line <NUM> and the ground line <NUM>.

Accordingly, the static electricity generated by the display module <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be emitted to the outside of the display module <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> through the ground line <NUM> connected to the other end of the first ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM>.

As described above, the first ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> may be arranged in the pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n in the same manner.

However, a DC high voltage instead of a swing voltage may be applied to the power supply line <NUM> and the data line <NUM>, which are used in a micro-LED display, and thus, a large amount of leakage currents may occur when the ESD protection circuit of the first type <NUM>-<NUM> is used.

Therefore, referring to <FIG>, an ESD protection circuit of a second type <NUM>-<NUM> including a transistor that allows the power supply line <NUM>, the data line <NUM>, the scan line <NUM>, and the ground line <NUM> to have equal potentials by the capacitive coupling effect may be connected to the power supply line <NUM> to which the DC high voltage is applied.

The transistor may be embodied as a floating gate type TFT, and both ends of the TFT may be connected to the power supply line <NUM> and the floating bar <NUM>, respectively. When an electrostatic voltage is applied to the floating bar <NUM>, the electrostatic voltage may be transmitted to all wires connected to the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n by the capacitive coupling effect to allow all the wires in the TFT backplane to maintain the equal potential.

However, referring to <FIG>, all ESD protection circuits included in the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be embodied as the ESD protection circuit of the second type <NUM>-<NUM>. In other words, the ESD protection circuit included in the plurality of pixel circuits <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be embodied either as the ESD protection circuit of the first type <NUM>-<NUM> or the ESD protection circuit of the second type <NUM>-<NUM>.

The ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be arranged in a unit of a pixel circuit of a predetermined number in the display module <NUM> and <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram illustrating configuration of an ESD protection unit of a display module or a display panel according to an embodiment.

A display module <NUM> according to an embodiment may have a structure in which a plurality of ESD protection units <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n having a predetermined number of pixel circuits as one unit are repeatedly connected and arranged, and each of the plurality of ESD protection units <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may include at least one ESD protection circuit <NUM>.

For example, each of the plurality of ESD protection units <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may include pixel circuits constituting a pixel of <NUM> X <NUM>, and at least one ESD protection circuit <NUM> may be included in each of the pixel circuits. When the display module <NUM> has a resolution of <NUM> X <NUM>, the display module <NUM> may therefore include <NUM> (ten) ESD protection units.

Referring to <FIG>, the ESD protection circuits <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> may be connected only to the power supply line <NUM>, the data line <NUM>, the scan line <NUM>, and the ground line <NUM> of the first pixel circuit <NUM>-<NUM> of the plurality of pixel circuits included in the ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM>. In other words, all the pixel circuits included in the ESD protection unit <NUM>-<NUM> may share the ESD protection circuits <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> connected to the first pixel circuit <NUM>-<NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the ESD protection circuits <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> may be respectively arranged in the first pixel circuit <NUM>-<NUM> and the second pixel circuit <NUM>-<NUM> in the ESD protection unit <NUM>-<NUM>.

In this case, all the pixel circuits included in the ESD protection unit <NUM>-<NUM> may share the ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> connected to the first pixel circuit <NUM>-<NUM> and the ESD protection circuit <NUM>-<NUM> connected to the second pixel circuit <NUM>-<NUM>.

However, the disclosure is not limited to <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating configuration of a display apparatus including a display panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, a display apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment may include a display panel <NUM>, a broadcasting receiver <NUM>, a signal separator <NUM>, an A/V processor <NUM>, an audio output unit <NUM>, a storage <NUM>, a communicator <NUM>, a controller <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, and an image signal provider <NUM>.

The broadcasting receiver <NUM> may receive broadcasting by wire or wirelessly from a broadcasting station or satellite and demodulate the broadcasting. To be specific, the broadcasting receiver <NUM> may receive a transport stream through an antenna or a cable, demodulate the transport stream, and output a digital transport stream signal (specifically, a clock signal (TS_CLK), a sync signal (TS_SYNC), a valid signal (TS_VALID), and <NUM> data signals (TS_DATA[<NUM>:<NUM>])). In addition, the broadcasting receiver <NUM> may receive broadcasting signals from an external device (e.g., a set-top box).

The signal separator <NUM> may separate the transport stream signals provided from the broadcasting receiver <NUM> into an image signal, an audio signal, and an additional information signal. The signal separator <NUM> may transmit image signals and audio signals to the A/V processor <NUM>.

The A/V processor <NUM> may perform signal processing such as video decoding, video scaling, audio decoding, or the like on image signals and audio signals input from the broadcasting receiver <NUM> and the storage <NUM>. The A/V processor <NUM> may output image signals to the image signal provider <NUM>, and audio signals to the audio output unit <NUM>.

When the received images and audio signals are stored in the storage <NUM>, the A/V processor <NUM> may output images and videos to the storage <NUM> in a compressed form.

The audio output unit <NUM> may convert audio signals output from the A/V processor <NUM> into sound and output the sound through a speaker (not shown), or output the sound to an external device connected through an external output terminal (not shown).

The image signal provider <NUM> may generate a graphic user interface (GUI) for providing to a user. The image signal provider <NUM> may add the generated GUI to the image output from the A/V processor <NUM>. The image signal provider <NUM> may provide an image signal corresponding to the image to which the GUI is added to the display module <NUM>. Accordingly, the display module <NUM> may display various information provided by the display apparatus <NUM> and the image transmitted from the image signal provider <NUM>.

The image signal provider <NUM> may extract bright information corresponding to the image signal, and generate a dimming signal corresponding to the extracted brightness information. The image signal provider <NUM> may provide the generated dimming signal to the display panel <NUM>. The dimming signal may be a PWM signal. According to an embodiment, a dimming signal may be provided from the image signal provider <NUM> and provided to the display panel <NUM>, but at the time of implementation, the display panel <NUM> that receives an image signal may generate a dimming signal by itself for use.

The display panel <NUM> may display an image. The display panel <NUM> may be implemented as various types of displays such as a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and a plasma display panel (PDP). The display panel <NUM> may further include a driving circuit, which may be implemented in the form of an a-Si TFT, a low temperature poly silicon (LTPS) TFT, an organic TFT (OTFT), etc., a backlight unit, and the like. Meanwhile, the display panel <NUM> may be implemented as a touch screen in combination with a touch sensing unit.

When the display panel <NUM> is embodied as an LCD panel that transmits light emitted from a backlight through an LCD or displays a grayscale by adjusting the degree of transmission, the display panel <NUM> may receive power necessary for the backlight through the power source supplier (not shown), and transmit the light emitted from the backlight through the LCD. The display panel <NUM> may receive power to be used for a pixel electrode or a common electrode from the power source supplier (not shown), and control each LCD according to an image signal received from the image signal provider <NUM> to display an image.

The backlight may emit light to the LCD, and may be embodied with a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) and/or a light emitting diode (LED). Hereinafter, the backlight will be illustrated as including a light emitting diode and a light emitting diode driving circuit, but at the time of implementation, the backlight may be implemented with other configurations than the LED.

When the LED is used, the backlight may include an LED driver for driving the LED. The LED driver may be configured to provide a constant current corresponding to a brightness value to the LED so that the backlight may operate with the brightness corresponding to dimming information provided from the image signal provider <NUM>. The LED driver may not provide a constant current to the LED depending on a dimming signal.

In the case of the LED or OLED display panel <NUM>, the display panel <NUM> may display an image corresponding to an image signal provided from the image signal provider <NUM> and a driving power source supplied from the power source supplier. The display panel <NUM> may include a plurality of pixels including an inorganic light emitting diode or an organic light emitting diode.

The inorganic light emitting diode may be a light emitting element fabricated by using an inorganic material, which is distinguished from the LED and OLED in this specification. To be specific, the inorganic light emitting diode may include a micro LED (micro LED). The micro LED may be a kind of inorganic light emitting element and refers to a miniaturized inorganic light emitting element having a size of <NUM> micrometers (µm) or less that emits light without a backlight or a color filter.

When the display panel <NUM> is embodied as an inorganic light emitting diode, the display module <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> or the display panel <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be the display panel <NUM>.

An organic light emitting diode (OLED) may be a light emitting element manufactured by using a 'self-emitting organic material' that emits light by using an electroluminescent phenomenon that emits light when a current flows through a fluorescent organic compound.

The storage <NUM> may store image contents. To be specific, the storage <NUM> may receive video and image compressed image contents from the A/V processor <NUM>, store the image contents, and output the stored image contents to the A/V processor <NUM> under the control of the processor <NUM>. The storage <NUM> may be embodied with a hard disk, a non-volatile memory, a volatile memory, etc..

The controller <NUM> may be embodied as a touch screen, a touch pad, a key button, etc. and provide a user operation of the display apparatus <NUM>. It has been exemplified that a control command is received through the controller <NUM> provided in the display apparatus <NUM>, but the controller <NUM> may receive a user operation from an external control device (e.g., a remote controller).

The communicator <NUM> may perform communication with various types of external devices according to various types of communication methods. The communicator <NUM> may include a Wi-Fi chip, a Bluetooth chip, etc. The processor <NUM> may perform communication with various external devices through the communicator <NUM>. The communicator <NUM> may perform communication with an external electronic device.

Although not shown in <FIG>, the communicator <NUM> may include a USB port to which a USB connector is connected, various external input ports for connecting to various external terminals such as a headset, a mouse, and a LAN, etc., a DMB chip for receiving and processing a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) signal, and the like.

The display apparatus <NUM> may further include a power source supplier (not shown) and a sensing unit (not shown). The power source supplier may supply power to each constituent element of the display apparatus <NUM>. The power source supplier may generate a plurality of driving power sources having different potentials, and feedback control the voltage value of one driving power source.

The sensing unit may include a sensor for obtaining various sensing information. The sensing unit may include a color sensor for obtaining information on a color temperature in a background area near the display apparatus <NUM>. The sensing unit may include various sensing devices such as a camera, a movement sensor, etc..

The processor <NUM> may control the overall operation of the display apparatus <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may control the image signal provider <NUM>, and the display module <NUM> so that an image according to a control command received through the controller <NUM> may be displayed. Referring to <FIG>, the processor <NUM> may include CPU, GPU, ROM and RAM.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a bezel-less display panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The bezel-less display modules capable of ESD protection <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be embodied by having the ESD protection circuit disposed in the pixel circuit area of the display module <NUM> according to the above-described various embodiments. Therefore, multiple instances of a display panel <NUM> shown on the bottom of <FIG> may be formed together by connecting a plurality of bezel-less display modules <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-<NUM> in a modular type as shown at the top of <FIG>. In this case, visibility may not be deteriorated due the presence of the bezel area.

Claim 1:
A display module comprising:
a substrate (<NUM>);
a thin film transistor, TFT, layer (<NUM>) formed on the substrate (<NUM>); and
a plurality of pixels disposed on the TFT layer (<NUM>);
wherein each of the plurality of pixels comprises at least three inorganic light emitting elements (<NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>),
wherein the TFT layer (<NUM>) comprises:
a plurality of electro-static discharge, ESD, protection circuits (<NUM>), and
a plurality of pixel circuits configured to drive the at least three inorganic light emitting elements (<NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>) for each pixel,
wherein each ESD protection circuit of the plurality of ESD protection circuits (<NUM>) is surrounded by a plurality of adjacent pixels among the plurality of pixels, the plurality of adjacent pixels comprising four adjacent pixels,
wherein the plurality of adjacent pixels are arranged at a predetermined interval in a matrix array,
wherein each of the at least three inorganic light emitting elements is mounted on and electrically connected to a corresponding pixel circuit among the plurality of pixel circuits,
wherein each ESD protection circuit of the plurality of ESD protection circuits is located at a center of the four adjacent pixels.