Patent ID: 8619021

Claim:
A flex-tolerant electronic document reading device, the device comprising: a flexible display structure comprising: a transparent front panel, a pixellated flexible display screen behind said front panel, an active matrix backplane bearing a plurality of pixel driver circuits for driving pixels of said display screen, said active matrix backplane having a flexible plastic substrate, said flexible display screen being mounted on said active matrix backplane, and a touch sensing layer mounted over a display surface of said display screen and behind said front panel to sense an X-Y touch position on said display screen; a control circuit hoard carrying control electronics for the electronic: document reading device; and a flex-tolerant housing for said display structure and control circuit board; wherein said active matrix backplane is coupled to said control circuit board by a backplane connector including a first part which connects to an edge of the active matrix backplane and at least one first flexible, substantially laminar connector which is connected to the first part and which has a longitudinal direction which is parallel to a long axis of the laminar connector, wherein said touch sensing layer is coupled to said control circuit board by a sensor connector including a first portion which connects to an edge of the touch sensing layer and at least one second flexible, substantially laminar connector which is connected to the first portion and which has a longitudinal direction which is parallel to a long axis of the laminar connector, wherein said edge of the touch sensing layer to which said first portion of said sensor connector is connected is orthogonal to said edge of the active matrix backplane to which the first part of said backplane connector is connected; wherein said control circuit board is mounted behind said flexible display structure in said housing, wherein at respective points of attachment of said at least one first and second laminar connectors to said control circuit board, each said laminar connector has a plurality of electrical connections running along a longitudinal direction of the laminar connector and disposed alongside one another in a transverse direction across the laminar connector, wherein said first portion of said sensor connector and said first part of said backplane connector include at least one substantially 180 degree bend; wherein, at said respective points of attachment of said at least one first and second laminar connectors to said control circuit board, at least one of said first and second laminar connectors comprises a fold so that the longitudinal directions of said laminar connectors are aligned, wherein when said device is flexed, a relative displacement in said longitudinal direction between. said control circuit board and of said display structure is able to be tolerated.