US 9507477

Patent Analyst Report: US 9,507,477 B2

Date of Analysis: 2026-05-13

Subject: United States Patent 9,507,477 B2, "Display device"

This report provides a concise summary of US patent 9,507,477, including its key bibliographic details and a plain-language explanation of its independent claims. Information is based on the full patent text available from the USPTO and publicly accessible patent databases.

A search of the CAFC dockets for 2026 did not yield any specific results for this patent number.

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I. Bibliographic Information

• Title: Display device
• Assignee: The patent is currently assigned to Paneltouch Technologies LLC, following a reassignment on April 27, 2024. The original assignees were Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co Ltd and Japan Display Inc.
• Inventors: Kouichi Anno, Takumi Sato, Masahiro Teramoto
• Filing Date: January 25, 2016
• Issue Date: November 29, 2016
• Abstract: A display device includes a display panel, a light shielding plate having an opening, a protective plate, and a coordinate input device having a transparent substrate, and a first flexible interconnect substrate. The coordinate input device is disposed on the display panel at the side of a display screen, and each of the light shielding plate and the protective plate is arranged on the coordinate input device on the opposite side of the display panel. The coordinate input device has first signal interconnects and a second signal interconnect disposed outside the first signal interconnects but near a peripheral edge of the transparent substrate. The second signal interconnect is formed of a thin conductive film disposed along a peripheral edge portion of the transparent substrate, and is disposed along the peripheral edge of three sides of the transparent substrate.

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II. Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

This patent has two independent claims, which describe the core inventions protected.

Claim 1: The Coordinate Input Device (Touch Panel)

Claim 1 of US patent 9,507,477 describes a touch-sensitive input device (like a smartphone or tablet screen) designed to make it easier to detect physical damage, such as cracks or chips along its edges.

In simple terms, the claim outlines a touch panel that has two sets of electrical pathways (interconnects) on its transparent base (substrate):

• First Signal Interconnect: These are the primary pathways that connect the touch-sensitive electrodes in the main display area to the device's processing electronics via a flexible ribbon cable. They are responsible for transmitting touch signals.
• Second Signal Interconnect: This is a special, additional pathway made of a conductive material. It is intentionally placed around the outer perimeter of the touch-sensitive area, just inside the physical edge of the transparent base. This "guard" interconnect is not for touch signals but acts as a tripwire. It has two ends that connect to specific terminals for testing.

The key idea is that if the edge of the touch panel gets chipped or cracked, it's highly likely that the "second signal interconnect" running along the perimeter will be broken. By checking the electrical continuity of this interconnect (i.e., seeing if an electrical signal can pass from one end to the other), a manufacturer can quickly and easily test whether the panel has been damaged during production or assembly, even in ways that might be too small to see easily. This allows for simple pass/fail testing for physical defects without needing a complex and time-consuming full functional test of the touch screen.

Claim 11: The Display Panel (LCD)

Claim 11 applies a similar concept, but to the display panel itself (e.g., the LCD that shows the image) rather than the touch layer on top of it.

This claim describes a display panel that includes:

• Third Signal Interconnect: These are the standard electrical pathways that connect the display's pixels (via video and scanning signal lines) to the main circuit board, allowing images to be displayed. These pathways are located in the non-display area (the bezel region).
• Fourth Signal Interconnect: Similar to the second interconnect in the touch panel, this is a dedicated "guard" pathway. It is located on the display panel's substrate, outside of the main signal pathways, and runs along the outer edge of the panel. This interconnect surrounds both the viewable display area and the area where the main signal lines are located. Its ends are connected to dedicated terminals for testing.

The purpose is identical to that in Claim 1: to provide a simple method for detecting physical damage. If the display panel's substrate is chipped or cracked, the "fourth signal interconnect" will likely be severed. By performing a quick electrical test on this interconnect, a manufacturer can determine if the panel is physically intact. This is particularly useful because such damage can be hard to spot visually once the display is assembled into a final product, and this method helps catch defects early in the manufacturing process.

In essence, both independent claims introduce a "guard rail" electrical line around the perimeter of critical display components. The integrity of this line serves as a proxy for the physical integrity of the entire component, simplifying damage detection during manufacturing.