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I brought some LCD's. One was a package(contained some circuits and stuff) and the other was simply the display itself with no electronics(at .2$ a piece I thought it couldn't hurt to buy a couple).

Anyways, I have no idea how they work and I took 1 of each and decided to tear them apart.

The one with no circuitry has 2 glass planes with a backing on them that is silvered and some other semi-transparent mask. I tore the layers apart just to see whats going on but I couldn't really tell. On the glass though I can see what apears to be wires(and the only thing that looks like one could attach something to it)... on another piece I decided to take a 9V and "hook" it up to the wires and I can generate lines across the display... but strange thing is that sometimes it does it when I just press on the wires or something(not sure whats going on here... maybe static electricity?)

On the one with the circuitry I tore it apart too and basicaly looks the same except where the wires are it has a long rubber like wire... I did the same thing with the batter and I could make lines(but not much else).

Two questions I have is how does the LCD actually work... say, do I apply a voltage across two wires and it makes a pixel light up or what? do each wire have a function(like is there a ground and hot and the rest are controls or what)?

Also, on the layers what actually is the liquid part? is it inbetween the two glass plates or was it the stuff I ripped off the back? (I'd guess these are some type of polarization things or something and the liquide is inbetween the two glass plates since)

Oh, is there a way to buy those plastic wire things so I could use the LCD's that don't have them(I could try and make my own pcb boards to connect with them?)... ofcourse I'd have to know what those wires do though.

Thanks, AD

Reply to
Abstract Dissonance
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Anyone know what I'm talking about or am I just not making any sense? ;)

Jon

Reply to
Abstract Dissonance

The rubbery thing is called a 'Zebra strip' and is a (clever) multiway electrical connector. The Black bits are the conductors. The white bits are insulators. Place the strip over the (nearly transparent) electrodes deposited on the glass and there will always be enough Black bits available to cover any of the LCD electrodes with (at least) one connection point. (Same goes for the PCB connection points) I've not seen Zebra strip on general sale. The LCD segments take virtually no power, so static or finger leakage is enough to turn them on. Yes, putting a DC across a segment or pixel will turn it on. Yes, the liquid is between the glass plates,(the old displays had enough chemicals to feel 'wet' when broken). Most of the effort in LCD construction is involved with trying to get a good 'on' visibility, with stuff that offers pretty crap contrast in the first place and is the reason for all the layers. The 'liquid' stuff ages rapidly with just a DC connection, so displays are arranged to be fed by a reversing DC ('ac') drive. Methods of arranging this 'ac' are legion and is best to look at each product's datasheet to figure out how the segments, pixels, commons and backplanes etc, etc, have been implemented.

Reply to
John Jardine.

Thanks, Atleast I have some idea whats going on ;) would be nice to be able to ge those Zebra strips for my 10 LCD's without them.

Thanks again, Jon

Reply to
Abstract Dissonance

;)

and

LCD

feel

first

are

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Google is really your friend... I used zebra conductive rubber as the search term.

Reply to
Lord Garth

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