LCD screen help (rearranging vmu placement)?

[macabre]

Hi! I had a wonderfully delightful idea regarding the dreamcast VMU. For this to work, I need to
rearrange" the display LCD screen from the vmu to another location (away from the rest of the VMU chip).

I can't seem to find much info on anything similar to this being done before. I'm not really sure if it is possible.


I did take one of my vmu's partially apart to get a better look. I recall previously doing this on a broken one to salvage the plug for another project, and didn't really pay close attention to the screen then. Here is the front and here is the back of a caseless vmu.

I can see very little on the back that has much to do with the LCD screen, and the only hints on the front are the tiny bits on the chip just under the LCD screen (if these are contacts, i'm not sure?).



These are the following specs of the VMU lcd screen that I could find;

# Display: 48 dot width × 32 dot height, LCD
# Display size (width×height): 37 mm × 26 mm (1.46 in × 1.02 in)

And the most basic LCD faq had this comment;

The two transparent panels are polarised, which means they will only pass light waves in one plane. These two polarised panels at 90� to each other so that light filtered from one plane cannot get through the other panel because it only lets light through in a plane at 90� to the first plane. So the panel appears to be "black" (or at least very dark). However, when electricity is applied to one of the segments of liquid crystals (segments are switched on and off to form the images you see on the screen). The crystals line up in such a way as to make the light turn through 90� in between the two panels. So now the light "TWISTS" through the panels and is visible on the other side.

I really don't understand how this thing is put together. I'm not sure if it is safe to remove the VMU screen to get a better look underneath, or if doing so will break it.

Is this the sort of mod where I can simply find the contacts from the chip to the screen and put some distance between them?


If this is a failed idea, then are there any obvious parts of this vmu that I can chop off? (the plug is an obvious given, but i'm not sure about the buttons as some of the stuff on the back might belong to the memory functions?)

[NFG]

Forgive me, i haven't a VMU to hand, but it seems to me the device is like most other LCD panels in existence: a self contained, glued stack of glass panels that are connected to the pcb via a soft strip of conductive material. 

From your image, this seems the same.  I cannot tell how it's attached but i think that's the soft bit nearest the viewer on the front pic.

You may find it tricky to move, 'cause you can't solder to the glass.