Google (also known as Alphabet) has patented a display that can be ripped and disposed, according to Mesh Republic and numerous reports.

According to the patent US 20160117288 A1 the tearable display patented by Google is compatible with LED, OLED and e-ink technologies.

Google's iillustration of how the tearable display works. (All images courtesy of USPTO)

Google uses a lost dog flier to illustrate how the screen works. The dog is seen wholly intact on the flier, but when torn the smaller display presents the picture of the dog and a phone number, reported CNN Money.

Mikhail Avady, the founder of legal software company ClientSide, was the first to identify the patent filing.

The torn display could also be used for coupon and commercial applications, according to Google's filed patent.

The importance of the patent is it brings modular displays and disposable displays previously presented in sci-fi films into reality, said Avady.

Korean manufacturer Samsung has displayed a similar modular display concept during CES this year, where it enlarged a screen by pushing several smaller screens together.

Disposable displays will not emerge anytime soon until manufacturing costs drop, according to the CNN report. However, engineers are working on methods to bring digital pixels onto regular paper.