Electronic device display with switchable film structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10247982-B2
Application number	US-201615051047-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2016
Priority date	Jun 3, 2015
Publication date	Apr 2, 2019
Grant date	Apr 2, 2019

Abstract

An electronic device may generate content that is to be displayed on a display. The display may have an array of liquid crystal display pixels for displaying image frames of the content. The display may be operated in at least a normal viewing mode, a privacy mode, an outdoor viewing mode, and a power saving mode. The different view modes may exhibit different viewing angles. In one configuration, the display may include a backlight unit that generates a collimated light source and that includes a switchable diffuser film for selectively scattering the collimated light source depending on the current viewing mode of the display. In another configuration, the display may include a backlight unit that generates a scattered light source that includes a switchable microarray structure such as a switchable mirror structure or a tunable microlens array for selectively collimating the scattered light source depending on the current viewing mode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Display circuitry, comprising:
display layers that include display pixels; and
a backlight unit that comprises:
a light source for generating light;
a light guide plate that receives the light from the light source and that outputs backlight towards the display layers; and
a switchable microarray structure that is selectively activated to collimate the backlight and that is selectively deactivated so that the backlight passes through the switchable microarray structure without being collimated.

2. The display circuitry defined in claim 1 , wherein the switchable microarray structure includes a switchable mirror structure having a plurality of gaps that is configured to convert the backlight into an array of point light sources.

3. The display circuitry defined in claim 2 , wherein the switchable microarray structure further includes polymer material that is formed on the switchable mirror structure and that forms pyramid-shaped cavities surrounding each of the gaps.

4. The display circuitry defined in claim 2 , wherein the switchable microarray structure further includes a plurality of microlens each of which has a center that is aligned to a respective one of the gaps.

5. The display circuitry defined in claim 1 , wherein the switchable microarray structure comprises:
a first group of switchable liquid crystal lens structures; and
a second group of switchable liquid crystal lens structures that run orthogonal to the first group of switchable liquid crystal lens structures, wherein the first and second groups of switchable liquid crystal lens structures are in a concave-down orientation.

6. The display circuitry defined in claim 1 , wherein the switchable microarray structure are implemented using tunable lens structures selected from the group consisting of: mechanically driven microlens structures, microfluidic devices, polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC) based microlens structures, piezoelectrically driven liquid lens structures, and ultrasonic transparent gel based lens structures.

7. Display circuitry, comprising:
display layers that include display pixels; and
a backlight unit that comprises:
a light source for generating light;
a light guide plate that receives the light from the light source and that outputs backlight towards the display layers; and
a switchable microarray structure selectively activated to collimate the backlight, wherein the switchable microarray structure comprises:
a first group of switchable liquid crystal lens structures; and
a second group of switchable liquid crystal lens structures that run orthogonal to the first group of switchable liquid crystal lens structures.

8. The display circuitry of claim 7 , wherein the first and second groups of switchable liquid crystal lens structures are configured in a concave-down orientation.

9. The display circuitry of claim 7 , wherein the first group of switchable liquid crystal lens structures comprises rows of cylindrically-shaped microlenses covered with liquid crystal material.

10. The display circuitry of claim 9 , wherein the cylindrically-shaped microlenses and the liquid crystal material are configured to exhibit different indices of refraction when the switchable microarray structure is activated.

11. The display circuitry of claim 9 , wherein the cylindrically-shaped microlenses and the liquid crystal material are configured to the same index of refraction when the switchable microarray structure is deactivated.

12. Display circuitry, comprising:
display layers that include display pixels; and
a backlight unit that comprises:
a light source for generating light;
a light guide plate that receives the light from the light source and that outputs backlight towards the display layers; and
a switchable mirror structure selectively activated to reflect and collimate the backlight, wherein the switchable mirror structure has adjustable reflectivity.

13. The display circuitry of claim 12 , wherein the switchable mirror structure is selectively deactivated so that the backlight passes through the switchable mirror structure without being collimated.

14. The display circuitry of claim 12 , wherein the switchable mirror structure comprises an array of gaps configured to convert the backlight into an array of point light sources.

15. The display circuitry of claim 14 , further comprising polymer material that is formed on the switchable mirror structure.

16. The display circuitry of claim 15 , wherein the polymer material forms pyramid-shaped cavities surrounding each of the gaps in the array of gaps.

17. The display circuitry of claim 14 , further comprising a plurality of microlenses each of which has a center that is aligned to a respective one of the gaps in the array of gaps.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Choi Hyungryul J
• Ge Zhibing
• Chen Cheng
• Nemati Hossein
• Chen Wei
• Qi Jun
• Bayat Khadijeh
• Doyle David A
• Zhong John Z

Classifications

• G02F2203/50

  Phase-only modulation · CPC title

• G02F1/1393

  the birefringence of the liquid crystal being electrically controlled, e.g. ECB-, DAP-, HAN-, PI-LC cells (G02F1/1396, G02F1/141 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/13439

  characterised by their electrical, optical, physical properties; materials therefor; method of making · CPC title

• G02F1/134309

  characterised by their geometrical arrangement · CPC title

• G02F1/1336 Primary

  Illuminating devices · CPC title