Pixel array antialiasing to accommodate curved display edges

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10303013-B2
Application number	US-201815967441-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2018
Priority date	Nov 17, 2016
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

An electronic device may have a housing and a display in the housing. The display may have one or more curved edges such as curved edges associated with rounded corners in the display and housing. The display may have an array of pixels. The display may include full-strength pixels and may have a band of antialiasing pixels having selectively reduced strengths to visually smooth content displayed along the curved edges. The antialiasing pixels may include single-opening pixels that each have a single opaque masking layer opening and may include dual-opening pixels that each include a pair of opaque masking layer openings. The single-opening pixels may be stronger than the dual-opening pixels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
a display in the housing, wherein the display has at least one curved edge; and
pixels in the display including a first group of pixels and a second group of pixels, wherein the pixels of the second group of pixels are of reduced strength relative to the pixels of the first group of pixels, wherein the pixels of the second group of pixels extend along the curved edge and have a pattern of strengths that visually smooth content that is displayed on the pixels along the curved edge, and wherein at least one of the pixels of the second group is a dual-opening pixel.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the dual-opening pixel has electrode fingers overlapped by first and second openings in an opaque masking layer in the dual-opening pixel and wherein at least one of the pixels of the second group is a single-opening pixel having electrode fingers overlapped by a single opening in an opaque masking layer in the single-opening pixel.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the second group of pixels includes pixels of at least first, second, and third different strengths that are weaker than the pixels of the first group of pixels.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the housing has at least one curved housing edge that runs along the curved edge of the display.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the pixels comprise liquid crystal display pixels and wherein the pixels of the first group of pixels are each single-opening pixels and each have a single respective opaque masking layer opening.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the pixels comprise liquid crystal display pixels, wherein the pixels of the first group of pixels are each single-opening liquid crystal display pixels and each have a respective first opaque masking layer opening, wherein the pixels of the second group of pixels include dual-opening liquid crystal display pixels each having a respective pair of second opaque masking layer openings, and wherein each pair of the second opaque masking layer openings is smaller in total area than each of the first opaque masking layer openings.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the pixels of the second group of pixels include a strip of pixels extending along at least part of one straight peripheral edge of the display.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein some of the pixels of the second group of pixels are single-opening pixels and some of the pixels of the second group of pixels are dual-opening pixels.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein some of the dual-opening pixels are associated with pixel gain map values of less than 100%.

10. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having at least two corners;
a display in the housing, wherein the display has at least two curved edges running along the two corners; and
pixels in the display including first pixels and including second pixels that are of reduced strength relative to the first pixels, wherein the second pixels extend in a band along each curved edge and have a pattern of strengths configured to visually smooth content that is displayed on the pixels along that curved edge, wherein each of the first pixels has a single opaque masking layer opening, and wherein at least one of the second pixels has two opaque masking layer openings.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the second pixels include single-opening pixels each having a single opaque masking layer opening configured to pass light and include dual-opening pixels each having two opaque masking layer openings configured to pass light.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein at least two of the dual-opening pixels have different strengths.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein each of the single-opening pixels of the second pixels has a strength that is greater than each of the dual-opening pixels of the second pixels.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein at least two of the single-opening pixels of the second pixels have different strengths.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein each of the single-opening pixels of the second pixels has a strength of at least 80% of a full-strength pixel strength associated with the first pixels.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein each of the dual-opening pixels of the second pixels has a strength of less than 80% of the full-strength pixel strength.

17. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having four rounded corners;
a display in the housing having four curved edges running respectively along the four rounded corners; and
pixels in the display including first pixels of full strength and second pixels that are of reduced strength relative to the first pixels, wherein the second pixels extend in a band along each curved edge and have a pattern of strengths configured to visually smooth content that is displayed on the pixels along that curved edge and wherein the second pixels include dual-opening pixels each having two opaque masking layer openings.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17 wherein each of the dual-opening pixels has electrodes and wherein the two opaque masking layer openings of each of the dual-opening pixels overlap the electrodes.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18 wherein the two opaque masking layer openings of each of the dual-opening pixels is separated by opaque masking layer material that overlaps a portion of the electrodes interposed between the two opaque masking layer openings.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 17 wherein the second pixels include single-opening pixels each of which has fewer than two opaque masking layer openings and each of which is stronger than each of the dual-opening pixels.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Nemati Hossein
• Chang Pei-En
• Chen Yuan
• Cha Tae Woon
• Kim Sung H
• Tai Chia Hsuan

Classifications

• G02F1/13454

  Drivers integrated on the active matrix substrate (G02F1/136277 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1652

  the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable · CPC title

• G02F2201/56

  Substrates having a particular shape, e.g. non-rectangular · CPC title

• G02F1/13439 Primary

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

• G02F1/136213

  Storage capacitors associated with the pixel electrode · CPC title