Displays with camera window openings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11715810-B2
Application number	US-201715724162-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2017
Priority date	Feb 14, 2013
Publication date	Aug 1, 2023
Grant date	Aug 1, 2023

Abstract

A display may include a color filter layer, a liquid crystal layer, and a thin-film transistor layer. A camera window may be formed in the display to accommodate a camera. The camera window may be formed by creating a notch in the thin-film transistor layer that extends inwardly from the edge of the thin-film transistor layer. The notch may be formed by scribing the thin-film transistor layer around the notch location and breaking away a portion of the thin-film transistor layer. A camera window may also be formed by grinding a hole in the display. The hole may penetrate partway into the thin-film transistor layer, may penetrate through the transistor layer but not into the color filter layer, or may pass through the thin-film transistor layer and partly into the color filter layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a camera; and
a display comprising:
a thin-film transistor layer;
an opening that penetrates partly into the thin-film transistor layer without extending completely through the thin-film transistor layer, wherein the camera extends at least partly into the opening, and wherein the camera receives light through the opening and through a portion of the thin-film transistor layer covering the camera; and
a polarizer layer that overlaps the opening in the thin-film transistor layer.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the display has an active area and an inactive area, and wherein the opening is formed in the inactive area.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the polarizer comprises an unpolarized portion that overlaps the camera and the opening in the thin-film transistor layer.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 , wherein the camera receives light through the unpolarized portion.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the polarizer comprises an opening from which a portion of the polarizer has been removed, and wherein the opening overlaps the camera and the opening in the thin-film transistor layer.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the camera receives light through the opening in the polarizer.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the thin-film transistor layer comprises:
a substrate; and
thin-film transistor circuitry formed on the substrate.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the thin-film transistor layer has first and second parallel opposing edges and third and fourth parallel opposing edges that are perpendicular to the first and second parallel opposing edges, and wherein the opening that penetrates partly into the thin film transistor layer is surrounded by the first, second, third, and fourth edges.

9. An electronic device comprising:
a light-sensing component, wherein the light-sensing component comprises a sensor selected from the group consisting of: a camera, an ambient light sensor, and light-based proximity sensor; and
a display comprising:
a thin-film transistor layer comprising an opening from which a first portion of thin-film transistor layer is absent, wherein a second portion of the thin-film transistor layer overlaps the opening, and wherein the light-sensing component fills the opening; and
a layer of polarizer material that overlaps the opening, wherein the layer of polarizer material comprises a window from which the polarizer material has been removed, and wherein the light-sensing component receives light through the window, the opening in the thin-film transistor layer, and the second portion of the thin-film transistor layer.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein the display comprises an active area with an array of pixels that displays images and an inactive area that does not display images, and wherein the opening in the thin film transistor layer and the window in the polarizer are formed in the inactive area.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein the thin-film transistor layer comprises:
a thin-film transistor substrate; and
thin-film transistor circuitry formed on the thin-film transistor substrate.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , further comprising:
a touch sensor layer formed over the thin-film transistor layer.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , further comprising:
a housing having a glass portion and a metal portion, wherein the display and the light-sensing component are mounted in the housing; and
a glass cover layer that overlaps the display.

14. An electronic device, comprising:
a camera; and
a display having an active area and an inactive area, wherein the display comprises:
a thin-film transistor layer having a substrate and thin-film transistor circuitry formed on the substrate;
an array of pixels formed on the substrate in the active area;
an opening in the thin-film transistor layer in the inactive area, wherein the opening extends only partially into the thin-film transistor layer, and wherein the camera has an outermost sidewall extending at least partly into the opening; and
a polarizer having a layer of polarizing material that overlaps the inactive area and the array of pixels in the active area, wherein the polarizer overlaps the opening in the thin-film transistor layer and comprises a window that is free of the polarizing material, and wherein the camera receives light through the opening in the thin-film transistor layer and through the window in the polarizer.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 , further comprising:
a housing having a glass portion and a metal portion, wherein the display and the camera are mounted in the housing; and
a glass cover layer that overlaps the display.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 , further comprising:
a touch sensor layer that overlaps the active area and the inactive area.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 14 , wherein the display has a first pair of opposing parallel edges and a second pair of opposing parallel edges, wherein the parallel edges in the first pair are shorter than the parallel edges in the second pair, and wherein the camera is mounted along one of the parallel edges in the first pair, the electronic device further comprising:
a speaker port along the parallel edge in the first pair along which the camera is mounted.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Benson Eric L
• Posner Bryan W
• Boitnott Christopher L
• Mathew Dinesh C
• Qi Jun
• Cao Robert Y
• Yin Victor H

Classifications

• H10F71/00

  Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass (patterning processes to connect thin photovoltaic cells in integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/33; manufacture or treatment of encapsulations or containers for integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/80; manufacture or treatment of integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one element in which radiation controls the flow of current H10F39/00) · CPC title

• H10F55/00 Primary

  Radiation-sensitive semiconductor devices covered by groups H10F10/00, H10F19/00 or H10F30/00 being structurally associated with electric light sources and electrically or optically coupled thereto · CPC title

• H01L31/12 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G06F1/1643 Primary

  the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads (details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615) · CPC title

• G06F1/1686

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera · CPC title