Electronic device with inverted liquid crystal display

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9395589-B2
Application number	US-201213424950-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2012
Priority date	Mar 20, 2012
Publication date	Jul 19, 2016
Grant date	Jul 19, 2016

Abstract

An electronic device may have a liquid crystal display with backlight structures. The backlight structures may produce backlight that passes through an array of display pixels. The display pixels may include electrode structures and thin-film transistor structures for controlling electric fields in a layer of liquid crystal material. The liquid crystal material may be formed between an outer display layer and an inner display layer. The inner display layer may be interposed between the backlight structures and the liquid crystal material. Thin-film transistor structures, electrodes, and conductive interconnection lines may be deposited in a layer on the inner surface of the outer display layer. A layer of color filter elements may be used to provide the display with color pixels. The color filter elements may be formed on top of the thin-film transistor layer or on a separate color filter array substrate such as the inner display layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A display having an active area surrounded by a peripheral border region, the display comprising:
an outer display layer comprising:
a substrate having first and second opposing surfaces;
an opaque masking layer formed on the substrate only in the peripheral border region of the display such that the substrate is free of the opaque masking layer in the active area;
a thin-film transistor layer formed on the substrate, the thin-film transistor layer including one or more thin-film transistors and one or more electrode structures, wherein the one or more thin-film transistors are associated with one or more display pixel structures; and
a planarization layer formed on the substrate, wherein at least a portion of the opaque masking layer is interposed between the planarization layer and the substrate such that the planarization layer forms a planar surface on which the thin-film transistor layer is formed;

an inner display layer comprising:
a color filter layer including one or more color filter elements and an opaque masking material that separates a first one of the one or more color filter elements from a second one of the one or more color filter elements;

a layer of liquid crystal material between the outer display layer and the inner display layer; and
backlight structures, wherein the inner display layer is interposed between the layer of liquid crystal material and the backlight structures.

2. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the inner display layer comprises a layer of clear material selected from the group consisting of: clear glass and clear plastic.

3. The display defined in claim 2 wherein the thin-film transistors are formed on an inner surface of the substrate and wherein the thin-film transistors are interposed between the color filter layer and the substrate.

4. The display defined in claim 3 wherein the substrate comprises a layer of glass.

5. The display defined in claim 4 wherein the planarization layer is interposed between the substrate and the thin-film transistors.

6. The display defined in claim 4 further comprising a display driver integrated circuit mounted on the substrate, wherein at least some of the opaque masking layer overlaps the display driver integrated circuit.

7. The display defined in claim 6 wherein the opaque masking layer hides the display driver integrated circuit from view.

8. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the outer display layer comprises a peripheral border region that extends laterally beyond the inner display layer and the backlight structures, and wherein the display further comprises a display driver integrated circuit mounted to the outer display layer in the peripheral border region.

9. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the opaque masking layer comprises an organic material and wherein the planarization layer comprises a spin-on coating on the organic material.

10. A display having an active area and an inactive area, the display comprising:
an outer display layer having a first substrate, wherein the first substrate comprises a thin-film transistor layer having one or more electrode structures and one or more thin-film transistors formed thereon;
an inner display layer having a second substrate, wherein a color filter layer comprising a plurality of color filter elements and an opaque material that separates first and second color filter elements in the plurality of color filter elements are formed on the second substrate;
a layer of liquid crystal material between the outer display layer and the inner display layer;
backlight structures, wherein the inner display layer is interposed between the layer of liquid crystal material and the backlight structures; and
an opaque masking material formed directly on a peripheral portion of the first substrate in the inactive area of the display, wherein the opaque masking material does not extend into the active area of the display.

11. The display defined in claim 10 wherein the outer display layer comprises a layer of clear material selected from the group consisting of: clear glass and clear plastic.

12. The display defined in claim 10 wherein the outer display layer comprises a layer of glass.

13. The display defined in claim 12 further comprising a planarizing layer that covers the opaque masking material, wherein the planarizing layer is interposed between the layer of glass and the thin-film transistors.

14. The display defined in claim 12 further comprising a display driver integrated circuit mounted on the layer of glass, wherein at least some of the opaque masking material overlaps the display driver integrated circuit.

15. The display defined in claim 14 wherein the display driver integrated circuit is mounted on an edge of the layer of glass that does not overlap the backlight structures.

16. The display defined in claim 10 wherein the one or more electrode structures comprise one or more gate lines and one or more data lines.

17. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having sidewalls with uppermost edges; and
a display mounted in the housing such that at least a portion of the display extends over the uppermost edges of the sidewalls, wherein the display comprises:
a substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface;
a thin-film transistor layer that is formed on the lower surface of the substrate, wherein the thin-film transistor layer comprises thin-film transistors, one or more electrode structures, and associated display pixel structures in an active area of the display;
backlight structures configured to produce backlight for the display, wherein the lower surface of the substrate is interposed between the upper surface of the substrate and the backlight structures;
color filter elements that are interposed between the thin-film transistors and the backlight structures, wherein each of the color filter elements are separated by an opaque material; and

an opaque masking material in a peripheral border region of the display that surrounds the active area, wherein the opaque masking material is interposed between the lower surface of the substrate and the thin-film transistor layer and does not overlap the active area of the display.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17 further comprising a display driver integrated circuit mounted on the substrate, wherein the opaque masking material overlaps the display driver integrated circuit and blocks the display driver integrated circuit from view through the substrate.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18 further comprising a planarizing layer that covers the opaque masking material and that is interposed between the substrate and the thin-film transistors.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 17 wherein the thin-film transistor layer has an upper surface and a lower surface and wherein the lower surface of the thin-film transistor layer is interposed between the upper surface of the thin-film transistor layer and the backlight structures; and
a display driver integrated circuit mounted on the lower surface of the thin-film transistor layer.

Assignees

• Qi Jun
• Mathew Dinesh C
• Posner Bryan W
• Hendren Keith J
• Augenbergs Peteris K
• Garelli Adam T
• Yin Victor H
• Wilson Jr Thomas W
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Qi Jun
• Mathew Dinesh C
• Posner Bryan W
• Hendren Keith J
• Augenbergs Peteris K
• Garelli Adam T
• Yin Victor H
• Wilson Jr Thomas W

Classifications

• G02F2001/136222

  Physics · mapped topic

• G02F1/1362 Primary

  Active matrix addressed cells {(G02F1/134336, G02F1/134363 take precedence)} · CPC title

• G02F2001/133562

  Physics · mapped topic

• G02F1/133512 Primary

  Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix (G02F1/136209 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/133562

  on the viewer side · CPC title