CN209821559U - Display and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a display and an electronic device. In particular, an electronic device such as a laptop computer or other device may have a housing. A display may be coupled to the housing. The display may have an array of pixels configured to display an image. Backlighting for the pixel array may be provided by a backlight unit. The backlight unit may have a light guide layer. The light source may provide light to an edge of the light guiding layer. The light guiding layer may scatter light outward to serve as backlighting for the pixel array. The backlight unit may have an optical film interposed between the light guide layer and the pixel array. The optical film may include flexible polymer layers, such as a diffuser layer and a prism film. The optical films may each have a curved alignment portion that curves upon itself when wrapped around an edge of the light guiding layer.

Description

Display and electronic device

This patent application claims priority from U.S. patent application No.16/412,285 filed on day 5, month 14, 2019 and U.S. provisional patent application No.62/781,350 filed on day 12, month 18, 2018, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to displays for electronic devices.

Background

Electronic devices typically include a display. For example, cellular telephones and computers may have displays for presenting information to users.

A liquid crystal display has an array of pixels for presenting an image. The backlight unit may be used to provide backlighting for the pixels. The backlight unit may include a light guide layer. The light guide layer may have an edge that receives light from the light emitting diodes and laterally distributes the light throughout the backlight unit. Optical films such as brightness enhancement films and diffuser layers can overlap the light guide layer. To ensure that the optical film is satisfactorily aligned and not displaced during use of the electronic device, the optical film may have protruding alignment tabs. The alignment tabs may help secure the position of the optical film, but may consume more lateral space within the electronic device than is desired. This can result in electronic devices having undesirably large inactive border areas.

Disclosure of Invention

An electronic device such as a laptop computer or other device may have a housing. A display may be coupled to the housing. The display may have an array of pixels configured to display an image. Backlighting of the pixel array may be provided by a backlight.

The backlight may have a light guiding layer. A light source, such as an array of light emitting diodes, may provide light to the edges of the light guiding layer. According to the principle of total internal reflection, the light received from the light emitting diode may be distributed throughout the light guiding layer. The light guide layer may have light scattering structures that scatter light outward to serve as backlighting for the pixel array.

Optical film stacks such as diffusers and prismatic films may be interposed between the light-guiding layer and the pixel array. The optical film may be formed from a flexible polymer layer. The edge portion of the flexible polymer layer may bend upon itself to wrap around the edge of the light guiding layer. The optical films may each have a curved alignment portion that curves upon itself when wrapped around an edge of the light guiding layer, for example. The curved alignment portion may include a curved edge portion that extends along some or all of the length of an edge of the light guide layer and may include a curved protruding tab.

The curved alignment portion may be coupled to a housing of an electronic device to align the optical film relative to the housing. This helps prevent misalignment and film wrinkling during use of the electronic device. An adhesive structure such as an adhesive layer on a tape strip and/or an adhesive may be used to attach the curved alignment portion to the housing.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a display is provided that includes a backlight having a light source, a light guide layer that receives light from the light source and produces corresponding backlight illumination; a pixel illuminated with backlighting and configured to display an image; and an optical film interposed between the backlight and the pixel, wherein the optical film includes a curved alignment portion wrapped around an edge of the light guide layer.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device including: a support structure; an array of pixels configured to display an image; and a display backlight having a light guiding layer configured to provide backlighting to the array of pixels and having a flexible polymer film between the light guiding layer and the pixels and having a curved alignment portion wrapped around an edge of the light guiding layer and coupled to the support structure.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device including: a housing member; and a display in the housing, the display having a backlight that produces backlight illumination and having an array of pixels illuminated by the backlight illumination, wherein the backlight includes a light emitting diode, a light guide layer that receives light from the light emitting diode and provides backlight illumination to the array of pixels, and a flexible polymer layer interposed between the light guide layer and the array of pixels, wherein the flexible polymer layer has a bent tab that is bent around an edge of the light guide layer and is secured to the housing member.

If desired, the electronics housing, the electronic components, the alignment members embedded in the display trim member, and/or other structures may serve as alignment posts that are received within alignment openings in the optical film.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic device, such as a laptop computer, having a display according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a side view of an exemplary layer in a display according to an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a side view of an exemplary display layer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a top view of an exemplary optical film having alignment tabs according to an embodiment.

Fig. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional side views of exemplary displays in which the optical film has been bent to wrap around the edges of the light guiding layer, according to embodiments.

Fig. 7 is a top view of an exemplary light guide layer of a display according to an embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a top view of an optical film having curved alignment portions, such as strip-shaped curved edge portions, for aligning the optical film within a display, according to an embodiment.

Fig. 9, 10, 11 are top views of exemplary optical films having curved alignment portions, such as curved protruding tabs, according to embodiments.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a portion of an exemplary display having an optical film with curved alignment portions around the edges of a light guide layer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 13 and 14 are cross-sectional side views of an edge portion of an exemplary display having an optical film with a curved portion, such as a curved edge portion wrapped around an edge of a light guiding layer, according to embodiments.

Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary optical film having a curved edge portion secured to a support structure, such as a housing wall or other device structure, according to an embodiment.

Fig. 16 and 17 are cross-sectional views of exemplary optical film structures attached to a support structure according to embodiments.

Fig. 18 is a top view of an exemplary display having an active area with grooves, such as notches extending along edges of the active area, according to an embodiment.

Fig. 19 is a top view of an edge of an exemplary display having a flexible optical film with curved alignment portions and notches according to an embodiment.

Fig. 20 is a top view of an edge of an exemplary display having a flexible optical film with curved protruding tabs and notches, according to an embodiment.

Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary display having an inactive region with a camera or other electronic component configured to function as an alignment structure for an optical film in the display, according to an embodiment.

Fig. 22 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary display having an optical film aligned with alignment pins formed from a bent sheet metal member embedded in an overmolded display trim member, according to an embodiment.

Fig. 23 is the top of an edge of an exemplary display, showing how a display layer, such as an optical film, may have openings to receive alignment structures, such as the exemplary alignment pins of fig. 22.

Detailed Description

The electronic device may include a display. The display may be used to display images to a user. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary electronic device having a display. As shown in FIG. 1, device 10 may have a housing, such as housing 12, and a display, such as display 14, mounted in housing 12.

The housing 12 may be a stand-alone housing (e.g., where the device 10 is a cellular telephone or tablet), may form an upper portion of a two-part housing (e.g., the housing 12 may be an upper portion of a laptop computer housing, the housing also having a lower portion, such as a lower laptop computer housing 12L, coupled to the upper portion by a hinge that allows the upper and lower portions to rotate relative to each other about a hinge axis 24), may be supported on a stand (e.g., when the housing 12 forms a desktop computer housing), may be coupled to a strap (e.g., when the housing 12 forms a watch case or housing in a head-mounted device), and/or may have other suitable shapes.

In general, the electronic device 10 may be a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a hanging device, a headset or earpiece device, a head-mounted device, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which the electronic equipment with a display is installed in a kiosk or automobile, an apparatus that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment.

The housing 12 (sometimes referred to as a case) of the device 10 may be formed of materials such as plastic, glass, ceramic, carbon fiber composite and other fiber-based composites, metal (e.g., machined aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals), other materials, or combinations of these materials. The apparatus 10 may be formed using a unitary construction in which most or all of the housing 12 is formed from a single structural element (e.g., a piece of machined metal or a piece of molded plastic), or the apparatus 10 may be formed from multiple housing structures (e.g., an outer housing structure that has been mounted to an inner support structure, or other inner housing structure).

Display 14 may be a touch sensitive display that includes touch sensors, or may be touch insensitive. The touch sensors of display 14 may be formed from capacitive touch sensor electrode arrays, resistive touch arrays, touch sensor structures based on acoustic touch, optical touch, or force-based touch technologies, or other suitable touch sensor components.

Display 14 of device 10 may include pixels formed from Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) components or other suitable pixel structures. The pixels may be formed in a pixel array having a rectangular shape, a circular shape, an oval shape, a shape with curved and/or straight edges, a shape with one or more grooves (e.g., notches), a shape with rounded or right angles, a shape with an opening to accommodate a speaker and/or other components, and/or other suitable shapes. Display 14 may include an active area such as active area AA (e.g., a rectangular area or other suitably shaped area including rows and columns of pixels forming a pixel array). During operation, the pixels of the active area AA display images for a user of the device 10. The active area AA may be enclosed on one or more sides by inactive borders or other display areas that do not contain pixels and do not emit light to form an image. These inactive display areas are shown as inactive area IA in fig. 1.

The display overlay layer may cover a surface of display 14 or a display layer such as a thin-film transistor layer, a color filter layer, or other portion of the display may be used as the outermost (or nearly outermost) layer in display 14. The outermost display layer may be formed from a transparent glass sheet, a transparent polymer layer, a transparent structure formed from sapphire or other crystalline material, a transparent ceramic layer, or other transparent member. Coatings such as anti-smudge coatings, anti-reflection coatings, and/or scratch-resistant coatings may be formed on the outermost layers of display 14 and/or other layers of display 14.

A cross-sectional side view of an illustrative configuration of the display 14 of the device 10 is shown in fig. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, display 14 may include a backlight structure such as a backlight unit 42 for producing backlight illumination such as backlight illumination (backlight) 44. During operation, the backlight illumination 44 travels outward (vertically upward in the Z-dimension in the orientation of fig. 2) and through the pixels P in the display layer 46. The pixels P may for example be arranged in an array having rows and columns. The pixel array formed by the pixels P is used to display an image for a user. Backlight 44 may illuminate images in pixels of display layer 46 for a user, such as user 48, who is viewing display 14 in direction 50.

The display layer 46 may be mounted in a chassis structure, such as a plastic chassis structure and/or a metal chassis structure, to form a display module for mounting in the housing 12 of fig. 1, or the display layer 46 may be mounted directly in the housing 12 (e.g., by stacking display layers, such as the layer 46, into a recessed portion of the housing 12). Display layer 46 (which may sometimes be referred to as a pixel array layer, a pixel array, a pixel layer, a display, or a display module) may be a formed liquid crystal display or other suitable display. The boundary portion 46B of the layer 46 does not contain pixels P and does not produce an image.

In configurations in which display layer 46 forms a liquid crystal display, display layer 46 may include a liquid crystal layer interposed between upper and lower layers formed of glass, transparent polymer, or other substrate material. These upper and lower layers may include thin film transistor circuits for forming pixel circuits of the pixels P and a color filter array allowing the pixels P to display color images. The color filter array and the pixel circuits may be formed on a common substrate and/or may be formed on separate substrates located on opposite sides of the liquid crystal layer. The liquid crystal layer and upper and lower substrate layers may be interposed between opposing upper and lower polarizer layers (e.g., layer 46 may include upper and lower polarizer layers, upper and lower substrates such as thin-film transistor layers and color filter layers and/or other layers of color filter elements having thin-film transistor circuits and pixels P, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the upper and lower substrates). Touch sensor electrodes may also be incorporated into layer 46 and/or may be formed on a separate layer in display 14.

During operation of display 14 in device 10, control circuitry (e.g., one or more integrated circuits on a printed circuit) may be used to generate information (e.g., display data) to be displayed on display 14. Information to be displayed may be communicated to one or more display driver integrated circuits and other display driver circuitry (e.g., thin film gate drivers, etc.) using signal paths, such as signal paths formed from conductive metal traces in rigid or flexible printed circuits.

Backlight structures 42 (which may sometimes be referred to as a backlight unit or backlight) may include a light guiding layer such as light guiding layer 78. The lightguide layer 78 may be formed of a transparent material such as transparent glass or a polymer (e.g., a thin flexible polymer film or a sheet formed of transparent glass or polymer sheet). During operation of the backlight structures 42, a light source, such as the light source 72, may generate light 74. For example, the light source 72 may be an array of light emitting diodes. If desired, light sources such as light source 72 may be positioned along multiple edges of light guiding layer 78.

Light 74 from the light source 72 may be coupled into the edge surface 76 of the light guiding layer 78 and may be distributed throughout the light guiding layer 78 in the X and Y dimensions due to the principle of total internal reflection. The light guiding layer 78 may include light scattering structures such as pits, grooves, or other grooves and/or bumps, ridges, or other protrusions. Light scattering structures such as glass particles, microspheres, bubbles, and/or other structures may also be incorporated within the light guiding layer 78 to help scatter light 74. The light scattering structures may be located on an upper surface and/or an opposite lower surface of the light guiding layer 78 and/or may be embedded within the light guiding layer 78.

Light 74 scattered upward in direction Z from light guide layer 78 may be used as backlight illumination 44 for display 14. The downwardly scattered light 74 may be reflected back in an upward direction by a reflective film, such as reflector 80. The reflector 80 may be formed from a reflective material, such as a white plastic reflective layer, from a thin film mirror (e.g., a thin film mirror formed from a stack of dielectric materials), and/or other reflective structures.

To enhance the backlight performance of backlight structures 42, backlight structures 42 may include optical film 70. Optical film 70 may include one or more layers of transparent material through which backlight 44 is communicated between light guide layer 78 and display layer 46 (e.g., a flexible polymer film). Optical film 70 may include a diffuser layer to help homogenize backlight illumination 44 and thus reduce hot spots and one or more prismatic films (sometimes referred to as brightness enhancement films) to collimate backlight illumination 44. Compensation films for enhancing off-axis viewing may be included in optical film 70 or may be incorporated into other portions of display 14 (e.g., in a polarizing layer in layer 46). In one exemplary configuration, optical film 70 includes a first film, such as a diffuser layer, adjacent layer 78, a second film and a third film, such as a brightness enhancing film (prism film) over the diffuser layer, and a fourth film over the brightness enhancing film and adjacent layer 46. Other configurations of optical film 70 may be used if desired. Each optical film 70 may be thin enough to bend upon itself. For example, the thickness of each optical film 70 can have a thickness of 30-150 microns, at least 20 microns, at least 40 microns, at least 50 microns, less than 300 microns, less than 200 microns, less than 150 microns, or other suitable thickness.

Display 14 may have a protective display cover layer such as layer 52. The layer 52 may be formed of glass, transparent polymers, transparent ceramics, crystalline materials such as sapphire, and/or other transparent protective members that overlap the pixels P of the display layer 46. If desired, layer 52 may be omitted, and one or more display layers 46 having a sufficient thickness may be provided to reinforce layer 52, thereby allowing layer 52 to serve as the outermost layer of device 10. To hide internal structures (e.g., display driver circuitry, interconnect lines, etc.) in device 10 from view, it may sometimes be advantageous to form an opaque mask layer over portions of the layers in display 14. As shown in fig. 2, for example, an opaque mask layer 94 may be formed in the inactive boundary layer IA of the display 14. The mask layer 94 may be formed from a coating of black mask material (e.g., black ink), may be formed from ink or other colored material, or may be formed from other opaque materials. In the active area AA of the display 14, there are openings in the layer 94 so that the user 48 can view the image rendered using the pixels P of the layer 46. In inactive area IA, the mask layer serves to block the non-pixel portion 46B and other internal structures of the display layer 46 from being viewed from the exterior of the device 10.

Apparatus 10 and the display structure in apparatus 10 may have a support structure (sometimes referred to as a base structure, support structure, housing structure, frame structure, etc.) if desired. For example, consider the arrangement of fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of an edge portion of display 14, illustrating how backlight structures 42 may be supported within a support structure, such as support structure 100 (e.g., a portion of housing 12 and/or other support structure). Foam 102 or other material may be interposed between backlight structure 42 and support structure 100 (e.g., to help hold light guide layer 78 and other display layers in place). The display layer 46 may overlap the backlight structures 42 and may receive backlight illumination 44 from the structures 42. The light source 72 may be mounted in a portion 100E of the support structure 100 (for example). Support structure 100 may be a support chassis (a metal and/or polymer structure such as a polymer chassis structure that has been overmolded onto a metal chassis structure), may be an internal frame structure, may be an external housing wall in housing 12, and/or may form other housing structures of housing 12 of device 10. The exemplary support structure of fig. 3 is exemplary. Other support arrangements for the backlight structures 42 may be used if desired.

To prevent optical film 70 from shifting during use (e.g., excessive movement in the X-Y plane of fig. 2) and to help prevent undesired wrinkling of optical film 70, optical film 70 may have an alignment structure. These alignment structures may include, for example, protruding tabs or other portions that may be secured to the support structure 100 (e.g., may be coupled to the housing 12 and/or other support structures). To help avoid undesirably increasing the size of the inactive border in display 14 (e.g., to minimize the width of inactive area IA), these alignment portions may be bent such that they fold over themselves while wrapping around one or more layers in backlight structure 42, such as lightguide layer 78 and/or reflector 80.

The alignment portions, which may sometimes be referred to as curved alignment portions, may form curved protruding tabs or other alignment portions wrapped around the edges of the light guiding layer 78 such that the alignment portions of the light guiding layer are folded back on themselves after wrapping around the light guiding layer 78. By configuring the protruding tabs on optical film 70 to double on themselves (e.g., when viewed from above along dimension Z), the tabs do not extend excessively in lateral dimensions X and Y, thereby helping to minimize inactive border areas in display 14. At the same time, the presence of the aligned portions of optical film 70 may help align and secure film 70 at a desired location within display 14 and device 10.

Fig. 4 is a top view of an exemplary optical film having portions that can be used to form curved alignment portions, such as curved protruding tabs or curved edge portions that extend along some or all of the length of an edge of a light guide layer. As shown in fig. 4, optical film 70 may have protrusions or other portions that form alignment structures such as alignment portions 70P. An alignment portion, such as alignment portion 70P of fig. 4, may protrude from one of the four sides of optical film 70 and may be curved about a curved axis 104 when installed in device 10 to form part of backlight structure 42. For example, a bend alignment portion such as portion 70P of fig. 4 may wrap around the edge of the light guide layer 78 that is aligned with the bend axis 104 (and, if desired, the edge of the reflector 80 that is aligned with the bend axis 104). After bending around the display layer and under a display layer such as light guide layer 78 (e.g., a light guide plate or flexible light guide film), curved alignment portion 70P of optical film 70 may be attached to support structure 100 (e.g., portion 70P may be coupled to housing 12, an internal display layer chassis, and/or other support structure).

The alignment portion 70P may be formed by a single strip-shaped edge portion of the optical film 70 that is bent along one of the edges of the film 70 about a bending axis, such as bending axis 104 of fig. 4, may be an edge portion that extends along a portion of an edge of the light guiding layer 78, may include one or more protruding forming tabs (as shown in the example of fig. 4), may have openings that receive alignment pins or other alignment structures coupled to the support structure 100 or other structures in the device 10, and/or may have other suitable configurations. As described in connection with fig. 2, backlight structures 42 may include a plurality of optical films 70. Backlight structures 42 may include, for example, at least two optical films 70, at least three optical films 70, at least four optical films 70, less than 10 optical films 70, and/or any other suitable number of optical films 70. Each of these optical films 70 may have one or more alignment portions, such as curved alignment portions 70P, that curve upon themselves (while wrapping around the edges of the light guiding layer 78 and, if desired, the edges of the reflector 80) so that these curved alignment portions 70P may be fixed in position relative to the housing 12 to align the films 70 within the device 10.

Each optical film 70 may be attached to a support structure 100 (e.g., a display chassis or other internal housing structure, a housing wall in housing 12, and/or other support structure) using a tape (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive on a polymer film substrate), a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive, other adhesives, pins or other physical alignment structures, fasteners, and/or other attachment mechanisms. For example, consider a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the backlight structure 42 shown in FIG. 5. As shown in fig. 5, backlight structures 42 may include a light guide layer 78 and a reflector 80. One or more optical films, such as exemplary optical film 70, may be included in backlight structures 42. As shown in fig. 5, optical film 70 may have a curved alignment portion such as curved alignment portion 70P (e.g., a curved edge portion or curved protruding tab) wrapped around a peripheral edge 78E of light guide layer 78 and a peripheral edge 80E of reflector 80. In this way, the membrane 70 doubles in the edge region 106, rather than extending outwardly in the lateral dimensions X and Y. The curved alignment portions 70P may be attached to the support structure 100 using a tape 110 and/or other attachment structure to secure each film 70 in the backlight structure 42. Edges 78E and 80E may extend along an upper edge of display 14 and/or other peripheral edges of display 14. As shown in fig. 6, the curved alignment portion 70P may be attached to the support structure 100 using an adhesive layer, such as an adhesive layer 112 (e.g., an adhesive layer not supported by the tape substrate). The adhesive layer 112 may be a pressure sensitive adhesive layer or other adhesive.

Exemplary layers for the backlight structures 42 are shown in fig. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Fig. 7 is a top view of light guiding layer 78, showing how light guiding layer 78 may have a rectangular profile (for example). Fig. 8, 9, 10, and 11 are top views of four exemplary optical films 70. Film F1 of fig. 8 (which may be a diffuser) may be placed adjacent the upper surface of layer 78. Film F2 of fig. 9, which may be a brightness enhancement film, may be placed over film F1 and adjacent film F1. Film F3 of fig. 10 (which may be an additional brightness enhancement film) may be placed over film F2 and adjacent film F2. Film F4 of fig. 11 (which may be an additional diffuser) may be placed between film F3 and display layer 46.

As shown in fig. 8, the curved alignment portion (alignment portion) 70P of the film F1 may form a strip-shaped curved edge portion that is bent around the line 114 to wrap around the edge 78E of the layer 78 (fig. 7). As shown in fig. 9, the curved alignment portion (alignment portion) 70P of film F2 can form a curved protruding tab that wraps around edge 78E. Fig. 10 and 11 show how the films F3 and F4 may have curved alignment portions 70P that form curved protruding tabs that are laterally offset from the tabs of layer F1 (e.g., laterally offset along edge 78E of layer 78). The lateral offset of the raised alignment portions 70P in the different films of the backlight structures 42 may help to allow these portions 70P to be firmly glued or otherwise secured to the support structure 100 without creating excessive thickness for the tape layers and/or other attachment structures in the display 14.

To prevent visible artifacts where light escapes between adjacent tabs of film 70, the strip-shaped curved edge portion of the lowermost film F1 that forms curved alignment portion 70P of fig. 8 may extend along the entire length of edge 78E of light guide layer 78 (or at least a portion of the length of edge 78E where tabs in subsequent films overlap). Film F1 may be a diffusing layer that diffuses any light exiting edge 78E so that bright light gaps between adjacent film tabs associated with films F2, F3, and F4 may be minimized. This type of arrangement, in which the edge of the F1 film extends along the entire length of the edge 78E of the layer 78 (and, if desired, all of the edges of the edge 80E of the reflector 80), is shown in fig. 12. Reflector 80 may cover the entire lower surface of layer 78 (e.g., reflector 80 may cover central region 118 of layer 78 and border region 120 of layer 78) or reflector 80 may be omitted from some or all of these regions (e.g., reflector 80 may overlap region 118 and be omitted from region 120).

As described in connection with fig. 4 and 5, tape, adhesive, and/or other attachment mechanisms may be used to attach the membrane 70 to the support structure 100. Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a backlight structure 42 in an exemplary arrangement in which two tape layers, such as a first tape layer 110A and a second tape layer 110B, are used to attach the film 70 to the support structure 100. Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a backlight structure 42 in an exemplary arrangement in which a tape layer 110 and an adhesive layer 112 are used to attach the film 70 to the support structure 100.

To allow for potential expansion and contraction of the membrane 70 during temperature changes (due to non-zero coefficients of thermal expansion that may be associated with the membrane 70), it may be advantageous to attach one or more curved alignment portions of the membrane 70 to the support structure 100 with a slip joint, such as the slip joint 134 of fig. 15. The sliding joint 134 couples the membrane 70 to the support structure 100 while allowing slight lateral movement of the membrane 70 relative to the support structure 100. As shown in fig. 15, the portion 70P of the membrane 70 may be secured to the housing 100 using a layer of tape 100 and an intervening layer of material having an underside that is not covered by an adhesive, such as a polymer layer 122. Polymer layer 122 has a surface-facing portion 70P that is free of adhesive, thus forming a non-tacky area of layer 122 that allows portion 70P to slide relative to layer 122.

Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional side view of an alignment tab attachment structure, such as the slip joint 134 of fig. 15, viewed in the direction 132 of fig. 15. As shown in fig. 16, polymer layer 122 is interposed between the lower surface of tape layer 110 and registration portion 70P. The presence of the polymer layer 122 between the tape layer 110 and the registration portion 70P prevents the tacky adhesive covered lower surface of the tape 110 from fixing the position of the portion 70P. Thus, the portion 70P and adjacent portions of the membrane 70 may slide laterally (e.g., horizontally in the arrangement of fig. 16) to accommodate thermal expansion of the membrane 70. If desired, the support structure 100 or other portion of the device 10 may have a physical alignment structure, such as a pin 124, that mates with a corresponding feature in the membrane 70, such as an alignment opening 128 in the membrane 70. The opening 128 may have a circular shape, a square shape, an elongated shape such as a rectangular slot shape or other slot configuration, a shape of a notch or other groove, and/or other opening shapes. The opening 128 may receive the pin 124, as shown in FIG. 16.

In the exemplary configuration for the sliding joint 134 of fig. 16, the opening 128 is a slot that allows the portion 70P to slide slightly to the left and right (e.g., parallel to the edge 78E of the light guide layer 78 in the backlight structure 42) in the orientation of fig. 16, but narrow enough in the orthogonal direction (in and out of the page in fig. 16) to restrict excessive movement in that orthogonal direction. A sliding joint, such as sliding joint 134 of fig. 16, can be used as one of a pair of first and second attachment structures for the first and second alignment tabs in the optical film, if desired. A fixed joint may be used for the other of the pair of attachment structures and the second attachment structure.

Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional side view of a fixed joint. The securing tab 136 may not include the adhesive-free polymer layer 122, and thus the strap 110 may be attached to the support structure 100 and the upper surface of the portion 70P, thereby securing the portion 70P in place against the structure 100. The position of the portion 70P is also determined by the pin 126 and the mating opening 130 in the portion 70P. Opening 130 may be configured to have the same dimensions as pin 126 to further prevent lateral sliding of portion 70P relative to support structure 100. If desired, the optical film having the first tab and the second tab may have the first tab formed using the sliding joint 134 of FIG. 16 and the second tab formed using the fixed joint 136 of FIG. 17. If desired, a tab, such as the tape and adhesive tab of fig. 13-14 and/or other attachment structure, may also be used to secure the curved alignment portion 70P of the optical film 70.

As shown in fig. 18, active area AA of display 14 may have one or more straight sides and one or more sides that are not straight. Active area AA of display 14 of fig. 18 has a top edge with a recessed portion, such as recess 140. The presence of grooves 140 (which may sometimes be referred to as notch, open, or notch-shaped grooves) may create additional inactive areas (e.g., a stripe of inactive areas IA extending along an upper edge of display 14 of fig. 18 may locally widen). The electrical component 142 may be mounted in the non-movable notch-shaped region. Components 142 may include optical components such as image sensors, light emitting diodes, lasers, and other light sources, optical proximity sensors, color ambient light sensors, three-dimensional image sensors (e.g., structured light sensors that project a light beam to produce a point and have an image sensor for capturing an image of the point to determine the three-dimensional shape of an object), and/or other sensors that emit and/or detect visible, infrared, and/or ultraviolet light.

An exemplary layout of optical film 70 that may be used in a recessed display (e.g., display 14 of FIG. 18) is shown in FIGS. 19 and 20.

As shown in fig. 19, the optical film 70 may have portions 70' positioned along left and right edge portions of the light guiding layer on opposite ends of the recess 140. The top end of portion 70' may form a curved alignment tab, such as portion 70P. The portion 70P (e.g., a curved edge portion extending along the entire edge of each of the portions 70' and/or a curved protruding tab formed in the portion 70P) may wrap around an edge 78E of the light guide layer 78 in the backlight structure 42 (e.g., left and right portions of the edge 78E on opposite sides around the notch 140).

In the example of fig. 20, curved alignment portions of optical film 70 have been formed at the base of notches 140 along the edges of layer 70 (e.g., along a portion of edge 78 located in notches 140). Film F1 may have curved edge portions wrapped around the edges of layer 78 along the entire width of notch 140, and films F2, F3 and F4 may have curved protruding tabs and/or may form other curved alignment portions in notch 140. If desired, configurations in which the curved alignment portions are formed at locations outside of the notches of FIG. 19 and within the notches of FIG. 20 can also be used.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of display 14 showing how a camera or other electronic component may be used to help align optical film 70. The display 14 of the electronic device 10 may have a protective outer layer. The protective outer layer may protect the pixels P of the display layer 46. The protective outer layer may be formed by the outermost substrate within layer 46 or, as shown in fig. 21, may be formed by a display overlay 52. The ink or other opaque mask material 94 may have an opening (window) such as opening 182 that is aligned with feature 180. For example, the member 180 (e.g., one of the members 142 of fig. 18) may have a portion such as portion 180M that receives and/or emits light through the opening 182. Component 180 may be an electronic component, such as an optical component or other electronic component. As one example, component 180 may be an ambient light sensor, a camera (e.g., a digital image sensor with a lens), a three-dimensional structured light sensor such as a structured light sensor, an optical proximity sensor, a camera flash, and/or other optical components. If desired, the component 180 may be an audio component (e.g., a speaker or microphone) and/or other electronic components.

As shown in fig. 21, part 180 and/or portions of the associated support structure may be used as an alignment structure (sometimes referred to as an alignment pin or alignment post). For example, main portion 180M of member 180 may serve as an alignment structure that protrudes into a corresponding alignment opening in optical film 70 or secondary tab portion 180P of member 180 may serve as an alignment structure that is received within a corresponding alignment opening in optical film 70. The portion of component 180 that serves as the optical film alignment structure may be formed of a polymer, metal, and/or other material, and may serve as an electronic component housing structure and/or an electronic component mounting structure. For example, in arrangements where component 180 is a camera, portions of the camera's polymer housing may be used to form alignment structures, such as portions 180M and/or 180P. Mounting brackets and/or other component mounting structures may also be used to form alignment structures (e.g., alignment pins) that are received within corresponding alignment openings in the membrane 70. The openings in the film 70 may have the shape of slots (e.g., to allow for lateral film movement by expansion and contraction due to temperature fluctuations) and/or other suitable shapes (e.g., circular or square shapes to receive alignment structures that help prevent lateral film movement).

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional side view of device 10 in an exemplary configuration in which an alignment structure for an optical film has been coupled to a trim member. As shown in FIG. 22, display 14 may include layers, such as layers 200 and 202. Layers 200 and 202 may form a substrate in layer 46, layer 200 may be formed from a display layer such as layer 46 and layer 202 may form display overlay 52, and/or layers 200 and 202 may form other structures (e.g., structures for forming pixels P) in display 14. Display 14 may be mounted in housing 12 using elastomeric gaskets, polymeric support structures, and/or other support structures such as trim member 204. The trim member 204 may, for example, form an annular member that surrounds the display 14 and prevents damage to the display 14 due to direct contact with the housing 12. The trim member 204 may be formed from a polymer or other material. With one exemplary arrangement, an alignment member, such as alignment member 208, may be embedded within trim member 204. For example, the polymer material used to form the trim member 204 may be molded onto the member 208. The member 208 may be formed of a polymer, metal, and/or other material, and may have portions that form an alignment structure. For example, member 208 may have downwardly extending portions that form alignment posts (pins) that are received within corresponding alignment openings (holes) in optical film 70, as shown in fig. 22.

Fig. 23 is a top view of a portion of an exemplary display of device 10 having a notch (notch 140). For example, a recess 140 may be formed along an upper side of display 14 and may be used to house electronic components. Fig. 23 illustrates how an alignment structure, such as alignment post 210, may be received within a corresponding alignment opening, such as alignment holes 212 and 214 in optical film 70. The exemplary aperture 212 has a shape that receives the alignment post 210 without allowing shifting movement of the membrane 70 (e.g., to form a fixed joint). The exemplary aperture 214 has an elongated shape forming a slot that receives the alignment post 210 while allowing the membrane 70 to move laterally (e.g., to form a slip joint) as the membrane 70 expands and contracts due to temperature changes.

The device 10 may operate in a system that uses personally identifiable information. It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be specified to the user.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a display including a backlight having a light source, a light guide layer receiving light from the light source and producing corresponding backlight illumination, pixels illuminated with the backlight illumination and configured to display an image, and an optical film interposed between the backlight and the pixels, the optical film including a curved alignment portion wrapped around an edge of the light guide layer.

According to another embodiment, the optical films include a first optical film interposed between the light guiding layer and a second optical film, an edge of the light guiding layer having a length and extending between opposing first and second sides of the light guiding layer, the first optical film having a curved edge portion extending along the length of the edge of the light guiding layer while wrapping around the edge of the light guiding layer, wherein the second optical film has a curved protruding tab wrapped around a respective portion of the edge of the light guiding layer.

According to another embodiment, the optical film includes a prism film and a diffusion film.

According to another embodiment, the diffuser film has a curved edge portion that wraps around an edge of the light guiding layer.

According to another embodiment, the prismatic film includes first and second curved protruding tabs wrapped around an edge of the light guide layer, a first portion of the curved edge portion being interposed between the first curved protruding tab and the light guide layer, and a second portion of the curved edge portion being interposed between the second curved protruding tab and the light guide layer.

According to another embodiment, a display includes a reflector, a photoconductive layer, and an optical film interposed between the reflector and a pixel of the liquid crystal display.

According to an embodiment, there is provided an electronic device comprising a support structure, an array of pixels configured to display an image, and a display backlight having a photoconductive layer configured to provide backlighting to the array of pixels and having a flexible polymer film between the photoconductive layer and the pixels and having a curved alignment portion wrapped around an edge of the photoconductive layer and coupled to the support structure.

According to another embodiment, the support structure includes an electronic device housing.

According to another embodiment, an electronic device includes an adhesive attaching a flexible polymer film to a support structure.

According to another embodiment, at least one of the curved alignment portions comprises a curved protruding tab.

According to another embodiment, the bent protruding tab is wrapped around the rim and bent over itself, the adhesive configured to attach the bent protruding tab to the electronic device housing.

According to another embodiment, the curved alignment portion includes a curved protruding tab, and the electronic device includes a strap configured to couple the curved protruding tab to the electronic device housing.

According to another embodiment, the tape has a non-adhesive portion overlapping the bent protruding tab to form a sliding joint coupling the bent protruding tab to the support structure while allowing the bent protruding tab to slide relative to the support structure.

According to another embodiment, the light guiding layer has a notch and the curved alignment portion overlaps a portion of the edge in the notch.

According to another embodiment, the light guiding layer has a notch and the curved alignment portion overlaps a portion of the edge outside the notch.

According to an embodiment, there is provided an electronic device comprising a housing member and a display in the housing, the display having a backlight to produce backlight illumination and having an array of pixels illuminated by the backlight illumination, the backlight comprising a light emitting diode, a light guide layer to receive light from the light emitting diode and to provide the backlight illumination to the array of pixels, and a flexible polymer layer interposed between the light guide layer and the array of pixels, the flexible polymer layer having a curved protruding tab that curves around an edge of the light guide layer and is fixed to the housing member.

According to another embodiment, an electronic device includes an adhesive configured to secure a bent protruding tab to a housing member.

According to another embodiment, the flexible polymer layer comprises a prismatic film.

According to another embodiment, an electronic device includes a strap, a housing member includes a housing wall, and a flexible polymer layer is secured to the housing wall using the strap.

According to another embodiment, the flexible polymer layer comprises one of at least four optical films interposed between the light guiding layer and the pixel array and the optical films comprise at least two diffusing films and at least two prismatic films, each having a respective curved alignment portion coupled to the housing member.

The foregoing is merely exemplary and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims (20)

1. A display, comprising:

a backlight having a light source, a light guide layer that receives light from the light source and produces corresponding backlight illumination;

a pixel illuminated with the backlight illumination and configured to display an image; and

an optical film interposed between the backlight and the pixel, wherein the optical film includes a curved alignment portion wrapped around an edge of the light-guiding layer.

2. The display of claim 1, wherein the optical films comprise a first optical film and a second optical film, wherein the first optical film is interposed between the light guide layer and the second optical film, wherein an edge of the light guide layer has a length and extends between opposing first and second sides of the light guide layer, wherein the first optical film has a curved edge portion that extends along the length of the edge of the light guide layer while wrapping around the edge of the light guide layer, and wherein the second optical film has a curved protruding tab that wraps around a respective portion of the edge of the light guide layer.

3. The display of claim 1, wherein the optical film comprises a prismatic film and a diffuser film.

4. The display of claim 3, wherein the diffuser film has a curved edge portion that partially surrounds an edge of the light guide layer.

5. The display of claim 4, wherein the prismatic film comprises first and second curved protruding tabs wrapped around an edge of the light guide layer, wherein a first portion of the curved edge portion is interposed between the first curved protruding tab and the light guide layer, and wherein a second portion of the curved edge portion is interposed between the second curved protruding tab and the light guide layer.

6. The display of claim 1, wherein the pixels comprise liquid crystal display pixels, the display further comprising a reflector, wherein the photoconductive layer and the optical film are interposed between the reflector and the liquid crystal display pixels.

7. An electronic device, comprising:

a support structure;

an array of pixels configured to display an image; and

a display backlight having a light guiding layer configured to provide backlighting to the array of pixels and having a flexible polymer film between the light guiding layer and the pixels and having a curved alignment portion wrapped around an edge of the light guiding layer and coupled to the support structure.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the support structure comprises an electronic device housing.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, further comprising an adhesive attaching the flexible polymer film to the support structure.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein at least one of the curved alignment portions comprises a curved protruding tab.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the bent protruding tab wraps around the edge and is bent over itself, and wherein the adhesive is configured to attach the bent protruding tab to the electronic device housing.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the curved alignment portion comprises a curved protruding tab, wherein the electronic device comprises a strap configured to couple the curved protruding tab to the electronic device housing.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the tape has a non-adhesive portion that overlaps the bent protruding tab to form a sliding joint that couples the bent protruding tab to the support structure while allowing the bent protruding tab to slide relative to the support structure.

14. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the lightguide layer has a notch and wherein the bend alignment portion overlaps a portion of the edge in the notch.

15. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the lightguide layer has a notch and wherein the bend alignment portion overlaps a portion of the edge outside the notch.

16. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing member; and

a display in the housing having a backlight that produces backlight illumination and having an array of pixels illuminated by the backlight illumination, wherein the backlight includes a light emitting diode, a light guide layer that receives light from the light emitting diode and provides the backlight illumination to the array of pixels, and a flexible polymer layer interposed between the light guide layer and the array of pixels, wherein the flexible polymer layer has a curved protruding tab that curves around an edge of the light guide layer and is secured to the housing member.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, further comprising an adhesive configured to secure the bent tab to the housing member.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the flexible polymer layer comprises a prismatic film.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 16 further comprising a tape, wherein the housing members comprise housing walls, and wherein the flexible polymer layer is secured to the housing walls using the tape.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the flexible polymer layer comprises one of at least four optical films interposed between the light-guiding layer and the pixel array and wherein the optical films comprise at least two diffuser films and at least two prism films, each having a respective curved alignment portion coupled to the housing member.