Display with embedded components and subpixel windows

• US 10,163,984 B1
• Filed: 09/12/2016
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Ho, Meng-Huan, Choi, Minhyuk, Lin, Chin-Wei, Chang, Shih Chang, Choi, Jae Won, Jiang, Jun, Liu, Rui, Chen, Cheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hoai V
• Application Number:
  US15/263,231
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/145 Illumination specially adapted for pattern recognition, e.g. using gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1312 direct reading, e.g. contactless acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1318 using electro-optical elements or layers, e.g. electroluminescent sensing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/121 characterised by the geometry or disposition of pixel elements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/352 the areas of the RGB subpixels being different
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/60 OLEDs integrated with inorganic light-sensitive elements, e.g. with inorganic solar cells or inorganic photodiodes

Abstract

A display may have an array of pixels. Each pixel may have a light-emitting diode such as an organic light-emitting diode. The organic light-emitting diodes may each have an anode that is coupled to a thin-film transistor pixel circuit for controlling the anode. Transparent windows may be formed in the display. The windows may be formed by replacing subpixels in some of the pixels with transparent windows. When subpixels are replaced by transparent windows, adjacent subpixels may be overdriven to compensate for lost light from the replaced subpixels. Adjacent subpixels may also be enlarged to help compensate for lost light. An array of electrical components such as an array of light sensors may be aligned with the transparent windows and may be used to measure light passing through the transparent windows.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a display having pixels that emit light, wherein the pixels include first pixels and second pixels and wherein at least the second pixels contain light transmitting windows; and

electrical components that are each aligned with and receive light through a respective one of the light transmitting windows.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the electrical components comprise light detectors.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the first pixels each include at least first, second, and third subpixels of different colors.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the second pixels each include at least a pair of subpixels of different colors.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the first subpixels of the first pixels are red subpixels, wherein the second subpixels of the first subpixels are green subpixels, and wherein the third subpixels of the first pixels are blue subpixels.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the second pixels each include red and green subpixels and no blue subpixels.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the second pixels each include blue and green subpixels and no red subpixels.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the second pixels include some pixels with red and green subpixels and no blue subpixels and include some pixels with blue and green subpixels and no red subpixels.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the second pixels are interspersed with the first pixels and are arranged in an array.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein successive rows of the second pixels in the array are staggered with respect to each other.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein each of the first pixels in a group of the first pixels is adjacent to a respective one of the second pixels and wherein each of the first pixels in the group of first pixels has a light-emitting diode that is larger than the first pixels that are not in the group of the first pixels.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the first pixels do not contain light transmitting windows.

13. A display, comprising:

an array of pixels, wherein a first set of the pixels includes subpixels of first, second, and third colors and wherein a second set of the pixels includes subpixels of the first and second colors and no subpixels of the third color; and

an array of light transmitting windows, wherein each of the light transmitting windows is formed within a respective one of the pixels in the second set of pixels.

14. The display defined in claim 13 further comprising:

an array of light sensors each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light transmitting windows in the array of light transmitting windows.

15. The display defined in claim 14 wherein the light sensors are configured to capture a fingerprint using light that passes to the light sensors through the array of light transmitting windows.

16. The display defined in claim 14 wherein the first, second, and third colors are red, green, and blue, respectively.

17. The display defined in claim 14 wherein the first, second, and third colors are green, blue, and red, respectively.

18. An organic light-emitting diode display, comprising:

an array of pixels each of which contains subpixels and some of which contain light transmitting windows; and

light sensors that receive light through the light transmitting windows.

19. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 18 wherein the array of pixels has a first area that overlaps the light sensors and a second area that does not overlap the light sensors.

20. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 19 wherein each of the pixels in the second area includes red subpixels, green subpixels, and blue subpixels.

21. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 20 wherein some of the pixels in the first area each include red subpixels, green subpixels, and blue subpixels, wherein some of the pixels in the first area each include red and green subpixels and no blue subpixels, wherein the light sensors are arranged in an array, and wherein the light transmitting windows are formed in the pixels that include the red and green subpixels and no blue subpixels and take the place of blue subpixels.