Display with backlight recycling structures

• US 10,302,844 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2015
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Xu, Ming, Chen, Cheng, Osawa, Hiroshi, Chen, Yu Cheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Merlin, Jessica M
• Application Number:
  US14/918,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20160170129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,316 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0055 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133512 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix G02F1/136209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133553 Reflecting elements associated to illuminating devices G02F1/133605
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133565 inside the LC elements, i.e. between the cell substrates
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133615 Edge-illuminating devices, i.e. illuminating from the side
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136209 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix, incorporated in the active matrix substrate, e.g. structurally associated with the switching element
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136286 Wiring, e.g. gate line, drain line

Abstract

A display may have an array of pixels. The pixels may have color filter elements such as red, green, and blue color filter elements. A layer of opaque material may be used to form a black matrix. The black matrix may have openings that receive the color filter elements. A backlight unit may produce backlight illumination for the display. A reflector layer may be interposed between the black matrix and the backlight unit. The reflector layer may have openings aligned with the openings in the black matrix and the color filter elements and may overlap the black matrix. Some of the backlight from the backlight unit may pass through the color filter elements. Other backlight may by be recycled by being reflected off of the reflector layer, thereby enhancing backlight efficiency.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

backlight structures that emit backlight;

liquid crystal display layers that form pixels through which the backlight passes, wherein the liquid crystal display layers include a thin-film transistor layer having gate lines and data lines, a color filter layer having a plurality of color filter elements for the pixels, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the thin-film transistor layer and the color filter layer; and

a reflector layer with openings aligned with the pixels, wherein the reflector layer is interposed between the backlight structure and at least some of the liquid crystal display layers, wherein the reflector layer reflects some of the backlight towards the backlight structures, wherein the reflector layer includes the gate lines and the data lines, wherein the gate lines and the data lines occupy more than 80% of an area of the display that is not occupied by the plurality of color filter elements, wherein a data line of the data lines has locally widened portions and at least partially surrounds a color filter element of the plurality of color filter elements on at least three sides, wherein the data line has a first portion that extends between first and second adjacent color filter elements, wherein the first portion has a first length along a first axis and a first width along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, wherein the first width is smaller than the first length, wherein the data line has a second portion that has a second width along a third axis that is parallel to the second axis, wherein the second width is longer than the first width, and wherein the second width is longer than a width of the first color filter element.

2. The display defined in claim 1, wherein the gate lines and the data lines occupy more than 90% of the area of the display that is not occupied by the plurality of color filter elements.

3. The display defined in claim 1, wherein the gate lines and the data lines occupy more than 95% of the area of the display that is not occupied by the plurality of color filter elements.

4. A display having pixels, comprising:

a color filter layer having a color filter layer substrate on which a plurality of color filter elements are formed for the pixels;

a layer of thin-film transistor circuitry that includes a plurality of data lines;

a backlight unit that emits backlight; and

a reflector layer having openings aligned with the color filter elements, so that wherein some of the backlight passes through the color filter elements and so that some of the backlight is reflected from the reflector layer towards the backlight unit, wherein the reflector layer includes the plurality of data lines, wherein a data line of the plurality of data lines has locally widened portions and at least partially surrounds a color filter element of the plurality of color filter elements on at least three sides, wherein the color filter element has a first length and a first width, wherein the data line has a second length that is greater than the first length, and wherein one of the locally widened portions of the data line has a second width that is greater than the first width.

5. The display defined in claim 4, wherein the reflector layer occupies more than 80% of an area of the display that is not occupied by the plurality of color filter elements.