Electronic devices having ambient light sensors with light collimators

• US 10,395,620 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2017
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lyngnes, Ove, Xu, Tingjun, Yuen, Avery P., Dodson, Christopher M., Sun, Tianbo, Zhao, Xianwei, Cai, Xingxing, Kang, Sunggu
• Primary Examiner(s): Landis, Lisa S
• Application Number:
  US15/713,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20190096364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/30 Collimators
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0221 the surface having an irregular structure G02B5/0226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0242 by means of dispersed particles
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/045 Prism arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/122 cube corner, trihedral or triple reflector type
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/208 for use with infrared or ultraviolet radiation, e.g. for separating visible light from infrared and/or ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/22 Absorbing filters G02B5/201 - G02B5/208 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/28 Interference filters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a display. The display may have an array of pixels that form an active area and may have an inactive area that runs along an edge of the active area. An opaque layer may be formed on an inner surface of a display cover layer in the inactive area of the display or may be formed on another transparent layer in the electronic device. An ambient light sensor window may be formed from the opening and may be aligned with color ambient light sensor. The ambient light sensor may have an integrated circuit with photodetectors. Ambient light passing through the ambient light sensor window may be diffused by a light diffuser having one or more light-diffusing layers. Diffused ambient light may be collimated using a light collimator having one or more light-collimating layers such as layers with inwardly facing protrusions.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a display;

a color ambient light sensor; and

control circuitry configured to adjust the display based on ambient light color and ambient light intensity information from the color ambient light sensor, wherein the color ambient light sensor comprises;

a light detector integrated circuit having a plurality of photodetectors;

a light diffuser; and

a light collimator interposed between the light diffuser and the light detector, wherein the light collimator includes first and second light-collimating layers separated by an air gap.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the light diffuser comprises first and second light diffuser layers separated by an air gap.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the first light diffuser layer has a first transparent substrate and wherein the second light diffuser has a second transparent substrate.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the first light diffuser includes first light-scattering particles and wherein the second light diffuser includes second light-scattering particles.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 further comprising:

a first polymer coating on the first transparent substrate, wherein the first light-scattering particles are embedded in the first polymer coating; and

a second polymer coating on the second transparent substrate, wherein the second light-scattering particles are embedded in the second polymer coating.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the first light-scattering particles are embedded in the first transparent substrate and wherein the second light-scattering particles are embedded in the second transparent substrate.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the first light diffuser includes textured light-scattering surface structures configured to diffuse light.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the display includes a display cover layer, the electronic device further comprising:

an opaque masking layer on a surface of the display cover layer in an inactive area of the display; and

an ambient light sensor window formed from an opening in the opaque masking layer that is aligned with the color ambient light sensor.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the first light-collimating layer has triangular ridges extending along a first direction and wherein the second light-collimating has triangular ridges extending along a second direction that is different than the first direction.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the first light-collimating layer comprises a polymer coating layer on the light diffuser.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the light diffuser includes a substrate and wherein the polymer coating layer of the first light-collimating layer includes ridges with triangular cross-sectional profiles on the polymer substrate.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing;

a display coupled to the housing, wherein the display has an ambient light sensor window; and

an ambient light sensor in alignment with the ambient light sensor window, wherein the ambient light sensor comprises;

a light diffuser having at least one light-diffusing layer configured to diffuse ambient light passing through the ambient light sensor window as the ambient light passes through the light-diffusing layer;

a light collimator having at least one light-collimating layer configured to collimate the diffused ambient light; and

a photodetector configured to receive the collimated diffused ambient light.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the light-diffusing layer has a transparent substrate that is separated by an air gap from the light collimator.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the light collimator comprises first and second light-collimating layers separated by an air gap.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the first light-collimating layer has first ridges and wherein the second light-collimating layer has second ridges.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the first ridges extend along a first direction and wherein the second ridges extend along a second direction that is different than the first direction.

19. The ambient light sensor defined in claim 12 further comprising an infrared-light-blocking filter layer interposed between the light collimator and the photodetector.

20. The ambient light sensor defined in claim 19 wherein the light collimator and the light-diffusing layer are separated by an air gap.

21. The electronic device defined in claim 12, wherein the at last one light-collimating layer has ridges that face the photodetector.

17. An ambient light sensor, comprising:

a light-diffusing layer configured to diffuse ambient light;

a light collimator configured to collimate the diffused ambient light wherein the light collimator is a coating on the light-diffusing layer; and

a photodetector configured to receive the collimated diffused ambient light.

18. The ambient light sensor defined in claim 17 wherein the light collimator has ridges that face the photodetector.