Electronic Devices Having Infrared Blocking Light Guides

• US 20190094069A1
• Filed: 07/18/2018
• Published: 03/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2017
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Xu, Tingjun, Yuen, Avery P., Hillendahl, James W., Wang, Ligang, Lyngnes, Ove, Kang, Sunggu, Zhao, Xianwei, Cai, Xingxing
• Application Number:
  US16/038,916
• Publication Number:
  US 20190094069A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0204 Compact construction
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0407 Optical elements not provided otherwise, e.g. manifolds, windows, holograms, gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0414 using plane or convex mirrors, parallel phase plates, or plane beam-splitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0422 using light concentrators, collectors or condensers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0425 using optical fibers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0474 Diffusers cavities G01J2001/0481
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0488 with spectral filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/16 using electric radiation detectors G01J1/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/4204 with determination of ambient light solar light G01J2001/4266
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/02038 with core or cladding having graded refractive index
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4298 coupling with non-coherent light sources and/or radiation detectors, e.g. lamps, incandescent bulbs, scintillation chambers
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a display. An opaque layer may be formed on an inner surface of a display cover layer in an inactive area of the display. An optical component window may be formed from the opening. A light guide may be aligned with the optical component window and may be used to guide light from the optical component window to an optical component such as an ambient light sensor. The light guide may have a core surrounded by a cladding. The core may be formed from a material such as blue glass that absorbs infrared light and that transmits visible light. Particles of titanium dioxide or other high-refractive-index material may be incorporated into the core to enhance the refractive index of the core. Thin-film interference filters may be formed on the light guide to enhance infrared light blocking.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a transparent member having an optical component window;

a light sensor; and

a light guide configured to guide light from the optical component window to the light sensor, wherein the light guide has a core configured to block infrared light and has a cladding surrounding the core.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the core comprises blue glass.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein core further comprises particles embedded in the blue glass that have an index of refraction of at least 1.8.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the core comprises borosilicate glass with copper oxide and titanium oxide particles.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the cladding comprises polymer.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising pixels configured to display images, wherein the transparent member comprises a display cover layer having a portion that overlaps the pixels.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the core comprises blue borosilicate glass with embedded titanium oxide particles.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the core has at least one bend.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the core has a longitudinal axis along which the light is guided and wherein the core has a first dimension perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and a second dimension parallel to the longitudinal axis that is at least three times greater than the first dimension.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the second dimension is at least 3 mm.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the light sensor comprises a light detector integrated circuit having a plurality of photodetectors associated respectively with a plurality of ambient light sensor channels of different colors.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a visible-light-transmitting-and-infrared-light-blocking thin-film interference filter interposed between the optical window and the light sensor.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 further comprising a dielectric stack of layers of alternating refractive index on a surface of the light guide, wherein the dielectric stack is configured to form the visible-light-transmitting-and-infrared-light-blocking thin-film interference filter.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the visible-light-transmitting-and-infrared-light-blocking thin-film interference filter includes a first dielectric stack coating on a first surface of the light guide that faces the optical component window and includes a second dielectric stack coating on a second surface of the light guide that faces the light sensor.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the light sensor comprises a light sensor integrated circuit with a plurality of photodetectors sensitive respectively to a plurality of different wavelength ranges.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 further comprising a light diffuser between the light guide and the optical component window.

17. An electronic device, comprising:

pixels configured to display images;

a display cover layer that overlaps the pixels;

an infrared light source configured to emit infrared light;

a light guide comprising a core surrounded by a cladding, wherein the core is configured to transmit visible light and block the infrared light; and

an ambient light sensor configured to receive ambient visible light through the light guide.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17 wherein the core comprises a first material and particles of a second material embedded in the first material, wherein the first material has a first index of refraction, and wherein the second material has a second index of refraction that is greater than the first index of refraction.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18 wherein the first material comprises borosilicate glass and the second material comprises titanium oxide.

20. An electronic device, comprising:

a glass layer having a portion defining an optical component window through which light passes;

a light guide having a core of infrared-light-blocking glass surrounded by a cladding;

a thin-film interference filter on a surface of the light guide; and

an optical component aligned with the light guide.