Display arrangement with enhanced functionality

• US 8,269,679 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Harrysson, Fredrik, Medbo, Jonas
• Primary Examiner(s): MANCUSO, HUEDUNG XUAN CAO
• Application Number:
  US12/746,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20100265417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,748 Days
• Field of Search: 343/702, 343/700.MS, 343/718, 343/730, 348/801, 455/280
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/22 by structural association with other equipment or articles
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/44 using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna , e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspectH01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence

Abstract

The present invention relates to a display arrangement comprising display means (30₄) and receiving and/or transmitting means for radio waves, millimeter waves or microwaves. An electrically conductive structure (6A) is adapted to form said receiving and/or transmitting means. The display means (3O4) comprises an emission layer with a number of light emitting elements or pixel elements (5₃₁, . . . , 5₃₅). The electrically conductive structure (6A) is provided between said light emitting elements (5₃₁, . . . , 5₃₅) to form said receiving and/or transmitting means such that they are integrated with the display means (3O4). Light conducting means (7₃₁, . . . , 7₃₅) are provided to conduct light through the electrically conductive structure (6A) to represent imaging information on top of the display means.

Claims

1. A display arrangement comprising display means and receiving and/or transmitting means for radio waves, millimeter waves or microwaves, wherein an electrically conductive structure is adapted to form said receiving and/or transmitting means, that the display means comprises an emission layer with a number of light emitting elements or pixel elements, that the electrically conductive structure is provided between said light emitting elements to form said receiving and/or transmitting means, such that they are integrated with the display means, and in that light conducting means are provided to conduct light through the electrically conductive structure to represent imaging information on top of the display means.

2. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the light conducting means comprise optical waveguides or optical fibres adapted to allow light to pass through the electrically conductive structure from each of said pixel elements.

3. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive structure comprises a mesh or grid of interconnected thin metal wires.

4. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein, the electrically conductive structure is adapted to form an antenna arrangement with a number of receiving and/or transmitting elements comprising antenna elements.

5. A display arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the sizes and/or the shapes of the antenna elements are adapted to depend on the frequency and/or polarization properties of a communication channel for said radio-, millimeter- or microwaves.

6. A display arrangement according to claim 4, wherein feeding means are provided which are connected, directly or indirectly, to the antenna elements, for feeding of the said antenna elements, separately or groupwise.

7. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the receiving and/or transmitting elements, or antenna elements, are arranged to form an array or a number of sub-arrays.

8. A display arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the antenna elements separately, over separate transmission means are connected to feeding, switching and/or combining means comprising or being connected to digital control means and, via antenna ports, to radio- or millimeter wave or microwave TX/RX communication processing means.

9. A display arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the feeding, switching and/or combining means comprise or are connected to beam-forming means or MIMO spatial multiplexing means.

10. A display arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the antenna elements comprise antenna patches.

11. A display arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the display means comprises a grounding conductive layer and in that said grounding conductive layer is adapted to act as a ground plane for the receiving and/or transmitting elements.

12. A display arrangement according to claim 10, wherein a separate grounding conductive layer is provided which is adapted to act as a ground plane for the electrically conductive structure and in that the receiving and/or transmitting elements are antenna patches.

13. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the receiving and/or transmitting elements comprise antenna elements and in that said antenna elements comprise dipole antenna elements or coplanar antenna elements.

14. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the receiving and/or transmitting elements separately or groupwise are connected to feeding and control means for feeding and controlling the receiving and/or transmitting elements.

15. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the display means comprises an LED with a plurality of LED pixel elements or an OLED display or similar.

16. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the receiving and/or transmitting elements are arranged to extend throughout substantially the entire surface of the display means.

17. A display arrangement according to claim 4, wherein it is adapted to be arranged as display screen of a wireless communication device, e.g. a laptop, a palmtop or a mobile phone or similar and to act as a combined display and antenna arrangement.

18. A display arrangement according to claim 17, wherein the feeding, switching and/or combining means are integrated in a circuit board of the display means of the wireless communication device, either in the display or in computer control means thereof.

19. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive structure is adapted to form receiving elements and in that the display arrangement is adapted to act as a combined display and sensor arrangement.

20. A method of receiving and handling radio- or millimeter- or microwave signals in an arrangement comprising a display means and receiving means, comprising the steps of:

receiving radio- or millimeter- or microwave signals in respective receiving elements, e.g. antenna elements, provided by means of an electrically conductive structure integrated between light emitting elements or pixel elements which are associated with light conducting means, said light conducting means conducting light through the electrically conductive structure,

combining and/or switching and/or multiplexing the received, separate signals in combining and/or switching and/or multiplexing means connected to the receiving elements and associated with the display means such that at least a major surface portion of the display screen, e.g. on a laptop or similar, can be used both for optical presentation and for radio-, millimeter- or microwave reception, the receiving or antenna elements being fed separately or groupwise.

21. A method of handling and transmitting radio or millimeter wave signals in an arrangement comprising a display means and a transmitting or a receiving and transmitting means, comprising the steps of:

switching and/or combining and/or multiplexing a number of radio- or millimeter- and/or microwave signals in a combining and/or switching, or distribution, network associated with or in a display means,

providing separate radio- or millimeter- or microwave signals to transmitting elements provided by means of an electrically conductive structure integrated between light emitting elements or pixel elements which are associated with light conducting means for conducting light through the transmitting elements of the electrically conductive structure such that at least a major surface portion of a display screen, e.g. on a laptop or similar, can be used both for optical presentation and for radio-, millimeter- or microwave transmission.