Portable computer display structures

• US 8,395,722 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2011
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Mathew, Dinesh C., Wilson, Thomas W. Jr., Yin, Victor H., Posner, Bryan W., Ligtenberg, Chris, Degner, Brett W., Augenbergs, Peteris K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kianni, K. Cyrus
• Application Number:
  US13/249,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20120020002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: 349/56, 349/58
• US Class Current: 349/58
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133308 Support structures for LCD panels, e.g. frames or bezels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133317 Intermediate frames, e.g. between backlight housing and front frame
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13332 Front frames
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133331 Cover glasses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1658 related to the mounting of internal components, e.g. disc drive or any other functional module
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1214 comprising a plurality of TFTs formed on a non-semiconducting substrate, e.g. driving circuits for AMLCDs
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1218 with a particular composition or structure of the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/124 with a particular composition, shape or layout of the wiring layers specially adapted to the circuit arrangement, e.g. scanning lines in LCD pixel circuits wiring structures per se H01L23/52
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0017 with operator interface units

Abstract

An electronic device housing may have upper and lower portions that are attached with a hinge. At least one portion of the housing may have a rear planar surface and peripheral sidewalls having edges. A display module may be mounted in the housing. The display module may have glass layers such as a color filter glass layer and a thin-film transistor substrate. The color filter glass layer may serve as the outermost glass layer in the display module. The edges of the display module may be aligned with the edges of the peripheral housing sidewalls to create the appearance of a borderless display for the electronic device. The display module may be provided with an opening that allows a camera or other electronic components to receive light. Traces may be provided on the underside of the thin-film transistor substrate to serve as signal paths for the electrical components.

Claims

1. A portable computer, comprising:

upper and lower housing structures coupled by a hinge;

a display in the upper housing structure that includes a color filter layer, a thin-film transistor layer, and at least one polarizer layer, wherein the polarizer layer has an opening; and

a camera in the upper housing structure that receives light through the opening in the polarizer layer;

wherein the opening extends through the polarizer layer and not through the color filter layer and not through the thin-film transistor layer;

and the camera receives light that passes through the opening in the polarizer layer, through the color filter layer, and through the thin-film transistor layer.

2. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the display has a rectangular periphery and wherein the display further comprises an opaque border around the periphery.

3. The portable computer defined in claim 2 wherein the opaque border has an opening aligned with the opening in the polarizer layer.

4. The portable computer defined in claim 3 wherein the opaque border covers at least part of the polarizer layer.

5. The portable computer defined in claim 2 wherein the opaque border comprises a peripheral ring of opaque material.

6. The portable computer defined in claim 5 wherein the peripheral ring of opaque material comprises ink.

7. The portable computer defined in claim 5 wherein the peripheral ring of opaque material comprises a polymer film layer.

8. The portable computer defined in claim 5 wherein the peripheral ring of opaque material comprises a layer of material adjacent to the polarizer layer.

9. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the color filter layer has a rectangular periphery with a peripheral edge, the portable computer further comprising a structure located along the peripheral edge of the color filter layer and at least partially surrounding the rectangular periphery of the color filter layer, wherein the upper housing has an inner edge surface that runs parallel to at least some of the peripheral edge of the color filter layer and wherein the structure is interposed between at least some of the inner edge surface of the upper housing and the peripheral edge of the color filter layer and provides an interface between the color filter layer and the upper housing.

10. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the color filter layer has a peripheral edge, wherein the polarizer layer has a peripheral edge, and wherein the peripheral edge of the color filter layer is aligned with the peripheral edge of the polarizer layer.

11. The portable computer defined in claim 10 wherein the thin-film transistor layer has a peripheral edge that is aligned with the peripheral edges of the polarizer layer and the color filter layer.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a display that includes a color filter layer, a thin-film transistor layer, and at least one polarizer layer, wherein the polarizer layer has an opening, wherein the display has a rectangular periphery, wherein the display further comprises an opaque border around the periphery, and wherein the opaque border has an opening aligned with the opening in the polarizer layer; and

a camera in the upper housing structure that receives light through the openings in the polarizer layer and the opaque border;

wherein the opening extends through the polarizer layer and not through the color filter layer and not through the thin-film transistor layer;

and the camera receives light that passes through the opening in the polarizer layer, through the color filter layer, and through the thin-film transistor layer.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the color filter layer has a peripheral edge, wherein the polarizer layer has a peripheral edge, wherein the thin-film transistor layer has a peripheral edge, and wherein the peripheral edges of the color filter layer, the polarizer layer, and the thin-film transistor layer are aligned.

14. A computer, comprising:

housing structures;

a display that includes a color filter layer, a thin-film transistor layer, and at least one polarizer layer, wherein the polarizer layer has an opening; and

a camera that receives light through the opening;

wherein the opening extends through the polarizer layer and not through the color filter layer and not through the thin-film transistor layer;

and the camera receives light that passes through the opening in the polarizer layer, through the color filter layer, and through the thin-film transistor layer.

15. The computer defined in claim 14 wherein the display has a rectangular periphery and wherein the display further comprises an opaque border around the periphery.

16. The computer defined in claim 15 wherein the opaque border has an opening aligned with the opening in the polarizer layer.

17. The computer defined in claim 16 wherein the opaque border covers at least part of the polarizer layer.

18. The computer defined in claim 14 wherein the color filter layer has a rectangular periphery with a peripheral edge, the computer further comprising a structure located along the peripheral edge of the color filter layer and at least partially surrounding the rectangular periphery of the color filter layer, wherein the housing structures have an inner edge surface that runs parallel to at least some of the peripheral edge of the color filter layer and wherein the structure is interposed between at least some of the inner edge surface of the housing structures and the peripheral edge of the color filter layer and provides an interface between the color filter layer and the housing structures.

19. The computer defined in claim 14 wherein the thin-film transistor layer has a rectangular periphery with a peripheral edge, the computer further comprising a structure located along the peripheral edge of the thin-film transistor layer and at least partially surrounding the rectangular periphery of the thin-film transistor layer, wherein the housing structures have an inner edge surface that runs parallel to at least some of the peripheral edge of the thin-film transistor layer and wherein the structure is interposed between at least some of the inner edge surface of the housing structures and the peripheral edge of the thin-film transistor layer and provides an interface between the thin-film transistor layer and the housing structures.

20. The computer defined in claim 14 wherein the color filter layer has a peripheral edge, wherein the polarizer layer has a peripheral edge, wherein the thin-film transistor layer has a peripheral edge, and wherein the peripheral edges of the color filter layer, the polarizer layer, and the thin-film transistor layer are aligned.