Portable computer display structures

• US 8,866,989 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2013
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• 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, KAVEH C
• Application Number:
  US13/786,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20130188305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 595 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 with a periphery in the upper housing structure that includes a color filter layer, a thin-film transistor layer, an opaque border around the periphery that interferes with the passage of light, and at least one polarizer layer, wherein the at least one polarizer layer has an opening aligned with an opening in the opaque border; and

a camera in the upper housing structure that receives light through the opening in the at least one polarizer layer.

2. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the opaque border covers at least part of the at least one polarizer layer.

3. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the opaque border comprises a peripheral ring of opaque material.

4. The portable computer defined in claim 3 wherein the peripheral ring of opaque material comprises ink.

5. The portable computer defined in claim 3 wherein the peripheral ring of opaque material comprises a polymer film layer.

6. The portable computer defined in claim 3 wherein the peripheral ring of opaque material comprises a layer of material adjacent to the at least one polarizer layer.

7. 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.

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

9. The portable computer defined in claim 8 wherein the thin-film transistor layer has a peripheral edge that is aligned with the peripheral edges of the at least one polarizer layer and the color filter layer.

10. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the display comprises at least one of a light-emitting diode display, an organic light-emitting diode display, a liquid crystal display, or a plasma display.

11. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one polarizer layer comprises an upper polarizer layer and a lower polarizer layer.

12. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the color filter layer serves as an outer surface of the portable computer.

13. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the color filter layer includes an anti-scratch coating.

14. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the opaque border blocks inactive peripheral portions of the display from view.

15. The portable computer defined in claim 1 wherein the display further comprises a light guide structure layer.