Display with reduced border

• US 9,140,925 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2012
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Qi, Jun, Yin, Victor H., Zhu, Wenyong, Chen, Wei
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Phu
• Application Number:
  US13/590,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20140055719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/30 Polarising elements light-modulating devices with active elements G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3025 Polarisers, i.e. arrangements capable of producing a definite output polarisation state from an unpolarised input state G02B5/3008, G02B5/3016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133512 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix G02F1/136209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133528 Polarisers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133567 on the back side

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a display such as a liquid crystal display having upper and lower polarizer layers, a color filter layer, a liquid crystal layer, and a thin-film transistor layer. The display may have backlight structures that include a light guide plate, a reflector, and optical films. An opaque masking layer may be formed in a strip that runs along a peripheral edge of the lower polarizer in the display. The lower polarizer and the optical films may be separated by an air gap. The uppermost optical film may be a brightness enhancing film. The lower polarizer may be a matte polarizer layer, a polarizer film attached to an achromatic polarizing compensating film, or a matte polarizer that is attached to an achromatic polarizing compensating film coated with a matte coating.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

a thin-film transistor layer;

a polarizer layer on the thin-film transistor layer, wherein the polarizer layer has a lower surface; and

a strip of opaque masking material that runs along a peripheral border region of the lower surface of the polarizer layer, wherein the polarizer layer separates the opaque masking material from the thin-film transistor layer.

2. The display defined in claim 1 further comprising:

optical films that are separated from the lower surface of the polarizer by an air gap.

3. The display defined in claim 2 wherein the optical films include a brightness enhancing film.

4. The display defined in claim 3 wherein the brightness enhancing film has an upper surface that is adjacent to the air gap.

5. The display defined in claim 2 wherein the optical films include a lower diffuser, a first brightness enhancing film, and a second brightness enhancing film and wherein the second brightness enhancing film has a surface that is adjacent to the air gap.

6. The display defined in claim 5 further comprising a light guide plate, wherein the optical films are interposed between the air gap and the light guide plate.

7. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the polarizer layer comprises a matte polarizer having opposing first and second surfaces and wherein the second surface forms the lower surface of the polarizer.

8. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the polarizer layer comprises an achromatic polarizing compensating film and wherein the lower surface forms a surface of the achromatic polarizing compensating film.

9. The display defined in claim 8 wherein the polarizer layer further comprises a polarizer film on the achromatic polarizing compensating film.

10. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the polarizer layer comprises a matte polarizer.

11. The display defined in claim 10 wherein the polarizer layer comprises a matte coating.

12. The display defined in claim 11 wherein the polarizer layer comprises an achromatic polarizing compensating film located between the matte coating and the matte polarizer.

13. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the polarizer layer comprises a matte coating layer and wherein the lower surface forms a surface of the matte coating layer.

14. A display, comprising:

a color filter layer;

a thin-film transistor layer;

a layer of liquid crystal material between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer;

an optical film;

an air gap between the thin-film transistor layer and the optical film;

a strip of opaque masking material located between the air gap and the thin-film transistor layer; and

a lower polarizer located between the opaque masking material and the thin-film transistor layer.

15. The display defined in claim 14 further comprising an upper polarizer on the color filter layer, wherein the and a lower polarizer is interposed between the thin-film transistor layer and the air gap, and wherein the strip of opaque masking material is an ink-jet printed black ink layer on the lower polarizer.

16. The display defined in claim 15 wherein the optical film comprises a brightness enhancing film having a surface adjacent to the air gap and wherein the display further comprises a light guide plate, wherein the brightness enhancing film is located between the light guide plate and the air gap.

17. The display defined in claim 14 wherein the lower polarizer comprises a matte polarizer.

18. A display, comprising:

display layers including at least one polarizer layer having a surface;

an opaque masking layer on a peripheral border portion of the surface; and

an optical film, wherein the polarizer layer and the optical film are separated by an air gap and wherein the opaque masking layer is interposed between the polarizer layer and the optical film.

19. The display defined in claim 18 in which the polarizer layer comprises a matte polarizer.

20. The display defined in claim 18 wherein the polarizer layer comprises an achromatic polarizing compensating film.

21. The display defined in claim 18 wherein the polarizer layer comprises an achromatic polarizing compensating film and a matte coating on the achromatic polarizing compensating film and wherein the surface is a surface of the matte coating.