Displays with organic light-emitting diode backlight structures

• US 9,488,862 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2013
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Doyle, David A., Drzaic, Paul S., Guillou, Jean-Pierre S., Wurzel, Joshua G.
• Primary Examiner(s): CROCKETT, RYAN M
• Application Number:
  US13/765,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20140226110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 349/69
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133603 with LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133624 characterised by their spectral emissions
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/28 Adhesive materials or arrangements

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a display. The display may include a liquid crystal display cell and an organic light-emitting diode backlight unit. The liquid crystal display cell may include a color filter layer, a liquid crystal layer, and a thin-film transistor layer. The organic light-emitting diode backlight unit may include organic emissive material formed on a substrate. The organic emissive material may generate backlight for liquid crystal display cell. Display pixels in the liquid crystal display cell may control the emission of the backlight from the display. The organic light-emitting diode backlight unit may be attached to the display using adhesive, laminated to a polarizer layer of the display cell, or may be integrated into the liquid crystal display cell. The backlight unit may include conductive vias or bent extended edge portions for coupling the backlight unit to control circuitry.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

organic light-emitting diode backlight structures that generate backlight for the display;

display layers that include a layer of liquid crystal material that controls emission of the backlight from the display;

a polarizer layer that forms a layer of the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures, wherein the polarizer layer includes a circular polarizer and at least one additional polarizer, wherein the display layers comprise a display substrate interposed between the polarizer layer and the layer of liquid crystal material; and

at least one optical film interposed between the display substrate and the polarizer layer.

2. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures are attached to the display layers by an adhesive that runs along at least one edge of the display.

3. The display defined in claim 2 wherein the adhesive comprises pressure-sensitive adhesive.

4. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the display layers further comprise:

a thin-film-transistor layer; and

a color filter layer, wherein the layer of liquid crystal material is interposed between the thin-film-transistor layer and the color filter layer.

5. The display defined in claim 4 wherein the polarizer layer is attached to the thin-film-transistor layer.

6. The display defined in claim 1, further comprising a chassis structure, wherein the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures are mounted to the chassis structure.

7. The display defined in claim 6 wherein the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures are attached to the display layers by an adhesive that runs along at least one edge of the chassis structure.

8. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures comprise a segmented organic light-emitting diode backlight unit.

9. The display defined in claim 8 wherein the segmented organic light-emitting diode backlight unit comprises between one and one hundred organic-light-emitting diode backlight pixels.

10. The display defined in claim 9 wherein each of the organic light emitting diode backlight pixels generates backlight for a plurality of display pixels.

11. A display, comprising

a plurality of display layers that include a liquid crystal layer and a thin-film-transistor layer;

organic light-emitting diode backlight structures that are laminated to a surface of the plurality of display layers, wherein the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures provide backlight to the plurality of display layers;

at least one conductive via that electrically couples the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures to the thin-film-transistor layer; and

a polarizer layer interposed between the thin-film transistor layer and the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures, wherein the at least one conductive via passes through the polarizer layer.

12. The display defined in claim 11 wherein the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures include an extended edge portion that extends beyond an edge of the plurality of display layers.

13. The display defined in claim 12, further comprising conductive contacts on the extended edge portion.

14. The display defined in claim 13 wherein the extended edge portion is bent away from a plane defined by the plurality of display layers.

15. The display defined in claim 11 wherein the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures comprise a segmented organic light-emitting diode backlight unit.

16. The display of claim 11, wherein control signals from the thin-film-transistor layer control the organic light-emitting diode backlight structures.

17. A display, comprising:

a substrate having thin-film-transistor circuitry formed thereon;

organic emissive material on the substrate;

a layer of liquid crystal material, wherein the organic emissive material is interposed between the substrate and the layer of liquid crystal material;

thin-film transistor electrodes interposed between the layer of liquid crystal material and the organic emissive material;

a planarization layer interposed between the thin-film transistor electrodes and the organic emissive material;

a polarizer interposed between the organic emissive material and the planarization layer; and

at least one conductive via that couples conductive structures on the substrate to the thin-film-transistor electrodes.

18. The display defined in claim 17, wherein the thin-film-transistor electrodes are formed directly on the planarization layer.

19. The display defined in claim 18, further comprising an encapsulation layer formed over the organic emissive material.

20. The display defined in claim 19, further comprising a light polarizing layer interposed between the organic emissive material and the layer of liquid crystal material.

21. The display defined in claim 20 wherein the light polarizing layer is formed on the planarization layer.

22. A display comprising:

a liquid crystal display cell comprising an array of display pixels; and

an organic light-emitting diode backlight unit having a plurality of backlight pixels that share a common organic light-emitting diode layer and that provide white backlight to the entire array of display pixels, wherein each backlight pixel provides white backlight to a single corresponding display pixel in the array of display pixels, wherein each backlight pixel includes a plurality of color backlight sub-pixels and wherein, in combination, the plurality of color backlight sub-pixels in each backlight pixel are configured to generate the white backlight having a color temperature that is within a predetermined range of a desired color temperature.

23. The display defined in claim 22 wherein the desired color temperature comprises the color temperature of a standard illuminant.

24. The display defined in claim 23 wherein the predetermined range is between 6000K and 7000K.

25. A display comprising:

a liquid crystal display cell having an array of display pixels, wherein the liquid crystal display cell comprises a thin-film transistor layer having thin-film transistors on a substrate and a color filter layer with a plurality of color filter elements that have associated transmission peak wavelengths;

an organic light-emitting diode backlight unit having an organic light-emitting diode layer comprising thin-film transistors on an additional substrate that receive control signals from the thin-film transistor layer in the liquid crystal display cell, wherein the organic light-emitting diode layer includes a plurality of backlight pixels that provide backlight to the entire array of display pixels, wherein each backlight pixel includes a plurality of color backlight sub-pixels and wherein, in combination, the plurality of color backlight sub-pixels are configured to generate backlight having a spectrum that includes emission peaks at emission peak wavelengths that correspond to the transmission peak wavelengths of the color filter elements; and

a polarizer interposed between the liquid crystal display cell and the organic light-emitting diode layer, wherein the thin-film transistors on the additional substrate receive the control signals from the thin-film transistor layer in the liquid crystal display cell through a via that extends through the polarizer.

26. The display defined in claim 25, wherein at least one of the emission peak wavelengths is within 30 nanometers of the transmission peak wavelength of a corresponding one of the plurality of color filter elements.

27. The display defined in claim 25 wherein, for each backlight pixel, the plurality of color backlight sub-pixels comprises a first color backlight sub-pixel having a first width and a second color backlight sub-pixel having a second width and wherein the first width is larger than the second width.

28. The display defined in claim 27 wherein the first color backlight sub-pixel is a blue backlight sub-pixel.