Ambient light sensor window coatings for electronic devices

• US 10,591,351 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2019
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Jia, Zhang, Matsuyuki, Naoto, Rogers, Matthew S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John R
• Application Number:
  US16/375,650
• Publication Number:
  US 20190234794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 348 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0219 Electrical interface; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0233 Handheld
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0247 using a charging unit
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0271 Housings; Attachments or accessories for photometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0407 Optical elements not provided otherwise, e.g. manifolds, windows, holograms, gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0418 using attenuators
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0422 using light concentrators, collectors or condensers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0459 using an optical amplifier of light or coatings to improve optical coupling
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/4204 with determination of ambient light solar light G01J2001/4266
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0205 Optical elements not provided otherwise, e.g. optical manifolds, diffusers, windows
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0213 using attenuators
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0216 using light concentrators or collectors or condensers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0264 Electrical interface; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0272 Handheld
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0283 using a charging unit
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/50 using electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/115 Multilayers
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/116 including electrically conducting layers
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/00 Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the variable information is permanently attached to a movable support G09F11/00; abacus G06C1/00; slide-rules G06G1/00

Abstract

An electronic device may have a display with a cover layer. An ambient light sensor may be aligned with an ambient light sensor window formed from an opening in a masking layer on the cover layer in an inactive portion of the display. To help mask the ambient light sensor window from view, the ambient light sensor window may be provided with a black coating that matches the appearance of surrounding masking layer material while allowing light to reach the ambient light sensor. The black coating may be formed from a black physical vapor deposition thin-film inorganic layer with a high index of refraction. An antireflection layer formed from a stack of dielectric layers may be interposed between the black thin-film inorganic layer and the display cover layer.

Claims

1. An electronic device having an interior and an exterior, the electronic device comprising:

a display;

a transparent structure that has a first surface that faces the interior and an opposing second surface; and

a coating on the first surface of the transparent structure, wherein the coating has a physical vapor deposition thin-film coating and a stack of dielectric layers interposed between the physical vapor deposition thin-film coating and the transparent structure.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the transparent structure comprises a display cover layer for the display.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the display has an active area and an inactive area and wherein the coating overlaps the inactive area.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the physical vapor deposition thin-film coating comprises a metal nitride.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 wherein the physical vapor deposition thin-film coating comprises aluminum titanium nitride.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the transparent structure comprises a material selected from the group consisting of:

glass, plastic, ceramic, and sapphire.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a light sensor, wherein the transparent structure has a portion forming a window that is aligned with the light sensor.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the coating is in the window of the transparent structure and wherein light incident on the transparent structure passes through the window and the coating to reach the light sensor.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the light sensor is a color sensing light sensor.

10. An electronic device having an interior and an exterior, the electronic device comprising:

a transparent layer having a first surface that faces the interior and an opposing second surface;

a display that is overlapped by the transparent layer; and

a coating on the first surface of the transparent layer, wherein the coating includes a physical vapor deposition thin-film coating and an antireflection coating between the physical vapor deposition thin-film coating and the transparent layer.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 further comprising a color sensing light sensor, wherein the transparent layer has a window and the color sensing light sensor is aligned with the window.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein the coating is interposed between the color sensing light sensor and the window.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the antireflection coating comprises a plurality of thin-film layers, and wherein at least some of the thin-film layers of the plurality of thin-film layers have different indices of refraction.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the plurality of thin-film layers are formed from materials selected from the group consisting of:

metal oxides, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and oxynitride.

15. An electronic device comprising:

a transparent structure;

a display that is overlapped by the transparent structure; and

a coating on a portion of the transparent structure, wherein the coating comprises a physical vapor deposition thin-film coating and a stack of dielectric layers interposed between the physical vapor deposition thin-film coating and the transparent structure.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the physical vapor deposition thin-film coating is configured to allow some light incident on the transparent structure to pass through the coating.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the physical vapor deposition thin-film coating is less than 500 nm thick.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the stack of dielectric layers comprises a stack of metal oxide layers having alternating higher and lower indices of refraction.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the transparent structure comprises a window, the electronic device further comprising:

a light sensor that is overlapped by the window in the transparent structure.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein the light sensor is a color sensing light sensor and wherein the coating is interposed between the color sensing light sensor and the transparent structure.