Patent Application
20200361815
The disclosure relates generally to the field of glass articles, and specifically to glass articles with a transparent layer encoding spatial location information, such as for a digital inking system. Generally, conventional digital inking systems utilize electro-magnetic resonance or electrostatic capacitance to track position of a stylus across a screen of an electronic device. The tracked position of the stylus is converted to a digital representation of the writing, drawing or other image that is being formed via movement of the stylus.
One embodiment of the disclosure relates to a glass article including a glass layer. The glass layer includes a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface. The glass article includes a plurality of light converting regions disposed on the first major surface of the glass layer. Each of the plurality of light converting regions includes a layer of a first III-V compound and a layer of a second III-V compound. The first III-V compound is different from the second III-V compound. The plurality of light converting regions are arranged in a pattern relative to the first major surface which encodes information indicating a spatial location of each light converting region along the first major surface of the glass layer.
An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to an electronic display device configured for digital handwriting conversion. The electronic display device includes a housing and a cover glass layer supported by the housing. The cover glass layer includes an outward facing major surface and an inward facing major surface. The electronic display device includes a plurality of light converting regions located below the cover glass layer, and the plurality of light converting regions are arranged in a pattern relative to the outward facing major surface which encodes information indicating a spatial location of each light converting region relative to the outward facing major surface of the cover glass layer. The plurality of light converting regions are formed from an inorganic material that absorbs light having a wavelength less than 400 nm and that emits light having a peak wavelength greater than 650 nm in response to the absorbed light. A region of the electronic display device within the housing surrounding the plurality of light converting regions is not hermetically sealed such that the housing includes at least one pathway for oxygen to traverse into the housing to reach the plurality of light converting regions.
An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method of forming an article for a digital inking system. The method includes depositing a layer of light converting inorganic material onto a major surface of a sheet of transparent material in a pattern which encodes information indicating a spatial location of each region of the pattern along the major surface of the sheet of transparent material. The major surface of the sheet of transparent material and the layer of light converting inorganic material are exposed to oxygen during or following the depositing step. The light converting inorganic material is oxygen insensitive such that exposure to oxygen does not degrade the light converting inorganic material.
Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description that follows, and, in part, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing the embodiments as described in the written description and claims hereof, as well as the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary, and are intended to provide an overview or framework to understand the nature and character of the claims.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiment(s), and together with the description serve to explain principles and the operation of the various embodiments.
Referring generally to the figures, various embodiments of a glass article with a spatial location encoding layer are shown and described. The glass articles discussed herein may be utilized as part of a digital inking system in which a position of a stylus relative to a glass article and to the spatial location encoding layer are tracked to generate a digital representation of the stylus movements (e.g., a digital representation of writing, drawing, etc.). The glass article may be the cover glass of an electronic device, a glass layer bonded to a cover glass layer, a glass layer on top of the display stack, etc.
The spatial location encoding layer discussed herein is formed from a material that provides a unique combination of properties providing a combination of functionality not previously achieved in digital inking systems. In various embodiments, the spatial location encoding layer is formed from layers of different III-V compounds deposited on the glass material in a pattern that encodes spatial location. The spatial location encoding layer is formed from a material that absorbs UV light (and not light from the underlying display) and emits dark red, NIR, and/or IR light which results in a spatial location encoding layer that is transparent to visible spectrum. This allows the spatial location encoding layer discussed herein to be used in conjunction with display devices without degrading quality of the display, either through absorption of visible spectrum light or by emitting light in a pattern noticeable to user.
Further, in various embodiments, the material utilized for the spatial location encoding layer discussed herein is robust and environmentally stable. In particular, the materials discussed herein are generally not sensitive to oxygen, moisture and/or sunlight. This environment stability is believed to improve device performance by eliminating the need for hermetic sealing of the portion of the device housing the spatial location encoding layer. Further, the environmental stability also improves/simplifies manufacturability by allowing for exposure of the spatial location encoding layer to atmosphere, oxygen, and/or moisture during or following deposition of the spatial location encoding layer.
Referring to
Referring to
In general, as shown in an exemplary embodiment in
As noted above, in contrast to other digital inking systems, the light converting regions of spatial location encoding layer 16 are formed from a material that is invisible to the user, transparent to visible light and also environmentally stable. As shown in
While there are a wide variety of potential III-V compounds and stack arrangements that can be utilized, in specific embodiments, each light converting region 26 includes a first layer 30 of a first III-V compound and a first layer 32 of a second III-V compound located on the first layer 30. In such embodiments, each light converting region 26 includes a second layer 34 of the first III-V compound and a second layer 36 of the second III-V compound. In a specific embodiment, the first III-V compound is aluminum nitride (AlN), and the second III-V compound is gallium nitride (GaN).
In these specific embodiments, lattice parameter mismatches between the GaN layers and the AlN layers create a local strain at the interface between AlN layer and GaN layer, resulting in GaN/AlN quantum nano-structures. Such quantum nano-structures trap free current carriers (i.e., electrons and holes in a semiconductor), hence improving their radiative recombination rates. In particular, the quantum nano-structures absorb UV light and reemit light in the red, NIR or IR spectrum.
The stack of alternating III-V compounds discussed herein provide a number of advantages for use in a digital inking system. As one example, the stacked arrangement of AlN and GaN is particularly suitable for use with an electronic display device because it both absorbs and emits light outside of or near the ends of the visible spectrum. In particular, the stacked arrangement of AlN and GaN absorbs light having a wavelength less than or equal to 400 nm and emits light having both a peak wavelength greater than 650 nm and a substantial portion of emitted light in the NIR or IR wavelength ranges. Because the absorbed light is in the ultraviolet range, absorption of light by regions 26 does not result in regions being visible to the naked eye by distorting the light emitted from the underlying display, and because the majority of the emitted light is in the dark red or infrared range, emission of light by regions 26 does not distort the display provided by display 18.
The absorption and emission spectra of regions 26 are also used to track stylus movement without impacting image quality displayed by device 10. As will be discussed in more detail below regarding
In addition to the desirable absorption and emission spectra of regions 26, the III-V compound materials of spatial location encoding layer 16 are environmentally stable. It is Applicant's understanding that quantum dots are particularly susceptible to degradation in the presence of oxygen and moisture. In contrast to quantum dot-based devices, formation of spatial location encoding layer 16 utilizing the III-V compound materials, as discussed herein, allows housing 20 to be a non-hermetically sealed housing that includes at least one pathway that allows oxygen and/or moisture (e.g., from the atmosphere) to traverse the housing 20 to reach layer 16. It is Applicant's understanding that utilization of a quantum-dot based position encoding layer typically would require hermetic sealing of the device housing and/or manufacturing in oxygen and/or moisture free environments. In various embodiments, the glass article and position encoding layer materials discussed herein eliminates the need for such hermetic sealing and environmental control during manufacture.
In addition to being oxygen/moisture stable, the III-V compound materials of spatial location encoding layer 16 also are resistant to degradation in sunlight. In contrast, Applicant believes that UV absorbing inks and dyes typically have a relatively short half-life under sunlight exposure under normal operating conditions.
In various embodiments, the present disclosure provides for III-V compound-based spatial location patterning in combination with a variety of glass materials that provide suitable support for spatial location encoding layer 16 in a variety of applications. In one or more embodiments, glass layer 14 is a strengthened glass material. In such embodiments, glass layer 14 is strengthened to include compressive stress that extends from one or more surface (e.g., surfaces 22 and 24) to a depth of compression (DOC). The compressive stress regions are balanced by a central portion exhibiting a tensile stress. At the DOC, the stress crosses from a positive (compressive) stress to a negative (tensile) stress.
In some embodiments, glass layer 14 may be strengthened mechanically by utilizing a mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion between portions of the article to create a compressive stress region and a central region exhibiting a tensile stress. In some embodiments, glass layer 14 may be strengthened thermally by heating the glass to a temperature above the glass transition point and then rapidly quenching.
In some embodiments, glass layer 14 is formed from a chemically strengthened glass material. In such embodiments, glass layer 14 may be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. In the ion exchange process, ions at or near the surface of glass layer 14 are replaced by or exchanged with larger ions having the same valence or oxidation state. In those embodiments in which glass layer 14 comprises an alkali aluminosilicate glass, ions in the surface layer of the article are replaced by larger ions, such as monovalent alkali metal cations, such as Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+. Alternatively, monovalent cations in the surface layer may be replaced with monovalent cations other than alkali metal cations, such as Ag+ or the like. In such embodiments, the monovalent ions (or cations) exchanged into glass layer 14 generate a stress.
In specific embodiments, glass layer is formed from an alkali aluminosilicate glass composition, or an alkali aluminoborosilicate glass composition that is chemically strengthened via ion exchange. In some such embodiments, the chemically strengthened compression layer has a depth of compression (DOC) in a range from about 30 μm to about 90 μm and a compressive stress on inward facing surface 22 and/or outward facing surface 24 of between 300 MPa to 1000 MPa. In other embodiments, glass layer 14 is a soda lime glass material or any other glass material as may be needed for a particular electronic display device application.
In some such embodiments, device 10 is a mobile electronic device, and glass layer 14 is a chemically strengthened cover glass layer of the mobile electronic device. As shown in
As shown in the embodiments of
In this embodiment, as shown in
Referring to
In specific embodiments, cover glass layer 14 is formed from a first glass composition and support glass layer 50 is formed from a second glass composition different than the first glass composition. In some embodiments, cover glass layer 14 may be formed from a glass material that is not suitable for deposition of layer 16. For example, in some embodiments where cover glass layer 14 is a chemically strengthened glass layer, temperatures during deposition of the III-V materials of layer 16 may allow for ion migration within layer 14, thereby reducing the surface compression providing strength to cover glass layer 14. In such embodiments, support glass layer 50 may be a relatively thin piece of unstrengthened glass material to which layer 16 is bonded rather having layer 16 directly deposited on to cover glass layer 14. In such embodiments, following deposition of layer 16, support glass layer 50 may then be associated with cover glass layer 14 to provide position encoding of layer 16 without requiring the strengthened cover glass layer itself to be exposed to the high temperatures during deposition of layer 16. In some such embodiments, support glass layer 50 may be formed from a glass material having a glass transition temperature greater than 520 degrees C.
In general, support glass layer 50 is positioned within housing 20 such that layer 16 provides spatial location encoding relative to cover glass 14 as discussed above. In one embodiment, as shown in
Support glass layer 50 and display glass layer 60 may have a wide range of thicknesses depending on the size of device 10 and its position within device 10. In various embodiments, support glass 50 and/or display glass layer 60 have an average thickness between its first and second major surfaces of 0.1 mm to 3.2 mm. In specific embodiments, support glass 50 and/or display glass layer 60 may be a borosilicate glass (e.g., Willow Glass available from Corning, Inc.) having a thickness between 0.1 mm and 1 mm. In other embodiments, support glass 50 and/or display glass layer 60 may have a large area (e.g., for use in large TV sized displays) and may be formed from soda lime glass having a thickness between 1 mm and 3.2 mm.
As shown in
In various embodiments, the disclosure herein relates to a method of forming a glass article having a position encoding layer 16 (e.g., glass article 12, support glass layer 50, etc.). In such embodiments, one or more layer of a light converting inorganic material is deposited onto a major surface of a sheet of transparent material (e.g., glass 14, support glass 50, a plastic material, other suitable transparent material, etc.) in a pattern which encodes the spatial location of each region of the pattern along the major surface of the sheet of transparent material. In specific embodiments, the deposited light converting inorganic material includes the III-V compounds deposited to form regions 26 as discussed above. In various embodiments, the major surface of the sheet of transparent material and the layer of light converting inorganic material are exposed to oxygen during or following the step of depositing the inorganic light converting material. In some such embodiments, the light converting inorganic material is oxygen insensitive such that exposure to oxygen does not degrade the light converting inorganic material. In specific embodiments, details of the light converting inorganic material and deposition processes are found in published PCT application, WO 2017/089857, published Jun. 1, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In use, a user grips body 104 and moves stylus 102 across cover glass layer 14 in a motion to form writing, drawings, etc. As tip 110 engages glass layer 14, a switch (e.g., a switch in the tip) is triggered causing activation of UV light source 106 (e.g., a UV LED) which directs UV light through cover glass 14. The UV light from light source 106 is absorbed by specific light converting regions 26 as stylus is moved over them, and in turn, the light converting regions 26 that absorbed UV light emit light (e.g., dark red, NIR, IR, light have a peak wavelength at 650 nm, etc.), which is detected by optical sensor 108. Communications system 112 of stylus 102 communicates information indicative of the position of the light converting regions 26 that where stimulated via the UV light to a processing system 114. In some embodiments, the pattern of the observed dots is decoded to determine absolute position, then that position can be communicated. As shown in
Because the pattern of light converting regions 26 encode their absolute spatial location relative to cover glass 14 (as discussed above) and because light converting regions 26 are stimulated in response to the movement of stylus 102 over cover glass 14, the positional information communicated to processing system 114 from stylus 102 represents the movement of stylus relative to cover glass 14. From this information, processing system 114 is configured to cause the display of a digital image via a display of electronic device 10 that is representative of the tracked movement of stylus 102. In contrast to touchscreen-based digital inking systems, digital inking system 100 is not sensitive to contact between glass 14 and a user's hand, and thus allows the user to adopt a natural writing position with the hand resting on or touching the glass.
In various embodiments, the position information from stylus 102 can also be provided to a remote display to display the digital image representing stylus movement. For example, if a professor were giving a lecture to a live classroom using a PowerPoint deck upon which he was adding annotations, those annotations could be observed on an in-class display device, as well as remotely by those listening in (or even later in time as the digital ink could be synchronized with audio or video of a recording of the lecture).
Stylus 102 may be powered by a variety of suitable power supplies. In a specific embodiment, stylus 102 is powered by a rechargeable battery, such as lithium ion battery.
In various embodiments, stylus 102 is configured in a variety of ways to safely operate its UV light source. For example, the switch 118 located in tip 110 of the stylus 102 ensures that the UV light source 106 emits only when tip 110 is depressed. Further, when tip 110 is depressed, optical sensor 108 can start imaging, allowing system 100 to begin detection of activated regions 26 and determination of stylus position, as discussed above. As another safety feature, if such dots are not quickly identified (indicating that stylus 102 is not being directed toward glass layer 14 and layer 16), system 100 is configured to turn off UV light source 106 until tip 110 of stylus 102 is released and then is depressed again following release. This avoids the possibility of manually depressing the stylus tip when UV light source 106 can impinge upon one's eyes.
In some embodiments, system 100 may also include an erasing tool similar to stylus 102. In such embodiments, the erasing tool also has a UV light source and optical sensor, which causes erasing of previously drawn images by moving the eraser over glass 14. In some embodiments, stylus 102 may have an eraser mode allowing it to operate as both the writing stylus and eraser.
In some embodiments, the emission spectrum of the material of layer 16 may overlap with the visible light from the display of electronic device 10. In such embodiments, optical sensor 108 is equipped with a filter to suppress display output, while allowing only IR portions of the emission spectra from regions 26 to reach sensor 108.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is not otherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is in no way intended that any particular order be inferred. In addition, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more component or element, and is not intended to be construed as meaning only one.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosed embodiments. Since modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and variations of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the embodiments may occur to persons skilled in the art, the disclosed embodiments should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/548,545 filed on Aug. 22, 2017 the contents of which are relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth below.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US18/47063 | 8/20/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62548545 | Aug 2017 | US |
