The present disclosure relates generally to electronic displays and, more particularly, to increasing overall visible area for an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, are commonly used in a wide variety of electronic devices, including such electronic devices as televisions, computers, and hand-held devices (e.g., cellular telephones, audio and video players, gaming systems, and so forth). Such display panels typically provide a flat display in a relatively thin package that is suitable for use in a variety of electronic goods. In addition, such devices typically use less power than comparable display technologies, making them suitable for use in battery-powered devices or in other contexts where it is desirable to reduce power usage.
Electronic displays typically include a border around the display. This border may be utilized to conceal, for example, drive circuitry used to operate the display. However, use of this border reduces the overall visible space available to display images. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to implement a system that increases the overall usable space for a display by reducing the impact of borders around the display.
A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
Systems and methods are disclosed that extending the overall visible display area for an electronic device. One technique for extending the overall viewable area of an electronic device includes increasing pixel pitch (i.e., the distance between adjacent pixels) in border regions of the electronic device. In this manner, drive circuitry elements may be interspersed between pixel elements of the device in the border region to increase the overall viewing area of a display of the device. Another technique may include utilizing a light pipe to transmit light generated in an active pixel area of the display of the electronic device to an area that does not generate light, for example, over the area of the display containing the drive circuitry. Further techniques may include adjusting the size and or intensity of pixels in a border region adjacent, for example, drive circuitry in an effort to extend the overall perceived display area of the electronic device.
Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
Present embodiments relate to techniques for efficiently increasing the perceived display area of a display for an electronic device. These techniques may include increasing pixel pitch (i.e., the distance between adjacent pixels) in border regions of the electronic device and utilizing the empty space between pixels to include drive circuitry. That is, drive circuitry elements may be interspersed between pixel elements of the device in the border region of the device to increase the overall viewing area of a display of the device.
Another embodiment may include utilizing a light pipe to transmit light generated in an active pixel area of the display of the electronic device to an area that does not generate light. For example, light may be transmitted via the light pipe to an area of the display containing the drive circuitry. Additional embodiments may include adjusting the size and or intensity of pixels in a border region adjacent to, for example, drive circuitry, in an effort to extend the overall perceived display area of the electronic device.
With the foregoing in mind,
In general, the processor(s) 12 may govern the operation of the electronic device 10. The processor(s) 12 may provide the processing capability to execute the operating system, programs, user and application interfaces, and any other functions of the electronic device 10. The processor(s) 12 may include one or more microprocessors, such as one or more “general-purpose” microprocessors, one or more special-purpose microprocessors and/or ASICS, or some combination of such processing components. For example, the processor(s) 12 may include one or more reduced instruction set (RISC) processors, as well as graphics processors, video processors, audio processors and/or related chip sets.
The instructions or data to be processed by the processor(s) 12 may be stored in a computer-readable medium, such as a memory 16. Such a memory 16 may be provided as a volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM), and/or as a non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM). The memory 16 may store a variety of information and may be used for various purposes. For example, the memory 16 may store firmware for the electronic device 10 (such as a basic input/output instruction or operating system instructions), various programs, applications, or routines executed on the electronic device 10, user interface functions, processor functions, and so forth. In addition, the memory 16 may be used for buffering or caching during operation of the electronic device 10.
The components of electronic device 10 may further include other forms of computer-readable media, such as a non-volatile storage 18, for persistent storage of data and/or instructions. The non-volatile storage 18 may include flash memory, a hard drive, or any other optical, magnetic, and/or solid-state storage media. The non-volatile storage 18 may be used, for example, to store firmware, data files, software, wireless connection information, and any other suitable data.
In some embodiments, based on instructions loaded into the memory 16 from the nonvolatile storage 18, the processor(s) 12 may respond to user touch gestures input via the display 14. The display 14 may be an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. Accordingly, the display 14 may be used to display various images generated by the device 10. Additionally, in certain embodiments of the electronic device 10, the display 14 may be provided in conjunction with touch-sensitive element, such as a touch screen, that may be used as part of the control interface for the device 10. In this manner, the display 14 may represent one of the input structures 20 by providing interactive functionality, thus allowing a user to navigate the displayed interface by touching the display 10.
Other input structures 20 may include, for example, buttons, sliders, switches, control pads, keys, knobs, scroll wheels, keyboards, mice, touchpads, and so forth. Accordingly, the input structures 20 may include various devices and/or circuitry by which user input or feedback is provided to the processor(s) 12. For example, the input structures 20 may allow a user to navigate a displayed user interface or application interface. In this way, the displayed interface may provide interactive functionality, allowing a user to navigate the displayed interface by touching the display 10.
The electronic device may also include an I/O interface 22. The I/O interface 22 may enable the electronic device 10 to transmit data to and receive data from other electronic devices 10 and/or various peripheral devices. The I/O interface 22 may thus include ports configured to connect to a variety of external devices, such as a power source, headset or headphones, external keyboards, mice, or other electronic devices (such as handheld devices and/or computers, printers, projectors, external displays, modems, docking stations, and so forth). The I/O interface 22 may support any interface type, such as a universal serial bus (USB) port, a video port, a serial connection port, an II-EE-1394 port, and/or an Ethernet or modem port.
Additionally, the electronic device 10 may include a network interface 24 that may include a network controller or a network interface card (NIC). Thus, in one embodiment, the network interface 24 may be a wireless NIC providing wireless connectivity over any 802.11 standard or any other suitable wireless networking standard. The network interface 24 may allow the electronic device 10 to communicate over a network, such as a personal area network (PAN) (e.g., Bluetooth), a local area network (LAN) (e.g., Wi-Fi), a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., 3G or 4G).
The embodiment of the electronic device 10 illustrated in
Additionally, the electronic device 10 may also include a power source 28. In one embodiment, the power source 28 may be one or more batteries, such as a lithium-ion polymer battery or other type of suitable battery. The battery may be user-removable or may be secured within the housing of the electronic device 10, and may be rechargeable. Additionally, the power source 28 may include AC power, such as provided by an electrical outlet, and the electronic device 10 may be connected to the power source 28 via a power adapter. This power adapter may also be used to recharge one or more batteries of the electronic device 10, if present.
One embodiment of the electronic device 10 of
As illustrated, the computer 30 may have a perceived active area 34 for the display 14 on which a user may perceive images as being displayed. As will be discussed in greater detail below with respect to
In addition to computers, such as the depicted laptop computer 30 of
The handheld device 40 may include a display 14 that may include an OLED display panel. The display 14 may be used to display a graphical user interface (GUI), which may allows a user to interact with the handheld device 40. For example, the GUI may include graphical elements that represent applications and functions of the electronic device such as icons 35 and/or indicators 37. The icons 35 may be selected and/or activated via a touch screen included in the display 10, or may be selected by a user input structure 20, such as a wheel or button. The handheld device may further include other elements, such as a camera 39 and a speaker 41.
The handheld device 40 may also include an enclosure 42 or body that protects the interior components of the handheld electronic device 40 from physical damage and shields them from electromagnetic interference. The enclosure may be formed from any suitable material such as plastic, metal or a composite material and may allow certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation to pass through to wireless communication circuitry within the handheld device 40 to facilitate wireless communication.
The handheld device 40 also includes user input structures 20, through which a user may interface with the device. Each user input structure 20 may be configured to help control a device function of the handheld device 40 when actuated. For example, in a cellular telephone implementation, one or more of the input structures 20 may be configured to invoke a “home” screen or menu to be displayed, to toggle between a sleep and a wake mode, to silence a ringer for a cell phone application, to increase or decrease a volume output, and so forth. The handheld device 40 may additionally include various I/O interfaces 22 that allow connection of the handheld device 40 to external devices. For example, one I/O interface 22 may be a port that allows the transmission and reception of data or commands between the handheld device 40 and another electronic device, such as the computer 30. Such a port may be a proprietary port from Apple Inc. or may be an open standard I/O port. Another I/O interface 22 may include a headphone jack to allow a headset to connect to the handheld device 40.
Furthermore, similar to the computer 30 illustrated in
With the foregoing discussion in mind, it may be appreciated that an electronic device 10 in either the form of a computer 30 or a handheld device 40 may be provided with a display 14 that includes an OLED display panel or layer. Such a display 14 may be utilized to display the respective operating system and application interfaces running on the electronic device 10 and/or to display data, images, or other visual outputs associated with an operation of the electronic device 10. Furthermore, techniques to increase the perceived size of this display 14 will be discussed below.
Turning now to
Thus, as shown in the present embodiment, each pixel 44 includes an organic light emitting diode (OLED) capable of emitting light of a particular color. Each unit pixel 44 may be electrically connected drive circuitry, represented in column 52. This drive circuitry may select any particular pixel on a given line (horizontal selection) and column (vertical selection). Thus, the drive circuitry in column 52 may operate to activate and/or provide a brightness control signal to any given pixel 44 in the array. In conjunction, as various pixels 44 are activated, an overall image is generated on the display 14.
In addition to drive circuitry in column 52, the display 14 includes an inactive border area 54. This inactive border 54 area may correspond to a mask, which may be a dark area through which no light may be emitted. Thus, the display 14 may include an active area 56 that includes each of the pixels 44 in the array (e.g., light emitting elements), as well as a passive area 58 of the display 14 that includes no light generating elements. As such, the viewable area 60 of the display 14 (i.e., the area of the display that is illuminated to a user) corresponds to the size of the active area 56. This is further shown in
As illustrated in
In one embodiment, the light pipe 66 may extend the thickness of the protective covering surface 62 by an amount 72 equal to, for example, approximately 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 33%, 40%, 45%, 50% or more of the thickness of the protective covering surface 62 in flat area 70. Additionally, the light pipe may extend from the flat area 70 of the protective covering surface 62 at an angle 68 of, for example, approximately 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30?, 33%, 40% or more with respect to the flat area 70. In this manner, through the use of the light pipe 66, the viewable area 64 of the display 14 covers both the pixels 44 and the drive circuitry in column 52, thus generating a perceived active area 36 greater than perceived active area 34 of
In the illustrated example in
As illustrated in
Accordingly, through the use of smaller pixels 44 driven at a greater intensity in the condensed active area 90, viewable area 92 may be generated. It should be noted that this viewable area 92 is larger than the viewable area 60 of
The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments ay be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/150,278, filed May 9, 2016, which is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/251,103, filed Sep. 30, 2011, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. This application claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/150,278, filed May 9, 2016, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/251,103, filed Sep. 30, 2011.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4761641 | Schreiber | Aug 1988 | A |
4904049 | Hegg | Feb 1990 | A |
5552911 | Okada et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
5574836 | Brommelsiek | Nov 1996 | A |
5751272 | Silverbrook et al. | May 1998 | A |
5777704 | Selker | Jul 1998 | A |
5793345 | Silverbrook | Aug 1998 | A |
5805136 | Silverbrook et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
6199995 | Umemoto et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6417523 | Swanson | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6433846 | Omar et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6585386 | Yano et al. | Jul 2003 | B1 |
6903716 | Kawabe et al. | Jun 2005 | B2 |
6917368 | Credelle et al. | Jul 2005 | B2 |
6927908 | Stark | Aug 2005 | B2 |
7177097 | Lim et al. | Feb 2007 | B2 |
7187825 | Lim et al. | Mar 2007 | B2 |
7248271 | Credelle et al. | Jul 2007 | B2 |
7362478 | Mangerson | Apr 2008 | B2 |
7551372 | Xun et al. | Jun 2009 | B2 |
7592971 | Chang et al. | Sep 2009 | B2 |
7629945 | Baudisch | Dec 2009 | B2 |
7663715 | Jin et al. | Feb 2010 | B2 |
7710528 | Hasegawa et al. | May 2010 | B2 |
7719756 | Jung et al. | May 2010 | B2 |
7733436 | Suzuki | Jun 2010 | B2 |
7856161 | Tabor | Dec 2010 | B2 |
7864203 | Fear et al. | Jan 2011 | B1 |
7889215 | Brown Elliott et al. | Feb 2011 | B2 |
7916156 | Brown Elliott et al. | Mar 2011 | B2 |
8035760 | Kim et al. | Oct 2011 | B2 |
8085216 | Miller | Dec 2011 | B2 |
8094261 | Fujita et al. | Jan 2012 | B2 |
8212742 | Chang et al. | Jul 2012 | B2 |
8237718 | Lum et al. | Aug 2012 | B2 |
8264433 | Nakai et al. | Sep 2012 | B2 |
8300165 | Yokoyama et al. | Oct 2012 | B2 |
8368729 | Watanabe | Feb 2013 | B2 |
8373630 | Odoi et al. | Feb 2013 | B2 |
8376601 | Yashiro | Feb 2013 | B2 |
8395569 | Min et al. | Mar 2013 | B2 |
8405692 | Brown Elliott et al. | Mar 2013 | B2 |
8411026 | Sampsell | Apr 2013 | B2 |
8421820 | Brown Elliott et al. | Apr 2013 | B2 |
8451405 | Roth et al. | May 2013 | B2 |
8472114 | Watanabe | Jun 2013 | B2 |
8477439 | Imai | Jul 2013 | B2 |
8502816 | Butler et al. | Aug 2013 | B2 |
8502844 | Fear et al. | Aug 2013 | B1 |
8531623 | Watanabe | Sep 2013 | B2 |
8541934 | Watanabe et al. | Sep 2013 | B2 |
8605238 | Matsui et al. | Dec 2013 | B2 |
8619210 | Watanabe | Dec 2013 | B2 |
8659504 | Imamura et al. | Feb 2014 | B2 |
8687135 | Son | Apr 2014 | B2 |
8690414 | Tomotoshi et al. | Apr 2014 | B2 |
8692737 | Watanabe et al. | Apr 2014 | B2 |
8723824 | Myers et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
8730425 | Ji et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
8749729 | Sasaki et al. | Jun 2014 | B2 |
8766885 | Van de Ven et al. | Jul 2014 | B2 |
8773477 | Erinjippurath et al. | Jul 2014 | B2 |
8780015 | Watanabe | Jul 2014 | B2 |
8797234 | Watanabe et al. | Aug 2014 | B2 |
8797305 | Imamura et al. | Aug 2014 | B2 |
8810698 | Hiramoto et al. | Aug 2014 | B2 |
8830277 | Higashi et al. | Sep 2014 | B2 |
8830695 | Grespan | Sep 2014 | B2 |
8847246 | Ryu et al. | Sep 2014 | B2 |
8879022 | Oh | Nov 2014 | B2 |
8890047 | Solhusvik et al. | Nov 2014 | B2 |
8928567 | Huang et al. | Jan 2015 | B2 |
8953338 | Wu et al. | Feb 2015 | B2 |
8976324 | Yang et al. | Mar 2015 | B2 |
9041620 | Watanabe | May 2015 | B2 |
9075258 | Wantanabe | Jul 2015 | B2 |
9972670 | Yamazaki et al. | May 2018 | B2 |
10067535 | Prest | Sep 2018 | B2 |
20010046365 | Bohle et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
20020000967 | Huston et al. | Jan 2002 | A1 |
20020167531 | Baudisch | Nov 2002 | A1 |
20030169247 | Kawabe et al. | Sep 2003 | A1 |
20040051944 | Stark | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20040095617 | Mangerson | May 2004 | A1 |
20040174375 | Credelle et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
20050134600 | Credelle et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050135741 | Lim et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20060007054 | Chang et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
20060007369 | Jin et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
20060031782 | Houmura | Feb 2006 | A1 |
20060044234 | Shimonishi | Mar 2006 | A1 |
20060077544 | Stark | Apr 2006 | A1 |
20060158746 | Lim et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
20060207145 | Kim et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
20070045640 | Erchak et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
20070046851 | Fujita et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
20070176950 | Brown Elliott et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20080079863 | Jung et al. | Apr 2008 | A1 |
20080165316 | Hasegawa et al. | Jul 2008 | A1 |
20080180923 | Grespan | Jul 2008 | A1 |
20080218660 | Suzuki | Sep 2008 | A1 |
20080231567 | Van de Ven et al. | Sep 2008 | A1 |
20080232751 | Tabor | Sep 2008 | A1 |
20080291354 | Oh | Nov 2008 | A1 |
20080309633 | Hotelling et al. | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20090027427 | Takasuka | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20090046108 | Brown Elliott et al. | Feb 2009 | A1 |
20090059366 | Imai | Mar 2009 | A1 |
20090085831 | Odoi et al. | Apr 2009 | A1 |
20090096948 | Yokoyama | Apr 2009 | A1 |
20090102862 | Miller | Apr 2009 | A1 |
20090103191 | Xun et al. | Apr 2009 | A1 |
20090135214 | Suzuki | May 2009 | A1 |
20090185095 | Kim et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090207475 | Jung et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
20090243980 | Nakai et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
20090309810 | Chang et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
20100073272 | Yamazaki et al. | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20100073593 | Saska et al. | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20100110048 | Min et al. | May 2010 | A1 |
20100149208 | Brown Elliott et al. | Jun 2010 | A1 |
20100157577 | Montgomery et al. | Jun 2010 | A1 |
20100214509 | Sasak et al. | Aug 2010 | A1 |
20100238090 | Pomerantz et al. | Sep 2010 | A1 |
20100246210 | Yashiro | Sep 2010 | A1 |
20100259566 | Watanabe | Oct 2010 | A1 |
20110025594 | Watanabe | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20110037929 | Roth et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20110096108 | Brown Elliott et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
20110102302 | Watanabe et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
20110109535 | Watanabe et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
20110109622 | Son | May 2011 | A1 |
20110128463 | Ji et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
20110164076 | Lee | Jul 2011 | A1 |
20110164200 | Watanabe | Jul 2011 | A1 |
20110234869 | Hiramoto et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
20110234949 | Matsui et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
20110242686 | Watanabe | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20110249021 | Yoshida et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20110255301 | Watanabe | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20110279426 | Imamura et al. | Nov 2011 | A1 |
20110279487 | Imamura et al. | Nov 2011 | A1 |
20110279755 | Nittou | Nov 2011 | A1 |
20110285934 | Watanabe | Nov 2011 | A1 |
20110291119 | Ryu et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
20110316867 | Lum et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
20120008340 | Tomotoshi et al. | Jan 2012 | A1 |
20120013649 | Higashi et al. | Jan 2012 | A1 |
20120026216 | Brown Elliott et al. | Feb 2012 | A1 |
20120038571 | Susani | Feb 2012 | A1 |
20120049718 | Watanabe | Mar 2012 | A1 |
20120050342 | Huang et al. | Mar 2012 | A1 |
20120062575 | Sampsell | Mar 2012 | A1 |
20120062607 | Erinjippurath et al. | Mar 2012 | A1 |
20120081874 | Wu et al. | Apr 2012 | A1 |
20120139897 | Butler et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
20120236483 | Watanabe | Sep 2012 | A1 |
20120293744 | Watanabe | Nov 2012 | A1 |
20130068929 | Solhusvik et al. | Mar 2013 | A1 |
20130076609 | Inada | Mar 2013 | A1 |
20130076649 | Myers et al. | Mar 2013 | A1 |
20130082901 | Watanabe et al. | Apr 2013 | A1 |
20130083080 | Rappoport et al. | Apr 2013 | A1 |
20140016071 | Yang et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
20140092028 | Prest et al. | Apr 2014 | A1 |
20140092346 | Yang et al. | Apr 2014 | A1 |
20160253965 | Rappoport et al. | Sep 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
101162334 | Apr 2008 | CN |
101188081 | May 2008 | CN |
101339342 | Jan 2009 | CN |
2306437 | Jun 2011 | EP |
2423906 | Feb 2012 | EP |
2439582 | Nov 2012 | EP |
60227232 | Nov 1985 | JP |
2006139058 | Jun 2006 | JP |
10-2000-020849 | Apr 2000 | KR |
200242838 | May 2002 | WO |
2009122691 | Oct 2009 | WO |
2010055671 | May 2010 | WO |
2010070871 | Jun 2010 | WO |
2010122781 | Oct 2010 | WO |
2011093243 | Aug 2011 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190035329 A1 | Jan 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 13251103 | Sep 2011 | US |
Child | 15150278 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 15150278 | May 2016 | US |
Child | 16148928 | US |