Apple wins a patent describing the elimination of the Dreaded Notch via Cameras under the Display
I'm sure that if and when Apple finally kills the dreaded notch on iPhone's and MacBooks, there will be tens of millions cheering from the rooftops. It's the number one question I get from fans: When will Apple kill the notch?! To date we've covered a few patents on this subject (01 and 02) and today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent relating to this.
Today's granted patent was originally filed in Europe. While this granted patent doesn't guarantee that Apple will bring this feature to market, it definitely proves that their engineering teams are working hard to find the right workable solution that will preserve Face ID quality while giving users a full display for content.
Displays having Transparent Openings
Apple's patent covers an electronic device (iPhone) that may include a display and an optical sensor formed underneath the display.
Apple explains that the electronic device may include a plurality of non-pixel regions that overlap the optical sensor. Each non-pixel region may he devoid of thin-film transistors and other display components. The plurality of non-pixel regions is configured to increase the transmittance of light through the display to the sensor. The non-pixel regions may therefore be referred to as transparent windows in the display.
Light passing through the transparent windows may have associated diffraction artifacts based on the pattern of the transparent windows. To mitigate diffraction artifacts, a first sensor may sense light through a first pixel removal region having transparent windows arranged according to a first pattern. A second sensor may sense light through a second pixel removal region having transparent windows arranged according to a second pattern that is different than the first pattern.
The first and second patterns of the transparent windows may result in the first and second sensors having different diffraction artifacts. Therefore, an image from the first sensor may be corrected for diffraction artifacts based on an image from the second sensor. There may be a gradual transition between a full pixel density region of the display and a pixel removal region in the display.
In one arrangement, thin-film transistor sub-pixels may be smaller than a pixel area for a given sub-pixel, providing a transparent opening around the periphery of each thin-film transistor sub-pixel. To mitigate back emission that is sensed by the sensor under the display, the display may include a black pixel definition layer.
Additionally light absorbing layers may be coated on metal layers in the thin-film transistor layer of the display to mitigate back emission. Signal lines in the pixel removal region may be transparent.
Apple's patent FIGS. 18A-18F below are front views showing how the display (#14) may have one or more localized pixel removal regions in which the pixels are selectively removed. Apple shows that they could hide the cameras in specific areas of a display or, as in FIG. 18F, have the pixel removal region covering the entire display surface where a user wouldn't be able to see the cameras.
Apple's patent FIG. 3 below is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative display stack that at least partially covers a sensor; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative display stack with a pixel removal region that includes an opening in a substrate layer in accordance with an embodiment.
Apple's patent FIGS. 6A-6F below are top views of illustrative displays showing possible positions for pixel removal regions; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device that includes uniformity compensation circuitry for mitigating the visibility of a boundary between a pixel removal region and a full pixel density region.
For more details, review Apple's granted patent 11823620.
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