Cover Window Color Layer for Concealing IR Sensor Holes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with sensor holes in the cover window compromise the external appearance, leading to an inferior aesthetic experience.
Innovation Solution
A cover window design where the sensor hole is not visible from the outside, achieved by carefully managing the color and transmissivity of light in the IR sensor hole area to match the surrounding area, using a color layer that allows specific wavelengths of light to be input, ensuring the hole blends in with the peripheral appearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sensor hole is formed in the cover window to enable IR sensor functionality, then the sensor can detect proximity and illumination, but the external appearance deteriorates due to the visible hole
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by forming a color layer around the sensor hole that matches the surrounding cover window area. This color layer reflects or absorbs light to create visual continuity, making the sensor hole invisible from the outside while maintaining the necessary light transmission for sensor operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating a color layer with specific optical properties only in the region surrounding the sensor hole, while the rest of the cover window maintains its original properties. This localized treatment allows the sensor hole area to blend with the surrounding area, concealing the hole's presence.
2Reliability
If the cover window is made transparent to allow light transmission for the sensor, then the sensor can function properly, but the sensor hole becomes visible from the outside
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color changes by forming a color layer that modifies the optical properties of the cover window in the sensor hole region. This layer creates a visual match with the surrounding area, concealing the hole while maintaining the necessary light transmission characteristics for sensor operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies composite materials by combining the cover window material with a color layer material. This composite structure provides both the light transmission properties needed for sensor functionality and the visual matching properties needed to conceal the sensor hole from external view.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively conceals the sensor hole, maintaining an integral and aesthetically pleasing external appearance while supporting the necessary functionality of the IR sensor.
Implementation Method 1
a color layer 430, and a black masking layer 450... the color layer 430 may have a first area 405 corresponding to a sensor hole area 490... light of a specific wavelength band is transmitted
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a
Figure 2b~3
AI summary
An electronic device includes a processor and a housing having a first surface, a second surface, and a side surface. A touch screen display is exposed through a first area of the first surface. An optical sensor is disposed under a second area of the first surface that is adjacent to the first area. The optical sensor receives and/or emits an infrared ray. The first surface includes a substantially transparent glass layer, an opaque layer disposed between the glass layer and the second surface, and a color layer disposed between the opaque layer and the glass layer. The opaque layer includes an opening, a location and a size of which correspond to at least a portion of the optical sensor when viewed from the first surface. The optical sensor receives and/or emits the infrared ray through the opening, the color layer, and the glass layer.