Dual-Viewing-Angle Display Structure for Screen Privacy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing electronic devices struggle to provide privacy in display settings while maintaining visibility for the user, as conventional displays do not effectively manage viewing angles to prevent others from seeing the screen content.

Innovation Solution

The display structure includes first and second sub-pixels with different viewing angles, where first sub-pixels have narrower viewing angles due to opaque portions, and second sub-pixels have wider viewing angles, allowing for a private mode by deactivating wider-angle sub-pixels to restrict visibility to unauthorized viewers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If conventional displays are used with uniform viewing angles, then manufacturing is simple and device complexity is low, but privacy protection is insufficient as screen content is visible to unauthorized viewers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy protectionVSAvoiddisplay structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The display is segmented into two distinct types of sub-pixels: first sub-pixels with narrow viewing angles and second sub-pixels with wide viewing angles. This segmentation allows different regions of the display to serve different functional purposes, with narrow-angle sub-pixels providing privacy protection and wide-angle sub-pixels providing general visibility, thereby resolving the contradiction between privacy protection and device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different viewing angle characteristics are applied to different sub-pixels based on their functional requirements. First sub-pixels are designed with narrow viewing angles for privacy-sensitive areas, while second sub-pixels maintain wide viewing angles for general display areas. This local differentiation of quality allows the display to provide privacy protection where needed without unnecessarily increasing complexity across the entire display structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Object-affected harmful factors

If narrow viewing angle sub-pixels are used for privacy, then unauthorized viewing is prevented, but visibility for the intended user is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveunauthorized viewing preventionVSAvoidscreen visibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSIllumination intensity

Solution Approach 1:

The display is divided into first sub-pixels with narrow viewing angles for privacy protection and second sub-pixels with wide viewing angles for optimal user visibility. By segmenting the display into these two types, the system prevents unauthorized viewing through narrow-angle sub-pixels while maintaining excellent visibility for the intended user through wide-angle sub-pixels, thus resolving the contradiction between preventing unauthorized viewing and ensuring user visibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different viewing angle properties are assigned to different sub-pixel types according to their specific functional roles. First sub-pixels are optimized with narrow viewing angles to prevent unauthorized viewing, while second sub-pixels are optimized with wide viewing angles to ensure the intended user can view the screen content clearly and comfortably, thereby resolving the local quality contradiction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of operation

If wide viewing angle sub-pixels are used for user visibility, then screen content is easily viewed by the user, but privacy is compromised as others can also see the screen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser viewing convenienceVSAvoidscreen visibility to unauthorized users

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The display is segmented into first sub-pixels with narrow viewing angles and second sub-pixels with wide viewing angles. Second sub-pixels provide wide viewing angles for user viewing convenience, while first sub-pixels provide narrow viewing angles to prevent unauthorized users from seeing the screen content, thereby resolving the contradiction between user viewing convenience and preventing unauthorized viewing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different viewing angle characteristics are applied locally to different sub-pixel types based on their functional requirements. Second sub-pixels are designed with wide viewing angles to maximize user viewing convenience, while first sub-pixels are designed with narrow viewing angles to minimize visibility to unauthorized users, thus resolving the local quality contradiction between ease of operation and privacy protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20260059951A1Display including structure for providing different states for displaying screen, and electronic device including same

Publication Date: 2026.02.26 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

An electronic device comprising a display is provided. The display includes a first sub-pixel visible at a first viewing angle, a second sub-pixel visible at a second viewing angle wider than the first viewing angle, first pixel definition portions defining a first light emission portion of the first sub-pixel, second pixel definition portions defining a second light emission portion of the second sub-pixel, first opaque portions disposed above the first pixel definition portions, and second opaque portions disposed between the first pixel definition portions and the first opaque portions, wherein a first width between the first opaque portions through which light emitted from the first sub-pixel passes is narrower than a second width between the second opaque portions.