Sparse LED Window Display for Curved Transparent Vehicle Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current micro-LED display technologies face challenges in efficiently integrating LEDs into curved or irregularly shaped surfaces and maintaining optical properties, such as transparency and reflectivity, while providing effective protection and minimal visual interference.
Innovation Solution
A sparse array of LEDs is assembled on a transparent flexible substrate, which is then laminated onto a rigid substrate with an adhesive layer, allowing the LEDs to be applied to non-traditional surfaces and reducing the need for additional protection layers, while maintaining optical properties and minimizing visual obstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a dense LED array is used to provide sufficient light emission, then illumination intensity is improved, but transparency and visual clarity of the substrate deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The LED array is arranged in a sparse pattern rather than a dense continuous array, segmenting the light-emitting elements across the substrate to maintain transparency while providing sufficient illumination through strategic placement of individual LEDs
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the substrate have different LED densities - areas requiring higher illumination have more LEDs while areas requiring higher transparency have fewer LEDs, allowing local optimization of both illumination and transparency properties
2Reliability
If additional protection layers are added to protect LEDs, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function is merged with the existing substrate and adhesive layers already present in the display structure, eliminating the need for separate dedicated protection layers and reducing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate and adhesive layers serve multiple functions simultaneously - they provide structural support, electrical insulation, and environmental protection for the LEDs, reducing the need for additional specialized protection components
3Strength
If LEDs are assembled on rigid substrates to maintain structural stability, then strength is improved, but adaptability to curved or irregular surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a flexible substrate that can dynamically adapt to different surface geometries (flat, curved, or irregular) during installation, while the cured adhesive provides rigid structural stability once bonded, allowing the same assembly to serve multiple surface types
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible substrate is used instead of a rigid one, allowing the LED array to be conformally mounted on curved or irregular surfaces while maintaining structural integrity through the flexibility of the substrate and bonding strength of the adhesive
4Quantity of substance
If a sparse LED array is used to maintain substrate transparency, then optical properties are improved, but illumination intensity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a composite structure combining transparent substrate, transparent adhesive, and transparent encapsulation layers, creating an overall transparent assembly that maintains optical properties while supporting functional LED elements for illumination
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
This approach enables efficient light emission on surfaces with additional functions like reflectivity or transparency, allowing for flexible application in various displays, including vehicular systems, without degrading the surface's optical properties and providing enhanced protection to the LEDs.
Implementation Method 1
a transparent rigid substrate attached to the transparent flexible substrate with an adhesive layer
Implementation Method 2
a sparse array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed on the transparent flexible substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicular display that contains a sparse array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), system, and method of fabrication are disclosed. The vehicular display includes at least one tile disposed in a vehicle to provide a display of internal and external information. Each tile has a transparent flexible substrate, a sparse array of LEDs disposed on the transparent flexible substrate, a rigid substrate adhered to the transparent flexible substrate via an adhesive layer in which the sparse array of LEDs is encapsulated, and a driver disposed on an edge of the tile and configured to drive the LEDs. The LEDs are sparse enough to enable information to be displayed through a vehicle window while still enabling a viewer to see through the window.