Tiled Display Pixel Openings for Hidden Seams and Brightness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Micro-LED displays with tiled arrays face visibility issues due to seams between adjacent panels, and using a circular polarizer reduces brightness due to low optical transmittance.
Innovation Solution
A display area design featuring tiles with an optically transparent layer and a non-transparent layer that includes openings over light sources, with a second transparent layer extending across the seams between tiles to minimize visibility while maintaining brightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a circular polarizer is used to minimize seam or gap visibility, then seam visibility is reduced, but display brightness decreases due to low optical transmittance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the non-transparent layer selectively transparent only over the light source areas while remaining opaque in other regions. This allows light to pass through where needed (over LEDs) while blocking light at seam locations, achieving seam hiding without the need for a circular polarizer that would reduce overall brightness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the non-transparent layer by creating spatial variations in transparency. The layer transitions from being uniformly non-transparent to having differentiated optical properties - transparent over light sources and opaque at seams - thereby resolving the contradiction between seam visibility and brightness.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a non-transparent layer is used to hide seams, then seam visibility is reduced, but light transmission from light sources is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The non-transparent layer is designed with spatially varying transparency - it is opaque in regions corresponding to seams to hide them, but transparent in regions corresponding to light sources to allow light transmission. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between seam hiding and light transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the light-blocking function from the entire non-transparent layer and confines it only to the seam regions. By removing the blocking property from areas over the light sources, the layer selectively performs its hiding function only where needed, preventing energy loss while achieving seam visibility reduction.
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 reduces seam visibility in micro-LED displays while maintaining high optical transmittance and low reflectance, enhancing display performance with reduced reflectance and improved viewing angles.
Implementation Method 1
an optically transparent layer comprising a first major surface and an opposing second major surface
Implementation Method 2
a non-transparent layer between the transparent layer and the plurality of light sources, the non-transparent layer comprising an opening extending over an area between at least one of the plurality of light sources and the transparent layer
Implementation Method 3
a second transparent layer extending across the seams between tiles to minimize visibility while maintaining brightness
Data Source
AI summary
A display area (100a) includes a plurality of tiles each tile including an optically transparent layer (208). Each of the plurality of tiles includes a substrate (202) and a plurality of light sources (204′) positioned on the substrate. In addition, each of the plurality of tiles includes a non-transparent layer (206) extending between the transparent layer and the plurality of light sources. The non-transparent layer includes an opening (214) extending over an area between at least one of the plurality of light sources and the transparent layer. In addition, a seam extends between adjacent tiles of the plurality of tiles and the non-transparent layer extends across the seam.