Visual-display structure having a metal contrast enhancer, and visual displays made therewith
View Patent ↗Display structures for displays having spaced-apart light-emitting elements. In some embodiments, a display structure includes a metallic contrast enhancer having apertures corresponding to the light-emitting elements. The light-emitting elements may be, for example, integrally formed with a substrate or packaged elements applied to a printed circuit board. In some embodiments, a metallic contrast enhancer of the present disclosure may be incorporated into a touch sensor that can allow a visual display incorporating the touch sensor to operate as a touch screen. Such a touch sensor may be, for example, projected capacitive, surface capacitive, digital-type resistive, or analog-type resistive. In some embodiments, a contrast enhancer may include one or more permanent graphic elements to enhance a visual display.
1. A visual-display structure, comprising:
a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) arranged in an array so as to provide a plurality of pixels, wherein ones of the plurality of LEEs are physically spaced from one another to form inter-LEE spaces;
a support structure supporting the plurality of LEEs in the array and including electronic circuitry designed and configured for electrically connecting the plurality of pixels to an image driver that, when present and operating, drives the plurality of pixels so that the visual-display structure displays at least a portion of an image; and
a contrast enhancer coupled to the support structure and present in the inter-LEE spaces between adjacent ones of the plurality of LEEs, wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a metal sheet containing a plurality of openings corresponding to ones of the plurality of LEEs;
wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a ferromagnetic metal, and the contrast enhancer is coupled to the support structure by magnetic attraction to at least one magnet.
2. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , wherein the support structure comprises a circuit board and each of the plurality of LEEs is packaged into a light-emitting package that is attached to the circuit board after the light-emitting package has been manufactured, and the inter-LEE spaces are inter-package spaces.
3. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of LEEs is a non-package-type LEE.
4. The visual-display structure according to claim 3 , wherein the plurality of LEEs are located in a layer beneath the contrast enhancer.
5. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , wherein the contrast enhancer has a viewing face that includes a treatment comprising a carbon nanotube coating.
6. The visual-display structure according to claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of light-emitting packages comprises a surface mount device.
7. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of openings in the contrast enhancer is an etched opening.
8. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , wherein the metal sheet of the contrast enhancer has a thickness of less than 0.6 mm.
9. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , wherein the support structure includes an electrostatic-discharge-protection grounding circuitry, and the metal sheet is electrically connected to the electrostatic-discharge-protection grounding circuitry.
10. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , further comprising a touch sensor, wherein the contrast enhancer functions as a conductive sheet of the touch sensor.
11. The visual-display structure according to claim 1 , further comprising a touch sensor, wherein the contrast enhancer supports at least one conductive sensing element of the touch sensor.
12. A visual-display structure, comprising:
a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) arranged in an array so as to provide a plurality of pixels, wherein ones of the plurality of LEEs are physically spaced from one another to form inter-LEE spaces;
a support structure supporting the plurality of LEEs in the array and including electronic circuitry designed and configured for electrically connecting the plurality of pixels to an image driver that, when present and operating, drives the plurality of pixels so that the visual-display structure displays at least a portion of an image; and
a contrast enhancer coupled to the support structure and present in the inter-LEE spaces between adjacent ones of the plurality of LEEs, wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a metal sheet containing a plurality of openings corresponding to ones of the plurality of LEEs;
wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a viewing face that includes a multicolor treatment that provides the viewing face with a graphic viewable when the visual-display structure is not energized.
13. A visual-display structure, comprising:
a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) arranged in an array so as to provide a plurality of pixels, wherein ones of the plurality of LEEs are physically spaced from one another to form inter-LEE) spaces;
a support structure supporting the plurality of LEEs in the array and including electronic circuitry designed and configured for electrically connecting the plurality of pixels to an image driver that, when present and operating, drives the plurality of pixels so that the visual-display structure displays at least a portion of an image; and
a contrast enhancer coupled to the support structure and present in the inter-LEE spaces between adjacent ones of the plurality of LEEs, wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a metal sheet containing a plurality of openings corresponding to ones of the plurality of LEEs;
wherein the contrast enhancer is part of an electrostatic loudspeaker.
14. The visual-display structure according to claim 13 , wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a stator of the electrostatic loudspeaker.
15. A visual-display structure, comprising:
a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) arranged in an array so as to provide a plurality of pixels, wherein ones of the plurality of LEEs are physically spaced from one another to form inter-LEE spaces;
a support structure supporting the plurality of LEEs in the array and including electronic circuitry designed and configured for electrically connecting the plurality of pixels to the visual-display structure displays at least a portion of an image; and
a contrast enhancer coupled to the support structure and present in the inter-LEE spaces between adjacent ones of the plurality of LEEs, wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a metal sheet containing a plurality of openings corresponding to ones of the plurality of LEEs;
wherein the support structure includes at least one heat-sinking structure, and the metal sheet of the contrast enhancer is thermally coupled to the at least one heat-sinking structure.
16. A visual-display structure, comprising:
a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) arranged in an array so as to provide a plurality of pixels, wherein ones of the plurality of LEEs are physically spaced from one another to form inter-LEE spaces;
a support structure supporting the plurality of LEEs in the array and including electronic circuitry designed and configured for electrically connecting the plurality of pixels to an image driver that, when present and operating, drives the plurality of pixels so that the visual-display structure displays at least a portion of an image: and
a contrast enhancer coupled to the support structure and present in the inter-LEE spaces between adjacent ones of the plurality of LEEs, wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a metal sheet containing a plurality of openings corresponding to ones of the plurality of LEEs;
wherein at least a portion of the contrast enhancer functions as a loudspeaker diaphragm and the visual-display structure further comprises at least one stator located to drive the at least a portion of the contrast enhancer.
17. The visual-display structure according to claim 16 , wherein the contrast enhancer includes a first panel and a second panel spaced from one another, the visual-display structure further comprising at least one first stator located relative to the first panel of the contrast enhancer so as to drive the first panel as a first diaphragm of an ultrasonic loudspeaker and at least one second stator located relative to the second panel of the contrast enhancer so as to drive the second panel as a second diaphragm of the ultrasonic loudspeaker.
18. The visual-display structure according to claim 16 , wherein the at least one stator is secured to the support structure and the at least a portion of the contrast enhancer is spaced from the at least one stator by an air gap.
19. A visual-display structure, comprising:
a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) arranged in an array so as to provide a plurality of pixels, wherein ones of the plurality of LEEs are physically spaced from one another to form inter-LEE spaces;
a support structure supporting the plurality of LEEs in the array and including electronic circuitry designed and configured for electrically connecting the plurality of pixels to an image driver that, when present and operating, drives the plurality of pixels so that the visual-display structure displays at least a portion of an image; and
a contrast enhancer coupled to the support structure and present in the inter-LEE spaces between adjacent ones of the plurality of LEEs, wherein the contrast enhancer comprises a metal sheet containing a plurality of openings corresponding to ones of the plurality of LEEs;
wherein at least some of the LEEs function part of the time as photodiodes for providing the display structure a light-based user interface, the visual-display structure further comprising sensing and mapping electronics for sensing and mapping location of one or more shadows and/or one or more concentrations of light cast onto the display structure.