TWO-WAY TRANSPARENT DISPLAY SYSTEMS
A display that contains a sparse array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), system, and method of fabrication are disclosed. The display includes a panel having at least one tile configured to display information. The panel is disposed within or on a transparent material. Each tile includes an array of LEDs, which have a uniform distance therebetween such that light from the array is viewable on opposing sides of the panel while providing visibility through the panel. A darkening layer on at least one side of the panel provides selectable darkening to block the light from exiting the at least one side of the panel.
1 . A computer system comprising a dual-sided display and a processor configured to control the dual-sided display to provide light, the computer system comprising a panel having at least one tile configured to display information, the panel disposed within a transparent material, each of the at least one tile including a sparse array of micro light-emitting diodes (microLEDs), the processor configured to control the microLEDs to provide light to be viewed on opposing sides of the panel.
2 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein in each tile of the panel, the array includes:
a substantially transparent flexible substrate;
a substantially transparent rigid substrate adhered to the transparent flexible substrate via an adhesive layer in which the array is encapsulated; and
at least one driver disposed on an edge of the tile and configured to drive the microLEDs.
3 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the panel further comprises a darkening layer disposed on at least one side of the panel, the processor configured to control the darkening layer to provide selectable darkening to block the light from exiting the dual-sided display on the at least one side of the panel.
4 . The computer system of claim 3 , wherein the darkening layer includes at least one of a material selected from a group of materials that include an electro-chromatic material, liquid crystal display (LCD), and e-ink.
5 . The computer system of claim 3 , further comprising a proximity sensor configured to detect user presence on a side of the display, the processor configured to control the darkening layer to provide the selectable darkening to an opposite side of the display as the side of the display at which the user presence is detected by the proximity sensor.
6 . The computer system of claim 5 , wherein the proximity sensor is integrated in the panel.
7 . The computer system of claim 3 , further comprising a touch sensor configured to receive user input on a side of the display, the processor configured to control the darkening layer to provide the selectable darkening to an opposite side of the display as the side of the display at which the user input is received by the touch sensor.
8 . The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the touch sensor is integrated in the panel.
9 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the panel further comprises:
a first darkening layer disposed on a first side of the panel, the first darkening layer configured to provide selectable darkening to block light from exiting the dual-sided display on the first side of the panel; and
a second darkening layer disposed on a second side of the panel opposing the first side of the panel, the second darkening layer configured to provide selectable darkening to block light from exiting the dual-sided display on the second side of the panel, the first darkening layer and the second darkening layer configured to be independently activatable between a transparent mode and an opaque mode.
10 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the panel further comprises a darkening layer disposed on at least one side of the panel, the processor configured to control the darkening layer to provide selectable darkening to block the light from exiting the dual-sided display on the at least one side of the panel, the darkening layer configured to improve a contrast for viewing the light on a side of the dual-sided display that is not darkened by the darkening layer.
11 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:
the panel has multiple tiles,
control circuitry of each tile is disposed on a transparent electrical backplane of the tile, and
the control circuitry of each tile is disposed on a single side of the display.
12 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:
the panel has multiple tiles,
control circuitry of each tile is disposed on a transparent electrical backplane of the tile, and
the control circuitry of at least one tile is disposed on a different side of the display as the control circuitry of at least one other tile.
13 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:
the panel has multiple tiles, and
the processor controls the tiles to operate independently to provide unrelated images.
14 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:
the panel has multiple tiles, and
the processor controls the tiles to provide a single extended display.
15 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the panel further comprises a backplane formed from a silicon complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS).
16 . A computer system comprising:
a dual-sided display configured to selectively emit light from opposing sides of the display; and
a processor configured to control the light from each of the opposing sides of the dual-sided display,
the dual-sided display having a panel, the panel including:
a sparse array of micro light-emitting diodes (microLEDs) configured to emit the light; and
a darkening layer disposed on each side of the array, each darkening layer configured to independently switch between being transparent to the light and opaque to the light, the processor configured to control the array and the darkening layers to display information to be selectively viewed on the opposing sides of the panel.
17 . The computer system of claim 16 , wherein:
the panel further includes a conformal and substantially transparent adhesive, a substantially transparent backplane, and a substantially transparent substrate;
the array is disposed within the conformal transparent adhesive between the transparent backplane and the transparent substrate; and
the darkening layers are disposed on an opposite surface of the transparent backplane and the transparent substrate as the array.
18 . The computer system of claim 16 , further comprising a proximity sensor configured to detect user presence on a side of the display, the processor configured to control one of the darkening layers to switch from transparent to opaque in response to the detection of the user presence, the one of the darkening layers being on an opposite side of the display as the side of the display at which the user presence is detected.
19 . The computer system of claim 16 , further comprising a touch sensor configured to receive user input on a side of the display, the processor configured to control one of the darkening layers to switch from transparent to opaque in response to reception of the user input, the one of the darkening layers being on an opposite side of the display as the side of the display at which the user input is received.
20 . A computer system comprising:
a dual-sided display configured to selectively emit light from opposing sides of the display; and
a processor configured to control the light from the dual-sided display, the dual-sided display having a panel, the panel including:
an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit the light; and
a darkening layer disposed on each side of the array, each darkening layer configured to independently switch between being transparent to the light and opaque or reflective to the light, the processor configured to control the array and the darkening layers to display information to be selectively viewed on the opposing sides of the panel.
21 . The computer system of claim 20 , wherein:
the panel has multiple tiles, and
the processor controls the tiles to operate independently to selectively provide unrelated images or a single extended display.