# US 11,443,544 B2 · Electronic device

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- Number: US 11,443,544 B2
- Document ID: US11443544B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/971,429
- Filed: 2018-12-28
- Published: 2021-01-07
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2018-02-27
- Assignees: Sony Corporation
- Applicants: Sony Corporation
- Inventors: Naoko Kobayashi; Yasunori Kamada; Hiroyuki Shigei; Toru Amano; Futoshi Takeuchi; Toshio Enokido; Yusuke Sato
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11443544B2

## CPC

- A61B 5/1172: using fingerprinting
- A61B 5/0077: {Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens}
- G02B 6/003: {Lens or lenticular sheet or layer}
- G06F 3/0412: {Digitisers structurally integrated in a display}
- G06F 3/0446: {using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes}
- G06V 40/1306: {non-optical, e.g. ultrasonic or capacitive sensing}
- H04N 23/00: Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H10K 59/40: OLEDs integrated with touch screens
- H10K 59/65: OLEDs integrated with inorganic image sensors
- G06F 3/04164: {Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads}
- G06F 2203/04109: FTIR in optical digitiser, i.e. touch detection by frustrating the total internal reflection within an optical waveguide due to changes of optical properties or deformation at the touch location
- G06F 2203/04112: Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
- H10K 2102/3031: {Two-side emission, e.g. transparent OLEDs [TOLED]}
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H10K: ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES

## Abstract

An electronic device including: a transparent panel section in which a plurality of transparent light-emitting elements is disposed; and an imaging section that is disposed under a partial region of the transparent panel section, and images, via the transparent panel section, an object which is in contact with or in proximity to the partial region of the transparent panel section.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An electronic device comprising:
a transparent panel in which a plurality of transparent light-emitting elements is disposed;
an imaging sensor that is disposed under a partial region of the transparent panel, and images, via the transparent panel, an object which is in contact with or in proximity to the partial region of the transparent panel;
an imaging element; and
a microlens array in which a plurality of microlenses is disposed, the microlens array collecting light from the object toward the imaging element by each microlens of the plurality of microlenses, wherein
the transparent panel includes a lattice-shaped structural member that separates the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements from each other, and
the plurality of microlenses is disposed to cause the plurality of microlenses not to overlap with the lattice-shaped structural member as viewed from side of the object.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging sensor further includes a light guide plate which includes a plurality of light guide paths respectively corresponding to the plurality of microlenses, the light guide plate bringing the light collected by each microlens of the plurality of microlenses to the imaging element by each light guide path of the plurality of light guide paths.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein
the plurality of microlenses is disposed to cause an arrangement pitch of the plurality of microlenses to be same as an arrangement pitch of the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements, and
when imaging is performed by the imaging sensor, the transparent panel causes a transparent light-emitting element to emit light, the transparent light-emitting element being included in the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements disposed in the partial region and being disposed at a position different from at least a position at which a microlens to be used for the imaging is disposed, as viewed from a side of the object.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of microlenses is disposed to cause an arrangement pitch of the plurality of microlenses to be an integral multiple of two or more of an arrangement pitch of the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, when imaging is performed by the imaging sensor, the transparent panel causes a transparent light-emitting element to emit light, the transparent light-emitting element being included in the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements, and being disposed at an outside of a region in which the plurality of microlenses is disposed and at a position different from at least a position at which a microlens to be used for the imaging is disposed among the plurality of microlenses, as viewed from a side of the object.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising
an illumination light source that is disposed at an outside of the partial region of the transparent panel, and emits illumination light when imaging is performed by the imaging sensor.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein
the object is a portion of a living body, and
the electronic device further comprises an authentication processor that performs biometric authentication on the portion of the living body on a basis of a captured image of the portion of the living body obtained by imaging performed by the imaging sensor.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein
the portion of the living body is a finger, and
the authentication processor performs fingerprint authentication as the biometric authentication.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the transparent panel
includes, out of a plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements coupled to respective transparent light-emitting elements of the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements and a plurality of wiring lines for touch detection provided separately from the plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements, at least the plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements, and
has a display function to display an image using light emitted by the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements and a touch sensor function based on a value of capacitance between the plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements or a value of capacitance between the plurality of wiring lines for touch detection.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The electronic device according to claim 9, further comprising
a determination section configured to determine a state of a touch in the transparent panel, wherein
the transparent panel includes, as the plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements or the plurality of wiring lines for touch detection,
a plurality of first wiring lines that extends in a first direction, is arranged in a second direction that intersects the first direction, and is coupled to the respective plurality of transparent light-emitting elements in the first direction,
a plurality of second wiring lines that extends in the second direction, is arranged in the first direction, and is coupled to the respective plurality of transparent light-emitting elements in the second direction,
the determination section is further configured to determine the state of the touch in the transparent panel on a basis of a value of capacitance between at least one wiring line out of the plurality of first wiring lines and at least one wiring line out of the plurality of second wiring lines, and
the determination section is implemented via at least one processor.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the determination section is further configured to determine the state of the touch in the transparent panel on a basis of at least one determination threshold.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The electronic device according to claim 11, further comprising
a determination threshold calculation section configured to calculate the at least one determination threshold on a basis of the value of capacitance and a captured image of the object imaged by the imaging sensor, wherein
the determination threshold calculation section is implemented via at least one processor.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The electronic device according to claim 12, wherein
the determination section is further configured to determine, as the state of the touch, at least a presence or absence of the touch and an intensity of the touch, and
the determination threshold calculation section is further configured to calculate, as the at least one determination threshold, at least a first determination threshold to be used for the determination of the presence or absence of the touch, and a second determination threshold to be used for the determination of the intensity of the touch.

### Claim 14 (depends on 7)

The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein
the transparent panel
includes, out of a plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements coupled to the respective plurality of transparent light-emitting elements and a plurality of wiring lines for touch detection provided separately from the plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements, at least the plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements, and
has a display function to display an image using light emitted by the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements and a touch sensor function based on a value of capacitance between the plurality of wiring lines for light-emitting elements or a value of capacitance between the plurality of wiring lines for touch detection, and
the electronic device further comprises a controller that controls a control parameter of touch detection in the transparent panel on a basis of a result of authentication performed by the authentication processor.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the controller acquires a statistic of an operation speed of a touch of a user authenticated by the authentication processor, on a basis of a database related to the operation speed in which a plurality of users to be subjected to the biometric authentication by the authentication processor are associated with statistics of operation speeds of touches in the transparent panel by the respective plurality of users, and calculates, as the control parameter, a working interval of touch detection optimized for the authenticated user on a basis of the acquired statistic of the operation speed of the touch.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The electronic device according to claim 15, further comprising
a storage that stores the database related to the operation speed.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising
a design material that is disposed under a region different from the partial region of the transparent panel.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of transparent light-emitting elements includes a transparent organic EL element or a quantum dot light-emitting element.