Electronic privacy shutter for liquid crystal display device
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorXiaodong Xun
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus includes a liquid crystal layer comprising a first region and a second region. The first region comprises a first plurality of liquid crystal molecules in a first state and the second region comprises a second plurality of liquid crystal molecules in a second state different from the first state. The apparatus also includes a camera positioned to receive light propagating through the second region, a first driver circuit configured to apply a first set of voltages to a first set of electrodes in the first region, and a second driver circuit configured to apply a second set of voltages to a second set of electrodes in the second region.
Claims20
A device comprising:
- a camera;
- a liquid crystal display having a display region and a non-display region, wherein the camera is disposed in the non-display region, and wherein the liquid crystal display comprises:
- a first set of electrodes coupled to a thin-film transistor layer in the non-display region;
- a second set of electrodes coupled to the thin-film transistor layer in the display region;
- a first polyimide layer coupled to the thin-film transistor layer and comprising an aligned structure in the display region and an unaligned structure in the non-display region;
- a second polyimide layer comprising the aligned structure in the display region and the unaligned structure in the non-display region;
- a liquid crystal layer coupled to the first polyimide layer and the second polyimide layer, wherein a first portion of the liquid crystal layer corresponding to the display region is characterized by a first alignment and a second portion of the liquid crystal layer corresponding to the non-display region is characterized by a second alignment;
- and
- a non-display region driver circuit coupled to the thin-film transistor layer and configured to apply a voltage to the first set of electrodes in the non-display region, wherein an application of the voltage is operable to transition the second portion of the liquid crystal layer to the first alignment.
An apparatus comprising:
- a liquid crystal layer comprising a first region and a second region, wherein the first region comprises a first plurality of liquid crystal molecules in a first state and the second region comprises a second plurality of liquid crystal molecules in a second state different from the first state;
- a camera positioned to receive light propagating through the second region;
- a first driver circuit configured to apply a first set of voltages to a first set of electrodes in the first region;
- and
- a second driver circuit configured to apply a second set of voltages to a second set of electrodes in the second region.
A method of operating a liquid crystal display (LCD) wherein the LCD includes a display region including a first plurality of liquid crystal molecules and a non-display region including a second plurality of liquid crystal molecules, the method comprising:
- operating the non-display region in a first state, wherein the second plurality of liquid crystal molecules are in an unaligned state;
- displaying, in the first state, first content in the display region;
- operating the non-display region in a second state by applying a voltage to an electrode associated with the non-display region, the voltage causing the second plurality of liquid crystal molecules to be in an aligned state;
- and
- displaying, in the second state, second content in the display region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.