# US 11,910,690 B2 · Electronic devices with illuminated display borders > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,910,690 B2 - Document ID: US11910690B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/470,881 - Filed: 2021-09-09 - Published: 2021-12-30 - Granted: 2024-02-20 - Earliest claimed: 2018-09-14 - Assignees: Apple Inc. - Applicants: Apple Inc. - Inventors: Paul X Wang; Dinesh C. Mathew - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11910690B2 ## CPC - G02F 1/13332: {Front frames} - G02F 1/133331: {Cover glasses} - G02F 1/133388: {with constructional differences between the display region and the peripheral region} - G02F 1/1336: {Illuminating devices} - G02F 1/133603: {with LEDs} - G02F 1/133608: {including particular frames or supporting means} - G09F 9/301: {flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED} - G09G 3/03: {specially adapted for displays having non-planar surfaces, e.g. curved displays} - H10K 59/12: Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays - H10K 59/40: OLEDs integrated with touch screens - H10K 59/50: OLEDs integrated with light modulating elements, e.g. with electrochromic elements, photochromic elements or liquid crystal elements - H10K 77/111: {Flexible substrates} - G09F 9/33: being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes - G09F 9/35: being liquid crystals (G09F9/302 takes precedence; liquid crystal materials C09K19/00; {liquid crystal panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell per se G02F1/13}) - G09G 3/3208: organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED] - G09G 2380/02: Flexible displays - H10K 59/65: OLEDs integrated with inorganic image sensors - H10K 59/877: {comprising scattering means} - H10K 2102/311: {Flexible OLED} - Y02E 10/549: Organic PV cells - G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS - G09F: DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS - G09G: ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION (arrangements for transferring data between digital computers and displays G06F3/14; static indicating arrangements comprising an association of a number of separate sources or light control cells G09F9/00; static indicating arrangements comprising integral associations of a number of light sources H01J, H01K, H10H, H05B33/12; scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission, details thereof H04N1/00) - H10K: ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION ## Abstract An electronic device may have a display mounted in a housing. The display may be mounted on a front side of the device and the housing may have a housing wall on the rear side of the device. The display may be formed from an array of pixels configured to display an image for a user. Pixel-free border areas that run along the edges of the array of pixels may be provided with an edge illuminator. The edge illuminator may provide illumination to the border areas during operation of the device. The edge illuminator may have crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies, backlit liquid crystal devices or electrophoretic display components, or may have a light guide that is supplied with illumination from a light-emitting diode. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A wearable electronic device having a front, a rear, and sidewalls that extend between the front and the rear, the wearable electronic device comprising: a display having an array of pixels having a peripheral edge, wherein the array of pixels is configured to display an image; light-emitting diodes around the peripheral edge, wherein the light-emitting diodes are separate from the display; and a display cover layer that overlaps the array of pixels and the light-emitting diodes, wherein the display cover layer has a first portion at the front and second portions at the sidewalls, the array of pixels is configured to display the image through the first portion, and the light-emitting diodes are configured to emit light through the first and second portions. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a housing in which the display and the light-emitting diodes are mounted, wherein the display is an organic light-emitting diode display. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the light-emitting diodes are formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 3 further comprising: a flexible substrate on which the crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies are mounted. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising transparent material interposed between the light-emitting diodes and the display cover layer. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the transparent material comprises polymer that is configured to diffuse the light emitted by the light-emitting diodes. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising: a layer of opaque material on a surface of the display cover layer overlapping the light-emitting diodes, wherein the layer of opaque material has openings that are configured to allow the light emitted by the light-emitting diodes to pass through the display cover layer. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising: a printed circuit substrate on which the array of pixels and the light-emitting diodes are mounted. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the printed circuit substrate comprises a rigid flex printed circuit that has a rigid printed circuit portion on which the array of pixels is mounted and that has a flexible printed circuit portion extending from the rigid printed circuit portion, and wherein the light-emitting diodes are mounted on the flexible printed circuit portion. ### Claim 10 A wristwatch device, comprising: a housing having sidewalls; a display in the housing, wherein the display has a peripheral edge, wherein the display is configured to display images; light-emitting components that extend around the display between the peripheral edge and the sidewalls, wherein the light-emitting components are configured to emit light; and a display cover layer overlapping the display and the light-emitting components, wherein the display cover layer comprises a first planar region and a second region that includes corners with compound curvature, the display and the light-emitting components are configured to display the images and emit the light through the display cover layer, the display is configured to display the images in the first planar region, and the light-emitting components are configured to emit the light in the second region. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The wristwatch device defined in claim 10 wherein the housing comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of: stainless steel and aluminum. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The wristwatch device defined in claim 11 wherein the display cover layer comprises a transparent material selected from the group consisting of: glass, polymer, sapphire, and ceramic. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The wristwatch device defined in claim 12 wherein the display cover layer at least partially overlaps the sidewalls of the housing. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The wristwatch device defined in claim 13 further comprising: a printed circuit substrate, wherein the display comprises an array of pixels that is mounted on the printed circuit substrate, and wherein the light-emitting components comprise light-emitting diodes are mounted on the printed circuit substrate. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The wristwatch device defined in claim 14 wherein the printed circuit substrate comprises a mesh-shaped portion and wherein the light-emitting diodes are mounted on the mesh-shaped portion. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The wristwatch device defined in claim 13 further comprising: a first printed circuit substrate on which an array of pixels of the display is mounted; and a second printed circuit substrate on which the light-emitting components are mounted. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The wristwatch device defined in claim 12 further comprising: a health sensor mounted in the housing. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) The wristwatch device defined in claim 12 wherein a given one of the sidewalls comprises a transparent portion and wherein the light-emitting components are configured to emit the light through the transparent portion of the given one of the sidewalls. ### Claim 19 A wearable electronic device, comprising: a housing having a rear portion and a sidewall that extends from the rear portion; a display comprising an array of pixels in the housing, wherein the array of pixels is configured to display an image; light-emitting components that surround the array of pixels, wherein the light-emitting components are configured to emit light that is separate from the image; a display cover layer, wherein the image displayed by the display and a first portion of the light emitted by the light-emitting components are configured to pass through the display cover layer; and a transparent layer interposed between the display cover layer and the sidewall, wherein a second portion of the light emitted by the light-emitting component is configured to pass through the transparent layer. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The wearable electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein the housing is metal and wherein the light-emitting components extend from an edge of the display to the sidewall of the housing.