Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device is driven in interlaced scan to accommodate for liquid crystal (LC) setting times without sacrificing brightness. The LCD device includes an LCD panel including a first group of (e.g., even) pixel lines and a second group (e.g., odd) pixel lines, a backlight disposed behind the LCD panel to emit light toward the even and odd pixel lines, a shift grating disposed between the LCD and the backlight, the shift grating configured to block the light from the backlight from reaching either the first group of pixel lines or the second group of pixel lines, and a controller. The controller drives the LCD panel using an interlaced scan, coordinates the activation of the backlight (e.g., a strobed backlight), and changes the state of the shift grating to block the light from the backlight from reaching either the first group of pixel lines or the second group of pixel lines.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device including a backlight with an LED assembly. The LED assembly includes a flexible light combiner and two or more different color LEDs optically coupled with a first end of the flexible light combiner. The flexible light combiner includes light channels that transmit color light, and output the color light at a second end of the flexible light combiner. The second end defines a light output region of the flexible light combiner. The light output regions of multiple LED assemblies are arranged behind an LCD panel, along one or more edges, to illuminate the LCD panel. The LED assembly provides edge-lit backlighting with enhanced brightness and color gamut, and flexible LED placement within the LCD device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device including an LCD panel and a backlight. The backlight includes a plurality of light sources to emit light, and a reflective stack. The reflective stack is positioned to receive light emitted from the light sources and transmit the light to the LCD panel. The reflective stack includes optical elements providing a folded beam path for the light emitted from the light sources to the LCD panel. The light emitted from the light sources is diffused while propagating towards and away from the LCD panel along the folded beam path. The folded beam path has an optical distance that is longer than the spatial distance between the light sources and the LCD panel to improve light diffusion by the backlight without substantially increasing backlight thickness.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device including a circular backlight that illuminates an LCD panel. The backlight is disposed behind the LCD panel and includes a light guide and an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs). The light guide includes a circular top surface, a circular bottom surface, and a connecting surface between the top and bottom surface. The array of LEDs are disposed along the connecting side surface of the light guide in a circular arrangement to emit light into in first directions toward a center of the light guide. The light guide receives the light from the array of LEDs in the first directions and directs the light in a second direction toward the LCD panel from the circular top surface. The backlight can include brightness enhancement films (BEFS), such as first BEF having concentric circular stripe prisms, and a second BEF having radial stripe prisms.

Abstract: An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display including a conic OLED panel portion and a base OLED panel portion. The conic OLED panel portion includes peripheral display surfaces forming a truncated conic shape with an open base region around a center of the conic OLED panel portion. The OLED base portion includes a display surface. The base OLED panel portion is positioned to cover the open base region of the conic OLED panel portion such that the peripheral display surfaces surround the base display surface. The OLED display approximates a circular convex display. The conic OLED panel portion may be fabricated from a flat, flexible OLED panel portion that is bent along the fold regions defining bending axes between the peripheral display surfaces to form the truncated conic shape.

Abstract: An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display including an OLED panel having a series of gore shaped panel portions that form a quasi-spherical display surface. Each gore shaped panel portion includes a middle portion, a first end portion, and a second end portion. The middle portions of adjacent gore shaped panel portions are separated by bend regions. The OLED panel is bent along the first bend regions and each gore shaped panel portion is bent, such as along second bend regions between the middle portion and end portions, to join adjacent first end portions and adjacent second end portions of the gore shaped panel portions. Two OLED displays may be mounted within a head-mounted display (HMD), each behind an optics block. The quasi-spherical display surface of each OLED display generates a substantially flat image for the user after light from the display surface passes through the optic block.

Abstract: A corner cut liquid crystal display (LCD) device including a LCD panel and a backlight. The LCD panel includes adjacent panel portions of different width that collectively define a corner cut profile shape for the LCD panel. The backlight includes a light guide and light sources that emit light into the light guide. The backlight directs the light from the light sources toward the LCD panel. The light guide includes adjacent light guide portions of different width that define the corner cut profile shape. Each light guide portion illuminates a corresponding LCD panel portion. The LCD device can be incorporated into a head-mounted display (HMD). The corner cut profile shapes of two adjacent LCD devices, one for the left eye and one for the right eye, may define an open region for placement of other components or parts of the user, such as the user's nose when wearing the HMD.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device including a circular backlight that illuminates an LCD panel. The backlight is disposed behind the LCD panel and includes a light guide and an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs). The light guide includes a circular top surface, a circular bottom surface, and a connecting surface between the top and bottom surface. The array of LEDs are disposed along the connecting side surface of the light guide in a circular arrangement to emit light into in first directions toward a center of the light guide. The light guide receives the light from the array of LEDs in the first directions and directs the light in a second direction toward the LCD panel from the circular top surface. The backlight can include brightness enhancement films (BEFS), such as first BEF having concentric circular stripe prisms, and a second BEF having radial stripe prisms.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device a LCD panel and a segmented backlight for illuminating the LCD panel. The backlight includes a light guide having an array of light channels. The array of light channels is defined by an array of notches on the bottom surface of the light guide. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are disposed along the side surface of the light guide to emit light in a first direction into the array of light channels of the light guide. The array of light channels receives the light from the LEDs and directs the light in a second direction from the top surface of the light guide toward the LCD panel. One or more LEDs may selectively emit light into each light channel. The notches defined between light channels controls light leakage across adjacent light channels.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device is driven in interlaced scan to accommodate for liquid crystal (LC) setting times without sacrificing brightness. The LCD device includes an LCD panel including a first group of (e.g., even) pixel lines and a second group (e.g., odd) pixel lines, a backlight disposed behind the LCD panel to emit light toward the even and odd pixel lines, a shift grating disposed between the LCD and the backlight, the shift grating configured to block the light from the backlight from reaching either the first group of pixel lines or the second group of pixel lines, and a controller. The controller drives the LCD panel using an interlaced scan, coordinates the activation of the backlight (e.g., a strobed backlight), and changes the state of the shift grating to block the light from the backlight from reaching either the first group of pixel lines or the second group of pixel lines.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device including a backlight with an LED assembly. The LED assembly includes a flexible light combiner and two or more different color LEDs optically coupled with a first end of the flexible light combiner. The flexible light combiner includes light channels that transmit color light, and output the color light at a second end of the flexible light combiner. The second end defines a light output region of the flexible light combiner. The light output regions of multiple LED assemblies are arranged behind an LCD panel, along one or more edges, to illuminate the LCD panel. The LED assembly provides edge-lit backlighting with enhanced brightness and color gamut, and flexible LED placement within the LCD device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device including a backlight with an LED assembly. The LED assembly includes a dichroic combiner and two or more different color LEDs. A substrate of the dichroic combiner receives color light from multiple color LEDs at different input regions and propagating in different directions. Dielectric layers within the substrate selectively reflect or transmit the color light to spatially superimpose the color light, and output the color light in a particular direction at a light output region of the substrate. The light output regions of LED assemblies are arranged behind an LCD panel, along one or more edges, to illuminate the LCD panel. The LED assembly provides edge-lighting without requiring LED placement along the one or more edges.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) is configured for use in a head mounted display (HMD) to increase the brightness and improve power consumption of the LCD by recycling light. The LCD includes a color filter (CF) substrate, a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, and a backlight unit (BLU). The CF substrate is closer to the BLU than the TFT substrate. The CF substrate includes a first reflective layer in regions of the CF substrate between pixels to reflect light back towards the BLU to be recycled to increase the brightness of the LCD. The TFT substrate includes TFTs to drive the pixels and a second reflective layer covering TFTs to reflect light away from the TFTs.

Abstract: An electronic display comprises a backlight unit and a liquid crystal (LC) layer, where the backlight combines and directs light from a plurality of light sources towards the LC layer, which controls an amount of light to be displayed. The LC layer is controlled by a plurality of thin-film transistors (TFT) disposed on a TFT layer. To prevent light from the backlight from being absorbed by the TFTs, a dielectric mirror is disposed between the transistors and the backlight unit to reflect light from the backlight unit that is projectors towards the transistors back towards the backlight unit. Hence, light can be recycled and travel through an aperture between the dielectric mirrors, thereby improving luminance.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) device including a backlight with vertically stacked light emitting diodes (LEDs). The LCD device includes an LCD panel and a backlight for illuminating the LCD panel. The backlight includes a plurality of LEDs and a light guide. The plurality of LEDs are stacked vertically and disposed behind the LCD panel along one or more edges of the LCD panel. The plurality of LEDs include at least a first color LED and a second color LED emitting first light and second light at a first direction, respectively, at a first wavelength and a second wavelength, respectively. The light guide is disposed behind the LCD panel and adjacent to the plurality of LEDs. The light guide is configured to combine the first light and the second light received from the plurality of LEDs into combined light to illuminate the LCD panel.

Abstract: A head mounted display system includes a display device and an eyetracking device. The display device includes a liquid crystal (LC) panel comprising a plurality of rows of pixels, a back light unit (BLU), and a data driver. The BLU emits light during an illumination period of a frame period from an illumination start time and does not emit light for a remaining portion of the frame period. The eyetracking device determines an eye gaze area of a user in a pixel area of the display device. The illumination start time varies based on a location of the eye gaze area of the user. Liquid crystal material in a row of pixels of the LC panel outside the eye gaze area of the user transitions during the illumination period.

Abstract: A head mounted display (HMD) includes a display device that uses a black duty insertion mode. The display device includes a liquid crystal (LC) panel, a back light unit (BLU), and a data driver. In the black duty insertion mode, the BLU emits light during a portion of a frame period and does not emit light during a remaining portion of the frame period. The data driver writes data to the LC panel such that liquid crystal material in the LC panel transitions during the frame period including the portion of the frame period that the BLU emits light. The portion of the frame period the BLU emits light is less than half of the frame period and may be 20% or less of the frame period.

Abstract: Disclosed is a liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal layer including a plurality of liquid crystals in a pixel area and a backlight unit coupled to the liquid crystal layer. A plurality of pixels are disposed in the pixel area. The backlight unit is configured to project light towards the entire pixel area of the liquid crystal layer during an illumination time period of a frame time, and not to project the light towards any of the pixel area of the liquid crystal layer during a non-illumination time period of the frame time. By enabling the backlight unit for the illumination time period less than the frame time, image streaking and latency can be reduced.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) is configured for use in a head mounted display (HMD) to increase the brightness and improve power consumption of the LCD by recycling light. The LCD includes a color filter (CF) substrate, a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, and a backlight unit (BLU). The CF substrate is closer to the BLU than the TFT substrate. The CF substrate includes a first reflective layer in regions of the CF substrate between pixels to reflect light back towards the BLU to be recycled to increase the brightness of the LCD. The TFT substrate includes TFTs to drive the pixels and a second reflective layer covering TFTs to reflect light away from the TFTs.

Abstract: A light intensity modulator array includes a first substrate with a two-dimensional array of electrodes; a second substrate with one or more electrodes; and liquid crystal located between the first substrate and the second substrate. The two-dimensional array of electrodes is arranged in a first direction and a second direction that is not parallel to the first direction. A respective electrode of the two-dimensional array of electrodes is distinct and separate from a first adjacent electrode and a second adjacent electrode of the two-dimensional array of electrodes. The first adjacent electrode is adjacent to the respective electrode in the first direction and the second adjacent electrode is adjacent to the respective electrode in the second direction. A method for tracking an eye using a device including the light intensity modulator array is also disclosed.