Patents by Inventor Zhibing Ge

Zhibing Ge has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9366899
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a liquid crystal display having a backlight and color mixing prevention structures. The color mixing prevention structures may, in part, be formed from one or more arrays of color filter elements. The liquid crystal display may include first and second transparent substrate layers on opposing sides of a liquid crystal layer. The display may include a first array of color filter elements on the first transparent substrate layer and a second array of color filter elements on the second transparent substrate layer. One or more of the arrays of color filter elements may include a black matrix formed over portions of the color filter elements. The color filter elements may fill or partially fill openings in the black matrix. The display may include a collimating layer on the second transparent substrate layer. The color filter elements may include cholesteric color filter elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ming Xu, Shawn R. Gettemy, Young Cheol Yang, Zhibing Ge, Cheng Chen
  • Patent number: 9368077
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for adjusting a white point of a liquid crystal display (LCD) using column inversion are provided. In one example, a method includes measuring white points of an electronic display that occur when the display employs different column inversion schemes. The display may be programmed to perform the column inversion scheme that produces a white point closest to a desired white point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Zhibing Ge, Shih Chang Chang, Cheng Chen, Hopil Bae, Ming Xu, Shawn Robert Gettemy, Wei H. Yao
  • Publication number: 20160125785
    Abstract: A display may have an array of pixels. The display may be controlled using display driver circuitry. The display driver circuitry may analyze image data to be displayed on the array. When static content is detected, the rate at which the pixels are refreshed may be adjusted to conserve power. If a static image is detected, the gate lines may be asserted at a lower refresh rate than if moving content is detected. To avoid visible artifacts, the display driver circuitry may use temporal and spatial refresh rate buffers. Temporal buffers ensure that refresh rates are changed gradually as a function of time, thereby minimizing flicker. Spatial refresh rate buffers are used to provide a smooth transition between low refresh rate and high refresh rate regions in a display as a function of position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2014
    Publication date: May 5, 2016
    Inventors: Chaohao Wang, Cheng Chen, Shih-Chyuan Fan Jiang, Zhibing Ge
  • Publication number: 20160117971
    Abstract: System and method for improving displayed image quality of an electronic display that displays a first image frame by applying a first voltage to a display pixel and a second image frame directly before the first image frame by applying a second voltage to the display pixel. A display pipeline is communicatively coupled to the electronic display and receives first image data corresponding with the first image frame, where the image data includes a first grayscale value corresponding with the display pixel. Additionally the display pipeline determines an inversion balancing grayscale offset based at least in part on the first grayscale value when polarity of the first voltage and polarity of the second voltage are the same and determines magnitude of the first voltage by applying the inversion balancing grayscale offset to the first grayscale value to reduce likelihood of a perceivable luminance spike when displaying the first image frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2015
    Publication date: April 28, 2016
    Inventors: Paolo Scchetto, Christopher P. Tann, Taesung Kim, Sandro H. Pintz, Marc Albrecht, Chaohao Wang, David S. Zalatimo, Fenghua Zheng, Zhibing Ge
  • Patent number: 9316860
    Abstract: A display polarizer may have a polymer layer such as a polyvinyl alcohol layer coated with a dichroic dye such as iodine. A polymer layer such as a tri-acetyl cellulose layer may be formed on the polyvinyl alcohol layer so that the iodine is interposed between the polyvinyl alcohol layer and the tri-acetyl cellulose layer. To provide protection for the iodine layer, an additional polymer layer such as an additional tri-acetyl cellulose layer and a layer of adhesive may be formed on top of the polymer layer. A functional layer such as an antireflection layer may form an outermost layer in the polarizer. Compensation films may be formed beneath the polyvinyl alcohol layer. Additional display layers such as a lower polarizer layer and interposed layers such as a thin-film transistor layer, liquid crystal layer, and color filter layer may be formed below the compensation films.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas C. Buchanan, Brian H. Thornton, Cheng Chen, Craig S. Gilden, Jun Qi, Nicholas G. Roland, Victor H. Yin, Zhibing Ge
  • Publication number: 20160026037
    Abstract: A display may have a thin-film transistor layer formed from a layer of thin-film transistor circuitry on a substrate, a color filter layer, and a layer of liquid crystal material interposed between the thin-film transistor layer and the color filter layer. The thin-film transistor layer, the liquid crystal layer, and the color filter layer may be sandwiched between upper and lower polarizers. A backlight unit may supply backlight illumination for pixels in the display. The color filter layer may have a black matrix with an array of openings. Color filter elements of different colors may be formed in the openings. The black matrix may have sidewalls that are steep or that are undercut. The profile of the black matrix helps block improperly colored off-axis light and thereby reduces undesired color mixing in the display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2014
    Publication date: January 28, 2016
    Inventors: Shang-Chih Lin, Yuan Chen, Zhibing Ge
  • Patent number: 9245487
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for reducing the loss of transmittance caused by column inversion. To provide one example, an electronic display may include a display panel with columns of pixels and driver circuitry to drive the pixels using column inversion. Adjacent columns that are driven at like polarity are spaced more closely than adjacent columns driven at opposite polarities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Zhibing Ge, Shih Chang Chang, Cheng Chen, Hopil Bae, Ming Xu, Shawn Robert Gettemy, Wei H. Yao
  • Patent number: 9239496
    Abstract: A display may have a layer of liquid crystal material between a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. Column spacer structures may be formed between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer to maintain a desired separation between the color filter and thin-film transistor layers. The column spacer structures may be formed from polymer structures such as photoresist pillars and may include metal pads. The metal pads may be formed on the upper surface of the thin-film transistor layer or the lower surface of the color filter layer. The photoresist pillars may be formed on a surface in the display such as the lower surface of the color filter layer. Column spacer structures may include main spacer structures, subspacer structures, and intermediate thickness spacer structures to enhance pooling mura and light leakage performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Zhibing Ge, Cheng Chen, Enkhamgalan Dorjgotov, Jun Qi
  • Publication number: 20150370115
    Abstract: A display may have a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. A layer of liquid crystal material may be located between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer. Column spacers may be formed on the color filter layer to maintain a desired gap between the color filter and thin-film transistor layers. Support pads may be used to support the column spacers. The column spacers and support pads may have comparable thicknesses. Different column spacers may be located at different portions of the support pads to allow the support pad size to be reduced while ensuring adequate support.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Inventors: Zhibing Ge, Yeon Sik Ham, Cheng Chen, Chia Hsuan Tai, Enkhamgalan Dorjgotov, Sang Un Choi, Shih-Chyuan Fan Jiang
  • Publication number: 20150346528
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display may have a layer of liquid crystal material. The display may have an array of display pixel circuits. The display pixel circuits may each include a display pixel electrode that applies electric fields to a corresponding portion of the liquid crystal material. Thin-film transistor circuitry and other structures in the display pixels may control operation of the display pixels circuits. The thin-film transistor circuitry may be configured to handle operation of the display at multiple refresh rates. To accommodate multiple refresh rates, each pixel circuit may include a pair of transistors. A first transistor is used to apply data signals from a data line to the display pixel electrode. A storage capacitor is used to maintain the data signal on the electrode. The second transistor may be used to adjust the capacitance of the storage capacitor depending on the refresh rate of the display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Publication date: December 3, 2015
    Inventors: Zhibing Ge, Enkhamgalan Dorjgotov, Cheng Chen, Lei Zhao, Chun-Yao Huang, Shih-Chang Chang, Shih-Chyuan Fan Jiang
  • Patent number: 9195331
    Abstract: Common electrodes (Vcom) of integrated touch screens can be segmented into electrically isolated Vcom portions that can be operated as drive lines and/or sense lines of a touch sensing system. The touch screen can include high-resistivity connections between Vcom portions. The resistivity of the high-resistivity connections can be high enough so that touch sensing and image display can be performed by the touch screen, and the high-resistivity connections can provide an added functionality by allowing a charge build up on one of the Vcom portions to be spread to other Vcom portions and/or discharged from system by allowing charge to leak through the high-resistivity connections. In this way, for example, visual artifacts that result from charge build up on a Vcom portion can be reduced or eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Cheng-Ho Yu, Zhibing Ge, Ming Xu, Shih Chang Chang
  • Patent number: 9182643
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display may have a layer of liquid crystal material. The display may have an array of display pixel circuits. The display pixel circuits may each include a display pixel electrode that applies electric fields to a corresponding portion of the liquid crystal material. Thin-film transistor circuitry and other structures in the display pixels may control operation of the display pixels circuits. The thin-film transistor circuitry may be configured to handle operation of the display at multiple refresh rates. To accommodate multiple refresh rates, each pixel circuit may include a pair of transistors. A first transistor is used to apply data signals from a data line to the display pixel electrode. A storage capacitor is used to maintain the data signal on the electrode. The second transistor may be used to adjust the capacitance of the storage capacitor depending on the refresh rate of the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Zhibing Ge, Enkhamgalan Dorjgotov, Cheng Chen, Lei Zhao, Chun-Yao Huang, Shih-Chang Chang, Shih-Chyuan Fan Jiang
  • Publication number: 20150248033
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may include a liquid crystal display module and a reflective polarizer having an in-plane optical axis. The display may also include a backlight unit that includes a light source, a light guide element, and a reflector film coupled to a backside of the light guide element. The display may also include a light retardation layer such as a quarter wave film. The quarter wave film may be arranged between the reflective polarizer and the reflector film of the backlight unit. Partially polarized light that is output from a front side of the light guide element may have a first component parallel to the in-plane optical axis and a second component perpendicular to the in-plane optical axis of the reflective polarizer. The second component may be reflected from the reflective polarizer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Inventors: Xinyu Zhu, Jun Qi, Meizi Jiao, Nicholas G. Roland, Victor H. Yin, Wei Chen, Ming Xu, Cheng Chen, Zhibing Ge
  • Publication number: 20150227000
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a liquid crystal display having a backlight and color mixing prevention structures. The color mixing prevention structures may, in part, be formed from one or more arrays of color filter elements. The liquid crystal display may include first and second transparent substrate layers on opposing sides of a liquid crystal layer. The display may include a first array of color filter elements on the first transparent substrate layer and a second array of color filter elements on the second transparent substrate layer. One or more of the arrays of color filter elements may include a black matrix formed over portions of the color filter elements. The color filter elements may fill or partially fill openings in the black matrix. The display may include a collimating layer on the second transparent substrate layer. The color filter elements may include cholesteric color filter elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2015
    Publication date: August 13, 2015
    Inventors: Ming Xu, Shawn R. Gettemy, Young Cheol Yang, Zhibing Ge, Cheng Chen
  • Publication number: 20150198844
    Abstract: A display may have a layer of liquid crystal material between a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. Column spacer structures may be formed between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer to maintain a desired separation between the color filter and thin-film transistor layers. Column spacers may be deposited in column spacer regions of the color filter layer. The color filter layer may include rows of red, green, and blue color filter elements. Blue color filter material that forms blue color filter elements in the color filter layer may also be used to form a planar surface over red and green color filter elements in the column spacer regions. Using the blue color filter material to planarize the surface on which column spacers are formed ensures that the column spacers provide sufficient support for the display without requiring an additional planarization layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2014
    Publication date: July 16, 2015
    Inventors: Sang Un Choi, Zhibing Ge, Shang-Chih Lin, Hiroshi Osawa, Ton-Yong Wang, Ming Xu
  • Publication number: 20150177562
    Abstract: A display polarizer may have a polymer layer such as a polyvinyl alcohol layer coated with a dichroic dye such as iodine. A polymer layer such as a tri-acetyl cellulose layer may be formed on the polyvinyl alcohol layer so that the iodine is interposed between the polyvinyl alcohol layer and the tri-acetyl cellulose layer. To provide protection for the iodine layer, an additional polymer layer such as an additional tri-acetyl cellulose layer and a layer of adhesive may be formed on top of the polymer layer. A functional layer such as an antireflection layer may form an outermost layer in the polarizer. Compensation films may be formed beneath the polyvinyl alcohol layer. Additional display layers such as a lower polarizer layer and interposed layers such as a thin-film transistor layer, liquid crystal layer, and color filter layer may be formed below the compensation films.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Nicholas C. Buchanan, Brian H. Thornton, Cheng Chen, Craig S. Gilden, Jun Qi, Nicholas G. Roland, Victor H. Yin, Zhibing Ge
  • Patent number: 9047838
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for column inversion are provided. In one example, an electronic display may include a display panel having columns of pixels and display driver circuitry. The display driver circuitry may include source amplifiers and demultiplexers. Each demultiplexer may channel data output by at least one source amplifier to one of three columns of pixels. The display driver circuitry may drive the display panel according to a 3-column inversion scheme using one source amplifier per demultiplexer per frame of image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Hopil Bae, Zhibing Ge, Shih Chang Chang, Cheng Chen, Ming Xu, Shawn Robert Gettemy, Wei H. Yao
  • Patent number: 9047826
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for performing column inversion using reordered image data are provided. In one example, an electronic display may include a display panel with columns of pixels and driver circuitry to drive the pixels using column inversion. The driver circuitry may drive pixels of a first superpixel in a first color order and drive pixels of an adjacent second superpixel in a second color order, such that more pixels are driven sequentially at a common polarity than would have been driven sequentially at the common polarity were the pixels of the first superpixel driven at the same color order as the pixels of the second superpixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Ming Xu, Zhibing Ge, Shih Chang Chang, Cheng Chen, Hopil Bae, Shawn Robert Gettemy, Wei H. Yao
  • Patent number: 9047832
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for performing column inversion using 2-column demultiplexers are provided. In one example, an electronic display may include a display panel with columns of pixels configured to be programmed with frames of image data and display driver circuitry. The display driver circuitry may include three demultiplexers, each respectively coupled to one pixel column of a first superpixel and one pixel column of a second superpixel. Each of the three demultiplexers may receive amplified image data of a single polarity per frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Hopil Bae, Zhibing Ge, Shih Chang Chang, Cheng Chen, Ming Xu, Shawn Robert Gettemy, Wei H. Yao
  • Patent number: 9025112
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a liquid crystal display having a backlight and color mixing prevention structures. The color mixing prevention structures may, in part, be formed from one or more arrays of color filter elements. The liquid crystal display may include first and second transparent substrate layers on opposing sides of a liquid crystal layer. The display may include a first array of color filter elements on the first transparent substrate layer and a second array of color filter elements on the second transparent substrate layer. One or more of the arrays of color filter elements may include a black matrix formed over portions of the color filter elements. The color filter elements may fill or partially fill openings in the black matrix. The display may include a collimating layer on the second transparent substrate layer. The color filter elements may include cholesteric color filter elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ming Xu, Shawn R. Gettemy, Young Cheol Yang, Zhibing Ge, Cheng Chen