Electronic Devices Having Displays with Openings

Abstract

An electronic device may have a display. The display may have an active region in which display pixels are used to display images. The display may have one or more openings and may be mounted in a housing associated with the electronic device. An electronic component may be mounted in alignment with the openings in the display. The electronic component may include a camera, a light sensor, a light-based proximity sensor, status indicator lights, a light-based touch sensor array, a secondary display that has display pixels that may be viewed through the openings, antenna structures, a speaker, a microphone, or other acoustic, electromagnetic, or light-based component. One or more openings in the display may form a window through which a user of the device may view an external object. Display pixels in the window region may be used in forming a heads-up display.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a display having a substrate and an array of pixels on the substrate, wherein the pixels include first and second pixels and wherein the substrate has a transparent region between the first and second pixels; and   a light sensor configured to receive light through the transparent region.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the light sensor comprises an image sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the light sensor comprises an infrared light sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the light sensor comprises a visible light sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the light sensor is configured to receive the light after the light reflects from a finger on the display. 
     
     
         6 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the pixels comprise organic light-emitting diodes and the substrate comprises a polymer substrate. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the transparent region comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: glass and polymer. 
     
     
         8 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the substrate has an additional transparent region, the electronic device further comprising:
 a light source configured to emit light through the additional transparent region. 
 
     
     
         9 . The electronic device defined in  claim 8  wherein the light sensor is configured to detect the light emitted by the light source after it reflects from an external object. 
     
     
         10 . The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the array of pixels forms an active area of the display and wherein the transparent region is part of an array of transparent regions in the active area of the display. 
     
     
         11 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a substrate;   an array of organic light-emitting diode pixels on the substrate; and   an optical sensor behind the array of pixels configured to receive light through a transparent portion of the substrate.   
     
     
         12 . The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the optical sensor forms a light-based finger sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the transparent portion comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: polymer and glass. 
     
     
         14 . The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the transparent portion is transparent to visible light and wherein the optical sensor comprises a visible image sensor. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the organic light-emitting diode pixels include first and second organic light-emitting diode pixels and wherein the transparent portion is interposed between the first and second organic light-emitting diode pixels. 
     
     
         16 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a display having an array of pixels that form an active area, wherein the display has a transparent portion located within the active area; and   a light sensor aligned with the transparent portion and configured to detect light that passes through the display.   
     
     
         17 . The electronic device defined in  claim 16  wherein the transparent portion comprises transparent polymer in a polymer substrate. 
     
     
         18 . The electronic device defined in  claim 16  wherein the display has an additional transparent portion, the electronic device further comprising a light source configured to emit light through the additional transparent portion. 
     
     
         19 . The electronic device defined in  claim 18  wherein the light source and the light sensor form a finger sensor. 
     
     
         20 . The electronic device defined in  claim 16  wherein the display has a substrate with first and second opposing surfaces, wherein the transparent portion is located in the substrate, and wherein the light passes from the first surface to the second surface to reach the light sensor.