Electronic Devices With Retractable Displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017060183-A1
Application number	US-201514833999-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 24, 2015
Priority date	Aug 24, 2015
Publication date	Mar 2, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electronic device may have a pair of elongated housings. A flexible display may be placed in a first position in which the display is retracted within one of the housings and a second position in which the flexible display is deployed and extends between the housings in a planar shape for viewing by a user. Support structures such as rigid slats that run parallel to the housings and bistable slats that run perpendicular to the rigid slats may be used to support the flexible display. Speakers, microphones, cameras, and other components can be mounted in the housings. The housings may be held together using magnets and may contain electrical components such as integrated circuits, batteries, and other devices. The components may be mounted on printed circuit boards that rotate within a rotating roller around which the display is wrapped when retracted.

First claim

1 . An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having first and second housing portions; a rotating roller within the first housing portion; a flexible display that is attached to the second housing portion and that is attached to the rotating roller so that the flexible display is retracted within the first housing portion by rotation of the rotating roller, wherein the flexible display comprises a substrate having first and second opposing surfaces with a pixel array on the first surface and flexibility-enhancing grooves in the second surface, and wherein the flexibility-enhancing grooves are located behind the pixel array such that light from the pixel array is directed away from the flexibility-enhancing grooves; and support members that are perpendicular to the first and second housing portions and that extend entirely behind the flexible display, wherein the support members are bistable members that exhibit a rigid state and a flexible state, and wherein the support members wrap around the rotating roller with the flexible display when the flexible display is retracted within the first housing portion.

2 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising:
printed circuits in the rotating roller that rotate with the rotating roller.

3 . The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the rotating roller has an opening through which an edge of the flexible display passes to couple the edge of the flexible display to at least one of the printed circuits.

4 . The electronic device defined in claim 3 further comprising a battery in the second housing portion.

5 . The electronic device defined in claim 3 further comprising a first camera in the first housing portion and a second camera in the second housing portion.

6 . The electronic device defined in claim 3 further comprising a spring in the first housing portion that is coupled between the first housing portion and the rotating roller to rotate the rotating roller and retract the flexible display into the first housing portion.

7 . The electronic device defined in claim 6 further comprising a brush in the first housing portion that removes dust from the flexible display.

8 . The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the brush comprises a rotating brush.

9 . The electronic device defined in claim 3 further comprising a first speaker in the first housing portion and a second speaker in the second housing portion.

10 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the electronic device comprises a device selected from the group consisting of: a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, a portable computer, and a media player, the electronic device further comprising storage and processing circuitry.

11 . The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the flexible display comprises a touch sensor.

12 . The electronic device defined in claim 11 further comprising a light-blocking and thermal spreading layer to which the organic light-emitting diode display layer is attached.

13 . The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the light-blocking and thermal spreading layer comprises a polymer layer that contains graphite.

14 . The electronic device defined in claim 13 further comprising a metal foil layer to which the organic light-emitting diode display is attached.

15 . The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the metal foil layer has an edge portion that covers and protects an edge of organic light-emitting diode display layer.

16 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising additional support structures that are parallel to the first and second housing portions.

17 . The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the additional support structures are separated by gaps and the flexible display bends at the gaps when the flexible display is retracted within the first housing portion.

18 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising an additional rotating roller within the second housing portion.

19 . A flexible display, comprising:
a flexible organic light-emitting diode layer that has an array of organic light-emitting diodes and that is operable in a retracted position in which the flexible organic light-emitting diode layer is wrapped around an axis and a deployed position in which the flexible organic light-emitting diode layer is planar; first elongated support members that run parallel to the axis; and second elongated support members that run perpendicular to the first elongated support members and that are located entirely behind the flexible organic light-emitting diode layer when the flexible organic light-emitting diode layer is in the deployed position, wherein the second elongated support members are bistable members that exhibit a rigid state and a flexible state, wherein the first and second elongated support members maintain the flexible organic light-emitting diode layer in a rigid planar configuration when the flexible organic light-emitting diode layer is in the deployed position and when the second elongated support members are in the rigid state and wherein the second elongated support members wrap around the axis with the flexible organic light-emitting diode layer when the organic light-emitting diode layer is in the retracted position.

20 . The flexible display defined in claim 19 wherein the second elongated support members comprise metal slats that have a curved profile in the rigid state and a flat profile in the flexible state.

21 . An electronic device, comprising:
a first elongated housing that extends along a first longitudinal axis; a second elongated housing that extends along a second longitudinal axis parallel to the first longitudinal axis; a flexible display having a first state in which the flexible display is retracted within the first elongated housing and a second state in which the flexible display is deployed and extends between the first and second elongated housings for viewing by a user; and bistable metal slats that extend between the first and second elongated housing and that hold the flexible display in a rigid state when the flexible display is deployed in the second state, wherein the flexible display completely overlaps the bistable metal slats when the flexible display is in the second state, and wherein the bistable metal slats are retracted within the first elongated housing when the flexible display is in the first state.

22 . The electronic device defined in claim 21 further comprising a hollow drum in the first elongated housing, wherein the flexible display wraps around the hollow drum when the flexible display is retracted within the first elongated housing.

23 . The electronic device defined in claim 22 further comprising:
printed circuits in an interior portion of the hollow drum; and
integrated circuits mounted on the printed circuits.

24 . An electronic device, comprising:
a first elongated housing that extends along a first longitudinal axis; a second elongated housing that extends along a second longitudinal axis parallel to the first longitudinal axis; a flexible display having a first state in which the flexible display is retracted within the first elongated housing and a second state in which the flexible display is deployed and extends between the first and second elongated housings for viewing by a user; first support members that extend parallel to the first and second elongated ho

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Zhang Zhen
• Drzaic Paul S

Classifications

• G06F1/1652 Primary

  the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable · CPC title

• G06F2203/04102

  Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper · CPC title

• G06F1/1628 Primary

  Enclosures for carrying portable computers with peripheral devices, e.g. cases for a laptop and a printer · CPC title

• G06F1/1615

  with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function (constructional details of portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts H04M1/0206) · CPC title

• G06F1/1605

  Multimedia displays, e.g. with integrated or attached speakers, cameras, microphones · CPC title