Electronic Devices With Flexible Displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025028365-A1
Application number	US-202418762491-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 2, 2024
Priority date	Jul 21, 2023
Publication date	Jan 23, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electronic device may have a hinge that allows the device to be flexed about a bend axis. A display may span the bend axis. The device may have a stainless steel and/or carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer with slots. The slots may overlap the bend axis. The slots may have at least one property that varies in a non-linear manner as a function of position on the layer. The device may include an adhesive layer with a cutout that overlaps the slots. An interface that defines the cutout may have a plurality of recesses with varying depths. A flexible printed circuit may be attached to an edge of the display panel. The display cover layer may overlap a bonding region between the flexible printed circuit and the edge of the display panel. A UV-curable gap filler may be interposed between the flexible printed circuit and the display cover layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electronic device comprising:
a flexible display with a first portion, a second portion that is aligned with a bend axis that extends in a first direction, and a third portion, wherein the second portion is interposed between the first and third portions and wherein the first portion is configured to bend relative to the third portion about the bend axis; and a layer that overlaps the flexible display, wherein the layer has a portion with slots that overlaps the second portion of the flexible display and wherein the slots have a property that varies in the first direction.

2 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises stainless steel.

3 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises carbon fiber.

4 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the portion with slots is a fifth portion of the layer, wherein the layer has a fourth portion and a sixth portion, and wherein the fifth portion is interposed between the fourth and sixth portions.

5 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein each slot has a width and a length that is greater than the width and wherein the length of each slot extends in the first direction.

6 . The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the property that varies in the first direction is the length of the slots and wherein the length of the slots increases towards an edge of the layer.

7 . The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the property that varies in the first direction is a gap in the first direction between adjacent slots.

8 . The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the slots have an additional property that varies in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction and wherein the additional property is the width of the slots.

9 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises a first carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer, a second carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer, and a third carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer, wherein the second carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer is interposed between the first and third carbon fiber reinforced polymer layers, wherein carbon fibers in the first carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer extend parallel to carbon fibers in the third carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer, wherein the carbon fibers in the first carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer extend orthogonal to carbon fibers in the second carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer, and wherein the slots extend through the first and second carbon fiber reinforced polymer layers but not the third carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer.

10 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , further comprising:
an opaque filler material in the slots.

11 . An electronic device comprising:
a flexible display with a first portion, a second portion that is aligned with a bend axis, and a third portion, wherein the second portion is interposed between the first and third portions and wherein the first portion is configured to bend relative to the third portion about the bend axis; and a layer that overlaps the flexible display, wherein the layer has a portion with slots that overlaps the second portion of the flexible display and wherein the slots have at least one property that varies in a non-linear manner as a function of position on the layer.

12 . The electronic device defined in claim 11 , wherein the at least one property is a distance between rows of slots and an edge of the layer, wherein a first subset of the slots has distances between each row of slots and the edge of the layer that follow a first non-linear trendline, wherein a second subset of the slots has distances between each row of slots and the edge of the layer that follow a second non-linear trendline that is different than the first non-linear trendline, wherein the first subset of the slots is alternating with the second subset of the slots, and wherein the first and second non-linear trendlines are first and second sinusoidal trendlines.

13 . The electronic device defined in claim 11 , wherein the at least one property is an angle of each slot relative to the bend axis, wherein a first subset of the slots has angles that follow a first non-linear trendline, wherein a second subset of the slots has angles that follow a second non-linear trendline that is different than the first non-linear trendline, and wherein the first subset of the slots is alternating with the second subset of the slots.

14 . The electronic device defined in claim 11 , wherein the layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: stainless steel and carbon fiber.

15 . An electronic device comprising:
a flexible display with a first portion, a second portion that is aligned with a bend axis, and a third portion, wherein the second portion is interposed between the first and third portions and wherein the first portion is configured to bend relative to the third portion about the bend axis; a layer that overlaps the flexible display, wherein the layer has a portion with slots that overlaps the second portion of the flexible display; and an adhesive layer that is interposed between the flexible display and the layer, wherein the adhesive layer has a cutout that overlaps the second portion of the flexible display.

16 . The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein the cutout is elongated in a direction that is parallel to the bend axis, wherein the adhesive layer has a first portion on a first side of the cutout and a second portion on a second, opposing side of the cutout, wherein an interface between the cutout and the first portion of the adhesive layer has a plurality of recesses, and wherein each recess in the plurality of recesses has a depth and wherein the plurality of recesses has depths of at least four unique magnitudes.

17 . The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein the layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: stainless steel and carbon fiber.

18 . An electronic device comprising:
a flexible display with a first portion, a second portion that is aligned with a bend axis that extends in a first direction, and a third portion, wherein the second portion is interposed between the first and third portions and wherein the first portion is configured to bend relative to the third portion about the bend axis; and a layer that overlaps the flexible display, wherein the layer has a fourth portion that overlaps the first portion, a fifth portion that overlaps the second portion, and a sixth portion that overlaps the third portion, wherein the fifth portion of the layer comprises a first material with slots, and wherein the fourth and sixth portions of the layer comprise a second material that is different than the first material.

19 . The electronic device defined in claim 18 , wherein the fifth portion comprises interlocking features that attach the fifth portion to the fourth and sixth portions.

20 . The electronic device defined in claim 18 , wherein the second material comprises polymer and wherein the first material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: stainless steel and carbon fiber.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Zhu Wenyong
• Niu Sijun
• Lv Wei
• Chen Hao
• Liao Ken Hsuan
• Kakuda Tyler R
• Wang Ying-Chih

Classifications

• G06F1/1681

  Details related solely to hinges (hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683) · CPC title

• G06F1/1652 Primary

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

• G01L1/2281 Primary

  for temperature variations · CPC title