Flexible electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9971448-B2
Application number	US-201715419730-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2017
Priority date	Sep 30, 2011
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

Flexible electronic devices may be provided. A flexible electronic device may include a flexible display, a flexible housing and one or more flexible internal components configured to allow the flexible electronic device to be deformed. Flexible displays may include flexible display layers, flexible touch-sensitive layers, and flexible display cover layers. The flexible housing may be a multi-stable flexible housing having one or more stable positions. The flexible housing may include a configurable support structure that, when engaged, provides a rigid support structure for the flexible housing. The flexible internal components may include flexible batteries, flexible printed circuits or other flexible components. A flexible battery may include flexible and rigid portions or may include a lubricious separator layer that provides flexibility for the flexible battery. A flexible printed circuit may include flexible and rigid portions or openings that allow some rigid portions to flex with respect to other rigid portions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a display having an array of pixels and having a rigid cover layer over the array of pixels;
a flexible fabric layer;
a touch sensor that receives user input on the flexible fabric layer; and
processing circuitry that controls the array of pixels based on the user input.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the display comprises light-emitting diodes.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry activates a software application in response to the user input.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry switches the display between an on mode and a sleep mode in response to the user input.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible fabric layer is attached to at least one metal structure.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible fabric layer is movable between a flat configuration and a curved configuration.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the touch sensor comprises a capacitive touch sensor.

8. A wearable electronic device, comprising:
a flexible fabric material;
an array of light-emitting elements mounted to the flexible fabric material;
a flexible touch sensor that detects user input on the flexible fabric material; and
processing circuitry that controls the light-emitting elements based on the user input.

9. The wearable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the light-emitting elements are covered by a rigid layer.

10. The wearable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the array of light-emitting elements comprises a flexible array of light-emitting elements.

11. The wearable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the light-emitting elements comprise light-emitting diodes.

12. The wearable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the flexible touch sensor comprises a capacitive touch sensor.

13. The wearable electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the flexible fabric material is attached to a metal structure.

14. A wrist-watch electronic device, comprising:
a display having a rigid cover layer;
a flexible member coupled to the display;
a sensor that detects user input on the flexible member; and
processing circuitry that gathers signals from the sensor and that controls the display based on the signals.

15. The wrist-watch electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the flexible member comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: polymer, silicone, fabric, and metal.

16. The wrist-watch electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the display comprises an organic light-emitting diode display.

17. The wrist-watch electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the sensor comprises a sensor selected from the group consisting of: a proximity sensor, a pressure sensor, and a touch sensor.

18. The wrist-watch electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the display comprises an organic light-emitting diode display.

19. The wrist-watch electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the flexible member is movable between a flat configuration and a curved configuration.

20. The wrist-watch electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the sensor detects deformation of the flexible member and wherein the processing circuitry controls the display based on the deformation.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Franklin Jeremy C
• Myers Scott A
• Rappoport Benjamin M
• Lynch Stephen Brian
• Ternus John P
• Wodrich Justin R

Classifications

• G06F2203/04103

  Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices · CPC title

• H04M1/0262

  for a battery compartment · CPC title

• G06F1/3265

  Power saving in display device · CPC title

• H01M2220/30

  Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop · CPC title

• G06F2203/04101

  2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup · CPC title