Foldable cover and display for an electronic device

• US 10,303,218 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2018
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Jones, Christopher D., Memering, Dale N., Bartlow, Christopher C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US15/870,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20180217639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 36224903, 36224904, 36224907, 36224908, 36224909, 36224902
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133305 Flexible substrates, e.g. plastics, organic film
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1618 the display being foldable up to the back of the other housing with a single degree of freedom, e.g. by 360° rotation over the axis defined by the rear edge of the base enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 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 Class Codes: G09F 9/301 flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/028 Bending or folding regions of flexible printed circuits H05K1/0283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0306 Inorganic insulating substrates, e.g. ceramic, glass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 Flexible substrates

Abstract

Electronic devices including a display layer and a cover layer including a foldable region are disclosed herein. The display layer and the cover layer are configured to be moved between a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration by bending the cover layer along the foldable region. Methods of making a cover layer for an electronic device are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display layer; and

a cover layer coupled to the display layer and defining a foldable region that includes a ceramic material forming an exterior surface of the electronic device, wherein;

the display layer and the cover layer are configured to be moved between a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration by bending the cover layer along the foldable region;

the folded configuration defines a fold in the cover layer;

a first portion of the foldable region located at an inside of the fold in the folded configuration has a first compressive stress in the folded configuration;

a second portion of the foldable region located at an outside of the fold in the folded configuration has a second compressive stress in the unfolded configuration;

the first portion has a third compressive stress in an intermediate configuration, between the folded and the unfolded configurations, that is less than the first compressive stress; and

the second portion has a fourth compressive stress in the intermediate configuration that is less than the second compressive stress.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the ceramic material comprises a glass.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein:

the glass is chemically strengthened.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the cover layer defines:

a first foldable region defining a first localized bend while in the folded configuration;

a second foldable region defining a second localized bend while in the folded configuration; and

a ratio of a first bend angle of the first localized bend to a second bend angle of the second localized bend is from 0.3 to 0.7.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the cover layer comprises:

a substrate comprising the ceramic material and having an array of relief features formed into a surface of the substrate; and

a filler disposed in the array of relief features and having an optical index that is index matched to the substrate.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the cover layer comprises:

a base layer comprising the ceramic material;

a set of panel layers bonded to the base layer and defining a set of gaps, each gap defined between an adjacent pair of panel layers of the set of panel layers; and

a filler material disposed in each gap of the set of gaps, the filler material being index matched to at least one of the base layer or the set of panel layers.

7. An electronic device comprising:

a display;

a translucent substrate coupled to the display, the translucent substrate comprising a ceramic material forming an exterior surface of the electronic device, and having a foldable region including a relief feature; and

a filler disposed in the relief feature and optically index matched to the translucent substrate, wherein;

the translucent substrate is configured to move between a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration by folding and unfolding the foldable region;

the folded configuration defines a fold in the translucent substrate;

a first portion of the foldable region located at an inside of the fold in the folded configuration has a first compressive stress in the folded configuration;

a second portion of the foldable region located at an outside of the fold in the folded configuration has a second compressive stress in the unfolded configuration;

the first portion has a third compressive stress in an intermediate configuration, between the folded and the unfolded configurations, that is less than the first compressive stress; and

the second portion has a fourth compressive stress in the intermediate configuration that is less than the second compressive stress.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein:

the relief feature is one of a first array of relief features formed into a first surface of the translucent substrate;

the translucent substrate includes a second array of relief features on a second surface of the translucent substrate opposite to the first surface; and

the filler is one of a set of fillers, each filler of the set of fillers is disposed in a relative relief feature of the first and second arrays of relief features.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein:

each relief feature of the first array of relief features has a first width that is less than a second width of each relief feature of the second array of relief features; and

the second surface forms an inner surface of the foldable region when the translucent substrate is in the folded configuration.

10. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein:

the translucent substrate is formed from a glass; and

the filler is formed from a polymer material.

11. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein:

the relief feature is one of an array of relief features formed into a surface of the translucent substrate; and

the array of relief features is configured to define a minimum bend radius of the translucent substrate when the translucent substrate is in the folded configuration.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein:

each relief feature of the array of relief features includes a pair of walls that each extend at an oblique angle with respect to the surface of the translucent substrate when the translucent substrate is in the unfolded configuration.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein a spacing between adjacent relief features of the array of relief features varies along a length of the translucent substrate.

14. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein a first relief feature of the array of relief features has a first width that is greater than a second width of a second relief feature of the array of relief features.

15. An electronic device, comprising:

a display; and

a laminate cover layer positioned over and coupled to the display, the laminate cover layer comprising;

a base layer comprising a ceramic material; and

a set of panel layers arranged over a surface of the base layer and defining a foldable region, wherein;

the display and the laminate cover layer are configured to be folded along the foldable region, thereby moving to a folded configuration from an unfolded configuration;

the folded configuration defines a fold in the base layer;

a first portion of the foldable region located at an inside of the fold in the folded configuration has a first compressive stress in the folded configuration;

a second portion of the foldable region located at an outside of the fold in the folded configuration has a second compressive stress in the unfolded configuration;

the first portion has a third compressive stress in an intermediate configuration, between the folded and the unfolded configurations, that is less than the first compressive stress; and

the second portion has a fourth compressive stress in the intermediate configuration that is less than the second compressive stress.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein:

the set of panel layers defines a set of gaps, each gap defined between an adjacent pair of panel layers of the set of panel layers; and

a set of fillers is disposed in each gap of the set of gaps, the set of fillers being optically matched to at least one of the base layer or the set of panel layers.

17. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein:

the set of panel layers is formed from a second material having a stiffness less than that of the ceramic material.

18. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein:

the set of panel layers is bonded to an interior surface of the base layer.

19. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein:

the base layer has a first optical index that is different from a second optical index of the set of panel layers;

the laminate cover layer further comprises an interface layer between the base layer and the set of panel layers; and

the interface layer provides an optical index transition between the base layer and the set of panel layers.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein an optical index of the interface layer varies along a thickness of the interface layer.