Flexible electronic devices

• US 10,739,908 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2019
• Issued: 08/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Franklin, Jeremy C., Myers, Scott A., Rappoport, Benjamin M., Lynch, Stephen Brian, Ternus, John P., Wodrich, Justin R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Forrest M
• Application Number:
  US16/421,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20190278422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• 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 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 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 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: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/027 Arrangements or methods related to powering off a display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/035 for flexible display surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2092 Details of a display terminals using a flat panel, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto suitable for both CRT and flat panel G09G5/003; specific for a CRT G09G1/165
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0436 Small-sized flat cells or batteries for portable equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/30 Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/105 Pouches or flexible bags
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/213 : adapted for cells having curved cross-section, e.g. round or elliptic H01M50/209, H01M50/216 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/216 : adapted for button or coin cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/293 : characterised by the material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/409 : Separators, membranes or diaphragms characterised by the material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/469 : tubular or cylindrical
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0216 : Foldable in one direction, i.e. using a one degree of freedom hinge
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0262 : for a battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0268 : including a flexible display panel
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 : Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/40 : OLEDs integrated with touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 : Flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 : Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 : Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

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.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a first portion and a second portion, wherein the second portion moves relative to the first portion;

a flexible display that overlaps the first and second portions of the housing; and

control circuitry that measures a change in position of the first portion relative to the second portion and that changes an operating mode of the electronic device based on the change in position.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a region that joins the first and second portions, wherein the region is stable in a first position when the second portion is at a first angle relative the first portion and stable in a second position when the second portion is at a second angle relative the first portion.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the region comprises a hinge.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the control circuitry changes the operating mode of the electronic device to a low energy state operating mode when the change in position is a transition from an open position to a closed position.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4, wherein the flexible display is folded in half in the closed position.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5, wherein the flexible display has a first region that overlaps the first portion of the housing and a second region that overlaps the second portion of the housing and wherein the first region faces the second region in the closed position.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a printed circuit having a first rigid portion mounted in the first portion of the housing, a second rigid portion mounted in the second portion of the housing, and a flexible portion that extends from the first rigid portion to the second rigid portion.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a flexible cover layer that overlaps the flexible display and the first and second portions of the housing.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

a flexible housing;

a display that produces display content;

a sensor that detects a squeeze of the flexible housing; and

control circuitry that changes the display content in response to the squeeze of the flexible housing.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9, wherein the control circuitry activates a software application in response to the squeeze of the flexible housing.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 9, wherein the flexible housing is foldable along a fold axis and wherein the sensor detects a folding of the flexible housing along the fold axis.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11, wherein the fold axis aligns with a center of the display.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12, wherein the control circuitry changes an operational state of the electronic device in response to the folding of the flexible housing.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13, wherein the control circuitry changes the operational state to a low energy operational state when the flexible housing is folded to a closed position.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 13, wherein the control circuitry adjusts the display content in response to the folding of the flexible housing.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 9, wherein the sensor comprises a force sensor.

17. An electronic device comprising:

a foldable housing having a first portion and a second portion, wherein the second portion moves relative to the first portion;

a flexible display that produces display content and that overlaps the first and second portions of the housing;

a sensor that detects a change in position of the second portion of the housing relative to the first portion of the housing; and

control circuitry that changes the display content based on the change in position of the second portion of the housing relative to the first portion of the housing.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17, wherein the control circuitry changes the display content by activating a software application.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 17, wherein the foldable housing has opposing first and second sides and wherein the foldable housing folds along an axis that extends from the first side to the second side.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 17, wherein the sensor comprises a force sensor that is located in the flexible display.