Flexible electronic devices

• US 9,274,562 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2015
• Issued: 03/01/2016
• 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:
  US14/589,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20150116920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 361/679.26
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 first and second rigid portions joined by a flexible portion, wherein the first rigid portion is moveable relative to the second rigid portion;

a flexible display configured to flex with the housing;

at least one sensor that detects flexing of the flexible display; and

control circuitry that gathers sensor signals from the at least one sensor and performs user input functions based on the sensor signals.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises first and second sensors and wherein flexing of the flexible display is detected based on a distance between the first and second sensors.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the control circuitry determines based on the sensor signals whether the distance between the first and second sensors is below a threshold.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the control circuitry turns off the flexible display when the distance between the first and second sensors is less than the threshold.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the control circuitry turns on the flexible display when the distance between the first and second sensors is greater than the threshold.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises a light sensor.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises a pressure sensor.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises a capacitive sensor.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises a switch and wherein the flexing of the flexible display activates the switch.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein a portion of the housing contacts the switch when the flexible display is flexed to thereby activate the switch.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein a portion of the flexible display contacts the switch when it is flexed to thereby activate the switch.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a rigid portion and a flexible portion;

a flexible display;

at least one internal component that senses deformation of the flexible display; and

control circuitry that changes an operating mode of the electronic device in response to the deformation of the flexible display.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the flexible display comprises:

a flexible display layer; and

a flexible touch-sensitive layer.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the flexible portion of the housing comprises an elastomer.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the housing comprises a multi-stable housing having at least first and second stable positions.

16. A method for operating an electronic device having a flexible display and a housing, wherein the housing includes a rigid portion and a flexible portion, comprising:

with at least one sensor in the housing, receiving user input from a user by detecting deformation of the flexible display; and

with control circuitry in the housing, performing a user input function in response to sensor signals from the at least one sensor.

17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein the flexible display comprises an array of pixels and a touch sensor.

18. The method defined in claim 17 wherein performing the user input function in response to the sensor signals comprises changing display content that is displayed on the flexible display in response to the sensor signals.

19. The method defined in claim 16 wherein the at least one sensor comprises first and second sensors and wherein detecting the deformation of the flexible display comprises detecting a change in distance between the first and second sensors.

20. The method defined in claim 19 further comprising:

with the control circuitry, activating the flexible display when the distance between the first and second sensors is greater than a threshold; and

with the control circuitry deactivating the flexible display when the distance between the first and second sensors is less than the threshold.