Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8929085B2/en
Timestamp: 2018-10-22 14:30:04
Document Index: 13424299

Matched Legal Cases: ['§122', '§ 1', '§ 122', '§ 1', '§ 122', '§ 1', '§ 122', '§ 1', '§ 122', '§ 1']

US8929085B2 - Flexible electronic devices - Google Patents
US8929085B2
US8929085B2 US13250227 US201113250227A US8929085B2 US 8929085 B2 US8929085 B2 US 8929085B2 US 13250227 US13250227 US 13250227 US 201113250227 A US201113250227 A US 201113250227A US 8929085 B2 US8929085 B2 US 8929085B2
US13250227
US20130083496A1 (en )
Device 10 may include components such as interface components 24 and 26 that may be fully internal to device 10, but that receive input from the user or from the surrounding environment through physical interaction with flexible display 14 or other portions of flexible device 10. Interface components 24 and 26 may be positioned underneath flexible display 14 or flexible housing 12 so that flexible display 14 or flexible housing 12 must be deformed in order to contact components 24 or 26 or, if desired may be positioned to remain in constant contact with flexible display 14. Components 24 and 26 may be proximity sensors, pressure sensors, touch sensors (e.g., a portion of touch-sensitive display 14), light sensors, magnetic sensors, capacitive sensors, or other types of sensors configured to sense deformations of one or more portions of device 10. Interface components 24 and 26 may be positioned so that a deformation of flexible device 10 may activate internal components 24 or 26. For example, interface component 26 may include a switch positioned so that a squeeze of flexible device 10 that deforms flexible housing 12 and flexible display 14 (as indicated by dashed line 18) activates interface component 26 (e.g., by moving a portion of housing 12 into contact with the switch and thereby operating the switch). Interface component 24 may be configured to sense the relative position of interface component 26. Relative positions of internal components such as components 24 and 26 may provide information about the position or active flexing of device 10. Information about the position or about active flexing of device 10 may be used to activate internal components 24 or 26 or may active software applications that run on a processor associated with device 10.
Compliant printed circuit 30 of FIG. 6A formed from a substantially square rigid printed circuit board having openings 44 and CPU 44 mounted in a central portion is merely illustrative. If desired, CPU may be mounted in other positions on printed circuit 30 and printed circuit 30 may have other geometries.
As an example, FIG. 6B shows an elongated printed circuit 30 formed from a rigid printed circuit board having rigid portions 48 separated by patterned openings as openings 34. As shown in FIG. 6B, CPU 46 may be formed on one of rigid portions 48. Electronic components such as components 32 may be mounted to a common rigid portion 48 with CPU 46 or mounted to other rigid portions 48. Openings 44 of FIGS. 6A and 6B may allow rigid portions 48 to flex with respect to central portion 50 (FIG. 6A) or to other rigid portions 48 (FIGS. 6A and 6B) while rigid portions 48 remain substantially flat as shown in FIG. 7
Cavities 150 may be temporarily or permanently filled with air, fluid, gas or other material such as material 152. Cavities 150 may be coupled to one or more channels 154 for delivering and removing material 152 from cavities 152. Filling cavities 150 with material 152 may cause housing 12 to stiffen thereby providing a rigid housing for device 10. Removing material 152 from cavities 150 may relieve pressure from within cavities 150 and allow housing 12 to become flexible.
If desired, cavities 150 may be partially filled with material 152 so that housing 12 may be flexed until material 152 fills the volume of cavities 150. For example, the flexibility of housing 12 may decrease during deformation of housing 12 due to increasing pressure of material 152 in cavities 150 due to compression of cavities 150 due to deformation (flexing) of housing 12. If desired, cavities 150 may be deformable cavities that conform to the shape of a users hand or body (e.g., while device 10 is stored in a pocket). Deformable cavities may enhance the ergonomic features of device 10.
a flexible battery; and
a printed circuit having at least one flexible portion, wherein the flexible display, the flexible battery and the printed circuit are mounted in the flexible housing, wherein the flexible housing, the flexible display, the flexible battery, and the printed circuit are configured to permit deformation of at least a portion of the flexible electronic device, wherein the flexible housing comprises a multi-stable flexible housing having at least first and second stable positions, and wherein the deformation of the at least a portion of the flexible electronic device deforms the flexible housing from the first stable position to the second stable position.
2. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible housing is formed from a deformable material.
3. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the flexible housing comprises flexible housing sidewalls formed from the deformable material and a flexible rear housing wall formed from the deformable material.
4. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the printed circuit comprises a flexible printed circuit.
5. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the printed circuit comprises at least one rigid portion and at least one flexible portion.
6. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the printed circuit comprises a rigid printed circuit board having an opening, a rigid central portion, and at least one additional rigid portion, wherein the opening is formed at least partially between the rigid central portion and the at least one additional rigid portion and wherein the opening allows the at least one additional rigid portion to flex with respect to the rigid central portion.
7. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 6, further comprising a first electronic component mounted to the rigid central portion and a second electronic component mounted to the at least one additional rigid portion.
8. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible battery comprises a plurality of cylindrical battery cells and a plurality of flexible portions.
9. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible battery comprises a plurality of battery coin cells mounted on a flexible sheet.
10. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible battery comprises:
a plurality of cathode layers;
a plurality of anode layers;
a plurality of separator layers each of which is interposed between a respective one of the plurality of anode layers and a respective one of the plurality of cathode layers; and
at least one lubricious separator layer that is interposed between at least one of the plurality of cathode layers and at least one of the plurality of anode layers and that is more lubricious than each of the plurality of separator layers.
11. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 10, further comprising a battery pouch, wherein the plurality of cathode layers, the plurality of anode layers, the plurality of separator layers and the at least one lubricious separator layer form a roll of battery layers in the pouch.
12. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible housing comprises:
a fluid that partially fills the cavity, wherein the flexible housing has a flexibility that allows the flexible electronic device to be deformed, and wherein the flexibility is configured to decrease during deformation of the flexible electronic device due to an increasing pressure of the fluid in the cavity during deformation of the flexible electronic device.
13. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1, further comprising an internal component configured to sense the deformation.
14. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 13, further comprising an additional internal component, wherein the additional internal component is configured to sense a distance between the additional internal component and the internal component and to change an operating mode of the flexible electronic device when the distance falls below a predetermined threshold due to the deformation.
15. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the internal component comprises a switch and wherein the deformation of the at least a portion of the flexible electronic device moves the portion of the flexible electronic device into contact with the internal component to operate the switch.
16. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible display comprises:
a flexible touch-sensitive layer.
17. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible housing comprises:
at least one rigid portion; and
at least one elastomeric portion that permits the deformation of the portion of the flexible electronic device.
18. The flexible electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the flexible housing comprises:
a flexible sheet having a flexibility; and
a support structure having a flexibility that is less than the flexibility of the flexible sheet, wherein the support structure is attached to the flexible sheet and extends along a dimension of the flexible sheet to reduce flexing about an axis that runs perpendicular to the dimension.
a flexible housing; and
a configurable support structure for the flexible housing having a first configuration that allows the configurable support structure to form a rigid support structure for the flexible housing and a second configuration that allows the flexible housing to be deformed.
20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein the configurable support structure comprises:
a rigid spine;
a locking hinge on the rigid spine; and
at least one segmented arm, wherein in the first configuration the locking hinge is locked and in the second configuration the locking hinge is unlocked, and wherein in the first configuration the at least one segmented arm is engaged in a rigid state by the locking hinge.
21. The electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein the configurable support structure comprises:
a plurality of cavities in the flexible housing; and
a fluid in the plurality of cavities, wherein in the first configuration the fluid is pressurized in the plurality of cavities, and wherein in the second configuration the fluid is unpressurized in the cavities.
22. The electronic device defined in claim 19, further comprising a switch that changes a configuration of the configurable support structure from the first configuration to the second configuration.
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US13250227 US8929085B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2011-09-30 Flexible electronic devices
KR20147011406A KR101597670B1 (en) 2011-09-30 2012-09-24 Flexible electronic devices
EP20120780931 EP2742398A2 (en) 2011-09-30 2012-09-24 Flexible electronic devices
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JP2014533626A JP6067717B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2012-09-24 Flexible electronic device
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US14589712 Continuation US9274562B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2015-01-05 Flexible electronic devices
US20130083496A1 true US20130083496A1 (en) 2013-04-04
US8929085B2 true US8929085B2 (en) 2015-01-06
US13250227 Active 2032-08-18 US8929085B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2011-09-30 Flexible electronic devices
US14589712 Active US9274562B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2015-01-05 Flexible electronic devices
US15055432 Active US9557874B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2016-02-26 Flexible electronic devices
US15419730 Active US9971448B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2017-01-30 Flexible electronic devices
US15974545 Pending US20180260072A1 (en) 2011-09-30 2018-05-08 Flexible Electronic Devices
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WO (1) WO2013048925A3 (en)
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Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:FRANKLIN, JEREMY C.;MYERS, SCOTT A.;RAPPOPORT, BENJAMIN M.;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20110929 TO 20110930;REEL/FRAME:027001/0119