PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11079797-B1
Application Number: US-202016874557-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Electronic devices with adjustable display windows

Abstract:
An electronic device may have a display with an array of pixels for displaying images. The display may have a window region. During operation, a component such as an optical component may operate through the window region. The window region may overlap a movable portion of the display. The window region may be operated in open and closed states. In the closed state, the movable portion of the display overlaps the window region and pixels in the movable display portion emit light through the window region. In the open state, the movable portion of the display is moved away from the window region so that light for the optical component may pass through the window region. The optical component may be a camera or other component that receives light through the window region or may be an optical component that emits light through the window region.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a display cover layer; 
 a component; 
 an actuator; and 
 a display configured to display an image, wherein 
 the display is mounted under the display cover layer and wherein the display has a window that is operable in a closed state in which a portion of the display is in the window and displays a portion of the image and an open state in which the actuator moves the portion of the display away from the window and the component operates through the window. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the component comprises an optical component. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the optical component is configured to receive light that passes through a portion of the display cover layer overlapping the window. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the optical component comprises a camera. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the display comprises a flexible display and wherein the portion of the display is an integral portion of the flexible display that is configured to bend away from the window in the open state. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the portion of the display has a rigid substrate, the electronic device further comprising a hinge coupled to the rigid substrate. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the portion of the display is configured to slide between a first position in the closed state and a second position in the open state. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7  further comprising at least one roller configured to receive the display as the display slides. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 7  wherein the display has pixels, wherein the display is configured to slide in a first direction at a speed, and wherein the display is configured to move the image across the pixels at the speed in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction to synchronize sliding movement of the displayed image with physical sliding movement of the display. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 4  wherein the portion of the display is moved away from the window by rolling the portion of the display about a roller. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a reflective structure on the portion of the display. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the reflective structure comprises a thin-film dielectric stack configured to reflect light received through the window to the component in the open state and wherein the component comprises a camera. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the display has a rigid portion and a flexible portion and wherein the flexible portion wraps around a roller when the portion of the display is moved away from the window. 
     
     
       14. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing having a transparent layer; 
 a display overlapped by the transparent layer; and 
 an optical component configured to receive light through a window region in the display, wherein the display has at least one movable portion that moves between a first position in which the movable portion covers the window region and a second position in which the movable portion does not cover the window region and the light passes through the window region to the optical component. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  further comprising a mirror aligned with the window region, wherein the mirror is configured to reflect the light that has passed through the window region. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  further comprising a coating on the movable portion, wherein the coating is configured to reflect the light that has passed through the window region to the optical component and is configured to pass light that is emitted from pixels in the movable portion. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  further comprising an actuator configured to move the optical component from a first position when the window region is covered to a second position when the window region is not covered. 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the optical component is aligned with the window and is configured to directly receive the light that passes through the window region. 
     
     
       19. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the optical component is configured to emit light that passes through the window region when the movable portion is in the second position. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the display comprises a flexible display and wherein the movable portion comprises a bendable flap of the flexible display. 
     
     
       21. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display having an array of pixels and having a window region surrounded by pixels in the array of pixels; 
 an actuator; and 
 an optical component configured to operate through the window region, wherein the display has a display portion that is configured to be moved by the actuator between a first position in which pixels in the display portion emit light in the window region and a second position in which the pixels in the display portion do not emit light in the window region. 
 
     
     
       22. The electronic device defined in  claim 21  wherein the optical component comprises a camera configured to receive light that passes through the window region while the display portion is in the second position.

Description:
FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices with displays. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices often include displays. A touch screen display may be used in a cellular telephone or other portable device to display information for a user and to gather user input. Some electronic devices include optical components such as cameras. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have a display with an array of pixels for displaying images. The display may have a window. During operation, a component such as an optical component may operate through a window region in a display. The window region may overlap a movable portion of the display. 
     A display window may be operated in open and closed states. In the closed state, the movable portion of the display overlaps the window region and pixels in the movable display portion emit light from the window region. In the open state, the movable portion of the display is moved away from the window region so that light for the optical component may pass through the window region. The optical component may be a camera or other component that receives light through the window region or may be an optical component that emits light through the window region. 
     The movable portion of the display may be an integral portion of a flexible display such as a flap of the flexible display that is bent away from remaining portions of the flexible display when opening the display window or may be a rigid display layer that moves about a hinge. Sliding display arrangements and other display arrangements that allow the movable portion of the display to selectively cover and uncover the window region may be used, if desired. An electrically adjustable actuator may move the movable display portion. 
     The display portion may have a coating that reflects light for the optical component when the window is open. The coating may be transparent to light emitted by pixels in the movable display portion when the window is closed. Configurations in which a mirror is aligned with the window or in which the optical component directly receives or emits light through the window without a mirror may also be used. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is top view of an illustrative electronic device display with a closed display window in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is top view of the illustrative electronic device display of  FIG. 3  in which the display window is open in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are cross-sectional side views of an illustrative electronic device with a window that opens by bending or otherwise rotating a portion of a display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 7 and 8  are cross-sectional side views of an illustrative electronic device with a window that opens by sliding a display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having a window with a bendable display region in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a bendable display with a reflective structure to reflect light in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a graph showing how the reflectivity of a coating on a bendable display portion may vary as a function of incident angle in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative device with a bendable display and a movable component that operates through a window created by bending the display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a slidable display arranged to cover a display window in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of the illustrative electronic device of  FIG. 13  in which the slidable display has been moved to uncover a window region associated with the display window in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a sliding display and an air gap in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a sliding display and an index matching fluid in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a display that folds to open a window that overlaps a mirror in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a display that folds to open a window that overlaps an electrical component in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 19A and 19B  are cross-sectional side views of an illustrative electronic device with a window that is adjusted using a rolling display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 20  is a cross-sectional side view of a display having a window region overlapped by a movable display portion with a rigid display substrate in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device may have input-output devices such as cameras and other optical components. The electronic device may also have a display. The display may have an array of pixels for displaying images for a user. The display may be an organic light-emitting diode display, a micro-light-emitting diode display formed from an array of crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies, and/or may be any other suitable display. A two-dimensional touch sensor such as a capacitive touch sensor or other touch sensor may be incorporated into the display (e.g., by forming capacitive sensor electrodes from thin-film display circuitry) and/or a touch sensor layer may overlap the array of pixels in the display. 
     It may be desirable to hide cameras and other input-output devices from view when not in use. Accordingly, the electronic device may be provided with one or more adjustable windows. The windows may be formed in display window regions that overlap input-output devices in the electronic device. For example, a window may overlap a camera or other optical component. 
     In an illustrative configuration, the adjustable window may be formed in a portion of the display of the electronic device where the adjustable window is partly or completely surrounded by the pixels in the display. The window may be placed in an open state (sometimes referred to as a transparent state) when it is desired to allow an input-output device such as a camera to operate through the window. The window may be placed in a closed state (sometimes referred to as an opaque state) when it is desired to cover the camera or other input-output device and thereby hide the device from view. To avoid creating inactive holes or other inactive regions in the display as the display presents an image to the user, the window may be formed from a display portion that has active pixels. When the window is in the closed state, the active pixels of the display portion may be used to display a portion of the image for the user in the window region. In this way, an unbroken continuous image may be displayed over some or all of a display surface of an electronic device when the window is closed. 
     In general, any suitable electronic devices may be provided with adjustable windows and adjustable windows may be formed on any suitable portions of an electronic device (e.g., a display surface on an exterior surface such as a side surface, front surface, and/or rear surface). Arrangements in which adjustable windows are formed in displays such as displays on the front surface of an electronic device are described herein as an example. 
     A perspective view of an illustrative electronic device of the type that may include a display with an adjustable window is shown in  FIG. 1 . Device  10  may be a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a wristband device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a head-mounted device such as glasses, goggles, a helmet, or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which equipment is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, a removable external case for electronic equipment, an accessory such as a remote control, computer mouse, track pad, wireless or wired keyboard, or other accessory, and/or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices. In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 1 , device  10  is a portable electronic device such as a cellular telephone or tablet computer. This configuration may sometimes be described herein as an example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may be formed from materials such as polymer, glass, metal, crystalline materials such as sapphire, ceramic, fabric, foam, wood, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. Device  10  may have any suitable shape. In the example of  FIG. 1 , device  10  has front face F with a rectangular outline, opposing rear face R, and sidewall portions (sidewalls) W. Portions W may be formed as extensions of the housing structures on front face F, rear face R, and/or may be formed using one or more separate sidewall members (as examples). Sidewall structures may be planar (e.g., to form vertical sidewalls extending between front F and rear R) and/or may have curved cross-sectional profiles. Input-output devices such as one or more buttons may be mounted on housing  12  (e.g., on sidewall portions W). 
     Device  10  may have one or more displays such as display  14 . In the example of  FIG. 1 , display  14  covers front face F. Display  14  may also be mounted on other portions of device  10 . For example, one or more displays such as display  14  may cover all of front face F, part of front face F, some or all of rear face R, and/or some or all of sidewalls W. 
     Housing  12  may include outwardly facing structures that form external device surfaces and/or may include frame structures, supporting plates, and/or other internal support structures. In some configurations, some or all of display  14  may be covered with flexible or rigid transparent members. Transparent members such as these may cover displays. Such transparent display cover layer structures, which may sometimes be referred to as housing structures, may overlap at least some of display  14  and may serve as a display cover layer. If desired, transparent thin-film structures may serve as protective display layers (e.g., scratch-resistance layers, oleophobic anti-smudge coating layers, etc.). 
     Display  14  may have a planar shape, a shape with a curved cross-sectional profile, or other suitable shape. In the example of  FIG. 1 , front face F has a planar shape and lies in the X-Y plane. Display  14  may have a rectangular footprint (outline when viewed from above) or other suitable footprint. Device  10  may be elongated along a longitudinal axis that extends parallel to the Y axis of  FIG. 1  or along other directions (e.g., parallel to the X axis of  FIG. 1 ). The thickness of device  10  in dimension Z may be less than the width of device  10  in dimension X and less than the length of device  10  in dimension Y (as an example). 
     Display  14  may have an array of pixels P. Pixels P form an active display area that displays images for a user during operation of device  10 . If desired, an array of touch sensor electrodes (e.g., capacitive touch sensor electrodes) may overlap display  14  and pixels P (e.g., display  14  may be a touch screen display). Pixels P may be organic light-emitting diode pixels, pixels formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies, liquid crystal display pixels, electrophoretic display pixels, and/or pixels associated with other types of displays. 
     A schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device is shown in  FIG. 2 . Device  10  of  FIG. 2  may be operated as a stand-alone device and/or the resources of device  10  may be used to communicate with external electronic equipment. As an example, communications circuitry in device  10  may be used to transmit user input information, sensor information, and/or other information to external electronic devices (e.g., wirelessly or via wired connections) and/or may be used to receive such information from external electronic devices. Each of these external devices may include components of the type shown by device  10  of  FIG. 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may include control circuitry  20 . Control circuitry  20  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  20  may be used to gather input from sensors (e.g., cameras) and other input devices and may be used to control output devices. The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors and other wireless communications circuits, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. During operation, control circuitry  20  may use display(s)  14  and other output devices in providing a user with visual output and other output. 
     To support communications between device  10  and external equipment, control circuitry  20  may communicate using communications circuitry  22 . Circuitry  22  may include antennas, radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, and other wireless communications circuitry and/or wired communications circuitry. Circuitry  22 , which may sometimes be referred to as control circuitry and/or control and communications circuitry, may support bidirectional wireless communications between device  10  and external equipment (e.g., a companion device such as a computer, cellular telephone, or other electronic device, an accessory such as a point device, computer stylus, or other input device, speakers or other output devices, etc.) over a wireless link. For example, circuitry  22  may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry such as wireless local area network transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over a wireless local area network link, near-field communications transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over a near-field communications link, cellular telephone transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over a cellular telephone link, or transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over any other suitable wired or wireless communications link. Wireless communications may, for example, be supported over a Bluetooth® link, a WiFi® link, a wireless link operating at a frequency between 10 GHz and 400 GHz, a 60 GHz link, or other millimeter wave link, a cellular telephone link, or other wireless communications link. Device  10  may, if desired, include power circuits for transmitting and/or receiving wired and/or wireless power and may include batteries or other energy storage devices. For example, device  10  may include a coil and rectifier to receive wireless power that is provided to circuitry in device  10 . 
     Device  10  may include input-output devices such as devices  24 . Electronic components such as input-output devices  24  may be used in gathering user input, in gathering information on the environment surrounding the user, and/or in providing a user with output. Devices  24  may include one or more displays such as display(s)  14 . Display(s)  14  may include one or more display devices such as organic light-emitting diode display panels (panels with organic light-emitting diode pixels formed on polymer substrates or silicon substrates that contain pixel control circuitry), liquid crystal display panels, microelectromechanical systems displays (e.g., two-dimensional mirror arrays or scanning mirror display devices), display panels having pixel arrays formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies (sometimes referred to as microLEDs), and/or other display devices. 
     Sensors  16  in input-output devices  24  may include force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), audio sensors such as microphones, touch and/or proximity sensors such as capacitive sensors such as a touch sensor that forms a button, trackpad, or other input device), and other sensors. If desired, sensors  16  may include optical sensors such as optical sensors that emit and detect light, ultrasonic sensors, optical touch sensors, optical proximity sensors, and/or other touch sensors and/or proximity sensors, monochromatic and color ambient light sensors, image sensors (e.g., cameras such as cameras on front face F and/or rear face R of device  10 ), fingerprint sensors, iris scanning sensors, retinal scanning sensors, and other biometric sensors, temperature sensors, sensors for measuring three-dimensional non-contact gestures (“air gestures”), pressure sensors, sensors for detecting position, orientation, and/or motion (e.g., accelerometers, magnetic sensors such as compass sensors, gyroscopes, and/or inertial measurement units that contain some or all of these sensors), health sensors such as blood oxygen sensors, heart rate sensors, blood flow sensors, and/or other health sensors, radio-frequency sensors, three-dimensional camera systems such as depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices that capture three-dimensional images) and/or optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that gather time-of-flight measurements (e.g., time-of-flight cameras), humidity sensors, moisture sensors, gaze tracking sensors, electromyography sensors to sense muscle activation, facial sensors, interferometric sensors, time-of-flight sensors, magnetic sensors, resistive sensors, distance sensors, angle sensors, and/or other sensors. In some arrangements, device  10  may use sensors  16  and/or other input-output devices  24  to gather user input. For example, input-output devices  24  such as buttons may be used to gather button press input, touch sensors overlapping displays can be used for gathering user touch screen input, touch pads may be used in gathering touch input, microphones may be used for gathering audio input (e.g., voice commands), accelerometers may be used in monitoring when a finger contacts an input surface and may therefore be used to gather finger press input, etc. 
     Input-output devices  24  may include optical components such as camera(s), depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors or other sensors that gather three-dimensional image data), optical proximity sensors, ambient light sensors (e.g., color ambient light sensors), optical time-of-flight sensors (cameras) and other sensors  16  that are sensitive to visible and/or infrared light and that may emit visible and/or infrared light (e.g., devices  24  may contain optical sensors that emit and/or detect light). For example, a visible-light image sensor in a camera may have a visible light flash or an associated infrared flood illuminator to provide illumination while the image sensor captures a two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional image. An infrared camera such as an infrared structured light camera that captures three-dimensional infrared images may have an infrared flood illuminator that emits infrared flood illumination and/or may have a dot projector the emits an array of infrared light beams. Infrared proximity sensors may emit infrared light and detect the infrared light after the infrared light has reflected from a target object. 
     If desired, electronic device  10  may include additional components (see, e.g., other devices  18  in input-output devices  24 ). The additional components may include haptic output devices, actuators for moving movable structures in device  10 , audio output devices such as speakers, light-emitting diodes for status indicators, light sources such as light-emitting diodes that illuminate portions of a housing and/or display structure, other optical output devices, and/or other circuitry for gathering input and/or providing output. Device  10  may also include a battery or other energy storage device, connector ports for supporting wired communication with ancillary equipment and for receiving wired power, and other circuitry. 
     It may be desirable to locate optical components and other input-output devices  24  on front face F of device  10  (e.g., so that sensors may measure ambient light and/or otherwise sense the environment, may measure proximity to a user&#39;s head, may capture two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional images of the user&#39;s face and/or may otherwise interact with the user). To help hide optical devices and other input-output devices  24  from view on front face F, one or more of these devices may be located under an adjustable window region in display  14 . The structures used in forming the adjustable window of device  10  may have pixels P that form part of display  14  when display  14  is being used to present images to a user. In this way, the presence of the adjustable window may not be noticeable to a user. 
     Consider, as an example, the arrangement of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in which adjustable window (window region)  50  is formed in display  14 . Window  50  may, for example, be configured to overlap with a camera or other input-output device  24 . 
     In the configuration of  FIG. 3 , window  50  has been closed and has been adjusted to display a portion of the image that is being presented on display  14 . In this state, window  50  is opaque and blocks internal structures in device  10  from view. 
     In the configuration of  FIG. 4 , window  50  has been placed in its open state. In this state, window  50  is transparent and/or is otherwise configured to allow the overlapped camera or other input-output device  24  in device  10  to emit and/or detect light through window  50  and/or to otherwise operate through window  50 . 
     In general, window  50  may have any suitable shape. The outline of window  50  may, as an example, have a rectangular shape, a circular or oval shape, a shape with straight and/or curved edges, and/or other suitable footprint. There may be one or more discontinuous regions of display  14  that form window  50 . Window  50  may be located along the upper edge of display  14  (e.g., at the upper left corner, upper center edge, or upper right corner of display  14 ) and/or at other portions of display  14 . If desired, window  50  may form a notch along an edge of display  14 . In other configurations, window  50  forms an island surrounded on all sides by active portions of display  14  (e.g., pixels P in portions of display  14  other than window  50  may surround window  50  and the pixels of window  50 ). 
     Window  50  may be adjusted mechanically and/or electrically (e.g., by turning on pixels P in window  50  when window  50  is closed and/or turning off pixels P when window  50  is open. Mechanical adjustments may involve display movement (e.g., folding, sliding, and/or rolling). For example, the portion of display  14  in window  50  may move due to display bending, display rolling (e.g., wrapping an end portion of display  14  and/or the pixels of window  50  around a roller), and/or display sliding (e.g., using one or more rollers or other structures to slide a portion of display  14  to open window  50 ). 
     An illustrative display bending arrangement is shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . In the configuration of  FIG. 5 , display  14  is in its normal unbent state and window  50  is closed. Display  14  may be planar in this state or may have other suitable shapes. When it is desired to use an input-output device that is overlapped by the portion of display  14  in window  50 , this portion of display  14  (e.g., portion  14 P) may be bent to open window  50 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . An actuator (e.g., a piezoelectric actuator, a motor, solenoid, or other electromagnetic actuator, a shape memory metal actuator, a pneumatic actuator, an electroactive polymer actuator, and/or other computer-controlled positioner) may be used to move a flap of display  14  such as portion  14 B about bend axis  52  under control of signals from control circuitry  20 . Display portion  14 P may be an integral portion of a flexible display (e.g., display  14  may be an organic light-emitting diode display with a flexible substrate, a display with an array of pixels formed from respective crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies mounted to a flexible substrate, etc.) and/or display portion  14 P may be formed from a separate display structure (e.g., a rigid display structure that moves relative to the rest of display  14  using a hinge. 
     If desired, window  50  may be adjusted using a sliding display arrangement. This type of approach is illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , display  14  and display portion  14 P may initially be in a position in which portion  14 P covers and closes adjustable window  50 . In this position, pixels P in portion  14 P and pixels P in the remaining portions of display  14  may be used to display an image. Internal device components such as one or more input-output device  24  that are associated with window  50  may be blocked from view. When it is desired to operate the camera or other input-output device(s)  24  that is associated with window  50 , window  50  may be opened. As shown in  FIG. 8 , for example, display portion  14 P (and, if desired, other portions of display  14  that are attached to portion  14 P) may be moved (slid) in direction  54 , thereby uncovering window  50  and an overlapped camera or other input-output device  24  that is aligned with window  50 . 
     A cross-sectional view of an end portion of an illustrative electronic device with a bending flexible display portion in window  50  is shown in  FIG. 9 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , display  14  may be formed on front face F of device  10 . Display  14  may have an array of pixels for displaying an image. A transparent protective layer such as display cover layer  56  may cover front face F and display  14  (e.g., layer  56  may overlap window  50  and surrounding portions of display  14 ). During operation, a user may view the image presented on display  14  through display cover layer  56 . Layer  56  may be formed from transparent materials such as glass, polymer, sapphire and/or other crystalline materials, optical fibers formed form one or more of these materials and/or other materials, and/or other clear materials. Layer  56 , which may sometimes be referred to as a transparent housing structure or transparent housing wall, may extend across front face F and, if desired, over some or all of sidewall portions W and rear face R. 
     An actuator such as actuator  62  may open and close window  60  by moving display portion  14 P to cover or uncover a window opening in display  14 . Actuator  62  may, as an example, have a rotatable gear such as gear  64  that is rotated on a shaft about axis  66  by an electrically controlled motor. The teeth of gear  64  may engage corresponding teeth on toothed member  68 , thereby allowing member  68  to move display portion  14 P to an open position in which window  60  is uncovered by portion  14 P (as show in  FIG. 9 ) or to a closed position (see. e.g., position  14 P′) in which portion  14 P covers window  50  and uses its pixels to display a portion of the image on display  14 . Display  14  may be a flexible display and display portion  14 P may be an integral portion of the flexible display that bends about axis  52  as actuator  62  opens window  50  or display portion  14 P may be separated from remaining portions of display  14  at location  70  (e.g., portion  14 P may be separate rigid panel that is rotated using a hinge, etc.). If desired, a separate flexible and/or rigid panel forming portion  14 P may be moved into and out of place by sliding motion instead of rotation (as an example). 
     When window  50  is open, a camera or other input-output device  24  may operate through window  50 . Window  50  may, as an example, have an overlapping clear portion of display cover layer  56  through which light may enter and/or exit device  10 . Device  24  may emit light and/or gather light that travels along path  60  and that reflects from portion  14 P while portion  14 P is angled as shown in  FIG. 9  (e.g., while portion  14 P is oriented at a 45 angle or other appropriate angle with respect to display cover layer  56 , which lies generally in the X-Y plane of  FIG. 9 ). For example, in a scenario in which device  24  is a camera, device  24  can capture an image of external object  58  (e.g., image light from object  58  will reflect from portion  14 P to device  24  after traveling through layer  56 ). In scenarios in which device  24  emits light, this light may reflect from portion  14 P towards object  58 . 
     To enhance the reflectivity of incoming and/or outgoing light from portion  14 P when window  50  is open, portion  14 P may be provided with one or more reflective structures such as illustrative reflective layer  72  of  FIG. 10 . Reflective layer  72  may, as an example, be a coating such as a thin-film interference filter mirror that has a stack of dielectric layers (e.g., inorganic and/or organic layers of different refractive indices such as dielectric layers with alternating higher and lower refractive indices). If desired, reflectivity may be enhanced using reflective thin-film layer(s) in display  14  (e.g., metal thin films and/or other reflective thin films) and/or using a thin-film interference filter mirror coating, metal reflective coating, and/or other reflective coating on the underside of display  14  (e.g., a reflective structure in position  72 ′). 
     To ensure that device  24  transmits and/or receives light satisfactorily, display portion  14 P (e.g., reflective layer  72  or other reflective structures in portion  14 P) may be configured to reflect light along path  60  when display portion  14 P is oriented at a non-zero angle (e.g., 45°) with respect to path  60  (e.g., with respect to device  24  and layer  56  of window  50 ). To ensure that display portion  14 P is able to emit pixel light through window  50  when window  50  is in its closed state (e.g., when portion  14 P is coplanar with layer  56  of  FIG. 9  and lies in the X-Y plane), display portion  14 P (e.g., reflective layer  72  or other reflective structures in portion  14 P) may be configured to transmit image light vertically out of display portion  14 P, through any reflective layer or other coating on display portion  14 P, and through layer  56  of window  50  when display portion  14 P lies in the X-Y plane. 
     Reflective layer  72  (e.g., a coating on an outer surface of the pixels of portion  14 P, a reflective structure formed from embedded thin-film layers in the pixels of portion  14 P, and/or a reflective structure a coating underneath the pixels of portion  14 P) may be configured to exhibit these two desired attributes (high reflectivity for light associated with operation of device  24  when window  50  is open and portion  14 P is bent by 45° and high transmission for emitted display light when window  50  is closed and portion  14 P is at 0°). This is illustrated by the illustrative curves of  FIG. 11  for transmittance TL and reflectance RL for display portion  14 P (e.g., layer  72 ) as a function of incident light angle A. A thin-film interference filter mirror or other layer  72  associated with display  14 P may, as this example demonstrates, exhibit high light transmittance TL (e.g., at least 90% or at least 95%) for image light being emitted parallel to the surface normal of display portion  14 P (e.g., at angle A=0°) when display portion  14 P is in the X-Y plane (window  50  is closed) and may exhibit high light reflectance RL for light for device  24  traveling along path  60 , which strikes display portion  14 P at an angle A=45° when display portion  14 P is bent by 45°. 
     Another illustrative approach for using window  50  is shown in  FIG. 12 . In this configuration, when portion  14 P is bent downward to open window  50 , actuator  72  is used to move device  24  in direction  74  from stowed position  24 ′ to a position in alignment with window  50 . When it is desired to close window  50 , device  24  may be retracted to position  24 ′ in direction  76  by actuator  72  and portion  14 P may be moved upwards to cover window  50 . 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIGS. 13 and 14 , display  14  is moved to open and close window  50 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , display  14  is translated (e.g., along the Y axis) when it is desired to open and close window  50 . Opposing ends of display  14  may be supported on rollers  78  and  82 . Display  14  may be moved (e.g., slid laterally under the surface of layer  56 ) using actuators (e.g., motors) that rotate rollers  78  and/or  82  and/or may be moved using other actuators such as illustrative linear actuator  89  (e.g., an electromagnetic actuator) which is coupled to display  14  using attachment member  87  and a moving member associated with actuator  89  such as reciprocating member  88 . 
     Display  14  may be a flexible display formed from light-emitting didoes on a flexible substrate (as an example). Flexible transparent portion  86  may be formed from an integral portion of the flexible display substrate or may be attached along an edge of display  14 . In the configuration of  FIG. 13 , transparent portion  86  has been wrapped around roller  78  for storage. In this position, display portion  14 P covers window  50  and window  50  is in its closed state. When it is desired to open window  50 , roller actuators and/or linear actuators or other actuators such as actuator  89  move display  14  to the right. Roller  82  therefore rotates clockwise about axis  84  and roller  78  rotates clockwise about axis  80 . This wraps the right-hand edge of display  14  about roller  82 , moves display portion  14 P away from window  50 , and unwraps transparent portion  86  so that transparent portion  86  slides into place in to overlap the window region associated with window  50 , as shown in  FIG. 14 . The content being displayed on display  14  can be adjusted accordingly (e.g., to account for the right-hand portion of display  14  which may no longer be visible to the user). Because portion  86  is transparent and overlaps device  24  and window  50 , device  24  can operate through window  50 . 
     If desired, display  14  may have one or more rigid portions. For example, portion  14 - 1  of display  14  of  FIGS. 13 and 14  may be rigid. In this type of arrangement, edge portion  14 - 2  of display  14  may be flexible to accommodate rolling of this portion of display  14  around roller  82 . 
     If desired, control circuitry  20  can adjust display  14  dynamically so that the image being displayed on display  14  slides to the left across the pixels on the front of display  14  at the same speed that the edge of display  14  is being wrapped downward to the right onto roller  84 . In this way, the image being displayed by display  14  will remain at a fixed position relative to housing  12 . Even though display  14  is being moved (slid to the right in the illustrative configurations of  FIGS. 13 and 14 ) to open window  50 , the user of device  10  may view content on display  14  at a static location. As this example demonstrates, the speed of sliding movement of the displayed image across the pixels of display  14  may be synchronized with the physical sliding speed of the display in the opposite direction to compensate for the physical sliding movement of display  14 . Use of this type of arrangement in device  10  of  FIGS. 13 and 14  and/or other devices  10  with sliding displays therefore helps allow a user to read text or view other content in an image on display  14 , without being unnecessarily disturbed by undue movement of the displayed content. 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , an air gap such as air gap  90  may be formed between display  14  and layer  56 . In this type of arrangement, there may be an air gap between device  24  and the underside of layer  56  in window  50 . The presence of air gap  90  may help reduce Newton&#39;s rings and/or other undesired optical artifacts due to contact between the surface of display  14  and the opposing inner surface of layer  56 . If desired, an index-matching fluid such as oil or other fluid (e.g., liquid with a refractive index value within 15%, within 5%, or within other suitable amount of the refractive index value of the surface structures of display  14  and/or layer  56 ) may be incorporated into the space between the outwardly facing surface of display  14  and the opposing inwardly facing surface of layer  56  (see, e.g., index-matching fluid  92  of  FIG. 16 ). The presence of fluid  92  between display  14  and layer  56  (and between device  24  and layer  50 ) may help reduce undesired Newton&#39;s rings and reflections. 
       FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  in an illustrative configuration in which device  10  includes a separate mirror such as mirror  100  rather than using a reflective coating on display portion  14 P. Portion  14 P may be folded in and out of place against layer  56  to close and open window  50  as shown in  FIG. 17 , display  14  may be moved laterally to cover and uncover window  50 , or may otherwise be moved to open and close window  50 . Device  24  may be a camera or other optical component that receives and/or emits light along path  60  through window  50  (e.g., a light path that involves a reflection from mirror  100 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 18 , device  24  is located in alignment with window  50 . In this arrangement, device  24  may operate through window  50  directly (e.g., to emit and/or receive light traveling along path  60  through layer  56  in window  50  without reflecting any light in path  60  from a mirror). Portion  14 P may be folded using an actuator to open and close window  50  and/or window  50  may be opened and closed by sliding or otherwise moving display  14  using rollers or other structures. 
       FIGS. 19A and 19B  show how portion  14 P of display  14  may be moved in and out of position using roller  102 . Roller  102  may be rotated using an actuator (e.g., a rotating motor) and/or roller  102  may be moved using a linear actuator. Roller  102  may be rotated about a shaft that slides laterally within a groove or may otherwise be configured to support lateral movement during window opening and closing operations. In the configuration of  FIG. 19A , roller  102  has been positioned to place display portion  14 P over window  50 , thereby closing window  50 . In the configuration of  FIG. 19B , roller  102  has been rotated counterclockwise and moved to the right. This causes display portion  14 P to wrap around roller  102  and uncovers window  50 . Mirror  100  may be overlapped by window  50 . The alignment between window  50  and mirror  100  may allow light for device  24  to be emitted from device  24  and/or received by device  24  along path  60 , which passes through the portion of layer  56  in window  50 . Other arrangements in which window  50  is opened by rolling display portion  14 P about a roller (e.g., arrangements in which device  24  is aligned directly with window  50  or in which light on path  60  reflects from portion  14 P) may be used, if desired. 
     In the example of  FIG. 20 , an adjustable display window has been formed from a hinged rigid display layer. As shown in  FIG. 20 , display portion  14 P and other (e.g., surrounding) portions of display  14  have pixels P. Pixels P may bet formed on a rigid substrate (e.g., a rigid display substrate formed from rigid printed circuit board material such as fiberglass-filled epoxy, a rigid display substrate formed from other polymer materials, a rigid display substrate formed from glass, a rigid display substrate formed from semiconductor, etc.). Pixels P may be light-emitting diodes formed from crystalline semiconductor dies or may be other pixels (e.g., organic light-emitting diode pixels, etc.). Portion  14 P may have an edge that is attached to hinge  120 . Hinge  120  may be formed from a layer of flexible material, a rigid structure with an opening that receives a shaft, and/or other hinge structures. Component  24  and/or a mirror from which light for component  24  reflects may be aligned with window  50 . Portion  14 P may be moved by an actuator between 1) a planar configuration in which portion  14 P lies in the same plane as remaining portions of display  14  and closes window  50  and  2 ) a non-planar configuration of the type shown in  FIG. 20  in which portion  14 P is rotates out of the plane of the remaining portions of display  14  and opens window  50 . Sliding configurations may also be used to open and close windows  50  formed using display portions  14 P that are rigid, if desired. The hinged window arrangement of  FIG. 20  is illustrative. 
     If desired, a reflective structure (e.g. a thin-film dielectric mirror, etc.) may be formed on portion  14 P of  FIG. 20  and device  24  may be an optical component that emits and/or receives light reflected from the reflective structure. Arrangements in which a folding display portion formed from a flexible display portion attached to remaining portions of display  14  operates through window  50 , in which a display portion formed from a rigid and/or flexible display substrate that is attached to remaining portions of display  14  with a hinge such as hinge  120  of  FIG. 20  operates through window  50 , and/or arrangements in which a non-optical device operates through window  50  (e.g., a radio-frequency device, a speaker, microphone, or other audio device that operates through openings in layer  56  in window  50 , and/or other non-optical device) may also be used. 
     As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of information such as information from input-output devices. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, data may be gathered that includes personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data can include demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, twitter ID&#39;s, home addresses, data or records relating to a user&#39;s health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, username, password, biometric information, or any other identifying or personal information. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information data can be used to deliver targeted content that is of greater interest to the user. Accordingly, use of such personal information data enables users to calculated control of the delivered content. Further, other uses for personal information data that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may be used to provide insights into a user&#39;s general wellness, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellness goals. 
     The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and should be updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted for the particular types of personal information data being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the United States, collection of or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained for different personal data types in each country. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the present technology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” of participation in the collection of personal information data during registration for services or anytime thereafter. In another example, users can select not to provide certain types of user data. In yet another example, users can select to limit the length of time user-specific data is maintained. In addition to providing “opt in” and “opt out” options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notified upon downloading an application (“app”) that their personal information data will be accessed and then reminded again just before personal information data is accessed by the app. 
     Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect a user&#39;s privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or other methods. 
     Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use of information that may include personal information data to implement one or more various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing personal information data. That is, the various embodiments of the present technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. 
     The foregoing is illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200514
Publication Date: 20210803
Grant Date: 20210803
Priority Date: 20200514
Inventors: REMEZ, ROEI
YOSUB, SHAY
KIM, HOON SIK
AVRAHAM, ASSAF
EDEN, OMER
DRZAIC, PAUL S.
AMBAR, RAFI
DELLA PERGOLA, REFAEL
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04M1/0268", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/1407", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1686", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0235", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0214", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/026", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0017", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0226", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0017", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0226", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0268", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 77063193