PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10228719-B2
Application Number: US-201816144986-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with cover layers mounted to displays

Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with a display cover layer mounted to the device using an adhesive bond with a display. The display may be a flexible display. The flexible display may include Organic Light Emitting Diode display technology. The display may be mounted to a rigid support structure. The rigid support structure may be mounted to a device housing member. Mounting the display cover layer to the display may eliminate the need to mount the display cover layer to the device housing and may allow active display pixels to be visible under the display cover layer closer to the device housing than in conventional devices. Providing the electronic device with active display pixels closer to the device housing may reduce the need for an inactive border around the display and may improve the aesthetic appeal of the electronic device.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a support structure having a first portion that defines a plane and a second portion that bends out of the plane; 
 an array of pixels on the support structure, wherein the array of pixels comprises a first group of pixels on the first portion of the support structure and a second group of pixels on the second portion of the support structure; and 
 a display cover layer mounted in the housing, wherein the display cover layer overlaps the first and second portions of the support structure. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the housing comprises a sidewall and wherein an edge portion of the display cover layer abuts the sidewall. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the second group of pixels displays images through the edge portion of the display cover layer. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the pixels comprise organic light-emitting diode pixels. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a layer of adhesive that attaches the array of pixels to the display cover layer. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the display cover layer has first and second regions, wherein the first region overlaps the first portion of the support structure and has a first thickness, wherein the second region overlaps the second portion of the support structure and has a second thickness, and wherein the first thickness is different from the second thickness. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the second thickness is less than the first thickness. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the housing comprises glass. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the pixels form part of a flexible display layer. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the display cover layer comprises glass. 
     
     
       11. A cellular telephone, comprising:
 a rear housing wall; 
 a support member having a planar portion and a bent edge portion; 
 an array of pixels on the planar portion and the bent edge portion; and 
 a transparent cover layer through which the array of pixels displays images, wherein the transparent cover layer overlaps the planar portion and the bent edge portion and wherein the support member is interposed between the rear housing wall and the transparent cover layer. 
 
     
     
       12. The cellular telephone defined in  claim 11  further comprising a housing sidewall, wherein the transparent cover layer has an edge portion that abuts the housing sidewall. 
     
     
       13. The cellular telephone defined in  claim 12  wherein the array of pixels comprises edge pixels on the bent edge portion of the support member and wherein the edge pixels display images through the edge portion of the transparent cover layer. 
     
     
       14. The cellular telephone defined in  claim 11  wherein the transparent cover layer comprises glass. 
     
     
       15. The cellular telephone defined in  claim 14  further comprising adhesive that attaches the array of pixels to the transparent cover layer. 
     
     
       16. An electronic device having opposing front and rear surfaces, comprising:
 a glass housing member that forms at least a portion of the rear surface; 
 a cover glass that forms at least a portion of the front surface; and 
 a flexible display layer interposed between the glass housing member and the cover glass, wherein the flexible display layer comprises a bent edge and an array of pixels, wherein the array of pixels comprises first and second groups of pixels, wherein the second group of pixels is located on the bent edge, wherein the cover glass has a first portion with a first thickness overlapping the first group of pixels and a second portion with a second thickness overlapping the second group of pixels, and wherein the first thickness is different from the second thickness. 
 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 16  further comprising a housing sidewall, wherein the cover glass has an edge portion that abuts the housing sidewall. 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17  wherein the second group of pixels displays images through the edge portion of the cover glass. 
     
     
       19. The electronic device defined in  claim 16  wherein the second thickness is less than the first thickness. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 16  further comprising:
 a support structure having a bent edge, wherein the flexible display layer conforms to the bent edge of the support structure.

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/812,956, filed Jul. 29, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/249,734, filed Sep. 30, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,098,242, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to displays for electronic devices. 
     Electronic devices often include displays. Displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are often formed from multiple layers held together using adhesive at the edges of the LCD display. The adhesive at the edges of the display may fail if other device components such as a display cover layer are mounted to the display in a way that exerts pulling forces on the layers of the LCD display. For this reason, display cover layers are typically mounted directly to device housings while displays are mounted behind the display cover layers. Display cover layers mounted to device housings require a significant amount of inactive border area around the display in the region where the display cover layer is mounted to the device housing. It is not uncommon for the width of the inactive border to be up to a centimeter wide or more. This type of wide inactive region tends to make displays bulky and requires the use of electronic device housings with wide bezels. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to minimize the width of the inactive region in a display and to otherwise improve displays for electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may be provided that has a display such as a flexible display. Flexible displays may include organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. OLED displays contain pixels that can produce illumination without using a separate backlight unit. 
     Flexible OLED displays may include display layers that are bonded together using transparent adhesives. The transparent adhesive layers in a display can extend across substantially the entire surface of the display and need not be confined to the periphery of the display. As a result, adhesive bonds between OLED display layers may be robust enough to allow device components to be attached to a device by mounting the device components directly to the OLED display. 
     A display cover layer such as a transparent layer of glass or plastic may be mounted to a flexible display. The flexible display may be mounted to a rigid support structure. The rigid support structure may be mounted to device housing structures. The display cover layer may be mounted to the device primarily or exclusively by attaching the display cover layer to the flexible display with adhesive. Rigid mounting structures may be formed from active or inactive components of the device. Rigid support structures may be mounted to device housing structures using screws or other fasteners, clips, protrusions and mating recesses, grooves, and other engagement features, glue, welds, or other suitable attachment mechanisms. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a laptop computer with a display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a handheld electronic device with a display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a tablet computer with a display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having device components such as a cover layer mounted to a flexible display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a rigid support structure mounted to a device housing using screws in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a flexible display mounted to active internal components in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a rigid support structure with a recessed landing platform for an attachment member in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a rigid support structure with multiple welded portions in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a rigid support structure with a slot for a portion of a flexible display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a display cover layer mounted to flexible display having a portion that is adjacent to a housing sidewall structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a rigid support structure that connects to mounting tabs on a housing sidewall structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a tensioning member for maintaining the shape of a rigid support structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device in which a rigid support structure is mounted to a printed circuit board in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a notched housing sidewall structure into which a flexible display is mounted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a notched cover layer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a housing structure with a slot for a portion of a flexible display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having rigid support structure that forms an electromagnetic shield for device components in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  is a perspective view of an illustrative system for mounting a flexible display to a rigid support structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 19  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a flexible display and a rigid support structure that have alignment marks for aligning a flexible display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may include displays. Displays may be used to display visual information such as text and images to users. 
     Illustrative electronic devices that may be provided with displays are shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 .  FIG. 1  shows how electronic device  10  may have the shape of a laptop computer having upper housing  12 A and lower housing  12 B with components such as keyboard  16  and touchpad  18 .  FIG. 2  shows how electronic device  10  may be a handheld device such as a cellular telephone, music player, gaming device, navigation unit, or other compact device.  FIG. 3  shows how electronic device  10  may be a tablet computer. These are merely illustrative examples. Electronic devices such as illustrative electronic device  10  of  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3  may be laptop computers, computer monitors with embedded computers, tablet computers, cellular telephones, media players, other handheld and portable electronic devices, smaller devices such as wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, headphone and earpiece devices, other wearable and miniature devices, or other electronic equipment. 
     Device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed of materials such as plastic, glass, ceramics, carbon-fiber composites and other composites, metal, other materials, or a combination of these materials. Device  10  may be formed using a unibody construction in which most or all of housing  12  is formed from a single structural element (e.g., a piece of machined metal or a piece of molded plastic) or may be formed from multiple housing structures (e.g., outer housing structures that have been mounted to internal frame elements or other internal housing structures). 
     Device  10  may have one or more displays such as display  14 . Display  14  may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display or other suitable display. Display layer  14  may include display pixels formed from light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs), plasma cells, electronic ink elements, liquid crystal display (LCD) components, or other suitable display pixel structures compatible with flexible displays. Display  14  may, if desired, include capacitive touch sensor electrodes for a capacitive touch sensor array or other touch sensor structures (i.e., display  14  may be a touch screen). Touch sensor electrodes may be provided on a touch panel layer that is interposed between an organic light-emitting diode display layer and a transparent cover layer (e.g., a cover glass layer), may be formed on the underside of a cover layer, or may otherwise be incorporated into display  14 . 
     The display (sometimes referred to as the display layer, the OLED display, the flexible display or flexible OLED display) may have a planar rectangular active region in its center. The rectangular active region includes an array of light-emitting diode pixels. Display  14  may include an inactive portion at the edges of display  14 . The inactive portion of the display is shown as inactive border region  20  in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 . 
     To enhance device aesthetics, the width of inactive border region  20  that is visible from the front of the display may be minimized by mounting a display cover layer (e.g., a cover glass layer) to the device using an adhesive that is interposed between the display cover layer and a flexible display such as an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display. 
     A cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a cover layer mounted to the device using lamination (e.g., an adhesive bond) to the device display is shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , device  10  may include a rigid internal component such as component  32  and a display such as flexible display  14 . Flexible display  14  may be attached to component  32  to form a mounting platform such as mounting platform  31 . 
     Device  10  may include a transparent cover layer such as display cover layer  30  (sometimes referred to herein as a cover layer, a transparent cover layer, a display cover layer, a display cover glass, or a cover glass). Cover layer  30  may be mounted to mounting platform  31  using an adhesive such as adhesive  34  that is interposed between cover layer  30  and flexible display  14 . Transparent cover layer  30  may be formed from glass, plastic, or other suitable transparent material. Display  14  may have opposing top and bottom sides. Cover layer  30  may have a bottom side such as bottom side  33  and an edge such as outermost edge  35 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , bottom side  33  of cover layer  30  may be mounted to the top side of display  14 . Housing  12  may include housing structures such as housing sidewalls  13 . Cover layer  30  may be mounted to mounting platform  31  (i.e., component  32  and flexible display  14 ) so that outermost edge  35  is mounted abutting portion  37  of housing sidewall  13 . Cover layer  30  may be mounted to flexible display  14  using adhesive  34  so that interface  39  between housing structure  13  and cover layer  30  may be free of adhesive. In configurations in which cover layer  30  is attached to mounting platform  31  using adhesive  34 , housing  12  and cover layer  30  may form an enclosure for device  10 . 
     Rigid component  32  may be mounted to the bottom side of display  14 . Component  32  may be mounted to the bottom side of display  14  using an adhesive material such as adhesive  36 . Component  32  may be an active or inactive component of device  10 . Component  32  may be a rigid support structure or may be a device component such as battery, printed circuit board (PCB) or other active component or electrical component. Component  32  may be mounted to device housing  12 . Component  32  may, for example, be mounted to device housing structures such as housing  12  using screws or other fasteners, clips, protrusions and mating recesses, grooves, and other engagement features, glue, welds, or other suitable attachment mechanisms. 
     Displays such as flexible OLED displays may have display layers that are bonded together in a way that provides more internal strength than conventional displays. Cover layer  30  may therefore be mounted to device  10  without mounting cover layer  30  to housing  12  (e.g., using an interface between cover layer  30  and housing  12  that is free of adhesive and other connecting material). 
     In configurations in which cover layer  30  is mounted to flexible display  14 , active display pixels such as pixels  38  in display  14  may be formed along outermost edge  35  of cover layer  30  (e.g., adjacent to portion  37  of housing  12 ). Active display pixels along outermost edge  35  of cover layer such as cover layer  30  that is mounted to flexible display  14  may be visible to a user of device  10  under cover layer  30 . In this way, inactive portion  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) may be reduced in size or eliminated, thereby improving the aesthetic appearance of device  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , housing sidewall structure  13  may have an interior surface such as inner sidewall surface  41 . Flexible display  14  may have a peripheral edge  43 . Display cover layer  30  may have a peripheral edge corresponding to outermost edge  35 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , peripheral edge  43  of flexible display  14  and peripheral edge  35  of display cover layer  30  may be aligned and may contact inner sidewall surface  41  of housing structure  13 . 
       FIG. 5  shows an illustrative mounting platform  31  that includes a component  32  that is formed from a rigid support structure for mounting display  14  (and consequently cover glass  30 ) to device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , component  32  may be formed from a rigid support structure having one or more bends  42 . Bends  42  in rigid support structure  32  may allow rigid support structure  32  to be mounted to housing  12  while allowing space for additional internal components  44 . 
     Additional internal components  44  may include batteries, PCB&#39;s, integrated circuits, speakers, vibrators, or other components. In the example of  FIG. 5 , rigid support structure  32  is attached to housing  12  using one or more screws such as screws  40 . Portions  46  of component  32  may be provided with openings such as holes that allow screws  40  to pass through portions  46  and into housing  12 . 
       FIG. 6  shows an illustrative component  32  that is formed from one or more active internal components of device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , display  14  may be mounted to active components  32  using a bonding material such as adhesive  36 . Active internal components  32  may be electrical components, mechanical components or other active components (e.g., batteries, printed circuit boards, integrated circuits, communications components, etc.). Active internal components  32  may be mounted to other active internal components such as other internal components  44 . Other internal components  44  may be mounted to additional internal components  44  or may be mounted to housing  12 . 
     The example of  FIG. 6  is merely illustrative. If desired, active components  32  may be mounted directly to housing  12 . Components  32  may be mounted to other components  44  using adhesive, mechanical attaching members, electrical bonding material (e.g., solder or conductive adhesive) or other suitable mounting methods. As shown in  FIG. 6 , cover glass  30  may be mounted to display  14  using adhesive layer  34 . Cover glass  30  may be mounted to device  10  using an adhesive bond to a display such as display  14  that is mounted to active internal components such as components  32 . 
       FIG. 7  shows an illustrative component  32  that is formed from a rigid support structure that is substantially straight. As shown in  FIG. 7 , rigid support structure  32  may include a recess such as recess  50 . Recess  50  may provide space for the head of a fastener such as screw  40 . In the example of  FIG. 7  rigid support structure  32  is formed from a single structure. Recess  32  may be formed on rigid support structure  32  using a metal etching procedure, a mechanical grinding procedure or other suitable procedure for producing recess  50 . This is merely illustrative. If desired, rigid support structure  32  may be formed from more than one structure. 
     In the scenario in which rigid support structure  32  is formed from multiple structures, the structures may be welded to form a recess such as recess  50  as shown in  FIG. 8 . In the example of  FIG. 8 , rigid support structure  32  includes an additional structure  32 W that is welded to rigid support structure  32  at weld  52 . Additional structure  32 W may be welded to rigid support structure  32  so that space  50  is provided for the head of a fastener such as screw  40 . In the examples of  FIGS. 8 and 9 , screw  40  may be using to attach rigid support member  32  to other components of device  10  (e.g., housing  12 , active components  44 , or other components). Display  14  may be attached to rigid support member  32  using adhesive  36 . Cover layer  30  may be attached to device  10  by attaching cover layer  30  to display  14  using adhesive  34 . 
       FIG. 9  shows an illustrative component  32  that is formed from a rigid support structure having an opening for mounting a portion of a flexible display. As shown in  FIG. 9 , rigid support structure  32  may include an opening such as slot  54 . Flexible display  14  may be mounted to rigid support structure  32  so that a portion such as portion  56  of flexible display  14  is bent around a portion of rigid support structure  32  into slot  54 . 
     To ensure that flexible display  14  is not damaged during the bending process, bending operations may be performed that limit bending to an acceptable bend radius R. The value of R may be, for example, about 3 to 5 times the thickness of the bent material (e.g., bend radius R may be about 0.2 to 0.5 mm). Portion  56  of flexible display  14  may be attached to the sidewalls of slot  54  using adhesive  34  or may be held in slot  54  using external pressure from housing structure  13 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , additional internal components (e.g., PCB&#39;s, integrated circuitry, or other components) may be mounted to rigid support structure  32 . Active pixels  38  may extend into portion  56  of flexible display  14  so that active pixels are visible under substantially all of cover layer  30 . A minimal edge portion of display  14  may have inactive pixels that are visible under cover layer  30 . The minimal edge portion of display  14  that remains visible may be covered with a bezel or a portion of a display cover layer that is coated on its underside with an opaque masking layer such as black ink (as examples). 
       FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an electronic device having a flexible display that is attached to a rigid support member and is mounted adjacent to a housing structure. As shown in  FIG. 10 , flexible display  14  may be attached to rigid support structure  32  using adhesive  36 . Flexible display  14  may have a portion  60  that is bent such that portion  60  is substantially perpendicular to the active display area of display  14 . 
     Flexible display  14  may have a tendency to return to a substantially flat shape. This tendency to return to a substantially flat shape may cause flexible display  14  to exert a restoring force on rigid support structure  32 . In order to provide extra resistance against the restoring force of flexible display  14 , portion  60  may be positioned such that a housing sidewall such as housing structure  13  is adjacent to portion  60  thereby holding portion  60  against rigid support structure  32 . 
       FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of an electronic device having a rigid support member that is mounted to mounting tabs on a device housing structure. As shown in  FIG. 11 , rigid support structure  32  may have a portion  66  that is bent such that portion  66  is substantially perpendicular to cover layer  30 . 
     Portions  66  of rigid support structure  32  may be provided with openings such as holes  68 . Housing structure  13  may be provided with mounting members such as mounting tabs  62 . Mounting tabs  62  may be configured to pass through holes  68  in portions  66  of rigid support structure  32 . During assembly of device  10 , cover layer  30  may be attached to display  14 . During assembly of device  10 , display  14  may be attached to rigid support structure  32 . During assembly of device  10 , cover layer  30 , display  14 , and rigid support structure  32 , may be inserted into device  10  in direction  70  (i.e., from the front side of device  10 ). Portions  66  of rigid support structure  32  may be configured to have some flexibility. 
     During assembly of device  10 , while rigid support structure  32  is moved in direction  70 , portions  66  may bend as indicated by arrows  64 . During assembly, portions  66  may bend further as rigid support structure  32  is moved further in direction  70  until holes  68  align with mounting tabs  62  of housing structures  12 . During assembly, when holes  68  align with mounting tabs  62 , portions  66  may “snap” onto mounting tabs  62  (i.e., mounting tabs  62  may enter holes  68  as portions  66  return to a substantially perpendicular position with respect to cover layer  30 ). Inserting rigid support structure  32  into device  10  until mounting tabs  62  (at least partially) pass through holes  68  may effectively lock rigid support structure  32  into device  10 . 
     As shown in the examples of  FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 , display  14  may be attached to rigid support member  32  using adhesive  36 . Cover layer  30  may be attached to device  10  by attaching cover layer  30  to display  14  using adhesive  34 . 
     The example of  FIG. 11  in which display  14  covers only the portion of rigid support structure  32  that is parallel to cover layer  30  is merely illustrative. As shown in  FIG. 12 , flexible display  14  may be bent so that flexible display  14  covers all or part of perpendicular portions  66  of rigid support structure  32 . As described above in connection with  FIG. 10 , flexible display  14  may have a tendency to return to a substantially flat shape. This tendency to return to a substantially flat shape may cause flexible display  14  to exert a restoring force on rigid support structure  32 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , in order to provide extra resistance against the restoring force of flexible display  14 , device  10  may be provided with one or more tensioning members such as tensioning member  72 . Tensioning member  72  may be attached to portions  66  of rigid support structure  32 . Tensioning member  72  may be formed from a thin wire, a plurality of wires or may be an extended structure that extends in a direction perpendicular to the cross-sectional side view of  FIG. 12  along all or part of rigid support structure  32 . Tensioning member  72  may be formed of materials such as plastics, carbon-fiber composites and other composites, metal, other materials, or a combination of these materials. 
     If desired, tensioning member  72  may be formed from an active internal component of device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , tensioning member  72  may be a printed circuit board or other active internal component of device  10 . Portions  66  of rigid support structure  32  may be attached to additional support members  72 E. Additional support members  72 E may be attached to printed circuit board  72  so that printed circuit board  72  may provide extra resistance against the restoring force of flexible display  14  on rigid support structure  32 . In the example of  FIG. 13 , PCB  72  is attached to additional support members  72 E using screws  74 . This is merely illustrative. Rigid support structure  32  may be welded to additional support members  72 E or may be attached to additional support members  72 E using adhesive or other bonding materials. 
       FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative device such as device  10  in which rigid support structure  32  is mounted in a notch in a housing structure. As shown in  FIG. 14  housing structure  13  of device  10  may be provided with an opening such as notch  80 . Notch  80  may run along a lateral dimension of device  10 . A portion of mounting platform  31  (including a portion of rigid support structure  32  and a portion of display  14 ) may be mounted in notch  80 . 
     During assembly of device  10 , rigid support structure  32  may be attached to housing  12  using any suitable attachment method. During assembly, flexible display  14  may be deformed as indicated by dashed lines  82  so that display  14  may be mounted onto rigid support structure  32  using adhesive such as adhesive  36 . During assembly, following mounting display  14  to rigid support structure  32 , cover glass  30  may be mounted onto mounting platform  31  by attaching cover glass  30  to flexible display  14  using adhesive such as adhesive  34 . 
     In configurations in which display  14  is mounted between cover glass  30  and a rigid support structure that is mounted in notch  80  in housing structure  13 , rigid support may be provided on two sides of display  14 . Cover layer  30  may be mounted to device  10  using an adhesive bond with flexible display  14  so that interface  39  between outermost edge  35  of cover layer  30  and portion  37  of housing structure  13  may remain free of adhesive. 
     If desired, electronic device  10  may be provided with housing structures having extended portions for restraining a cover layer as shown in  FIG. 15 . In the example of  FIG. 15 , housing structure  13  includes an extended portion  82  that is substantially perpendicular to housing sidewall  13 . Cover layer  30  may include a cutaway portion such as notch  84  that is configured to abut portion  82  of housing structure  13 . 
     Notched cover layer  30  may be mounted to a flexible display such as display  14 . Display  14  may be mounted to a rigid support structure such as support structure  32 . During assembly of electronic device  10 , the display package that includes cover layer  30 , display  14  and rigid support structure  32  may be inserted into device  10  in direction  86 . The display package including notched cover layer  30  may be inserted in direction  86  until notch  84  comes into contact with portion  82  of housing structure  13 . Cover layer  30  may therefore be mounted to device  10  by attaching cover layer  30  to display  14  using adhesive  34  and an adhesive-free contact with extended portions  82  of housing  12 . 
       FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative device  10  having a housing structure with a slotted portion for mounting a portion of a flexible display. As shown in  FIG. 16 , housing  12  may include an internal separating structure such as slot wall portion  12 S that forms a slot  90  between portion  12 S and housing sidewall  13 . Flexible display  14  may have a portion  60  that is bent such that portion  60  is substantially perpendicular to the active display area of display  14 . Portion  60  may be mounted in slot  90 . Portion  90  of flexible display  14  may be mounted in slot  90  between housing structure  13  and slot wall portion  12 S. If desired, rigid support structure  32  may be attached to slot wall  12 S. 
     Rigid support structure  32  may be formed from metal or other electrically conducting or heat conducting material. As shown in  FIG. 17 , rigid support structure  32  may be formed so that rigid support structure  32  substantially surrounds one or more electrical components such as components  44 . Components  44  may be mounted to a printed circuit board such as PCB  92 . 
     Rigid support structure  32  may be configured to provide shielding for components  44  from electromagnetic interference (EMI) or may shield other device components from EMI resulting from components  44 . Rigid support structure  32  may be formed from heat conducting material (e.g., copper, aluminum, other metal, or other heat conducting material). Rigid support structure  32  may be coupled to a heat sink such as heat sink  94 . Rigid support structure  32  may be configured to conduct heat away from flexible display  14  to heat sink  94 . Cover layer  30  may be mounted to a flexible display such as display  14  that is mounted to a rigid support structure that serves as an electromagnetic shield for electrical components or that is configured to conduct heat away from the display. 
       FIG. 18  is a perspective view of an illustrative assembly system for mounting a flexible display such as flexible display  14  to a support structure such as rigid support structure  32 . The assembly system may include an applicator such as applicator  100 . Applicator  100  may have a shape that corresponds to the curved shape of rigid support structure  32 . Applicator  100  may be moved in direction  102  in order to press flexible display  14  into contact with rigid support structure  32 . While moving in direction  102 , the shape (e.g., curved portions  110 ) of applicator  100  may press flexible display  14  into contact with curved portions  112  of rigid support structure  32 . 
     During assembly, before placing flexible display  14  onto rigid support structure  32 , if desired, adhesive  36  may be placed onto rigid support structure  32 . Adhesive  36  may bond flexible display  14  to rigid support structure  32 . If desired, the assembly system may include one or more fastener delivery members such as screw delivery members  104 . Screw delivery members  104  may be configured to carry fasteners such as screws  106  for fastening flexible display  14  to rigid support structure  32 . 
     Applicator  100  may include one or more openings  114  into which screw delivery members  104  may carry screws  106 . During assembly, after pressing flexible display  14  into contact with curved portions  112  of rigid support structure  32 , screw delivery members  104  may be moved (as indicated by arrows  108 ) to insert screws  106  through openings  114  in applicator  100  so that screws  106  pass through flexible display  14  and into rigid support structure  32 , thereby fastening display  14  to rigid support structure  32 . 
     During assembly, alignment marks may be used to align flexible display  14  with rigid support structure  32 . Because rigid support structure  32  may be precisely positioned with respect to housing  12 , aligning flexible display  14  to rigid support structure  32  may provide improved alignment of display  14  with edges of housing  12 . As shown in  FIG. 18 , rigid support structure  32  may have one or more alignment marks  120 . Alignment marks  120  of rigid support structure  32  may be indentations or other visible marks on rigid support structure  32 . Flexible display  14  may have one or more alignment marks  120 . 
     Alignment marks  120  of flexible display  14  may be indentations, visible marks or may simply be a virtual edge such as edge  122  at which the last active display pixel  38  is located. Aligning flexible display  14  to rigid support structure  32  in this way may allow the last active display pixel  38  to be precisely aligned with an edge of housing  12 . Alignment of flexible display  14  and rigid support structure  32  may be performed by aligning alignment marks  120  of rigid support structure  32  with alignment marks  120  of flexible display  14  before pressing flexible display  14  into contact with curved portions  112  of rigid support structure  32  (see  FIG. 18 ). 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20180927
Publication Date: 20190312
Grant Date: 20190312
Priority Date: 20110930
Inventors: RAPPOPORT, BENJAMIN M.
FRANKLIN, JEREMY C.
LYNCH, STEPHEN BRIAN
MYERS, SCOTT A.
RAFF, JOHN
HOWARTH, RICHARD P.
CHEN, WEI
STRINGER, CHRISTOPHER J.
HOENIG, JULIAN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21K9/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21K9/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1601", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21K9/60", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1601", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 54538454