PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11829205-B2
Application Number: US-202217896531-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices having displays with expanded edges

Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with a display. The display may have a flexible display layer covered by a protective display cover layer. The flexible display layer may be an organic light-emitting diode display layer or other layer with a flexible substrate. The flexible display layer may have a central region with peripheral edges. The central region may be rectangular, may be octagonal, or may have other shapes. Strip-shaped protrusions may extend along each of the peripheral edges of the central region. The strip-shaped protrusions may be bent to provide the protrusions with curved surface profiles. The display cover layer may have a cushion shape with bowed edges that overlap parts of the strip-shaped protrusions, may have curved inner and outer surfaces and/or planar surfaces, may have rounded corners with compound curvature, may have edges with curved surface profiles, and/or may have other configurations.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A wristwatch, comprising:
 a flexible display having a planar central portion and a bent edge that is bent relative to the planar central portion; and 
 a display cover layer that overlaps the flexible display, wherein the display cover layer has a corner with compound curvature and has a curved edge that overlaps the bent edge of the flexible display. 
 
     
     
       2. The wristwatch defined in  claim 1  wherein the display cover layer comprises glass and wherein the flexible display has three additional bent edges that are bent relative to the planar central portion. 
     
     
       3. The wristwatch defined in  claim 2  wherein the display cover layer has three additional curved edges that respectively overlap the three additional bent edges. 
     
     
       4. The wristwatch defined in  claim 1  wherein the flexible display comprises a flexible organic light-emitting diode display layer, the wristwatch further comprising:
 a metal housing coupled to the display cover layer; 
 a wrist strap coupled to the metal housing; and 
 wireless transceiver circuitry configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. 
 
     
     
       5. The wristwatch defined in  claim 1  wherein the flexible display has an additional bent edge and wherein the bent edge and the additional bent edge are separated by a gap. 
     
     
       6. The wristwatch defined in  claim 5  wherein the flexible display comprises pixels on the bent edge and the additional bent edge. 
     
     
       7. The wristwatch defined in  claim 6  further comprising a structure that hides the gap from view, wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of: ink, light-emitting diodes, and a housing structure. 
     
     
       8. The wristwatch defined in  claim 6  wherein the corner overlaps the gap. 
     
     
       9. The wristwatch defined in  claim 1  wherein the display cover layer has a cushion shape. 
     
     
       10. The wristwatch defined in  claim 1  wherein the planar central portion has a non-rectangular shape. 
     
     
       11. A wristwatch, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a wrist strap coupled to the housing; 
 a flexible display mounted to the housing that has first and second bent edges separated by a gap; 
 a display cover layer overlapping the flexible display, wherein the display cover layer has a corner that overlaps the gap; and 
 a structure that hides the gap from view. 
 
     
     
       12. The wristwatch defined in  claim 11  wherein the flexible display has pixels on the first and second bent edges. 
     
     
       13. The wristwatch defined in  claim 11  wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of: ink, light-emitting diodes, and a housing structure. 
     
     
       14. The wristwatch defined in  claim 11  wherein the display cover layer comprises glass with a planar central portion and first and second curved edges respectively overlapping the first and second bent edges. 
     
     
       15. The wristwatch defined in  claim 14  wherein the planar central portion has a non-rectangular shape. 
     
     
       16. A wristwatch, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a flexible display mounted to the housing, wherein the flexible display has a planar central portion and bent edges that are bent relative to the planar central portion; and 
 a display cover layer having a central portion with a non-rectangular outline and having curved edges that respectively overlap the bent edges of the flexible display. 
 
     
     
       17. The wristwatch defined in  claim 16  wherein the non-rectangular outline is an octagonal outline. 
     
     
       18. The wristwatch defined in  claim 16  wherein the display cover layer comprises glass and has a corner with compound curvature. 
     
     
       19. The wristwatch defined in  claim 18  wherein the flexible display has gaps that are located respectively between the bent edges and wherein the corner overlaps one of the gaps. 
     
     
       20. The wristwatch defined in  claim 19  wherein the flexible display has pixels that extend from the planar central portion onto the bent edges.

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/365,830, filed Jul. 1, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/390,850, filed Apr. 22, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,054,861, which claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/683,328, filed Jun. 11, 2018, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices with displays. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices such as cellular telephones, tablet computers, and other electronic equipment may include displays for presenting images to a user. 
     If care is not taken, electronic devices with displays may not have a desired appearance or may be difficult to use satisfactorily. For example, displays may be bulky and unattractive or may not accommodate a desired electronic device shape. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may be provided with a display. The display may have a flexible display layer covered by a protective display cover layer. The flexible display layer may be an organic light-emitting diode display layer or other layer with a flexible substrate. The display cover layer may be formed from a layer of glass, clear polymer, or other protective material. 
     The flexible display layer may have a central region with peripheral edges. The central region may be rectangular, may be octagonal, or may have other shapes. Strip-shaped protrusions may extend along each of the edges of the central region. The strip-shaped protrusions may be bent downwardly so that the protrusions have curved surface profiles. 
     The display cover layer, which may be formed from a layer of glass, clear polymer, or other protective material may have a cushion shape with edges that bow outwardly to partially overlap the strip-shaped protrusions. The display cover layer may have curved inner and outer surfaces and/or planar surfaces, may have rounded corners with compound curvature, may have edges with curved surface profiles, and/or may have other configurations. 
     Housing structures may overlap gaps formed at corners of the central region. The housing structures may be formed from opaque material such as metal and may help block the corners from view from the exterior of the electronic device. 
     Inactive tail portions of the flexible display may extend from the strip-shaped protrusions and may overlap each other on a rear portion of the display layer where signal paths in the inactive tail portions are coupled to display driver circuitry. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a top view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional side view of portion of a display and internal components in an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  4    is perspective view of an illustrative flexible display layer having bent edge protrusions in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    is perspective view of an illustrative display cover layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  6  and  7    are cross-sectional side views of illustrative display cover layers in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG.  8    is a rear perspective view of an illustrative flexible display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is a top view of a corner portion of an illustrative flexible display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a top view of an illustrative flexible display with edge protrusions in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  11    is a top view of an illustrative display cover layer with a cushion shape in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  12    is a top view of an illustrative electronic device with a display cover layer of the type shown in  FIG.  11    in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  13  and  14    are cross-sectional side views of edge portions of illustrative electronic devices in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG.  15    is a top view of an illustrative flexible display with an octagonal central portion in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may be provided with displays. The displays may have curved surfaces. For example, a display may have a rectangular shape with rounded corners and edges with curved profiles. Electronic device displays with curved surfaces may have an attractive appearance, may be viewed from a variety of different angles, and may have a desirably large area available for displaying images. 
     A top view of an illustrative electronic device with a display is shown in  FIG.  1   . As shown in  FIG.  1   , device  10  may have a display such as display  14  mounted in housing  12 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, gold, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing  12  may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing  12  is machined or molded as a single structure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal frame structure, one or more structures that form exterior housing surfaces, etc.). 
     If desired, a strap such as strap  30  or other external structures may be coupled to housing  12  (e.g., using spring bars, magnets, threaded fasteners, clips, or other coupling structures). Strap  30  may be a wrist strap with a clasp such as clasp  32  that is configured to allow device  10  to be worn by a user. Strap  30  may be formed from metal, fabric, natural materials such as leather, polymer, or other materials. Clasp  32  may be a magnetic clasp, a mechanical clasp, or other suitable clasp. Device  10  may be a wristwatch that is worn on a user&#39;s wrist or other wearable device. If desired, device  10  may be a cellular telephone, tablet computer, desktop computer, display device, or other suitable equipment including a display. The use of display  14  in a wearable portable device such as a wristwatch device is sometimes described herein as an example. 
     Display  14  may be a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode display having an array of thin-film organic light-emitting diode pixels on a flexible substrate, or a display based on other display technologies (e.g., an electrophoretic display, a display having an array of crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diodes on a flexible substrate, etc.). Display  14  may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is not touch-sensitive. 
     Display  14  may include one or more layers of transparent protective material. For example, the outermost layer of display  14 , which may sometimes be referred to as a display cover layer, may be formed from a hard transparent material such as glass, rigid polymer, sapphire or other crystalline material, or other clear material to help protect display  14  from damage. 
     A schematic diagram of electronic device  10  is shown in  FIG.  1   . 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 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. 
     To support communications between device  10  and external equipment, control circuitry  20  may communicate using communications circuitry  22 . Circuitry  22  may include antennas, wireless transceiver circuitry such as 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 over a wireless link (e.g., 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 transceiver circuitry such as cellular telephone transceiver circuitry configured to support voice and/or data 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 60 GHz link or other millimeter wave link, a cellular telephone link handling voice and/or data, 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 . 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. During operation, control circuitry  20  may use sensors and other input devices in devices  24  to gather input and can control output devices in devices  24  to provide desired output. 
     Devices  24  may include one or more displays such as display  14 . Display  14  may have an array of pixels configured to display images for a user. The display pixels may be formed on a substrate such as a flexible substrate (e.g., display  14  may be formed from a flexible display panel). Conductive electrodes for a capacitive touch sensor in display  14  and/or an array of indium tin oxide electrodes or other transparent conductive electrodes overlapping display  14  may be used to form a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor for display  14  (e.g., display  14  may be a touch sensitive display). 
     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 (e.g., a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor integrated into display  14 , a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor overlapping display  14 , and/or a touch sensor that forms a button, trackpad, or other input device not associated with a display), 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, fingerprint 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, radio-frequency sensors, depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices), optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that gather time-of-flight measurements, humidity sensors, moisture sensors, gaze tracking sensors, and/or other sensors. In some arrangements, device  10  may use sensors  16  and/or other input-output devices to gather user input (e.g., 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, accelerometers may be used in monitoring when a finger contacts an input surface and may therefore be used to gather finger press input, etc.). 
     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, audio output devices such as speakers, light producing output devices such as light-emitting diodes for status indicators, light sources such as light-emitting diodes (e.g., crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diodes) that illuminate portions of a housing, gaps in displays, and/or other display structures, 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. 
     A cross-sectional side view of an edge portion of an illustrative display and associated internal components in device  10  is shown in  FIG.  3   . As shown in  FIG.  3   , the interior of device  10  may include one or more printed circuit such as printed circuit  48  with electrical components  50 . Components  50  may include integrated circuits (e.g., control circuitry  20 , communications circuitry  22 ), input-output devices  24  such as sensors  16  and devices  18 , and other circuitry. 
     As shown in the illustrative configuration of  FIG.  3   , display  14  may be mounted on front face FR of device  10  and housing  12  may be formed on opposing rear face RR of device  10 . Housing  12  and/or portions of display  14  may form sidewall portions of device  10  such as sidewall E. 
     Display  14  may include a flexible display layer such as flexible display layer  42  having an array of pixels  44  on a flexible substrate (e.g., a polyimide substrate or other flexible polymer layer). Pixels  44  may be crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode pixels or pixels formed thin-film organic light-emitting diodes and other thin-film circuitry. Display layer  42  may be covered with a transparent protective layer such as display cover layer  40 . Display cover layer  40  may be formed from glass, polymer, crystalline material such as sapphire, or other transparent material and/or combinations of these materials. A layer of adhesive (polymer) such as layer  46  may be used to attach display layer  42  to the inner surface of display cover layer  40 , if desired. In some configurations, an internal frame structure may be provided to support some or all of display layer  42  (e.g., from the underside of layer  42 ). 
     In the example of  FIG.  3   , display cover layer  40  has inner and outer surfaces with curved profiles. If desired, the surfaces of display cover layer  40  may include planar portions (e.g., flat areas associated with the center of front face FR, vertical sidewall portions on sidewall E, etc.). The configuration of  FIG.  3    is illustrative. 
     Display layer  42  may have any suitable shape. With one illustrative configuration, display layer  42  has a central portion with peripheral edge protrusions that are bent. This type of arrangement is shown in  FIG.  4   . As shown in  FIG.  4   , display layer  42  may have a central portion such as central portion  42 C. Central portion  42 C may be planar or may have a curved surface profile. The outline (footprint when viewed from above) of central portion  42 C may be rectangular or portion  42 C may have an outline of other suitable shapes. In the example of  FIG.  4   , central portion  42 C is square and has four peripheral edges. Elongated strip-shaped protrusions  42 P may protrude from one or more of the four peripheral edges of portion  42 C. For example, there may be protrusions  42 P on the opposing left and right sides of portion  42 C, there may be protrusions  42 P on the opposing upper and lower edges of portion  42 C, or there may be protrusions  42 P or all four edges of portion  42 C as shown in  FIG.  4   . Configurations in which there are other numbers of protrusions  42 P (e.g., three protrusions, at least five protrusions, at least eight protrusions, etc.) may also be used. 
     As shown in  FIG.  4   , the peripheral edge portions of layer  42  may be bent so that the surface of each protrusion  42 P has a curved profile. This enlarges the outline (footprint) of display layer  42  in the X-Y plane when viewed from above by viewer  43  in downward direction  45  (the −Z direction of  FIG.  4   ) while at the same time covering internal components in device  10  with portions of display layer  42  when viewed from the side. Gaps G between sets of pixels on respective opposing edges of layer  42  may be present at the corners of display layer  42 , but may, if desired, be reduced in size by additional bending of protrusions  42 P. Colored ink (e.g., black polymer, polymer colored with a non-neutral colorant, etc.), light-emitting diodes, or other structures may be used in gaps G to help obscure gaps G from view. Bezel structures (e.g., housing structures such as portions of polymer or metal housing sidewalls) and other structures may also be used to visually block gaps G when the display of device  10  is viewed in direction  45 . 
     Display  14  (and associated layers  40  and  42 ) may be rectangular (e.g., display  14  may have a rectangular shape with rounded corners), may be square (e.g., display  14  may have a square outline with rounded corners), may have a circular or oval outline, or may have other suitable shapes. A perspective view of display cover layer  40  in an illustrative configuration in which display cover layer  40  is square is shown in  FIG.  5   . As shown in  FIG.  5   , display cover layer  40  may have a square outline with rounded corners when viewed from above in direction  45 . Display cover layer  40  may have a peripheral edge with four edge segments (e.g., top, bottom, left, and right peripheral edges), such as peripheral edges  40 E. Edges  40 E, which may sometimes be referred to as sidewall structures, sidewall segments, or side portions of display cover layer  40  may each have a curved cross-sectional profile (e.g., the surfaces of edges  40 E may be curved). 
     If desired, device  10  (e.g., display cover layer  40 ) may have external surfaces with compound curvature. In the example of  FIG.  5   , device  10  has edge portions  40 E with surfaces that each curve about respective edges axes such as axis  53 . These portions (and the corresponding protrusions  42 P of display layer  42  that are overlapped by edge portions  40 E) extend along the straight sides of device  10  and are characterized by curved surfaces that can be flattened into a plane without distortion (sometimes referred to as developable surfaces). At the corner of device  10 , display cover layer  40  has curved surface portions  40 CC with compound curvature (e.g., a surface that can only be flattened into a plane with distortion, sometimes referred to as a surface with Gaussian curvature). Each of the four corners of device  10  may have this arrangement, if desired. 
     The central portion of the outer surface of display cover layer  40  may be planar, as shown by illustrative planar exterior surface  40 T of display cover layer  40  in the cross-sectional side view of  FIG.  6   . Opposing inner surface  40 B of display cover layer  40  may also have a planar profile in the center of display cover layer, as shown in  FIG.  6   . The thickness T of layer  40  may, if desired, be uniform across the surface of layer  40 . Edge portions of layer  40  may have curved profiles as described in connection with  FIG.  5   . 
       FIG.  7    is a cross-sectional side view of display cover layer  40  in an illustrative configuration in which the center of exterior surface  40 T of display cover layer  40  has a curved profile. The center of opposing interior surface  40 B of layer  40  may be curved (e.g., surface  40 B may have a curved surface profile matching that of opposing outer surface  40 T) or may have other shapes (see, e.g., the planar surface profile of illustrative inner surface  40 B′ in the center of layer  40 ). 
       FIG.  8    is a rear perspective view of display layer  42  in an illustrative configuration in which layer  42  has bent protruding inactive tail portions. Central portion  42 C of display layer  42  may have a square shape or other rectangular shape (as an example). Edge protrusions  42 P may extend along the four peripheral edges of the display and may have curved surface profiles, as described in connection with  FIG.  4   . Central portion  42 C of display layer  42  and protrusions  42 P of display layer  42  may have pixels configured to display images. Inactive tail portions such as portions  42 TL- 1  and  42 TL- 2  may extend from one or more of the edges of display layer  42 . These tail portions are free of pixels, but contain signal paths such as gate lines GL and data lines DL that are coupled to display driver circuitry such as display driver circuitry  52  (e.g., one or more display driver integrated circuits, etc.). During operation, gate lines GL may be used to convey gate line signals (also sometimes referred to as gate signals, control signals, scan signals, emission control signals, etc.) onto control gates of transistors (e.g., thin-film transistors) in the pixels of display layer  42  while date lines DL convey corresponding data (pixel values) to the pixels of display layer  42 . 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIG.  8   , tail portion  42 TL- 1  extends from a first of protrusions  42 P and tail portion  42 TL- 2  extends from a second of protrusions  42 P. These tail portions may be folded under region  42 C and coupled to printed circuit  54  at the rear of display layer  42 . Printed circuits such as printed circuit  54  may be coupled to tail portions  42 TL- 1  and/or  42 TL- 2  using conductive adhesive, solder, or other conductive material. Display driver circuitry  52 , connectors (for coupling to display driver circuitry on additional printed circuits), and/or other circuitry in device  10  may be mounted on printed circuit  54  and/or otherwise coupled to printed circuit  54  and/or display layer  42 . Printed circuit  54  may be a rigid printed circuit (e.g., a printed circuit board formed from fiberglass-filled epoxy or other rigid printed circuit board material) or may be a flexible printed circuit. If desired, display driver circuitry  52  may be mounted directly on a portion of display layer  42  (e.g., using conductive adhesive, solder, etc.) 
     The outermost border areas of layer  42  may form inactive areas of display  14 . As shown in the illustrative corner portion of display layer  42  of  FIG.  9   , layer  42  may, for example, have a border such as inactive area IA that is free of pixels, but that contains metal traces forming signal paths  64  for carrying power signals, control signals, and/or data signals for display  14 . Bend axes  60  and  62 , about which respective protrusions  42 P are bent, may be located away from corner  65  of the substrate of layer  42  and the pixels of layer  42  so that bending occurs in portions of paths  64  that are able to tolerate bending stress. As shown in  FIG.  9   , for example, bend axis  60  may be located to the right of corner  65 , so that the strip-shaped protrusion running along the right edge of layer  42  of  FIG.  9    experiences bending only at a location that is farther to the right than corner  65  and bend axis  62  may be located below corner  65 , so that the strip-shaped protrusion running along the lower edge of layer  42  of  FIG.  9    experiences bending only at a location that is farther down than corner  65 . In this way, bending of the strip-shaped protrusions is limited to areas of layer  42  where compound curvature (spherical bent surfaces) will not be created. If desired, bend axis  60  may be located inboard of corner  65  (slightly to the left of corner  65  of  FIG.  9   ) and bend axis  62  may be located inboard of corner  65  (slightly above corner  65 ). Configurations such as these in which the bend axes of the strip-shaped protrusions are located inboard of the corners of layer  42  may give rise to small amounts of compound curvature (spherical bending), but this can be acceptable in appropriate situations provided that the circuitry located in the area of compound curvature is not overly sensitive to stress. 
       FIG.  10    is a top view of display layer  42  in an illustrative configuration in which central display layer region  42 C is rectangular (e.g., square) and in which strip-shaped protrusions  42 P extend along each of the four peripheral edges of central region  42 C. Portions  42 C and  42 P contain pixels configured to display an image such as an image containing illustrative image content  66  (e.g., a circular clock face, clock hands, numerals, other content for a clock face, and/or other content). 
     Inactive tail portions of layer such as tail portion  42 TL do not contain pixels and therefore do not display any part of image content  66 . Even though corner portions of display layer  42  are missing, it is possible to display content such as illustrative image content  66  that extends onto one or more of protrusions  42 P in addition to portion  42 C. In some situations, such as when a visual element in a displayed image such as image content  66  is circular as shown in  FIG.  10    or when the content in protrusions  42 P includes dark background content that tends to visually blend with the missing corners of layer  42  (e.g., content that tends to visually blend with gaps G in  FIG.  4   ), little or no content of interest needs to be omitted due to the absence of pixels in the corners of layer  42 . For example, icons, text, clock face content, and/or other content can be centralized while portions of this content extend into the pixels of protrusions  42 P. 
     The content being displayed on layer  42  can therefore be configured to minimize the impact of missing corner portions of display layer  42 . For example, control circuitry  20  can be configured to display text on central portions of protrusions  42 P without extending text or other potentially important information onto the areas of display  14  associated with the missing corners of layer  42 . In some arrangements, icons, time information, date information, and/or other ancillary information may be displayed on protrusions  42 P. Configurations in which background content (e.g., a solid color or pattern) is displayed in protrusions  42 P may also be used. 
     If desired, display cover layer  40  may have a shape that minimizes overlap with the missing corners of display layer  42 . Consider, as an example, illustrative display cover layer  40  of  FIG.  11   . In this example, display cover layer  40  has a cushion shape (sometimes referred to as a pillow shape or barrel shape). If desired, the corners  70  of display cover layer  40  may be aligned with the corresponding corners of layer  42  (see, e.g., corners  65  of layer  42  of  FIG.  9   ). As shown in  FIG.  11   , the central portions of opposing upper and lower peripheral edges  72  of cushion-shaped layer  40  bow outwardly from central portion  42 C and partially overlap respective upper and lower protrusions  42 P. The central portions of opposing left and right peripheral edges  72  of layer  40  likewise bow outwardly from central portion  42 C and partially overlap respective protrusions  42 P on the left and right sides of display layer  42 . In this way, some or all of the central portion of each protrusion  42 P may be covered with a corresponding bowed out edge portion of display cover layer  40  (e.g., while little or none of the missing corners of display layer  42  are covered with layer  40 ). This helps hide gaps G while enhancing the area of display layer  42  that is available for displaying image content. 
     As shown in  FIG.  12   , a portion of the housing of device  10  (e.g., bezel  80  of  FIG.  12    or other housing structures, which may be formed from metal or other material) may be formed around the peripheral edge of display cover layer  40 , thereby helping to hide the missing corners (gaps G) of display layer  42  from view. 
     If desired, display layer  42  may be bent sufficiently that inactive tail portions of layer  42  are hidden from view from the front of device  10 . Consider, for example, illustrative device  10  of  FIG.  13   . In the example of  FIG.  13   , display layer  42  has an active area with pixels  44  from which inactive tail portion  42 TL extends downwardly into the interior of device  10 . Display cover layer  40  may have a curved edge portion that is coupled to housing walls  82  using adhesive  84  or other mounting structures. Housing walls  82  may, if desired, be formed from opaque material such as metal or transparent material that is covered with opaque ink or other opaque coating layers. When device  10  is being viewed from the side, inactive tail portion  42 TL may be hidden from view from the exterior of device  10  by housing walls  82 . When device  10  is being viewed from above in direction  45 , tail portion  42 TL may be partially or completely blocked from view by housing walls  82  and the vertical or nearly vertical arrangement of the exterior surface of layer  40  along edge portion  40 E. 
     Another illustrative configuration for device  10  is shown in  FIG.  14   . As shown in the example of  FIG.  14   , the housing of device  10  may have portions on the rear and side of device  10 . For example, a housing wall such as rear housing wall  82 - 2  may extend over some or all of the rear face of device  10  and a metal sidewall structure in the housing of device  10  such as sidewall  82 - 1  may extend over some or all of the edge of device  10 . Housing structures such as walls  82 - 1  and  82 - 2  may be formed from opaque material such as metal, opaque polymer, etc. or may be formed from transparent materials covered with opaque coatings (as examples). 
     Adhesive or other material  84  may be used in coupling display cover layer  40  to housing portion  82 - 1  and in coupling housing wall portions  82 - 1  and  82 - 2  together. Display layer  42  may be configured so that the active portion of layer  42  is visible in direction  45  by viewer  43  while inactive tail portion  42 TL extends behind opaque structures in device  10  such as sidewall  82 - 1 . Due to the curvature of display cover layer  40  and wall  82 - 1  near the edge of device  10 , the active area of display  14  (e.g., the pixels of display layer  42 ) may be viewed in direction  45  through display cover layer  40  while inactive tail  42 TL is blocked from view. If desired, the outermost peripheral portion of housing sidewall  82 - 1  may be configured to be nearly vertical to help maximize the area of device  10  in which images are displayed (e.g., area  88 ) relative to the width of the inactive border areas of device  10  in which no images are displayed (e.g., area  86 ). 
     If desired, device  10 , display cover layer  40 , and display layer  42  may have non-rectangular outlines. For example, device  10 , display cover layer  40 , and display layer  42  may have an octagonal outline or other outline with fewer than four edges or more than four edges (and/or with any number of edges that include straight and/or curved segments). In the top view of display layer  42  of  FIG.  15   , display layer  42  has an illustrative octagonal layout with eight strip-shaped protrusions  42 P, each of which extends along a corresponding one of eight straight segments of the periphery of octagonal central portion  42 C of display layer  42 . Protrusions  42 P may be bent out of the plane of central portion  42 C of layer  42  and may have curved surface profiles. Inactive tail portions  42 TL may extend outwardly from one or more of protrusions  42 P and may contain signal paths coupled to display driver circuitry, as described in connection with  FIG.  8   . Although the example of  FIG.  15    involves the use of eight edge, display layer  42  may have any suitable number of edges. For example, display layer  42  may have more than eight edges (e.g., at least nine edges, at least ten edges, at least 12 edges, at least 16 edges, fewer than 32 edges, etc.). Arrangements with more edges may help form a display footprint that is closer to an ideal circular shape, but may potentially reduce the amount of active area on the bent protrusions that is available for displaying images. 
     The foregoing is merely 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: 20220826
Publication Date: 20231128
Grant Date: 20231128
Priority Date: 20180611
Inventors: BUSHNELL, TYLER S.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G17/045", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G17/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/163", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/385", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K50/84", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B2001/3861", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K2102/311", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09F9/301", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/133308", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09F9/335", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G17/045", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/133305", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F2201/56", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/3888", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B2001/3855", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B2001/3861", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/163", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G21/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G9/0088", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G9/045", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02F1/133331", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K77/111", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K2102/311", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G17/045", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/163", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/385", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B2001/3861", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0412", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04G17/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K50/84", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K2102/311", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/87", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/87", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 68764893