PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11971753-B2
Application Number: US-202318157649-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic device with flexible display structures

Abstract:
An electronic device may have a flexible display. The electronic device may have housing portions that are rotatably coupled to each other so that the flexible display may fold along one or more bend axes. A device may have rollers that store a flexible display and that help deploy the display from within a housing when additional display area is desired. A touch screen in a housing may be overlapped by a flexible display that has been scrolled outwardly from the housing. Wireless transmitter and receiver circuitry may be used to convey image data to display driver circuitry. The display driver circuitry may display images on a pixel array in a flexible display based on the image data. Magnets may be used to outwardly bias edge-mounted bistable support structures to help prevent a rolled flexible display from wrinkling.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A foldable electronic device, comprising:
 a first housing portion; 
 a second housing portion that is coupled to the first housing portion and that rotates relative to the first housing portion about a bend axis; 
 a flexible display that overlaps the first and second housing portions and that bends along the bend axis when the first and second housing portions rotate between an unfolded state and a folded state; and 
 a support structure configured to support the flexible display in the unfolded state and to allow the flexible display to expand in the folded state, the flexible display has a first end and a second end, the first end and the second end are separated by a first distance when the flexible display is in the folded state, and a central portion of the flexible display is separated by a second distance that is different from the first distance when the flexible display is in the folded state. 
 
     
     
       2. The foldable electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the support structure comprises movable support members that overlap the bend axis when the flexible display is in the unfolded state. 
     
     
       3. The foldable electronic device of  claim 2 , wherein the support structure further comprises spring mechanisms. 
     
     
       4. The foldable electronic device of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a biasing member attached to an end of the support structure. 
 
     
     
       5. The foldable electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance. 
     
     
       6. The foldable electronic device of  claim 5 , wherein the support structure comprises movable support structures that each has a height that is between the first and second distances. 
     
     
       7. The foldable electronic device of  claim 6 , wherein the movable support structures extend under the flexible display in at least the first housing portion. 
     
     
       8. The foldable electronic device of  claim 6 , wherein the movable support structures comprise rigid support structures. 
     
     
       9. The foldable electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the rigid support structures comprise metal or plastic support structures. 
     
     
       10. The foldable electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible display is planar in the unfolded state. 
     
     
       11. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing having a first portion and a second portion; 
 a roller in the first portion of the housing; 
 a flexible display having an array of pixels, a first edge coupled to the roller, and a second edge in the second portion of the housing, wherein the flexible display is configured to move from an unrolled state to a rolled state as it is wrapped around the roller; and 
 a bistable support structure coupled to the flexible display, wherein the bistable support structure is configured to support the flexible display in the unrolled state and to wrap around the roller in the rolled state. 
 
     
     
       12. The electronic device of  claim 11 , wherein the bistable support structure is rigid in the unrolled state and flexible in the rolled state. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device of  claim 12 , wherein the flexible display has an active area and an inactive area, wherein the active area overlaps the bistable support structure. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 driver circuitry in the second portion of the housing; 
 first wireless communication circuitry in the first portion of the housing configured to send signals; and 
 second wireless communication circuitry in the second portion of the housing configured to receive the signals, wherein the driver circuitry is configured to drive the display based on the signals. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a transparent window in the first portion of the housing, wherein the flexible display is visible through the transparent window in the rolled state. 
 
     
     
       16. The electronic device of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 an additional roller in the first portion of the housing, wherein the flexible display is configured to wrap around the additional roller; and 
 an electronic component in the additional roller. 
 
     
     
       17. A foldable electronic device having a front and a rear, comprising:
 a first housing portion; 
 a second housing portion that bends relative to the first housing portion about a first bend axis; 
 a third housing portion that bends relative to the second housing portion about a second bend axis; 
 a flexible display coupled to the first, second, and third housing portions, wherein the flexible display is movable between an unfolded planar state and a folded state, wherein the first, second, and third housing portions are planar when the flexible display is in the unfolded planar state, and wherein the first, second, and third housing portions are folded in a trifold configuration when the flexible display is in the folded state; and 
 a bistable support structure that runs across the first, second, and third housing portions along edges of the first, second, and third housing portions. 
 
     
     
       18. The foldable electronic device of  claim 17 , wherein the flexible display faces the front in the unfolded planar state. 
     
     
       19. The foldable electronic device of  claim 18 , wherein first and third portions of the flexible display that respectively overlap the first and third housing portions face the front in the folded state, and wherein a second portion of the flexible display that overlaps the second housing portion faces the rear in the folded state. 
     
     
       20. The foldable electronic device of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 hinge detents configured to maintain the first, second, and third housing portions in place when the flexible display is in the folded state.

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/322,762, filed May 17, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/797,424, filed Feb. 21, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,044,822, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/840,750, filed Dec. 13, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,602,623, which claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/442,318, filed Jan. 4, 2017, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices with displays. 
     Electronic devices such as laptop computers, cellular telephones, and other equipment are often provided with displays. Displays contain arrays of pixels that present images to a user. Displays are often formed from rigid structures such as glass substrates. This can make it challenging to form compact electronic devices with desired features. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have a flexible display. The electronic device may have housing structure in which printed circuit boards, electrical components, and other structures are mounted. In some configurations, rollers may be mounted within an electronic device housing. 
     A flexible display may be wrapped around one or more rollers. In a stored position, the flexible display may be wrapped around a storage roller. Optional deployment rollers may be used to help deploy the display as the display is pulled out of the housing. A flexible display may be viewable through a transparent housing window before and after the flexible display is pulled out of the housing. 
     An electronic device may have first and second housing portions and a flexible display that can be either stored in one or both housing portions or that may be scrolled out to form a planar display surface that extends between housing portions. Elongated bistable support members may run along the edges of the display or may be overlapped by a central active area of the display to help stiffen and support the display in its extended position. Magnets may be used to outwardly bias edge-mounted bistable support structures and thereby help prevent a rolled flexible display from wrinkling. 
     The electronic device may have housing portions that are rotatably coupled to each other with hinges or other bendable structures so that the flexible display may fold along the bend axes. Magnets may be used to releasably couple the housing portions to each other. Movable support structures such as movable members coupled by springs or other flexible structures may be move between first and second positions. When the device is unfolded and the flexible display is planar and unfolded, the movable support structures may be moved towards the bend axis to support the flexible display. When the device is folded, the movable support structures may be moved away from the bend axis to help allow the flexible display and device to fold about the bend axis. 
     An electronic device may have both rigid and flexible displays. A rigid display such as a touch screen display may be mounted in the housing and may serve as a virtual keyboard. A flexible display that is stored on a roller in the housing may be pulled out from the display when it is desired to provide a user with expanded display area. The flexible display may have a first surface with a pixel array that displays images and an opposing second surface that serves as a protective outer covering layer when the flexible display overlaps the touch screen display. The flexible display may be supported at a diagonal angle with respect to the touch screen display or other suitable angle. 
     Wireless transmitter and receiver circuitry in an electronic device may be used to convey image data to display driver circuitry in the device. The display driver circuitry may display images on a pixel array in a flexible display in the device based on the image data. 
     Further features will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device having a display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of an illustrative device having with a flexible display extended between housing structures in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  3  and  4    are cross-sectional side views of edge portions of illustrative electronic device displays in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electronic device display that has a supporting member and a pixel array layer that are wrapped around an axis in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is a top view of an illustrative electronic device with a flexible display and wireless circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  7    is a side view of an illustrative trifold electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a perspective view of an illustrative support member formed from two oppositely oriented bistable strips in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is top view of an illustrative electronic device with a scrolling display and protective end caps in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a perspective view of an illustrative end cap in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  11    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device in a folded configuration in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  12    is a cross-sectional side view of the illustrative electronic device of  FIG.  11    in an unfolded configuration in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  13  and  14    are cross-sectional side views of an electronic device with pushing members in respective unfolded and folded states in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  15    is a side view of an illustrative electronic device with a scrolling flexible display and a rigid display such as a rigid touch screen display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  16    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a scrolling display deployed from beneath a transparent housing window member in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  17    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a scrolling flexible display deployed using multiple internal rollers in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may be provided with displays. The displays may include flexible displays. Flexible displays may be bent about a bend axis to allow an electronic device to be folded and may be rolled around rollers. This allows the flexible display to be stored in an electronic device housing when a compact device arrangement is desired and to be pulled from within the electronic device housing when an enlarged display area is desired. An electronic device may incorporate both foldable and scrollable displays or may have foldable displays and/or scrollable displays in a housing that also includes one or more rigid displays. 
     An illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with a flexible display is shown in  FIG.  1   . Electronic device  10  may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses 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 electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , electronic device  10  may have control circuitry  16 . Control circuitry  16  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, 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  16  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry in device  10  such as input-output devices  18  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. Input-output devices  18  may include buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, speakers, tone generators, vibrators, cameras, light-emitting diodes and other status indicators, data ports, etc. Input-output devices  18  may include sensors such as an ambient light sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a light-based proximity sensor, a magnetic sensor, an accelerometer, a force sensor, a touch sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a compass, a microphone or other sound sensor, or other sensors. A user can control the operation of device  10  by supplying commands through input-output devices  18  and may receive status information and other output from device  10  using the output resources of input-output devices  18 . 
     Input-output devices  18  may include one or more displays such as display  14 . Display  14  may be a touch screen display that includes a touch sensor for gathering touch input from a user or display  14  may be insensitive to touch. A touch sensor for display  14  may be based on an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes, acoustic touch sensor structures, resistive touch components, force-based touch sensor structures, a light-based touch sensor, or other suitable touch sensor arrangements. 
     Display  14  may be an organic light-emitting diode display or other light-emitting diode display, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an electrowetting display, an electrophoretic display, or other suitable display. Device  10  may include one or more flexible displays and/or rigid displays. A flexible display (e.g., an organic light-emitting diode display formed on a sheet of polymer or other flexible substrate and/or other flexible display pixel array structures) may be used to permit device  10  to be bent (e.g., folded) and/or to allow display  14  to be scrolled (e.g., to allow the visible area of display  14  to be expanded by moving display  14  in or out of a housing using a roller). 
     A perspective view of device  10  in an illustrative configuration in which device  10  has a housing  12  formed from two housing portions such as left housing portion  12 A and right housing portion  12 B and a scrolling flexible display  14  that extends between the left and right portions is shown in  FIG.  2   . Device 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, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing structures  12 A and  12 B may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all structures  12 A and  12 B are machined or molded as unitary structures 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, the housing of device  10  may have a single body (e.g., when device  10  is a cellular telephone, tablet computer, wristwatch device, etc.) or may have multiple body portions that are coupled by one or more hinges (e.g., in a laptop computer, a bifold or trifold device, or other device with foldable portions, etc.). 
     Housing structures  12 A and/or  12 B may be hollow. For example, housing structures  12 A and/or  12 B of  FIG.  2    may contain internal rollers that allow display  14  to be rolled up and stored within housing structures  12 A and  12 B when display  14  is not in use. In this stored state, display  14  will be protected from damage. When it is desired to deploy display  14  for use, housing structures  12 A and  12 B may be pulled apart as shown in  FIG.  2   , thereby causing display  14  to scroll off of the internal roller(s) used to store display  14  within housing structures  12 A and  12 B. 
     Because display  14  is flexible in configurations of the type shown in  FIG.  2   , it may be desirable to provide display  14  with support structures. With one illustrative configuration, edge portions IA (e.g., inactive border strips of display  14  or other portions of display  14 ) may overlap bistable support structures such as strips of metal tape with curved cross sections. Central portion AA of display  14 , which may sometimes be referred to as forming an active area of display  14 , may have an array of pixels that displays images for a user and may or may not be supported by bistable support structures. The bistable support structures under inactive areas IA and/or under active area AA of display  14  may sometimes be referred to as bistable structures, bistable tape, or elongated bistable members. Bistable support structures may be formed from metal, plastic, or other suitable materials. Bistable support structures for display  14  may be stiff and supportive when deployed into the configuration of  FIG.  2    while being flexible enough when sufficient bending force is applied to allow the bistable support structures to be rolled onto a roller when it is desired to retract display  14  into housing structures  12 A and/or  12 B. 
     A cross-sectional view of an illustrative edge portion of display  14  taken along line  24  of  FIG.  2    and viewed in direction  26  is shown in  FIG.  3   . As shown in  FIG.  3   , pixel array  14 P (e.g., a flexible layer with an array of organic light-emitting diode pixels) may be located in central active area AA of display  14 . Inactive area IA along the edges of display  14  may include substrate material  30  and bistable tape  32 . Substrate material  30  may include, for example, one or more flexible polymer layers and may have a portion that is wrapped around bistable tape  32 .  FIG.  4    shows how bistable tape  32  may, if desired, lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the surface of display pixel array  14 P. 
       FIG.  5    is a cross-sectional side view of electronic device  10  of  FIG.  2    taken along line  36  and viewed in direction  38 . In the arrangement of  FIG.  5   , flexible pixel array  14 P (e.g., an organic light-emitting diode display layer), supporting substrate  30  (e.g., a flexible polymer) and bistable tape  32  (e.g., metal tape such as ferromagnetic tape) have been rolled up for storage inside the interior of housing structures  12 B. When wound around a roller as shown in  FIG.  5   , the cross-sectional curvature of tape  32  become flattened, allowing tape  32  to flex. Housing structures  12 B may include structures such as housing wall  12 B′ that surround and enclose the rolled up substrate  30 , pixel array  14 P (display  14 ), and metal tape  32 ). As shown in  FIG.  5   , magnet  40  may be mounted on an end portion of wall  12 B′ (inside or outside of housing  12 ) and may magnetically attract metal tape  32 . This pulls tape  32  outwardly in direction  42  and helps ensure that tape  32  remains near to the end of housing structures  12 B, thereby preventing pixel array  14 P and substrate  30  from wrinkling. 
       FIG.  6    is a top view of device  10  in an illustrative configuration in which the housing for device  10  has a main portion (housing structure  12 - 1 ) and has a smaller portion (housing structure  12 - 2 ) that is used as a support bar to help pull flexible display  14  off of a roller within the interior of structures  12 - 1 . Bistable support strips such as tape  32  may be used to help support flexible display  14  when flexible display  14  is in its deployed state as shown in  FIG.  6   . 
     Device  10  of  FIG.  6    and the other FIGS. may include electrical components  44 . Electrical components  44  may include integrated circuits, sensors, connectors, batteries, audio circuits, speakers, microphones, and other input-output devices and control circuitry. Electrical components  44  may be mounted on one or more substrates (e.g., printed circuits). Substrates for mounting components  44  may be formed from plastic, glass, ceramic, other dielectric materials, printed circuit structures (e.g., rigid printed circuits formed from fiberglass-filled epoxy or other rigid printed circuit material and/or flexible printed circuits formed from flexible layers of polyimide or sheets of other polymer substrate materials), or other substrate material. 
     Display  14  may have a pixel array such as pixel array  14 P formed from pixels  46  (e.g., organic light-emitting diode pixels, etc.). Components  44  may include integrated circuits and/or thin-film transistor circuitry such as display driver circuitry  44 D that is coupled to pixel array  14 P of display  14  and that is used in providing data and control signals to pixels  46 . If desired, display driver circuit  44 D may be mounted in housing structure  12 - 2 . 
     To reduce or eliminate signal lines that are bent during the scrolling of display  14 , components  44  may include wireless communications circuitry such as wireless communications circuits  44 T and  44 R. During operation, image data from a processor or other control circuitry in structure  12 - 1  may be transmitted wirelessly by a wireless communications circuit transmitter in circuit  44 T (a wireless transmitter circuit) and may be received by corresponding a wireless communications receiver in circuit  44 R (a wireless receiver circuit). If desired, touch sensor signals may be gathered using a component  44  in housing structure  12 - 2  and transmitted wirelessly back to a processor in housing structure  12 - 1  (e.g., circuit  44 R may include a wireless transmitter and circuit  44 T may include a corresponding wireless receiver). 
     In the illustrative example of  FIG.  7   , electronic device  10  has a foldable configuration. As shown in  FIG.  7   , device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12  with bend regions  50 . In general, device  10  may have any suitable number of bend region  50  (e.g., one or more, two or more, three or more, etc.).  FIG.  7    shows how there may be two bend regions  50  in housing  12 , so that housing  12  may be folded in a trifold configuration (e.g., a configuration in which device  10  is made up of three overlapping planar housing portions). Bend facilitation structures  52  (e.g., voids, locally elastic structures, etc.) may be placed in housing  12  at bend regions  50  to facilitate folding of housing  12  and device  10  along bend axes aligned respectively with bend regions  50 . Flexible displays  14  may be located on one or more of the surfaces of the portions of housing  12 . For example, a first flexible display may cover some or all of surface T of housing  12  and/or a second flexible display may overlap some or all of opposing surface B of housing  12 . Magnets  55 , hinge detents, and/or other closure mechanisms may be used to help hold device  10  in its folded state. When a user such as viewer  54  desires to expand the visible portion of the flexible display, housing  12  and display(s)  14  may be unfolded and placed in a planar configuration in which each of the trifold sections of housing  12  and device  10  are coplanar. 
     If desired, bistable support structures such as illustrative bistable support member (metal tape)  56  may run along the edges of housing  12  of  FIG.  7   . Portion  56 - 1  of member  56  may be formed from metal or other suitable material with a cross-sectional shape that is curved downwards in direction  58  about axis  60  and portion  56 - 2  may have an opposite cross-sectional shape curvature (e.g., portion  56 - 2  may be formed from metal that is curved in direction  62  about axis  64 ). Adhesive, welds, fasteners, or other fastening structures may be used to join portions (segments)  56 - 1  and  56 - 2  of member  56  together at attachment region  64  as shown in  FIG.  8    before assembling member  56  into housing  12  of  FIG.  7   . 
       FIG.  9    is a top view of device  10  in an illustrative configuration in which device  10  has protective end cap structures such as end caps  66 . Flexible displays such as display  14  may be mounted on one or both sides of housing  12 . Device  10  of  FIG.  9    may, as an example, be a trifold device of the type shown in  FIG.  7   . When in a folded configuration of the type shown in  FIG.  9   , end caps  66  may be moved into a position that helps hold the folds of device  10  into place and thereby prevents unintentional unfolding. 
     A perspective view of device  10  and an illustrative endcap  66  is shown in  FIG.  10   . As shown in  FIG.  10   , end cap  66  may be mounted on part of housing  12  such as portions  68 . Protrusions  70  of end cap  66  may, for example, be received within portions  68  so that end cap  66  may be rotated about axis  72 . End cap  66  may be rotated about axis  72  in direction  74  when it is desired to place end cap  66  in the display and housing retention position shown in  FIG.  10    (e.g., to protect the edges of display  14  which might otherwise be exposed to damage) and may be rotated about axis  72  in direction  76  when it is desired to release display  14  and housing  12  and thereby allow device  10  to be unfolded. 
     In the illustrative arrangement of  FIG.  11   , device  10  has planar portions E (e.g., left and right portions of housing  12 ) and a locally thinned interposed middle portion M. Movable supports  80  may be coupled using springs  82 . Display(s)  14  may be formed on the upper and/or opposing lower surfaces of housing  12 . Device  10  can be folded and unfolded to move supports  80  within housing  12 . When device  10  is folded, portion M takes on a thickness DS that is less than the thickness DL of planar portions E. Supports  80  may have a height H that is between DS and DL or other suitable height. The thinning of middle portion M of housing  12  when the upper and opposing lower surfaces of device  10  in portion M are brought towards each other when device  10  is folded about bend axis  84  squeezes supports  80  out of region M along bend axis  84  and into regions E, as shown in  FIG.  11   . By moving supports  80  (e.g., rigid support members such as supporting structures formed from plastic, metal, etc.) outwardly into portions E, the flexibility of device  10  in region M is enhanced. 
     When device  10  is unfolded as shown in  FIG.  12   , middle region M becomes thicker (e.g., the thickness of middle region M may increase to thickness DL). This allows springs  82  to pull members  80  back into middle region M so that members  80  can support display  14  in a planar configuration in region M as shown in  FIG.  12   . 
     Another illustrative configuration for moving support members  80  within housing  12  is shown in  FIGS.  13  and  14   . In the unfolded arrangement of  FIG.  13   , supports  80  may be pulled into middle region M by springs  82 . Biasing member  86 , which may be formed from a layer of material or other structure that elongates when bent and thinned, may press against the edge of supports  80 . When device  10  is folded about bend axis  84  as shown in  FIG.  14   , end  90  of biasing member  86  may push members  80  away from bend axis  84 , out of middle region M, and into planar side region E in direction  88 , as shown in  FIG.  14   . In the example of  FIGS.  13  and  14   , only a single left-hand biasing member  86  and single set of corresponding right-hand support members  80  are depicted. Device  10  may have both right and left biasing members and both right-hand and left-hand sets of support members  80  joined by springs  82  or other flexible structures. 
       FIG.  15    is a cross-sectional side view of device  10  in an arrangement in which flexible display  14  may be scrolled and in which device  10  may contain a separate rigid display. Internal roller  92  in housing  12  may be used to store flexible display  14  when flexible display  14  is wrapped about roller  92  and may be used to deploy flexible display  14  when flexible display  14  is unwrapped from roller  92 . Additional rollers may be provided in housing  12  if desired. 
     End portion  12 TB of housing  12  may be used to help a user pull out the end of display  14  when unwrapping display  14 . Portion  12 TB may be pulled out diagonally (as shown in  FIG.  15   ) or may be pulled in other directions. For example, portion  12 TB may be pulled out horizontally from housing  12  in direction  94  as shown by portion  12 TB″. When deployed diagonally, display  14  may provide an expanded viewing area for a user (e.g., to display a document, web pages, and/or other content. Bistable metal strips or other support structures may be used to hold flexible display  14  in a desired position (e.g., in a position in which the display and bistable strips extend at an angle relative to housing  12  as shown in  FIG.  15   , etc. 
     A rigid display (e.g., a touch screen display) such as rigid display  14 R may be mounted on the front of housing  12 . A virtual keyboard (e.g., a QWERTY keyboard or other keyboard) may be dynamically formed on touch screen display  14 R. Flexible display may be scrolled outwardly when pulled out from housing  12  and may be maintained at a desired angle (e.g., a diagonal angle or other suitable angle with respect to horizontal, as shown in  FIG.  15   ). This allows display  14  to serve as an ancillary display (e.g., to display documents, internet content, etc.) while display  14 R is serving as a virtual keyboard or other touch screen input device. 
     If desired, portion  12 TB may be placed on end  96  of housing  12  as shown by portion  12 TB′ so that flexible display  14  lies in position  14 ′. In this arrangement, the back surface of flexible display  14  forms a protective cover for display  14 R, while the pixels of flexible display  14  that lie on the opposing surface of display  14  may face inwardly towards display  14 R. The outwardly facing rear (substrate) portion of display  14  may be free of sensitive pixel structures and may therefore serve as an outwardly facing protective surface for device  10  when display  14  is stowed in a position where pixel array  14 P faces display  14 R, thereby preventing display  14 R from becoming scratched. Magnets, fasteners, or other attachment mechanisms may be used to secure portion  12 TB′ to housing end  96 . 
     Another illustrative arrangement for device  10  is shown in  FIG.  16   . With this configuration, a transparent window such as window  98  is formed in housing  12 . One or more rollers such as roller  100  may be used to store flexible display  14  when display  14  is retracted into housing  12  and may be used to deploy flexible display  14  when display  14  is pulled outwardly in direction  102  using portion  104  of housing  12 . In the retracted position, portion  104  of housing  12  may be retained at end  106  of housing  12 . In this position, a viewer such as viewer  54  may view images on the portion of display  14  that is overlapped by window  98 . When extended, images on the extended portion may be viewed direction and images o the portion of display  14  remaining under window  98  may be viewed through window  98 . Window  98 , which may sometimes be referred to as a transparent housing window or transparent display window, may be formed from transparent materials such as clear glass, clear plastic, clear ceramic, sapphire or other transparent crystalline material, or other suitable transparent material. Components  44  (e.g., integrated circuits, batteries, etc.) may be mounted on a printed circuit board such as printed circuit board  108  or other substrate. 
     As shown in  FIG.  17   , device  10  may have multiple rollers (e.g., two or more rollers, three or more rollers, four or more rollers, fewer than ten rollers, or other suitable number of rollers). In the example of  FIG.  17   , device  10  has four rollers: deployment rollers  100 A,  100 C, and  100 D and storage roller  100 B. When portion  104  of housing  12  is pulled away from device  10  in direction  102 , flexible display  14  will scroll out of housing  12 . A portion of display  14  that is overlapped by window  98  may be viewed after the remainder of display  14  has been pulled out of housing  12  to enlarge the effective viewing area for viewer  54 . Because flexible display  14  follows a meandering path about the rollers in the interior of housing  12 , the size of display  14  can be enhanced without overly enlarging the diameter of storage roller  100 B. This allows the thickness of device  10  to be minimized. 
     Electronic devices with multiple rollers such as electronic device  10  of  FIG.  17    and/or other devices  10  with internal storage rollers may, if desired, be provided with supporting members such as elongated bistable support members (e.g., strips of flexible tape such as structures  32  of  FIGS.  3  and  4   ). The supporting members may run along the edges of display  14  (e.g., inactive display portions) as described in connection with  FIGS.  3  and  4    and/or may be overlapped by active portions of display  14 . As described in connection with  FIG.  5   , magnets  40  that are supported on housing  12  at the end of each roller may be used to help tension display  14  outwardly by magnetically attracting the bistable support members. In this type of arrangement, the bistable support members may be formed from material that is magnetically attracted to magnets  40  (e.g., a magnetic metal such as steel). 
     The end of display  14  of  FIG.  17    and the other FIGS. may have wireless circuitry such as circuitry  44 R of  FIG.  6    that communicates with wireless circuitry such as wireless circuitry  44 T of  FIG.  6   . Circuitry  44 T and other circuitry  44  may be mounted in housing  12  of  FIG.  17    or other device housing structures. This type of wireless circuit arrangement may also be used in configurations for device  10  of the type shown in  FIGS.  15  and  16    and/or the device arrangements of the other FIGS. 
     In general, device  10  may have any suitable size. The lateral dimensions of device  10  may, for example be 1-100 cm, 10-1000 cm, more than 1000 cm, less than 500 cm, less than 25 cm, less than 5 cm, less than 1 cm, or other suitable dimensions. The thickness of device  10  (e.g., the unfolded thickness of a folding housing device) may be, for example 1-100 mm, more than 2 mm, more than 3 mm, more than 5 mm, less than 30 mm, less than 15 mm, less than 9 mm, less than 5 mm, less than 4 mm, less than 3 mm, less than 1 mm, or other suitable thickness. 
     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: 20230120
Publication Date: 20240430
Grant Date: 20240430
Priority Date: 20170104
Inventors: MYERS, SCOTT A.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/041", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/2096", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0268", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/181", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0017", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0217", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04102", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2354/00", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2370/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2380/02", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1652", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/147", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2340/14", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2380/02", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0268", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0214", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/22", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09F9/301", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0017", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K5/0217", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/181", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/2096", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2354/00", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04102", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2370/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2380/02", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/041", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0268", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 69902527