Apple, the Cupertino, California-based technology giant was granted a patent by USPTO for a foldable smartphone. Filed in the year 2014, the patent has been granted and published online by the USPTO only recently.
The patent abstract states it as “An electronic device has structures such as substrates and internal housing structures. The substrates may be rigid substrates such as rigid printed circuit boards and flexible substrates such as flexible printed circuits, flexible touch sensor substrates, and flexible display substrates. Carbon nanotubes may be patterned to form carbon nanotube signal paths on the substrates. The signal paths may resist cracking when bent. A flexible structure such as a flexible printed circuit may have carbon nanotube signal paths interposed between polymer layers. Openings in a polymer layer may expose metal solder pads on the carbon nanotube signal paths. A stiffener may be provided under the metal solder pads. Polymer materials in the flexible structure may be moulded to form bends. Bends may be formed along edges of a touch sensor or display or may be formed in a flexible printed circuit.”
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Apple Patent for Wraparound Smartphone
As per this patent, Apple could be working on an iPhone with a flexible screen. The device uses conductive carbon nanotube paths that can form signal paths that are flexible and resistant to cracking. In June this year, Bloomberg reported about the foldable smartphone from Samsung. Earlier this year Apple was also granted a patent for a 360-degree wraparound curved display (patent number: 9,367,095). However, the current LCD displays used by Apple won’t permit this level of flexibility. But it is rumoured that Apple will be switching to OLED displays for wrap around smartphones.
Report Source: Patently Apple