Apple patent reveals foldable iPhone with flexible OLED display

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Apple patent published Tuesday, November 22 reveals the company has for years been actively investigating a hinged iPhone format, with designs calling for a flexible metal-backed OLED display capable of being folded in half, AppleInsider says.

As granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple's patent for "Flexible display devices" describes an iPhone with a foldable full-screen display. Like clamshell cellphones popularized by Motorola in the 1990s, Apple's proposed design also folds in two when not in use for easy storage.

To achieve a foldable format, Apple's invention relies on a number of flexible components, the most important being an OLED display and metal support structure. For the latter, the document proposes nitinol, a nickel and titanium alloy known for its elasticity and unique shape memory abilities. Alternative embodiments involve flexible polymers.

In some examples, the foldable phone incorporates a chassis or device housing split into upper and lower sections, each containing processors, sensors and other typical smartphone circuitry. For example, an upper housing might include cameras, display controllers, speaker modules and light sensors, while the bottom portion holds microphones, CPU and GPU, vibrator and other necessary parts.

The two pieces are attached via a single- or multi-shaft hinge mechanism supporting rotational motion, allowing the two housing portions to move relative one another. Connections between upper and lower housing are accomplished through flexible printed circuit boards.

Installed over the two housing structures is the display. Interestingly, Apple's document notes the flexible screen can include extra material to accommodate two or more folding configurations.