Apple Inc.

Christopher D Jones

James R Wilson

Dale N Memering

Martin Melcher

David E Kingman

Matthew S Rogers

Christopher C Bartlow

Clarisse Mazuir

Ibuki Kamei

Derek C Scott

Stephen Brian Lynch

Christopher D Prest

John Raff

Peter F Masschelein

Paul Stephen Drzaic

Hoon Sik Kim

Albert John Golko

Malcolm J Northcott

Phil M Hobson

Donald R Monroe

Masato Kuwabara

James A Yurko

Nikhil D Kalyankar

Jack E Graves

Budhadipta Dan

Chang-Chia Huang

Yasmin F Afsar

Tyler A Marshall

Juan A Lazaro

Terry C Shyu

Dinesh C Mathew

Erik G De Jong

Simon R Lancaster-Larocque

Que Anh S Nguyen

Benjamin Shane Bustle

Arturo Llamazares Domper

Jesse T Buehler

Richard A Davis

Alexander M Zoellner

Amin M Younes

Rikard Fredriksson

Aidan R Doan

Harry K Ng

Paul Xiaopeng Wang

Michael Benjamin Wittenberg

Keith J Hendren

Tyler S Bushnell

Matthew Emanuel Last

Joseph C Poole

Robert Y Cao

Naoto Matsuyuki

Edward Siahaan

Sameer Pandya

Daniel Ray Bloom

Ueyn L Block

Ari P Miller

Forrest C Wang

Ryan Joseph Garrone

Marta M Giachino

David Glen Havskjold

Alexander W Williams

Gregory A Cohoon

Katherine E Tong

Daniel J Barrett

Karan Bir

Vivek Venugopal

Genie Kim

Edwin J Corona Aparicio

Glen A Rhodes

Jacky G Ko

Ping Chen

Alvin K Ng

Alexander M Hoffman

Avianne Marie B Tuano

A C Manjunath

Jason C Zapantis

Gary L Burkholder

Chien-Wei Huang

An electronic device may include a foldable housing having first and second housing portions coupled by a hinge. A flexible display may overlap the hinge and may have first and second display regions respectively overlapping the first and second housing portions. An object detection sensor may be configured to detect objects on the display that might cause damage to the display if the device is folded closed while the object is present. The object detection sensor may include an image sensor, a capacitive sensor, a strain gauge, and/or other suitable sensors. In response to detecting an object on the display with the object detection sensor, movement of the first housing portion relative to the second housing portion may be restricted, an alert may be issued, air may be blown across the display, and/or other actions may be taken.

Foldable electronic devices with object detection sensors

An optical lens includes a first transparent portion, a second transparent portion, and an opaque metal barrier separating the first transparent portion from the second transparent portion. The opaque metal barrier is bonded directly to the first transparent portion and the second transparent portion via aluminum-oxide bonds. The optical lens can include a transition zone between the opaque metal barrier and adjacent transparent portions. The transition zone can include the aluminum-oxide bonds and have a thickness.

Optical lens

A glass sheet having asymmetric chemical strengthening is disclosed and described. The examples described herein are directed to a cover glass for an electronic device and other glass components that may be used as enclosure elements or may form an enclosure. Within the glass component, localized compressive stress regions may be formed on opposite sides of the glass component, which may help arrest or redirect propagating cracks or defects in the glass. The opposing compressive stress regions may also help maintain the overall flatness of the component while increasing strength and/or impact resistance of the component.

Patterned asymmetric chemical strengthening

An electronic device display may have an inner layer with a pixel array for displaying images and an outer layer with an array of light modulator cells operable in transparent and light-blocking modes. Force sensor and touch sensor circuitry may be used to gather user input such as information on finger pressure or stylus input applied to a location on the display. A block of the cells may be placed into a transparent mode to form a transparent window based on information from the sensor circuitry. Images on the pixel array may be viewed through the window. In another mode of operation, images can be displayed by adjusting the cells of the light modulator layer and backlight illumination may be provided by the pixel array. A camera and a flash or other optical components may be overlapped by an adjustable shutter.

Electronic devices with two-stage displays

An electronic device can include a housing defining an aperture, and an electromagnetic radiation emitter and an electromagnetic radiation detector disposed in the housing. An optical component can be disposed in the aperture and can include a first region of a first material having a first index of refraction, the first region aligned with the electromagnetic radiation emitter, a second region of the first material, the second region aligned with the electromagnetic radiation detector, and a bulk region surrounding a periphery of the first region and a periphery of the second region, the bulk region including a second material having a second index of refraction that is lower than the first index of refraction.

Optical components for electronic devices

Electronic devices including a display layer and a cover layer including a foldable region are disclosed herein. The display layer and the cover layer are configured to be moved between a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration by bending the cover layer along the foldable region. Methods of making a cover layer for an electronic device are also disclosed.

Foldable cover and display for an electronic device

A system such as a vehicle may have adjustable structures such as adjustable windows. Adjustable windows may have adjustable layers such as adjustable tint layers, adjustable reflectivity layers, and adjustable haze layers. Adjustable window layers may be incorporated into a window with one or more transparent structural layers such as a pair of glass window layers. Adjustable components such as adjustable reflectivity layers, adjustable haze layers, and adjustable tint layers may be interposed between the pair of glass window layers. Fixed partially reflective mirrors, fixed tint layers, and/or fixed haze layers may be used in place of adjustable tint, haze, and reflectivity layers and/or may be incorporated into windows in addition to adjustable tint, haze, and reflectivity layers.

Systems with adjustable windows

A window may have a structural window layers such as an inner glass layer and an outer glass layer. The inner glass layer may be a layer of tempered glass. The outer glass layer may be a laminated glass layer. The inner and outer glass layers may be separated by an air gap. One or more reflection suppression layers such as antireflection layers and/or circular polarizers may be incorporated into the window to suppress reflections of light from within the interior region off of the window back towards the interior region. The antireflection layers may be formed on one or both surfaces of the inner glass and one or both surfaces of the outer glass. An electrically adjustable layer such as a guest-host liquid crystal light modulator layer or other electrically adjustable optical component layer may be interposed between the outer glass layer and the air gap.

Systems with suppressed window reflections

Light-control panels including layered optical components are described in this application. An example of a light-control panel includes a first glazing layer, a second glazing layer, a third glazing layer, and a fourth glazing layer, a first switchable component extending between the first glazing layer and the second glazing layer, a thermal coating extending between the first glazing layer and the first switchable component, and a second switchable component extending between the third glazing layer and the fourth glazing layer. The second glazing layer and the third glazing layer have an air gap therebetween, such that the air gap forms a space between the second glazing layer and the third glazing layer.

Light-control panel with layered optical components

Methods for chemically strengthening a cover for an electronic are disclosed. The methods include removing material from a mounting surface of the cover to counteract warping of the mounting surface due to ion exchange. The chemically strengthened covers have a high bend strength and allow a strong seal to be formed between the cover and an enclosure component.

Strengthened covers for electronic devices

Various embodiments relate to sensing defects associated with a window. Furthermore, various embodiments relate to performing image processing to produce a corrected image of a scene based at least partly on data corresponding to the detected defects. In some examples, one or more lighting modules may be used to illuminate the window to facilitate detection of the defects by one or more sensor devices.

Window defect sensing and image processing

Protective cover layers for electronic devices are described. In an embodiment, an electronic device includes a display panel and a protective cover layer over the display panel. The protective cover layer includes a transparent support substrate and a hardcoat layer covering an exterior facing surface of the transparent support substrate. The display panel may be a flexible display panel and the protective cover layer may flex with the flexible display panel.

Hybrid coverlay/window structure for flexible display applications

An apparatus for resisting entry of objects through a panel. The apparatus includes a weakened portion that extends laterally across a width dimension of the panel. The apparatus includes a stop structure spaced from the weakened portion that extends laterally across the width dimension of the panel to limit deformation. A bottom edge of the panel is configured to rotate about an axis extending along the weakened portion to abut the stop structure.

Panel intrusion control

A glass fastening system includes a glass portion, a support structure defining a recess, a first adhesive layer disposed on an exterior surface of the glass portion facing the recess in the support structure, a second adhesive layer disposed within the recess of the support structure, and a fastener having a first portion secured to the first adhesive layer and a second portion extending away from the first portion and into the second adhesive layer to secure the glass portion to the support structure.

Glass fastening and sealing systems

Growing community of inventors

Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

Christopher D Jones