Apple Inc.

Tatsuya Sano

Michael Benjamin Wittenberg

Ryan C Perkins

Owen D Hale

Christopher Matthew Werner

Christopher J Walton

Hoon Sik Kim

Benjamin J Kallman

Zhipeng Zhang

Richard H Koch

Jeffrey C Olson

Samuel B Schaevitz

Dinesh C Mathew

Keith J Hendren

Erik L Wang

Christopher S Graham

Adam T Garelli

Houtan R Farahani

Robert Y Cao

Bradley Joseph Hamel

Justin Derry Crosby

Kevin M Robinson

Osamu Yabe

Hsiang Hung Chen

Scott W Slabaugh

Motohide Hatanaka

Zaki Moustafa

Terry C Lam

Chang-Chia Huang

Yasmin F Afsar

Jen-Chun Hsu

Scott J Krahn

Eiryo Shiraishi

Woojin Jung

An electronic device may have a housing with portions that slide relative to each other. A display may be supported on a surface of the housing such as on a front face of the housing. The housing portions may slide between an unexpanded state in which the display has an unexpanded viewable area on the front face and an expanded state in which the display has an expanded viewable area on the front face that is greater than the unexpanded viewable area. The housing portions may have interior regions that contain electrical components. The display may be formed from a flexible display substrate. A portion of a flexible display may be stored in an interior region of the housing when the housing is in the unexpanded state. In the unexpanded state, the flexible display may have one or more bends and may double back on itself one or more times.

Electronic devices having sliding expandable displays

An electronic device has a foldable display. First and second portions of an electronic device housing for the device may be joined using hinge structures. A flexible display may overlap the first housing portion, the hinge structures, and the second housing portion. A layer such as a layer of sheet metal may be used in supporting the display and may overlap the hinge structures. The hinge structures may include gear teeth, belts, and/or other movement synchronization structures. The hinge structures may include members that move relative to each other during bending. The moving members may include bars and links with opposing curved bearing surfaces. Stop surfaces may prevent excessive rotation of the bars and links with respect to each other. The links may rotate about pivot points that lie within the thickness of the display without the hinge structure living within the thickness of the display.

Electronic devices having folding expandable displays

A foldable display device may have housing portions coupled by a hinge. The hinge may have a series of interconnected links. The links may be formed from interdigitated fingers in a friction clutch. The fingers or other portions of the links may be provided with crescent-shaped slots that receive pins. During folding of the device, the pins may slide along the crescent-shaped slots, thereby ensuring that adjacent links rotate relative to each other about a rotation axis that lies outside of the hinge and within a flexible display panel. Links may also be formed from link members with curved mating bearing surfaces that slide relative to each other as adjacent links are rotated relative to each other. A housing rotation synchronization mechanism may be formed using a set of gears that extends between the first and second housing portions.

Hinges for folding display devices

A wirelessly locatable tag may include a first housing member defining an exterior surface of the wirelessly locatable tag and a frame member attached to the first housing member and defining a battery cavity configured to receive a button cell battery and an opening through the frame member. The wirelessly locatable tag may further include a circuit board positioned between the first housing member and the frame member, a battery connector coupled to the circuit board and comprising a deflectable arm extending into the battery cavity through the opening in the frame member, a second housing member removably coupled to the frame member, and a biasing member configured to bias the button cell battery into the battery cavity of the frame member and against the deflectable arm of the battery connector.

Battery connection system for a wirelessly locatable tag

A wirelessly locatable tag may include a first housing member defining a first exterior surface of the wirelessly locatable tag and an interior surface opposite the first exterior surface. The wirelessly locatable tag may further include a second housing member defining a second exterior surface of the wirelessly locatable tag a first antenna configured transmit the wireless signal using a first wireless protocol, a second antenna configured to communicate using a second wireless protocol different than the first wireless protocol, and an audio system. The audio system may include a magnet assembly configured to produce a magnetic field and a coil positioned within the magnetic field and coupled to the interior surface of the first housing member, the coil configured to interact with the magnetic field to impart a force on the first housing member, thereby moving a portion of the first housing member to produce an audible output.

Audio output system for a wirelessly locatable tag

A wirelessly locatable tag may be configured to transmit a wireless signal to an electronic device to facilitate localization of the wirelessly locatable tag by the electronic device. The wirelessly locatable tag may include an antenna assembly comprising an antenna frame defining a top surface and a peripheral side surface and an antenna positioned along the peripheral side surface and configured to transmit the wireless signal. The wirelessly locatable tag may further include a frame member coupled to the antenna assembly and defining a battery cavity configured to receive a button cell battery and an enclosure enclosing the antenna assembly and the frame member. The enclosure may include a first housing member formed from a unitary polymer structure and defining a top wall defining an entirety of a top exterior surface of the wirelessly locatable tag.

Enclosure for a wirelessly locatable tag

A band for securing an electronic device to a user may include a monolithic band body having proximal and distal ends for coupling to a body of the electronic device. The monolithic band body may include an elastic material that is elastically stretchable between (1) a fitted mode where the electronic device is secured to a limb of the user, and (2) a stretched mode for fitting over the limb of the user.

Highly elastic composites and constructions for continuous watch band design

A watchband can comfortably secure an electronic device to a wrist of a user. A connector can be provided along a segment of the watchband to receive and secure to another segment of the watchband. For example, a connector can include a housing with an inlet and an outlet, a first pad within the housing, and a second pad within the housing. When a watchband segment between the first and second pads is moved in a direction from the outlet toward the inlet, the first pad and the second pad move toward each other to clamp the watchband segment without plastically deforming the watchband segment.

Watchband securement with clamp pads

A watch band can provide both a physical connection and an electrical connection with a watch body of a watch. The watch band is fixed relative to the watch body and an electrical connection is either performed either simultaneously or shortly thereafter. The electrical connection enables data and power transfer between the watch body and the watch band. The electrical connection may also be performed by a secondary user interaction. Secondary user inactions may involve the user sliding, pulling, pushing, or rotating a portion of the watch band or watch body.

Attachment mechanism architectures for a watch band

A watch band can provide both a physical connection and an electrical connection with a watch body of a watch. The watch band is fixed relative to the watch body and an electrical connection is either performed either simultaneously or shortly thereafter. The electrical connection enables data and power transfer between the watch body and the watch band. The electrical connection can also be performed by a secondary user interaction. Secondary user inactions can involve the user sliding, pulling, pushing, or rotating a portion of the watch band or watch body.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Tatsuya Sano