On August first, Patently Apple posted a patent report titled "Microsoft Continues to work on their Next-Gen Foldable Smartphone using a Single Foldable Display much like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold."  Today the Patent & Trademark Office in the Hague published a patent application from Microsoft that once again focuses on future Surface foldable devices that will utilize a flexible display substrate that can deform as the device's support surfaces are folded. 

As noted above, some computing devices utilize a flexible display substrate that can deform as support surfaces beneath the flexible display are folded. In some of these devices, hinges couple two support surfaces for folding 180 degrees from a flat orientation in which the flexible display is substantially planar to a closed or zero- degree face-to-face orientation in which one portion of the flexible display is on top of the opposing portion.

However, these devices are incapable of folding the display in the opposite direction into an open or back-to-back orientation with the display on the outside. One reason for this limitation is that hinge designs are utilized that would stretch and exert damaging tensile stresses on the flexible display substrate upon folding the support surfaces from the flat orientation toward an open or back-to-back orientation.

To enable a flexible display device to open into a 360-degree, back-to- back orientation with the display substrate on the outside, a device may utilize moveable display support structures opposite to the display substrate that translate toward the middle spine of the device as the structures rotate front a 180-degree orientation to a 360-degree orientation. However, to provide space for such support structures to  translate, gaps are created in the rear of the device between the support structures and the middle spine. Such gaps could allow undesirable foreign material to enter the interior of the device and would be visually unappealing to the user.

Microsoft's patent FIG. 1 below shows a non-display side of one example of a foldable computing device utilizing moveable slider plate;  FIG. 2 shows the computing device of FIG. 1 folded in a face-to-face orientation; FIG. 3 shows a schematic end view of the computing device in the face- to-face orientation with a flexible display inside.

To review Microsoft's full invention details, review patent application WO2023192787.

The form factor of Microsoft's Surface Duo 2 smartphone, as pictured below, used two separate displays with a noticeable gap in between.  This design from their hardware chief, Panos Panay, lost Microsoft momentum in foldables and a miss with developers. This allowed Google to introduce their Pixel Fold with a single foldable display ahead of Microsoft. Their new Surface Duo (or whatever they'll call it) will take on the single foldable display format as described in this current patent.

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