Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to a foldable display device that 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.

Apple's granted patent covers a foldable electronic device may have a display formed from a flexible display panel that overlaps a bend axis. The device may have first and second housing portions coupled by a hinge. The device may be opened and closed by rotating first and second housing portions about the bend axis.

The hinge may have a series of interconnected links. The links may be formed from thin sheets of material that form 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 the flexible display panel supported over the links.

If desired, links may 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.

Apple doesn't limit their invention to just a foldable iPhone and states that the hinges described in the patent could apply to future foldables including an iPad, laptop, Television or other form of monitor.  

Apple's patent FIG. 2 below illustrates a basic schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic (iPhone, iPad) device; FIG. 4 is a side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having a hinge with links; FIG. 10 is a side view of a portion of hinge with a rotation synchronization mechanism formed from interlocked gears.

Apple's patent FIG. 19 above is a perspective view of an illustrative hinge; FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of an illustrative bent hinge and FIG. 21 is a rear perspective view of an illustrative bent hinge

A Few of the Designers and Engineers on this Project

• Adam Garelli: Senior Product Architect
• Mathew; Dinesh C: Researcher
• Hoon Kim: Engineering Manager (Product Design) Mac and iPad
• Terry C. Software Engineering Manager
• Kevin Robinson: Product Design Engineer
• Houtan Farahani: Senior Product Design Engineer