Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to an old watch patent that Apple acquired from LuxVue Technology, a company that Apple acquired. The patent dates back to 2013 or earlier. LuxVue is a company working on LED technology and microLED display technology which is what Apple acquired them for.

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While another Apple site calls this patent a "newly granted patent" today, technically it's a granted patent from a very long list of continuation patents.  The inventors listed on the patent are those from LuxVue with no original Apple engineers participating in this watch patent during its many, many updates.

The patent is about display module packages including an array of LEDs and system applications. Focusing on the design or form factor of this granted patent is not what this patent is about. This is not a design patent and to bank on that angle for a report misses the boat completely.  

Today's granted patent is from a continuation patent. So, what's actually new in this granted patent. Well, it's not the form factor to be sure. It's about the U.S. Patent Office granting Apple the 15 all new patent claims that they filed for back in May 2020.

The patent claims have nothing to do with the form factor, and never have. The patent figure of a watch was used to generically illustrate that a watch could be one of the devices that the invention could be used for. A patent about new module packages and systems.  

The 15 newly granted patent claims published today include the following:

1. An electronic device comprising: a substrate including a first side and a second side; a first wiring layer on the first side; an array of LEDs on and in electrical contact with the first wiring layer on the first side of the substrate; a second wiring layer on the second side of the substrate; a plurality of interconnects extending between and electrically connecting the first wiring layer to the second wiring layer.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising an array of microchips connected with the first wiring layer to drive the array of LEDs.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein each microchip is connected with a corresponding plurality of LEDs.
4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the array of LEDs is located in a display area of the substrate.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, further comprising a timing controller chip electrically connected with the second wiring layer.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the array of microchips is interspersed among the array of LEDs.

7. The electronic device of claim 4, further comprising a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) chips in electrical connection with the second wiring layer.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of interconnects is located outside of the display area.

9. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of interconnects is located directly behind the display area.

10. The electronic device of claim 7, further comprising a driver integrated circuit (IC) chip on the first side of the substrate and in electrical connection with the first wiring layer.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the substrate includes a display area and a bevel width around the display area, wherein the bevel width is less than 1 mm.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the substrate is flexible.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the substrate further comprises a contact ledge area, wherein the contact ledge area is wider than the bevel width.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, further comprising a driver IC bonded to the first wiring layer in the contact ledge area.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the bevel width completely surrounds the display area.

I realize that promoting the fantasy of a new Apple Watch form factor could be appealing, but at the end of the day, it's misleading. To review the update in the patent claims of this acquired patent, see Apple's granted patent 10,957,678.

Our cover graphic illustrates patent FIG. 5 which illustrates an array of LEDs and microchips that could be applied to a display area where the array of microchips overlaps the plurality of through vias. The patent points to other devices that the technology could apply to.

The patent notes: "For example, the display panel may be incorporated into a smartphone or tablet and folded into various configurations." A generic watch was only one example device and never the focus of the invention.