Electronic Devices with Robust Flexible Displays

摘要

An electronic device may have a hinge that allows the device to be flexed about a bend axis. A display may span the bend axis. To protect display elements such as pixel circuitry from excessive mechanical stress, the display may include one or more structural protective layers. A structural layer may be incorporated into the display stack as a supportive backing behind the pixel circuitry and/or as a protective cover over the pixel circuitry. The structural layer may include rigid portions and flexible portions. The flexible portions may contain flexible material that separates and adjoins adjacent rigid structures or that fills grooves between adjacent rigid portions. The rigid portions may be formed from thin sheets of glass or other transparent materials. The flexible material in the structural layer may be an elastomeric material having a refractive index that matches that of the glass sheets in the structural layer.

主权项

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing that bends about a bend axis; and a display in the housing that bends about the bend axis, wherein the display comprises a protective layer having a rigid portion formed from a first material and a flexible portion formed from a second material that is different than the first material.