Apple wins patent for foldable device display with ‘self-healing’ layer

Apple has been granted a patent for a new display technology that uses a self-healing layer to repair damage to the screen without any interaction from the user. The patent titled ‘Electronic Devices with Flexible Display Cover Layers’ describes the company’s concept for a foldable display that can reduce the impact of dents and scratches on the screen. It is currently unclear whether Apple plans to introduce a flexible display layer on future products, such as foldable phones.

Apple’s next foldable display may feature a self-healing layer

As per details shared in US patent 11991901 ,Via In the patent Apple) which was granted to Apple on Tuesday, the company describes an electronic device that is equipped with a hinge, which allows it to fold – it sounds very similar to today’s existing foldable smartphones. Like other folding phones, the patent suggests that such a device would also require a display cover layer with a flexible portion, in addition to more rigid sections.

While the technology described so far by Apple may be familiar to technology enthusiasts who have used a foldable phone, the patent also describes the use of “a layer with self-healing properties” that forms part or all of a folding display. Covers. Apple mentions that the display can be used to reduce damage from scratches or dents that are inevitable when using a foldable device.

Apple’s self-healing display layer: how it works

Apple says that the flexible part of the alleged display could be equipped with a layer of elastomer that could improve the component’s ability to bend. The company’s patent includes drawings that show the use of a self-healing layer that sits on top of the flexible elastomer component.

Apple’s self-healing layer (64) is located on top of the foldable part in this picture
Photo Credit: USPTO/Apple

While the patent document suggests that the self-healing process involves the coating material filling a scratch or dent without external interference, Apple also describes methods for manually initiating self-healing on the display – “external “Formally applied heat, light, electric current, or other type of external stimulation.”

The design of the self-healing display is illustrated in several figures in the patent document. The layer is denoted by the number 64, and is shown covering the entire display or only the flexible portion of the screen.

To provide “incentive” for the display curing process, the company describes the use of transparent conductors to create the heating layer. According to Apple’s patent document, this layer can be activated when the device is charging or manually turned on by the user.

Although Apple has been granted a patent for this technology, there’s no telling when or if the company might introduce such a display on future devices. A recently leaked roadmap of the company’s products suggests that Apple is working on a fourth-generation iPhone SE, a foldable phone, and AR glasses.