Apple bags patent for folding phone that closes as it's dropped
- Reference: 1679337074
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/03/20/apple_granted_patent_for_folding/
- Source link:
According to a [1]patent [PDF] published on March 16, Apple hasn't just considered a foldable – it's considering a foldable that can detect when it's in freefall or been thrown upwards and then fold itself to protect its fragile screen.
Per Apple's patent, the autofolding hardware could work in several ways, the most basic among them being a spring-loaded mechanical hinge that disengages to only partially close the phone "to an angle less than [than] 180 degrees," keeping most of the screen off the surface if it hits display down.
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Apple said a production device with the technology could differ in several ways, like using a motorized hinge instead of a mechanical one, possibly with magnetic components, and allowing the device to fully close depending on drop height.
[3]
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In order to detect a potentially damaging drop or toss, Apple said the phone's accelerometer can be used, but noted that additional software would be needed to prevent the device from snapping shut, say, during a flight or in a fast-moving car.
[5]Bringing the IBM Thinkpad 'Butterfly' back to life
[6]Any iPad is foldable if you try hard enough but Apple guru says a hinged one is coming
[7]Lenovo reveals rollable laptop and smartphone screens
[8]Lenovo's folding portable ThinkPad grows to 16.3in, adds keyboard
"A sensor in the device senses the acceleration of the device. If the acceleration of the device exceeds a predetermined threshold, protective features are engaged to protect the display," Apple says in the patent, adding that "the features will only be triggered in free-fall acceleration or vertical acceleration."
Fantastic folding phones?
This isn't the first time that Apple is said to be working on a folding device. Previous industry talk pointed to Apple launching a folding iPad as Samsung has saturated the folding smartphone market, with most recent indications pointing to such a device [9]launching in 2024 .
Of course, patents do not a final product make: As Apple invention site Patently Apple pointed out, Apple has filed some [10]88 patents related to possible folding, scrollable or flexible devices in recent years, but not a single one has appeared on shelves. This latest patent includes another screen innovation in the form of a retractable screen that spools itself inside the device, and which can do so in response to a drop or toss, too.
Regardless of whether Apple actually launches a folding phone or tablet in the next year or two, there's still the problem of screen strength and the addition of failure points to contend with.
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Samsung has had a number of problems with its folding devices since launching them in 2019. Both the hinges and screens on Samsung folding devices have been [12]notoriously difficult to keep clean and free of scratches and scores.
In their newer generations of Folds and Flips, Samsung claims to have addressed earlier problems, but recent tests have shown the fourth generation, released mid-2022, to have similar woes, with iFixit [13]reporting the hinges still had reliability issues, and others pointing out that the screen could [14]still be scratched with relative ease (at just 2 on the [15]Mohs hardness scale ) compared to, say, an actual glass screen.
Apple's patent indicates its folding devices would use organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) for its display, similar to what Samsung uses in its folding devices. OLED screens are preferred for these applications because they don't require a backlight and can be made much thinner than traditional LED displays. Conversely, OLED screens must be kept completely sealed from outside debris, which can disturb or destroy them. In other words, far more flexible, but tough to protect.
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We've asked the iMaker to comment on its latest patent. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20230079485
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZBjlkFF-R0yxViKbCfFS-gAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZBjlkFF-R0yxViKbCfFS-gAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZBjlkFF-R0yxViKbCfFS-gAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/01/ibm_butterfly_repair_upgrade/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/31/2024_foldable_ipad/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/19/lenovo_rollable_laptop_smartphone_concept/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/01/lenovo_thinkpad_x1_fold_portable/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/31/2024_foldable_ipad/
[10] https://www.patentlyapple.com/2023/03/apple-invents-a-motorized-self-retracting-folding-device-hinge-that-partially-or-fully-closes-during-a-drop-event-to-protect.html
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZBjlkFF-R0yxViKbCfFS-gAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2019/04/18/samsung_galaxy_fold_fiasco/
[13] https://www.ifixit.com/News/64317/reviewers-say-the-future-of-phones-is-foldable-is-it-repairable-too
[14] https://www.tomsguide.com/news/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-4-durability-just-tested-heres-how-tough-this-foldable-is
[15] https://www.gemsociety.org/article/select-gems-ordered-mohs-hardness/
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZBjlkFF-R0yxViKbCfFS-gAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Tie a piece of bread, buttered side up, to the top of the cat, and you have a perpetual motion machine. Harness the resulting power, and the battery on your phone never dies.
Good luck getting a phone attached to a spinning cat into your pocket to carry it around, and if you manage that you will probably end up with an unscheduled vasectomy. Or worse!
Putting a cat in your pocket to make a perpetual motion machine would be silly, [1]here's the sensible way to make a perpetual motion machine .
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8yW5cyXXRc
It just shows how far patent system has deviated from its roots. It was supposed to protect inventors who invested a lot of time and money into developing something, so that others could not copy that invention and benefit from it. And now we get parents like this, where Apple claims merely an idea of an auto-closable screen. "oh yeah, maybe we'll use a spring, or magnets or something". It is not an invention. It didn't require years of research and prototyping, only 30 mins of engineers brainstorming with the patent lawyer. Sad and pathetic system which encourages such practice...
My oppo phone has its camera and torch on a pizza wedge that pops out the top. It auto retracts if the phone is dropped. It's actually the easiest way to switch off the torch if the screen has timed out...
gotta protect those screens somehow
How about a little phone parachute that can deploy rapidly? Or an airbag system powered by compressed air canisters inside the phone?
Please note, if no patents have yet been filed for these ideas, this post can be considered as prior art.
Not a particularly novel idea
My phone, from a Chinese manufacturer who's name may not be spoken, has one of those pop up front facing cameras. It retracts when not being used and also if you drop the phone (and, yes, it works -- I tried it by dropping it onto a pillow).
Folding the screen may be a bit tricky to implement -- its not that the 'we need to fold now' isn't difficult, that's obvious, but implementing this seamlessly could be difficult.
The iSolution for people who hold their phone wrong(ly)
The last time I thought about getting an iPhone I think was when the iPhone 6 was new. I handled it. The sides were way too smooth = easy to drop. Form over function. I don't think my impression was wrong as I recall seeing many iPhones with cracked screens. Meanwhile I have all my old Android phones, various makes, going back years with screens intact.
Next up: iMousetrap?
If you have a rapid closing mechanism, a camera and more computing power in a device than was used to get a few chaps safely to the moon and back, surely turning it into a mousetrap won't be that much of a further step?
I think it's pretty much guaranteed that someone will write the app, even if it was just for a laugh :).
Stick any phone to a cat and it will always land the right way up. Problem solved at zero cost.