It doesn't look like Apple will release a foldable phone anytime soon, but that doesn't mean the company isn't working on it behind the scenes.
A new patent from the company reveals a hinge design that could be used for foldable devices, including a potential foldable iPhone or iPad.
The new foldable system, discovered by Patently Apple, features a flexible screen panel that straddles an axis. The hinge connects the two housings of the device and allows the device to be opened and closed by rotating these parts around the axis.
USPTO
The hinge consists of a series of interlocking links, made of thin discs of material that form interlocking fingers in a friction clutch. The links have crescent-shaped grooves that accommodate the pins. When the device is folded, the pins slide along the grooves, allowing the links to rotate relative to each other around an axis of rotation which is outside the hinge but inside the panel. flexible display.
Apple says in the patent that the technology is not limited to foldable iPhones. The hinge design can be applied to a variety of foldable devices, including iPads, laptops, monitors and even TVs.
It is not possible to establish a direct link to the patent, but it can be found by searching the patent database.
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This article was originally published in our sister publication Macworld Sweden and was translated and adapted from Swedish.
