US-12628284-B2 - Internal hardware configurations within foldable electronic devices

US12628284B2US 12628284 B2US12628284 B2US 12628284B2US-12628284-B2

Abstract

This document describes systems and techniques directed at internal hardware configurations for foldable devices. In aspects, a foldable electronic device includes a housing, defining an internal cavity within which a battery is disposed, and one or more displays that are fixed to the housing, forming at least one internal cavity. The foldable electronic device further includes one or more battery cell tabs that are arranged in an unfolded configuration and extend from the battery to a power control module positioned underneath a display control module that is mounted to the display. Through such a configuration, an internal volume within the internal cavity can be more-efficiently occupied by increasing a battery capacity or reducing a dimensional profile of the foldable electronic device.

Inventors

Michael J. Lombardi
Joseph Allore
Avi Pinchas Hecht
Yongho Lim
Michael E. Bentz, II

Assignees

GOOGLE LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240522

Claims (7)

1 . A foldable electronic device comprising: a housing having a folding region that separates a first non-folding region and a second non-folding region, at least one of the first non-folding region or the second non-folding region configured to rotate about the folding region; one or more displays positioned within at least one of the first non-folding region or the second non-folding region of the housing sufficient to define an internal cavity; a display control module configured to control operations of a respective display of the one or more displays, the display control module positioned within the internal cavity and mounted to a surface of the respective display; a battery disposed within the internal cavity; and one or more battery cell tabs arranged in an unfolded configuration and extending from the battery to a power control module, the power control module positioned beneath the display control module at a lower layer along an axis perpendicular to the surface of the respective display such that the display control module is disposed between the power control module and the respective display.
2 . The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the battery is disposed at least partially beneath the display control module at a lower layer than the display control module along the axis perpendicular to the surface of the respective display such that the display control module is disposed between portions of the battery and the respective display.
3 . The foldable electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the lower layer of the power control module and the lower layer of the battery are coplanar.
4 . The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the power control module is disposed adjacent to the battery along an axis parallel to the surface of the respective display.
5 . The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more displays comprise two displays, the two displays including a foldable display and a non-foldable display.
6 . The foldable electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the respective display comprises the non-folding display.
7 . The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the battery, the display control module, the power control module, and the one or more battery cell tabs are disposed within the first non-folding region or the second non-folding region.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/648,528 filed on May 16, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. SUMMARY This document describes systems and techniques directed at internal hardware configurations for foldable devices. In aspects, a foldable electronic device includes a housing, defining an internal cavity within which a battery is disposed, and one or more displays that are fixed to the housing, forming at least one internal cavity. The foldable electronic device further includes one or more battery cell tabs that are arranged in an unfolded configuration and extend from the battery to a power control module positioned underneath a display control module that is mounted to the display. Through such a configuration, an internal volume within the internal cavity can be more-efficiently occupied by increasing a battery capacity or reducing a dimensional profile of the foldable electronic device. In aspects, a foldable electronic device is disclosed that includes a housing having a folding region that separates a first non-folding region and second non-folding region. At least one of the first non-folding region or the second non-folding region is configured to rotate about the folding region. The foldable electron device further includes one or more displays positioned within at least one of the first non-folding region or the second non-folding region of the housing sufficient to define an internal cavity. The foldable electronic device further includes a display control module configured to control operations of a respective display of the one or more displays. In implementations, the display control module is positioned within the internal cavity and mounted to a surface of the respective display. The foldable electronic device also includes a battery disposed within the internal cavity. The foldable electronic device further includes one or more battery cell tabs arranged in an unfolded configuration and extending from the battery to a power control module. The power control module positioned beneath the display control module at a lower layer along an axis perpendicular to the surface of the respective display such that the display control module is disposed between the power control module and the respective display. This Summary is provided to introduce simplified concepts of systems and techniques directed at internal hardware configurations within foldable electronic devices for optimized volumetric efficiency and/or battery capacity, the concepts of which are further described below in the Detailed Description and Drawings. This Summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The details of one or more aspects of systems and techniques directed at internal hardware configurations within foldable electronic devices for optimized volumetric efficiency and/or battery capacity are described in this document with reference to the following drawings: FIG. 1 illustrates an example foldable electronic device that can implement internal hardware configurations within foldable electronic devices for optimized volumetric efficiency; FIG. 2 illustrates an example implementation of an example foldable electronic device having internal hardware configurations optimized for volumetric efficiency and battery capacity in accordance with one or more implementations; FIG. 3 illustrates an example section view 1-1 of a conventional configuration; FIG. 4 illustrates an example section view 2-2 of a new configuration in accordance with one or more implementations; FIG. 5 illustrates a first example detail view and a second example detail view of the conventional configuration and a first example detail view and a second example detail view of the new configuration in accordance with one or more implementations; FIG. 6 illustrates an increase in length of the battery between the conventional configuration section view 1-1 and the new configuration section view 2-2; and FIG. 7 illustrates an example foldable electronic device having internal hardware configurations for optimized volumetric efficiency and/or battery capacity in accordance with one or more implementations. The same numbers are used throughout the Drawings to reference like features and components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview Many electronic devices include displays, such as light-emitting diode (LED) displays or liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Electronic device manufacturers often fabricate displays in a layered structure (a “display panel stack”). The display panel stack includes a display module having a display panel that, when integrated into an electronic device, is disposed underneath and shielded by a cover layer (e.g., a glass layer). The display panel stack