New Apple patent hints at carbon fibre composites to develop new displays

A new patent entitled “Electronic devices with thin display housings” was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, in it suggests that the tech giant could start to use carbon fibre composite to create ultra-thin super-strong displays for the MacBook.

The company’s design ethos has always been to make its products as thin and light as possible sometimes sacrificing the products overall strength. This new patent suggests that Apple could use carbon fibre as part of a woven fabric that includes a polymer binder. The carbon fibres are said to run through the panel at such angles that it is not parallel to either the vertical or horizontal edges, reducing the possibility of offering a convenient point for folding or creasing.

The stack of layers, with a protective layer at the top followed by other layers for the polariser, OLED panel, substrate, housing wall, and rear cover.

In the new proposed construction, the Macbook’s casing would be placed on one side of the carbon fibre composite with the Apple logo while putting the display on the other. By doing this it’s suggested that the housing and display could have a combined thickness of less than 2mm making it one of the thinnest displays ever produced.

It is, as always, important to remember that Apple files dozens of patents every week and is no guarantee that this could even end up in a mac product, but it is interesting that the company is still looking for ways to improve and develop its product range using advanced composite materials.