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Motorola Patents a Display That Can Heal Its Own Cracked Screen With Heat (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the tender-loving-care dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: A patent published today explains how a phone could identify cracks on its touchscreen and then apply heat to the area in an effort to slightly repair the damage. The process relies on something called "shape memory polymer," a material that can apparently become deformed and then recovered through thermal cycling. Thermal cycling involves changing the temperature of the material rapidly. This material could be used over an LCD or LED display with a capacitive touch sensor layered in, as well. Although the phone could heat the polymer in order to restore it, a user's body heat can be used, too.

41 comments

  1. If it could remove scratches ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    That'd be great.

    1. Re:If it could remove scratches ... by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      Healing cracked glass using heat has always been possible, it just depends on how much heat you're prepared to apply, and whether you care about the rest of the phone remaining in a solid state during the process.

    2. Re:If it could remove scratches ... by Hidyman · · Score: 2

      It's a solid state phone. I don't think heating it is going to cause the circuitry to change to vacuum tube technology.
      Wait ... I think I misread that.

      --
      You can't take the sky from me ...
    3. Re:If it could remove scratches ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait what? Vacuum tube technology isn't considered solid state now?

  2. we're 100 years behind our own curve.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    about healthcare, free the innocent stem cells.. truth&mercy=justice .. thanks

  3. Oh no! by freeze128 · · Score: 4, Funny

    And now we're back to putting your phone in the microwave again!

    1. Re:Oh no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Although the phone could heat the polymer in order to restore it, a user's body heat can be used, too.

      I wish this came out sooner. Now the next time a co-worker sees me with a mostly empty bottle of K-Y and my phone most of the way up my ass, I can say there's a perfectly logical explanation!

      Captcha: privates. Man what are the chances of that?

    2. Re:Oh no! by Headw1nd · · Score: 1

      This is the first thing I thought. Truthfully, the next wave of "put it in your microwave" pranks will probably use this article, long before the actual technology hits the market. iPhone cracked? Microwave it for 4 minutes at 50% power to heal the screen."

    3. Re:Oh no! by grogger · · Score: 2

      They just need to partner with Samsung - they perfected a rapid heating feature in the Note 7 :-).

  4. Samsung vs Motorola phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Motorola: Hey you guys! We can make your phone screens heal like the robots in Terminator!

    Samsung: Hey you guys! We have a new line of phones that, uh, might explode on you. We'll need those back.

    1. Re:Samsung vs Motorola phones by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      So China is better than South Korea?

    2. Re: Samsung vs Motorola phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So China is better than South Korea?

      In every way, yes, it is.

    3. Re:Samsung vs Motorola phones by aliquis · · Score: 1

      So China is better than South Korea?

      I think the way to really fuck with them is to say "isn't it the same?"

      Anyway:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?... .. you decide ;D
      More western China .. ;D. Of course the history of China got value too.

  5. Motorola needs to get out of my head by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My wife and I were discussing this EXACT Idea 3 weeks ago even the details are the same.

    1. Re:Motorola needs to get out of my head by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're not in your head. They're in your TV, your phone, and depending on what you've bought recently, your fridge.

  6. I've heard this before by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 2

    Maybe two years ago I was suggesting a customer get a tempered glass screen protector and he says "No, I have a self-healing screen protector. Paid forty bucks for it." He pulls out a phone with a nasty-assed plastic screen protector that was just covered in gouges and bubbles. I couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't insulting, so I just smiled and said "Ahhh."

    The line doesn't perfectly fit, but what came to mind was the quip "Suspension of disbelief does not mean hanging it by the neck till it is dead."

    Just in case any folks here are unaware, use glass or use nothing.

    1. Re:I've heard this before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe two years ago I was suggesting a customer get a tempered glass screen protector and he says "No, I have a self-healing screen protector. Paid forty bucks for it." He pulls out a phone with a nasty-assed plastic screen protector that was just covered in gouges and bubbles. I couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't insulting, so I just smiled and said "Ahhh."

      The line doesn't perfectly fit, but what came to mind was the quip "Suspension of disbelief does not mean hanging it by the neck till it is dead."

      Just in case any folks here are unaware, use glass or use nothing.

      That's what is wrong with the entire corporate approach to things. It has a tremendous and ongoing social cost. Stupidity and psychosis (lack of contact with reality) is coddled, humored and validated on a widespread scale. Average people come to expect it because they think it is normal. This is very bad for our species.

      Stupidity deserves to be called out. The sooner, the better, before it takes root.

      Captcha: industry

    2. Re:I've heard this before by Khyber · · Score: 2

      "Just in case any folks here are unaware, use glass or use nothing."

      Fuck no. Use quartz. Withstands scratches better, isn't as brittle as glass (besting tempered glass) and isn't prone to cracking from heat/cold cycling because of its insanely low thermal coefficient of expansion, unlike 'sapphire' screens. It's the shit we used for locomotive coal engine car windows. in WWII. There's an old mine for laminar quartz out in Nuevo, still produces insanely tough quartz. Tough enough that a small boulder destroyed my lower wall breaker, and barely sustained any damage.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    3. Re:I've heard this before by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 1

      Can you give me a product link or pitch or something? I feel like you're talking out your rear end. I don't find any products on Amazon that differentiate themselves as quartz screen protectors, except a few that are using quartz as a branding term, and then say (tempered glass) in the description. Are you talking about future product development?

      I dunno why one should make protectors from quartz. Tempered glass is already cheap and highly scratch resistant. Heck, many claim that Corning's gorilla glass used in most phones makes protectors totally pointless. Fused quartz is indeed very good for temperature fluctuations...of the kind seen when one is using blowtorches on test tubes. And flame exposed windows, sure. I've never heard any credible claims of cracking a screen or protector by...what, going into a walk in freezer too much? Battery getting hot on a cold day?

      I'm not a materials expert, but I'd also think fused silica or quartz would behave dangerously if they did break. Tempered glass with the right additives is specifically supposed to break in a safe fashion.

    4. Re:I've heard this before by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "I dunno why one should make protectors from quartz."

      Because quartz is much better than tempered glass. Also, good luck breaking true fused quartz. Not like you'd need to do that, the laminar quartz sheets out of the Southern Pacific Quarry (where incidentally you can find arm-thick schorl tourmalines sticking out of the wall) come out in sheets you could just laser-cut now days.

      And I didn't say they made quartz screens NOW, I'm saying they should be making and using them.

      Even tempered safety glass shatters and creates pieces with nano edges that will rip you to shreds. It's basically just clear obsidian, after all.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    5. Re:I've heard this before by swillden · · Score: 1

      And I didn't say they made quartz screens NOW, I'm saying they should be making and using them.

      Color me skeptical. There's a lot of competition in this space, because broken screens are a huge problem. If laminar quartz (or fused quartz; note that they're different things) were the obvious solution you say, it would be available on the market. About the only way that could not be true is if it were more expensive than simply replacing a broken screen, and even then I'd expect to find it used on devices that bill themselves as ultra-tough.

      But I don't find it being used anywhere. That's a pretty strong indicator that there are some problems with it. Sapphire (AKA aluminum oxide, AKA transparent aluminum) is harder and more scratch-resistant than quartz, and the thermal expansion issue really doesn't matter for small pieces, so unless quartz is significantly cheaper than sapphire, the latter is a better choice.

      But, we don't see sapphire on phones, really, only on watches. Why? Not only is it much more expensive than Gorilla Glass, but as phones get thinner it has another problem, which quartz shares: it doesn't flex, at all. Having an extremely rigid screen means you're going to need to build an extremely rigid body, otherwise the first time someone puts in in their back pocket and sits on it, the screen will break. When the phone is thick a rigid body is easy, but thick phones don't sell -- especially not phones in the upper end of the price range, which is where you'd have to be to add a sapphire or quartz screen to the BoM.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    6. Re:I've heard this before by Khyber · · Score: 1

      " If laminar quartz (or fused quartz; note that they're different things) "

      Not geologically, they're not. Laminar quartz comes from hydrothermal alteration and fusing of cryptocrystalline mass. It is natural fused quartz.

      "But I don't find it being used anywhere. That's a pretty strong indicator that there are some problems with it"

      Most fused quartzes are in use in everything else, right down to scientific glassware and dab rig nails. And quartz withstands breaking far better than sapphire. As you increase mohs hardness level, you get more brittle. You wanna know why it isn't used? Because there's no profit in a nearly-unbreakable screen.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    7. Re:I've heard this before by swillden · · Score: 1

      " If laminar quartz (or fused quartz; note that they're different things) "

      Not geologically, they're not. Laminar quartz comes from hydrothermal alteration and fusing of cryptocrystalline mass. It is natural fused quartz.

      Fused quartz is a glass, an amorphous fluid structure, meaning that the molecules aren't aligned in any particular way. I believe laminar quartz is a crystal, meaning that the molecules are in a particular pattern. If laminar quartz is not crystalline, then I stand corrected. I can't find any references to indicate what exactly laminar quartz is. Actually, it mostly appears to be a term that fell out of common use about 200 years ago, since all of the Google results that mention it are from early to mid-19th century books.

      "But I don't find it being used anywhere. That's a pretty strong indicator that there are some problems with it"

      Most fused quartzes are in use in everything else, right down to scientific glassware and dab rig nails. And quartz withstands breaking far better than sapphire. As you increase mohs hardness level, you get more brittle.

      I'm not sure whether you're using the technical or the everyday definition of "brittle" here. If you're using the technical term (breaks without significant deformation), then you're correct, of course, but given sapphire's very high strength (in virtually every way), it's not really an issue. If you're using the everyday definition, you're simply wrong. Under most circumstances sapphire will take far more force before breaking than quartz.

      You wanna know why it isn't used? Because there's no profit in a nearly-unbreakable screen.

      Uh, huh, and automakers have kept the 200 mile per gallon carburetor out of production for the last fifty years, because the oil companies have paid them off.

      Hell yes there's profit in a nearly-unbreakable screen. Device makers have no need at all to pad their revenues by making devices that are more breakable than necessary, because there are plenty of other factors that drive quick obsolescence, and there would be huge competitive advantage in being able to tell prospective customers that your screens won't break.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    8. Re:I've heard this before by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "I believe laminar quartz is a crystal,"

      It is not. There is no macro-crystalline structure. It is purely cryptocrystalline.

      "Actually, it mostly appears to be a term that fell out of common use about 200 years ago"

      And I bet the majority of your findings of the usage of the term came from usage in Locomotives, as back then that was the primary usage. of the material. Then borosilicate glass manufacturing came along, and quartz quickly fell out of use for all but the most demanding things. Laminar Quartz was used up until WWII.

      "Under most circumstances sapphire will take far more force before breaking than quartz."

      I've got a broken Apple Watch, uses Sapphire glass. My Timex from 30 years ago using fused quartz is still unscathed. The Timex can withstand my mining excursions, the Apple watch could not. That's multiple years of underground inside-the-mountain experience with multiple devices claiming to have break/shatter proof screens. And the only one that still works is the one with a quartz face.

      "Uh, huh, and automakers have kept the 200 mile per gallon carburetor out of production for the last fifty years, because the oil companies have paid them off."

      You've never used a hydro carb before? They work (but not at 200 MPG, more like 80 MPG. 200 MPG is pushing about 225% past theoretical maximum distance what you're going to ever get from petrol alone given our earth's friction.)

      "Hell yes there's profit in a nearly-unbreakable screen."

      Which is why phone manufacturers charge almost the same price of the phone for a screen replacement?

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    9. Re:I've heard this before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Without knowing what a "lower wall breaker" is, your anecdote is not understandable. And I do not know that a "lower wall breaker" is.

      Something tough?

    10. Re:I've heard this before by swillden · · Score: 1

      I've got a broken Apple Watch, uses Sapphire glass. My Timex from 30 years ago using fused quartz is still unscathed.

      Engineering measurements trump anecdotes.

      You've never used a hydro carb before?

      No, and neither have you, if you're claiming it increases fuel efficiency.

      You've never used a hydro carb before? They work (but not at 200 MPG, more like 80 MPG.

      Bullshit. In high-performance engines that need very high compression ratios, or operate at very high temperatures, water injection can prevent premature detonation, but in normal automobile engines it does nothing but reduce power.

      Which is why phone manufacturers charge almost the same price of the phone for a screen replacement?

      Try building a car from replacement parts purchased from a dealer and see what the total cost is.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    11. Re:I've heard this before by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "Engineering measurements trump anecdotes."

      Actual experience working with, fusing, coloring, beryllium-treating sapphires (I work in the minerals/lapidary industry) and knowing what they're going to do. Us jewelers have about 5 millennia more experience than todays material engineers. The second you scratch a sapphire gem while cutting it, any stress will fuck it up. Scratch a quartz gem, it'll laugh and ask for more. Even macrocrystaline quartz is just a properly-aligned stack of cryptocrystalline structures, instead of one homogenous structure like most other minerals. Peridot is as hard as quartz but far more brittle. I just finished a ring today. Tiny scratch on a peridot, tiny bump while trying to set the prong and the stone shatters, prong hadn't even been tightened. Got it on live video on Facebook too, as I was broadcasting the making live to the client.

      "No, and neither have you, if you're claiming it increases fuel efficiency"

      I see you have never tried building and using a hydrolysis injection technique. I built a greasecar that uses one. It's in use in Liberty, TN right now.

      "Bullshit. In high-performance engines that need very high compression ratios, or operate at very high temperatures, water injection can prevent premature detonation"

      Bolded statement demonstrates you don't know what a hydro carb (that's a nickname for a hydrolysis-based gas injection system) does. Thank god for engines class in high school as an elective. Here, have fun with this, I competed back when high schools were still allowed to compete - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      "Try building a car from replacement parts purchased from a dealer and see what the total cost is."

      Okay, let's do some quick online shopping. I paid $2,000 for my 2002 Explorer. Engine and Transmission runs $2,500 used, best deal I can find searching all certified Ford dealers in Southern California. That's not including pumps, alternator, not even the serpentine belt or motor mounts and bushings. The AC alone is almost $2,000 to replace. IIRC the 2002 model had a seat belt retractor recall, so I could probably get those for free, the design hasn't changed a whole lot.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    12. Re:I've heard this before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had one of those a long time ago. *If* applied correctly it worked very well. Certainly not scratch proof, but generally scratches wouldn't be as visible. This was on a plastic screen phone, so the goal was to have a cheap way to deal with a scratch.

      Also, no screen protector is going to help against *cracked* screens. Even if it were not going to crack itself, the force that would cause the underlying screen to crack is just transferred to the underlying screen. It helps with scratches, and again in the event something that will still scratch it (my 4 year old gorilla glass phone does have a few small scratches) it's a cheap fix to recover.

      I think a tough plastic screen (e.g. to moto z2 force) plus a temered glass screen protector is the way to go. The protector provides the scratch resistance and prevents the screen from getting the damage, and if something will cause a screen cracking, the protector will be cracked, but that is replaceable.

  7. As per normal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "We cant do it, but as soon as somebody else can we can profit!"

  8. Prior Art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Samsung tried this various times, unsucessfully. The devices is known as Note7 (Codename Fireball)...

    1. Re:Prior Art by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 1

      I sometimes wonder how much it would've cost for a rival to have a couple dozen bad batteries slipped in at the factories. I'm betting the answer is "almost nothing."

    2. Re:Prior Art by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Nah, it was an actual design flaw in the allowed expansion space for the battery. The space was fine for most Asian-targeted varietals of the phone which had smaller capacity batteries, but the one for the US was too small (It was the same size space but a bigger capacity battery). Thus the reason the pack ruptured and caught on fire. Samsung did the right thing and pulled back the defective ones. HOWEVER, because Governments never actually think above a 5 year old level, most flight regulatory agencies banned ALL Note 7s, even though it was a subset that had the actual problem. And Samsung didn't pull back the ones without a problem - but of course, you couldn't use that perfectly-good phone (like the China-targeted one) on any flight anywhere, so...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    3. Re:Prior Art by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 1

      I could pretend that my point remains valid, but yeah, I did think it was an unanswered question and maybe industrial sabotage.

    4. Re:Prior Art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      because Governments never actually think above a 5 year old level, most flight regulatory agencies banned ALL Note 7s, even though it was a subset that had the actual problem.

      And how exactly would those agencies know except "because Samsung said so"?
      They could just as well have stopped all Samsung phones until it was figured out what caused the problem.
      Before it was known what caused the problem it could just as well have been the first dozen batteries of a batch that were mishandled making it unnecessary to recall so many phones.
      It could also have been a battery manufacturer screwing up their chemistry, making it necessary to recall phones from other vendors too.

      All Note 7s seems like a good compromise if you have to make a decision fast and can't wait for the problem to be figured out and resolved.

  9. Steve Jobs would object by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

    You're healing it wrong.

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  10. Samsung says "Un-unh!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Samsung beat them to it.

  11. It gets hot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While it's in your pocket. That's ok isn't it?

  12. a user's body heat can be used, too. by Lussarn · · Score: 1

    That's great because human beings produce 25,000 BTUs of body heat.

    1. Re:a user's body heat can be used, too. by aliquis · · Score: 1

      When you burn them?

  13. At the phone design office: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    - "Man, this prototype uses much power that the waste heat makes the screen literally melt. Well, back to the drawing board."
    - "Wait, not so quick, I have an idea how we can sell this..."

  14. Prior Art. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Samsung Galaxy Note 7.