Sapphire cover with increased survivability
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorKevin Barry Reiman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sapphire article having improved survivability when subjected to impact or a drop event. The article includes a continuous planar array of sapphire segments, which reduces the bending stress experienced by each individual segment. The sapphire article may serve as a cover material for displays in mobile electronic devices.
Claims22
A sapphire article comprising a plurality of sapphire segments, each of the sapphire segments being transparent and having an aspect ratio of at least about 15, wherein the plurality of sapphire segments abut each other to form a continuous array having a planar surface, the plurality of sapphire segments each have a largest surface dimension that is less than a largest surface dimension of the sapphire article, and the planar surface is a major surface of the sapphire article.
A transparent cover plate, the transparent cover plate comprising:
- a. a transparent substrate;
- and
- b. a plurality of sapphire segments disposed on the substrate, each of the sapphire segments being transparent and having an aspect ratio of at least about 15, wherein the plurality of sapphire segments abut each other to form a continuous array having a planar surface, the plurality of sapphire segments each have a largest surface dimension that is less than a largest surface dimension of the transparent cover plate, and the planar surface is a major surface of the transparent cover plate, and wherein the transparent substrate has a refractive index that is within 5% of a refractive index of the plurality of sapphire segments.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.