Motorola secures innovative hinge patent for its foldable phones

Motorola is not a new player in the foldable smartphone segment. It was one of the first mobile brands to offer innovative foldable smartphones. The company’s Razr (review) line of clamshell series with a vertically foldable display are among the most popular products in the segment. Now, the Lenovo-owned brand seems to be planning to take the foldable device segment to a different level. According to a report by 91mobiles, Motorola has filed an innovative hinge patent for its foldable phones.

Motorola has filed an ingenious hinge patent for its next-gen foldable devices

The source has unearthed a patent for a Motorola device with a unique hinge in the database of the US Patent Application Publication. The patent is dubbed “Autonomous form factor control of a foldable mobile device”. This means that this device can automatically adjust its hinge by tracking the user’s movements and shifts. This will allow for a better viewing angle no matter the position of the user.

Notably, the report mentions this device works like Apple’s Center Stage functionality in Mac webcams. Apple’s tech is capable of tracking a user to keep them in the frame, no matter their position. Essentially, in the patent, Motorola describes the innovative hinge to automatically adjust to control the form factor.

The unique hinge uses a shape-shifting alloy pioneered by NASA

Furthermore, the patent suggests that the unique Motorola hinge utilizes special materials, which is capable of changing shape. The hinge has Shape Memory Alloys created by NASA, which was originally intended for a spacecraft. Notably, tech pioneers like Apple and Honor have already patented foldable devices that use this special alloy.

In Motorola’s case, the alloy of the hinge can change shape when heat is applied. This allows the device to automatically adjust its hinge to offer a better viewing angle to the user. Notably, the device also utilizes small motors, which “aid in the up and down motion of the hinge’s position”. The patent describes “The phone tracks the user’s movements and shifts to offer a better viewing angle”.

It also requires a powerful processor capable of tracking a user’s movement and shifting the hinge accordingly

Also, this unique foldable device requires its processor to be smart and have enough processing power to analyze the folded/unfolded state of the hinge. In addition, the processor can also track the user’s position/movements. Without having said that, the device tracks the user using various cameras.

That said, think of a foldable smartphone/tablet that you put on a table and it shifts its hinge to offer a better viewing angle whenever you move around the area. It’s worth mentioning that tech companies file patents for future technologies all the time. That doesn’t mean they all finally make it to the commercial products. However, it would be interesting to see Motorola applying this unique hinge in one of its future foldable products.