The US Patent and Trademark Office ha granted Apple a patent that describes methods to more efficiently and effectively make curved displays. The patent, which was filed on November 5, 2010, is related to a method of forming touch sensors having a curved flexible substrate.

Touch sensor panels can generally be very thin, and can include a substrate with a thin patterned film laminated (or otherwise deposited or formed) thereon. However, due to the desired thinness of the substrate and thin film, difficulties can occur during fabrication due to the risk of damaging components of the touch sensor panel. Apple has a way to solve that.

The patent suggests placing a thin film over a flexible substrate while the substrate is flat. This new pattern is then joined to a flexible substrate. A high level of heat is applied, allowing the substrate to be manipulated into a curved state without warping or other defects.

The resulting sensor display can be thinner than the traditional flat-substrate design and offer a higher degree of sensitivity.

Samsung and LG have both already released smartphones with curved displays. Samsung's Galaxy Round bows horizontally, while the LG G Flex is curved vertically and includes a self-healing feature that reportedly can fix scratches.