A number of patent leaks have already surfaced in the past regarding the long-rumored Surface Phone. However, Microsoft has yet to confirm that such device is under development, although the public still expects that the hardware will be unveiled sometime in the near future. Aside from the Surface Phone's flexible nature, nothing else is known about the handset, but to cite a recent patent filing, the Surface Phone is also expected to use a magnetic block locking.
According to the latest Surface Phone leak, the handset also known as the Andromeda could incorporate a magnetic lock mechanism to its design. This special magnetic lock is said to serve different useful functions. To note, magnetic locks have already been used in laptops to keep the screen and keyboard panels closed upon folding. However, it remains a mystery how the magnetic lock will work for the foldable Surface Phone.
Microsoft's patent document for the suspected Surface Phone shows that there will be a strong magnetic component in place connected to a torsion spring, and this magnet would rotate around a pivot when the two halves of the handset are folded together. With this, a strong lock would be in place when the Surface Phone is closed, while the magnetic field is minimal when the handset is opened.
The magnet lock will allow the Surface Phone to be rotated in both directions, keeping the handset secured in the 0-degree and 360-degree position, in which the device is fully opened with the twin displays facing outward. The same magnetic lock mechanism will also be used in the hinge section of the Surface Phone, so that the device could be opened in a 180-degree orientation.
Earlier patent leaks show that Microsoft will include a live hinge on the Surface Phone, allows the device to be folded together like a notebook. The dual screen panels will be situated inside in this position, and there will be no need for an additional protective casing to cover the screens. The design also has division line or the seam between the two screen panels that is almost invisible to the eye when the Surface Phone is folded outwards or in tablet mode.
