Articulated Hinge Structure for Stable Foldable Display Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multiaxial hinge devices for foldable electronic devices with flexible displays fail to maintain a stable folded state, leading to shifting and potential damage when the casings are opened and closed.
Innovation Solution
An articulated hinge device with a frame portion comprising an odd number of vertical frames, base frames, articulation joints, synchronous driving portions, and stop holding mechanisms that ensure stable folding and unfolding by synchronizing the movement of adjacent frames and maintaining the folded position through frictional engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional multiaxial hinge device is used to enable opening and closing of casings, then the flexible display sheet can be folded, but the folded part is not held in a stable state and may shift within the accommodating space
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge device is divided into multiple independent hinge pins (first hinge pin, second hinge pin, third hinge pin) that work together to control the folding motion. Each hinge pin provides a specific axis of rotation, segmenting the complex multiaxial movement into controlled sequential rotations that stabilize the folded display sheet at predetermined positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The space part inside the hinge device acts as an intermediary structure that accommodates and constrains the folded flexible display sheet. This intermediate space, defined by the hinge pins and casing structures, prevents the folded part from shifting while allowing controlled movement during opening and closing operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the folded part is deformed within the space of the multiaxial hinge device, then the casings can be opened and closed, but the folded part may cause snapping or failure of the flexible display sheet
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge device employs dynamic multiaxial rotation capabilities that adapt during the folding process. The flexible display sheet transitions through controlled rotational phases around different hinge pin axes, with the radius of curvature dynamically adjusted by the hinge mechanism to prevent excessive bending stresses that would cause snapping or failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge device changes the geometric parameters of the folding path by utilizing multiple rotation axes with different radii. This parameter variation ensures that the flexible display sheet maintains an optimal radius of curvature throughout the folding process, preventing stress concentration and material failure while preserving folding flexibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The articulated hinge device securely holds the folded flexible display in a stable semicircular arc shape without sagging or wrinkling, ensuring reliable operation in both closed and open states.
Implementation Method 1
a stop holding portion for stopping the first base frame in its rotation movement relative to the vertical frame adjacent to the first base frame, as well as the second base frame in its rotation movement relative to the vertical frame adjacent to the second base frame, and for holding them between the closed position and the opened position
Data Source
AI summary
An articulated hinge that can hold a folded part of a flexible display sheet that deforms following the opening and closing of the first and second casings, and an electronic gear using this articulated hinge, an articulated hinge couples the first and second casings of an electronic gear in a foldable manner by a relative folding motion between the open and closed positions where an articulated hinge is arranged on the back side of a flexible display sheet attached over the inner surfaces of both the first and the second casings is disclosed. The articulated hinge has a frame portion, wherein an odd number (1+2n, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2) of vertical frames are arranged in parallel along a width direction, where its shorter-side direction is the width direction and its vertical direction is a vertical direction.