Bent Display Panel Reinforcement with Potting Material
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern electronic devices face challenges in achieving robustness and water resistance without increasing device size or impacting performance, particularly in protecting sensitive components from drop and environmental stresses.
Innovation Solution
The use of a housing with a display assembly that includes a bent display layer and a potting material with a modulus of 150-300 megapascals, along with a strain-neutralization layer and supportive materials like stiffener plates and foam, to absorb shocks and enhance durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If bulky isolation components are used to protect display components from stress events, then impact protection is improved, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin flexible display layer that can bend without requiring bulky protective components. The flexible nature of the display layer itself provides the necessary stress resistance, eliminating the need for additional isolation components that would increase device volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the display layer by making it flexible and capable of bending. This parameter change allows the display to withstand stress events through controlled deformation rather than rigid protection, maintaining compact device dimensions.
2Reliability
If strain-neutralization layer and potting material are added to protect the display layer, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protective function into the display layer structure itself by integrating the strain-neutralization layer and potting material directly with the flexible display layer. This consolidation provides protection while maintaining a simple, unified structure rather than adding separate complex protective systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible display layer serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the display function, absorbs stress through bending, and protects against impact. The strain-neutralization layer and potting material are integrated to provide both structural support and environmental protection, reducing overall device complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the display layer is made flexible to withstand bending, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing precision becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible display layer constructed from thin-film materials that can be manufactured with precise control over their mechanical properties. The flexible nature is achieved through material selection and thin-film fabrication techniques that maintain manufacturing precision while enabling bending capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material structures for the flexible display layer, combining multiple materials with complementary properties. This composite approach allows precise control over flexibility, strength, and manufacturability, achieving both bending adaptability and manufacturing precision through material engineering.
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
This solution effectively enhances the impact protection and water resistance of electronic devices while maintaining a compact size and performance, providing improved robustness and durability against drop and environmental stresses.
Implementation Method 1
a potting material that at least partially surrounds the display integrated circuit... The potting material can have a modulus of about 150 megapascals to about 300 megapascals
Implementation Method 2
The supportive materials can include foam positioned between the display integrated circuit and an internal enclosure
Implementation Method 3
The stiffener plate can have a thickness of about 50 microns to about 90 microns
Implementation Method 4
a strain-neutralization layer can be included on an exterior of the display layer, opposite the bend volume
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a housing that defines an aperture, and a display assembly positioned in the aperture. The display assembly can include a display layer having a first portion, and a second portion bending at least partially below the first portion. The first portion and the second portion can define a bend volume, and a potting material can be disposed in the bend volume, such that the potting material contacts the first portion and the second portion. An internal enclosure can be contoured to the display assembly.