Deforming Display Layer for Tactile Position Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of touch display devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, face difficulty in operating the device without looking at the screen, as existing solutions do not provide a convenient method to distinguish operational areas by touch alone.
Innovation Solution
A display panel with a deforming layer above light emitting structures, where heating control circuits generate heat in specific areas, altering the hardness of the deforming layer, allowing users to identify operational positions through tactile feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flat display surface is used, then the display device has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, but the user cannot conveniently operate the device without looking at the screen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the display surface deformable through a heating element. When specific regions are heated, the elastic layer deforms to create raised tactile patterns, transforming the static flat surface into a dynamic tactile interface that provides operational guidance without requiring visual reference.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by altering the temperature of specific display regions to change the physical state of the elastic layer. The heating element raises the temperature in targeted areas, causing the elastic material to deform and create tactile feedback, thereby changing the surface topology parameter from flat to raised without permanently altering the structure.
2Ease of operation
If tactile feedback is added to enable touch operation, then the ease of operation improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional heating control circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the heating element to serve multiple functions: it acts as both a display control mechanism and a tactile feedback generator. The same heating circuit that controls display activation also creates the tactile raised patterns, eliminating the need for separate mechanical actuators or complex haptic mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes flexible shells and thin films by employing an elastic layer that can deform in response to thermal expansion. This thin flexible layer responds to localized heating by creating raised tactile patterns, providing complex tactile feedback functionality through a simple, thin-film structure rather than bulky mechanical components.
3Ease of operation
If the deforming layer hardness changes through heating, then tactile feedback is provided for operation, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by implementing intermittent or on-demand heating rather than continuous heating. The heating element is activated only when tactile feedback is required for specific operations, and deactivated when not needed, thereby reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining tactile feedback functionality when required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes partial action by heating only the specific regions where tactile feedback is needed rather than heating the entire display surface. This localized heating approach minimizes energy consumption by restricting thermal energy to only the necessary areas, providing tactile feedback precisely where required without wasting energy on unnecessary regions.
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
Enables users to operate the device by touch without visual reference, as the change in hardness of the deforming layer indicates the position for operation, enhancing usability, especially in situations where looking at the screen is inconvenient.
Implementation Method 1
the heating control circuit is configured to control the second electrode of the light emitting structure in the corresponding pixel unit to generate heat
Implementation Method 2
so that hardness of the deforming layer above the second electrode changes
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a display panel comprising including: a base substrate; a plurality of pixel units, each of which is provided with a light emitting structure, each light emitting structure includes a first electrode, a light emitting layer, and a second electrode sequentially stacked on the base substrate; a plurality of pixel circuits respectively disposed in the pixel units for driving the light emitting structure to emit light; a deforming layer disposed above the second electrodes of the light emitting structures; and one or more heating control circuits respectively disposed in different pixel units and each electrically connected to the second electrode of the light emitting structure in a corresponding pixel unit, the heating control circuit is configured to control the second electrode of the light emitting structure in the corresponding pixel unit to generate heat so that the hardness of the deforming layer above the second electrode changes.