Flexible Thin Film Display with Fan-Style Folding Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile information processing devices face challenges in portability due to weight, size, and screen visibility, with existing flexible displays lacking in flexibility and suffering from distortion when folded or unfolded.
Innovation Solution
A display apparatus featuring a pair of main ribs, intermediate ribs, and a pivot system, with a thin film flat display formed on a flexible and bendy thin film, allowing the screen to be compactly accommodated and easily unfolded into a large, flat, distortion-free image surface, utilizing a design inspired by a Japanese fan with concentric arcs and folding lines to minimize image distortion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a display is formed on a glass substrate, then the display structure is stable and rigid, but flexibility and portability are completely compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional glass substrate with a flexible thin film substrate, allowing the display to be bent and folded while maintaining structural integrity. This enables the display to achieve both flexibility for portability and structural stability for reliable operation, directly resolving the contradiction between rigidity and portability.
2Weight of moving object
If a liquid crystal sheet is folded to a columnar shape for accommodation, then portability is enhanced, but the sheet requires contradictory characteristics of rigidity for flat display and softness for folding
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible thin film substrate inherently provides both the rigidity needed for flat display and the softness required for folding, eliminating the need for contradictory material properties. The single flexible substrate material simultaneously satisfies both requirements, reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The display structure is designed to be dynamically adaptable, transitioning between a flat state for viewing and a folded state for portability. The flexible substrate enables smooth transitions between these states without requiring complex mechanisms or materials with contradictory properties.
3Area of stationary object
If divided panels are unfolded to form an overall screen, then the display area is increased, but frame lines appear around peripheries causing viewing difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple divided panels into a single continuous flexible thin film substrate, eliminating the frame lines that appear at the boundaries of separate panels. This unified structure provides a seamless viewing experience across the entire display area while maintaining the large screen size.
4Area of stationary object
If the screen is made large for better viewing, then image quality improves, but the apparatus becomes bulky and less portable
Solution Approach 1:
The large screen is segmented into multiple flexible panels that can be folded or rolled together for compact storage. When unfolded, these segments form a large continuous display area, providing both large screen size for viewing and compact form factor for portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The display utilizes three-dimensional folding or rolling mechanisms to transition between a large flat state for viewing and a compact folded state for portability. This dimensional transformation allows the screen to achieve large area when needed while maintaining small volume during transport.
Data Source
AI summary
An information display apparatus includes a pair of main ribs, located at both ends, a plurality of intermediate ribs interposed between the main ribs, a pivot for turnably fixing the main ribs and the intermediate ribs in a root portion, and a fan face joined to the intermediate ribs between the pair of main ribs as well as openably/closably bent like bellows, wherein at least a part of the fan face is composed of an organic EL flat display formed on a flexible and bendy thin film. The display can be folded along the fan face and can be also unfolded into a flat state.