Fiber-Reinforced Support Plate for Foldable Electronic Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display devices require a support member that is lightweight and maintains mechanical properties to facilitate folding and bending without hindering operations, while existing solutions often compromise on either weight or mechanical integrity.
Innovation Solution
The use of a reinforced fiber composite support plate with laminated sub-support plates, including carbon or glass fibers dispersed in a thermoplastic resin matrix, which provides excellent flexibility and mechanical properties by aligning fibers parallel or perpendicular to the folding axis, and incorporating openings for reduced weight and improved processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a lightweight support member is used to facilitate folding and bending operations, then portability and flexibility are improved, but mechanical properties and structural integrity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is constructed using fiber-reinforced composite materials consisting of a base material (such as polymer or metal) and reinforcement fibers (such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, or aramid fibers) embedded within it. This composite structure provides both lightweight properties and high mechanical strength, resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and structural integrity maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The support member features variable thickness design where the thickness varies in different regions to optimize both weight and mechanical properties. Thinner sections are placed in areas requiring flexibility for folding operations, while thicker sections are positioned in areas requiring higher structural strength, thus locally adapting the material distribution to functional requirements.
2Ease of operation
If the support member is made thinner to improve flexibility and portability, then ease of folding is improved, but mechanical strength and deformation resistance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The support member features variable thickness design where the thickness varies in different regions to optimize both weight and mechanical properties. Thinner sections are placed in areas requiring flexibility for folding operations, while thicker sections are positioned in areas requiring higher structural strength, thus locally adapting the material distribution to functional requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The fiber-reinforced composite structure provides high strength-to-thickness ratio, enabling the support member to maintain adequate mechanical strength even in thinner regions where flexibility is required, thus resolving the contradiction between thinness for folding and strength for deformation resistance.
3Weight of moving object
If openings are added to the support plate to reduce weight, then portability is improved, but structural integrity and mechanical properties worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate incorporates openings or porous structures that strategically remove material to reduce weight while maintaining structural integrity. The openings are designed to avoid critical stress paths and are positioned in regions where they minimize impact on mechanical properties, thus achieving weight reduction without compromising structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The fiber-reinforced composite material provides enhanced strength-to-weight ratio that compensates for the material removed by openings. The reinforcement fibers bridge across opening regions, maintaining structural integrity while allowing significant weight reduction through the porous/opening structure.
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 configuration results in a lightweight support member that maintains desirable mechanical properties, allowing for reliable folding and bending operations while minimizing weight and deformation resistance, thus enhancing user convenience and device reliability.
Implementation Method 1
The support plate may include a matrix part, the support plate including a thermoplastic resin, and the reinforced fibers may be dispersed in the matrix part
Implementation Method 2
The support plate may include a first sub-support plate and a second sub-support plate, which are laminated in a thickness direction of the electronic device
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a display module, and a support plate disposed under the display module and comprising reinforced fibers having long axes arranged in parallel to a direction. The electronic device is divided into a folding area foldable with respect to a folding axis extending in the direction, and a non-folding area adjacent to the folding area.