Flexible Display Device With Dielectric Elastomer Stiffness Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display devices, while offering portability through pliability, face challenges in maintaining a flat and distortion-free screen when bent, making it inconvenient for use.
Innovation Solution
Integration of dielectric elastomer units with electroactive polymer layers and electrodes on the display panel, allowing reversible deformation and stiffness adjustment via applied voltage, enabling the display panel to switch between pliable and stiff states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the display panel is made flexible using a flexible substrate, then portability is improved, but screen flatness and viewing quality deteriorate when bent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dielectric elastomer units that can dynamically change their mechanical properties between soft and stiff states based on applied voltage. When voltage is applied, the elastomer units become stiff to maintain screen flatness during use; when voltage is removed, they become soft to allow folding for portability. This dynamic state change resolves the contradiction between portability and screen flatness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the rigidity parameter of the display panel by controlling the dielectric elastomer units through voltage application. By adjusting the electrical parameter (voltage), the mechanical parameter (rigidity) is changed, enabling the panel to transition between flexible and stiff states, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability for portability and reliability for screen flatness.
2Reliability
If dielectric elastomer units are added to provide stiffness, then screen flatness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin film dielectric elastomer units integrated into the display panel structure. These flexible yet controllable elements provide the necessary stiffness when activated, while their thin-film nature minimizes the increase in overall device complexity. The elastomer units are seamlessly integrated rather than added as bulky external components.
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
Enhances both portability and usability by allowing the display to be easily folded for carrying and unfolded flat for clear viewing, improving user convenience.
Implementation Method 1
an electroactive polymer layer that is between the first electrode and the second electrode. The electroactive polymer layer may include any one material selected from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS), and polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene (PVFT)
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible display device includes a display panel having pliability and a dielectric elastomer unit on the display panel. The dielectric elastomer unit is reversibly deformable by an applied voltage to provide stiffness to the display panel.