Flexible Display Service Loop for Hinge Strain Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hinged electronic devices with flexible displays face challenges in maintaining the geometry and preventing mechanical strain when transitioning between open and closed positions, due to differences in bending length of the flexible display and its supporting mechanism, which can lead to deformations and unevenness.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a hinge assembly with support plates that pivot relative to a hinge housing, allowing the flexible display to form a service loop in the closed position, and using spring-loaded trays or displacement-altering hinges to compensate for length differences, ensuring proper mechanical support and minimizing strain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the flexible display is made to span the hinge assembly to enable device deformation between open and closed positions, then the device achieves mechanical flexibility and configurability, but the flexible display experiences mechanical strain and deformation due to length mismatch with the supporting mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the flexible display by introducing a service loop configuration that allows the display to deform elastically during hinge movement. The display transitions from a rigid linear span to a flexible loop structure that can accommodate bending and length changes without damage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a service loop as an intermediary structure between the flexible display and the hinge assembly. This loop acts as a buffer zone that absorbs mechanical strain and length mismatch, preventing direct transmission of stress to the display pixels and maintaining display integrity during deformation
2Reliability
If the flexible display forms a service loop in the closed position to accommodate length differences, then mechanical strain is minimized, but the device occupies more space and the display area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The service loop is designed as a dynamic structure that changes configuration based on device state. In the closed position, the loop provides necessary slack to accommodate the shorter path between display ends. In the open position, the loop extends linearly to maximize display area. This dynamic adaptation allows the same structure to serve multiple functions without permanent space loss
3Manufacturing precision
If spring-loaded trays or displacement-altering hinges are used to compensate for length differences, then the flexible display maintains proper tension and geometry, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The service loop structure is self-regulating and automatically adjusts to maintain proper display tension and geometry. As the hinge moves between positions, the loop naturally expands or contracts to accommodate the changing distance between display anchors, eliminating the need for external spring-loaded trays or complex displacement-altering hinge mechanisms
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 maintains the geometry of the device, preventing deformations and mechanical strain, and allows for seamless transitions between open and closed positions, enhancing user experience and device reliability.
Implementation Method 1
spring-loaded trays or displacement-altering hinges to compensate for length differences
Implementation Method 2
compensate for length differences, ensuring proper mechanical support and minimizing strain
Implementation Method 3
hinge assembly with support plates that pivot relative to a hinge housing
Data Source
AI summary
A deformable electronic device includes a flexible display, one or more sensors, at least one imager, and one or more processors. The one or more sensors detect deformation of the deformable electronic device. The at least one imager, which is disposed beneath the flexible display, captures one or more images of an identifiable marker of the flexible display in response to the one or more sensors detecting the deformation of the deformable electronic device. The one or more processors estimate an amount of the deformation of the deformable electronic device as a function of how far the identifiable marker of the flexible display translates across the at least one imager during the deformation of the deformable electronic device.