Flexible Display Support Structure for Sliding Housing Space Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electronic devices with flexible displays, the movement of structures relative to each other can lead to space constraints due to required driving structures and gaps, limiting the mounting space for internal components.
Innovation Solution
The electronic device includes a first housing and a second housing with a flexible display that can slide, featuring a supporting structure with varying thickness areas and a rib structure to stabilize the display's movement, allowing for increased internal component volume and efficient slide-in/out functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If driving structures and gaps are added to enable flexible display movement, then the display can slide in and out, but the mounting space for internal components is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting structure is designed with different thicknesses in different areas: a first thickness in the first area overlapping the battery, and a second thickness (larger than the first) in the second area extending from the first area. This local differentiation allows the structure to provide necessary support for display movement while minimizing space occupation in the battery area, thereby resolving the contradiction between display adaptability and mounting space volume.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the supporting structure thickness is increased to support flexible display movement, then structural stability is improved, but the mounting space for internal components is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting structure employs varying thickness locally: thicker in the second area where structural support is needed for display stability, and thinner in the first area overlapping the battery where space conservation is prioritized. This resolves the contradiction by providing stability only where necessary without uniformly reducing mounting space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the thickness dimension of the supporting structure to differentiate functionality across different areas. By varying thickness along the vertical dimension, the design achieves both structural stability and space optimization simultaneously, addressing the contradiction between stability and mounting space.
3Adaptability or versatility
If driving structures are added to enable slide-in/out motion, then display flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting structure serves multiple functions: it supports the flexible display, enables slide-in/out motion through its design, and provides structural stability. By merging these functions into a single integrated component with varying thickness, the patent reduces the number of separate driving structures needed, thereby improving display flexibility while controlling device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a first housing, a second housing, the first housing slidable with respect to the second housing, a flexible display including a first display area and a second display area extending from the first display area and bendable or rollable, a battery disposed in the first housing or the second housing, and a supporting structure supporting at least a portion of the flexible display. The supporting structure includes a first area overlapping the battery and a second area extending from the first area. The first area of the supporting structure has a first thickness, and the second area of the supporting structure has a second thickness larger than the first thickness.