Foldable Display Hinge Structure for Stable Folded Torque
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable electronic devices with flexible displays face issues with maintaining a desired folded state due to increased restoring force as the display size increases, leading to defects in folding and unfolding motions.
Innovation Solution
A hinge structure comprising a fixed structure with arc-shaped guide rails, rotary structures with helical grooves, and a sliding structure that provides torque to counteract the restoring force of the display, allowing stable maintenance of a folded state without increasing the device's thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the size of the flexible display is increased, then the screen size is improved, but the restoring force in the folded state is increased causing defects in folding motion
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge structure generates a counteracting force through the interaction between the guide protrusion and helical groove, which opposes the restoring force of the flexible display. This allows the device to maintain a desired folded state despite the increased restoring force from larger displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide rail and guide portion are designed with arc-shaped paths centered at rotation axes, creating a curved motion trajectory. This curved geometry enables the hinge to provide rotational motion while generating the necessary counteracting force to balance the display's restoring force.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a hinge structure is designed to provide sufficient torque to cancel restoring force, then the stability of folded state is improved, but the thickness of the electronic device may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide protrusion is accommodated within the helical groove, creating a nested configuration where one component fits inside another. This nesting allows the hinge structure to generate sufficient counteracting force while maintaining a compact profile that does not significantly increase device thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge structure is divided into separate functional components: a fixed structure with guide rail, a rotary structure with helical groove, and a sliding structure with guide protrusion. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together to provide the necessary torque without increasing overall thickness.
3Force
If the hinge structure uses complex mechanisms to provide torque, then the ability to counteract restoring force is improved, but the device complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge structure utilizes the motion itself to generate the counteracting force. As the rotary structure rotates and the guide protrusion moves along the helical groove, the geometry of the groove automatically generates the necessary torque to counteract the display's restoring force, eliminating the need for additional active components or complex control 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
The hinge structure effectively cancels out the restoring force of the display, enabling stable folding and unfolding motions while maintaining the desired folded state without thickness increase, thus enhancing the usability of foldable electronic devices.
Implementation Method 1
a first helical groove extending around and along the first axis of rotation and that rotates about the first axis of rotation, a second helical groove extending around and along the second axis of rotation and that rotates about the second axis of rotation, and a sliding structure that includes a first guide protrusion accommodated in the first helical groove and a second guide protrusion accommodated in the second helical groove and that slides in the axial direction
Implementation Method 2
a first guide rail having an arc shape and a second guide rail having an arc shape, in which the center of an arc of the first guide rail is a first axis of rotation parallel to an axial direction and the center of an arc of the second guide rail is a second axis of rotation parallel to the axial direction, a first rotary structure that includes a first guide portion accommodated in the first guide rail
Data Source
AI summary
A hinge structure is provided. The hinge structure includes a fixed structure including a first guide rail and a second guide rail, a center of an arc of the first guide rail is a first axis of rotation parallel to an axial direction and a center of an arc of the second guide rail is a second axis of rotation parallel to the axial direction, a first rotary structure including a first guide portion accommodated in the first guide rail and a first helical groove extending around and along the first axis of rotation, a second rotary structure including a second guide portion accommodated in the second guide rail and a second helical groove extending around and along the second axis of rotation, and a sliding structure including a first guide protrusion accommodated in the first helical groove and a second guide protrusion accommodated in the second helical groove.