Foldable Mobile Terminal Display Stress Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile terminals with bendable displays face stress issues when folded, leading to potential damage from wrinkling and cracking due to uneven radii and stress distribution on the display panel.
Innovation Solution
A mobile terminal design incorporating a flexible display panel with a multi-layer structure, including an elastic layer made of silicon and a hinge assembly with supporting plates, which guides the display to maintain flatness and minimize stress by compensating for length differences between the inside and outside surfaces during folding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a bendable display is implemented, then the terminal achieves flexible form factors, but stress concentration causes wrinkling and cracking on the display panel
Solution Approach 1:
The display assembly is divided into multiple functional layers including a flexible substrate, a liquid crystal layer, and a touch panel layer. Each layer is designed to flex independently while maintaining overall structural integrity, allowing the display to bend without concentrating stress at any single point.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures throughout the display assembly, particularly in the flexible substrate which combines multiple materials with complementary properties to achieve both flexibility and stress distribution. This composite approach allows the display to withstand bending forces without cracking or wrinkling.
2Length of moving object
If the display panel is made thin for flexibility, then the terminal becomes more compact, but the panel becomes more susceptible to stress-induced damage
Solution Approach 1:
The thin display panel is segmented into multiple functional layers, each contributing specific properties. The flexible substrate provides mechanical strength while remaining thin, the liquid crystal layer provides display functionality, and the touch panel layer provides user interaction. This segmentation allows the overall assembly to be thin while individual layers maintain sufficient stress resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
Each layer of the thin display panel is constructed from composite materials optimized for both thinness and strength. The flexible substrate uses composite material structures that provide high strength-to-thickness ratios, allowing the overall display to remain thin while resisting stress-induced damage.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the display is bent frequently for flexible use, then the terminal achieves dynamic form changes, but stress accumulation leads to cracking
Solution Approach 1:
The display assembly is segmented into multiple layers that can independently accommodate bending stress. The flexible substrate, liquid crystal layer, and touch panel layer are designed to flex at different rates and stress points, distributing the mechanical stress throughout the structure during repeated bending cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible substrate and other critical components use composite materials with high fatigue resistance and stress distribution properties. These composite materials are specifically engineered to withstand repeated bending cycles without accumulating stress that would lead to cracking, enabling the display to maintain durability over extended periods of flexible use.
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 solution effectively reduces stress on the display panel, preventing wrinkles and damage by distributing tension and compression forces, allowing for repeated bending without compromising display quality or durability.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible display panel including a plurality of layers, wherein at least one of the plurality of layers is an elastic layer
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile terminal includes a body including first and second bodies and being in one of a first state where the first and second bodies are positioned on the same plane and a second state where one of the first and second bodies is folded with respect to the other, and a display assembly disposed at one side of the first and second bodies, at least part of the display assembly being superposed on the first and second bodies. The display assembly includes a flat area remaining flat in the second state, and a bent area bent in the second state. The display assembly includes a display panel, a first layer provided to the front side of the display panel, and a second layer provided to the rear side of the display panel.