Foldable Dual-Display IHS with Dynamic Hinge and Keyboard
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile Information Handling Systems (IHS) devices lack versatility in display postures and often compromise between portability and performance, with limited display area and uncomfortable form factors in various use cases.
Innovation Solution
A multi-form factor Information Handling System with layered, foldable, bendable, flippable, rotatable, removable, and/or slideable components, featuring a dual-display configuration with a hinge system that allows for dynamic user interface adjustments based on device posture and keyboard position, enabling multiple use modes and expanded display options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional mobile IHS device uses a fixed display configuration, then the device structure is simple, but the versatility in display postures and usability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic configurability through a foldable display that can transition between multiple postures (flat, folded, tent, book modes) and allows the keyboard to be repositioned along the display surface. This dynamic structure enables the device to adapt to different use cases while maintaining a relatively simple overall device architecture, resolving the contradiction between versatility and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The display is segmented into multiple functional layers including a flexible display portion, a keyboard portion, and a touch-sensitive portion. These segmented components can be independently positioned and configured, allowing the device to achieve multiple display postures and configurations without requiring entirely separate devices, thus improving versatility while controlling complexity.
2Area of stationary object
If a mobile IHS device uses a single display configuration, then the device size is reduced, but the display area is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the third dimension by implementing a foldable display that can be folded back onto itself, effectively doubling the display area within a compact form factor. The display can be configured in multiple spatial arrangements (flat, folded, tent mode) that maximize the usable display area without permanently increasing the device's footprint when closed, resolving the contradiction between display area and device size.
3Ease of operation
If a mobile IHS device uses a fixed keyboard position, then the device structure is simple, but the usability in different modes is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard's position parameter is made variable rather than fixed. The keyboard can be repositioned along the display surface in response to different device postures and user preferences. This parameter change enables improved usability in various modes (typing on flat surface, viewing in tent mode, etc.) while the repositioning mechanism remains integrated into the existing foldable structure, minimizing additional complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of a multi-form factor Information Handling System (IHS) with layered, foldable, bendable, flippable, rotatable, removable, displaceable, and/or slideable component(s) are described. In some embodiments, an IHS may include a first display and a second display coupled to the first display, where the second display further comprises a bendable, foldable, or flippable layer having: (i) a screen surface, and (ii) a keyboard surface opposing the screen surface.