Foldable Glass Display Cover With Textured Flexible Hinge Recess
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with displays face challenges in portability, as available space is often limited due to the need for a compromise between display size and compactness, leading to constraints on display real estate.
Innovation Solution
A foldable housing with a flexible display that can bend along a designated axis, featuring a transparent glass display cover layer with a locally thinned portion and a polymer filling to facilitate bending, along with a rough texture for improved adhesion and reduced reflections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a glass display cover layer is used, then durability and scratch resistance are improved, but flexibility and ability to bend are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The glass display cover layer is segmented into multiple regions with different thicknesses: a first region with greater thickness for durability, and a second region with lesser thickness for flexibility. This segmentation allows the single glass layer to simultaneously provide both scratch resistance and bending capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the glass display cover layer are assigned different local qualities (thicknesses) to fulfill different functional requirements. The first region has higher thickness for strength, while the second region has lower thickness for flexibility, allowing each local area to optimize its performance for its specific function.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the glass layer is thinned to enable bending, then flexibility is improved, but structural strength and protection are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The glass layer is divided into thickness segments where only the portion overlapping the hinge assembly is thinned, while the rest maintains full thickness. This ensures flexibility is enhanced only where needed for bending, while structural strength is preserved in the broader display area.
Solution Approach 2:
The glass display cover layer exhibits local quality variation in thickness: the second region (overlapping the hinge) has reduced thickness for flexibility, while the first region maintains greater thickness for structural strength. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction between flexibility and strength.
3Ease of manufacture
If a uniform thickness glass layer is used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but ability to bend without breaking is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The glass layer is segmented into different thickness zones, with the thinned second region specifically positioned over the hinge assembly. This segmentation enables the glass to bend reliably at the hinge while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through controlled thickness variation.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the glass display cover layer is changed across different regions. By varying the thickness parameter locally (greater in the first region, lesser in the second region), the glass achieves both bendability and structural integrity, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and bending reliability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the display cover layer is made thinner, then flexibility is improved, but susceptibility to damage and breakage is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The glass display cover layer is segmented such that only the hinge-overlapping portion is thinned to enable flexibility, while the majority of the display area maintains full thickness for damage resistance. This segmentation ensures flexibility is achieved without compromising overall durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The glass layer exhibits local quality differentiation where the second region has reduced thickness for flexibility while the first region maintains greater thickness for damage resistance. This local quality approach allows the glass to be flexible where needed and robust where required, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and damage susceptibility.
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
Enables the device to be compactly stored while allowing for a full, flat display when unfolded, maintaining image quality and reducing visual artifacts through careful thickness transitions and surface treatments.
Implementation Method 1
the inner surface of thinned portion of the display cover may be provided with a rough texture. The thinned portion may have variable-thickness portions that transition in thickness between a minimum thinned portion thickness associated with the thinnest area of the thinned portion and a maximum display layer thickness associated with non-thinned portions of the display cover layer.
Implementation Method 2
Polymer may be placed in the recess to help planarize the inner side of the display cover layer adjacent to the display panel.
Implementation Method 3
An elongated groove or other recess may be formed in the layer of glass that runs parallel to the bend axis while overlapping the bend axis. The recess may form a flexible locally thinned portion in the glass layer. This thinned portion allows the display cover layer to bend as the foldable device is opened and closed.
Data Source
AI summary
A foldable electronic device may bend about a bend axis. A foldable display panel may be configured to bend along the bend axis as the foldable device is folded. A display cover layer may overlap the display panel. The display panel may have an array of pixels configured to display an image viewable through the display cover layer. The display cover layer may be formed from a layer of glass. A recess may be formed in the layer of glass that runs parallel to the bend axis and that overlaps the bend axis. The recess forms a flexible locally thinned portion in the glass that allows the display cover layer to bend. A rough surface texture and polymer coating may be provided in the recess. The recess may have shallowly sloping walls.