Foldable Assembly Guide Slots for Flexible Panel Stress Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional foldable assemblies and display devices face issues with unstable reliability due to excessive bending stress, leading to incomplete folding and surface unevenness, which affects mass production and product durability.
Innovation Solution
A foldable assembly design featuring unique hinge and guide slot configurations allows the housings to close along different trajectories, providing a larger bend radius for the flexible display panel, reducing stress and defects, and incorporating support plates to protect the panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the foldable assembly uses a small radius to achieve fully folded state, then the space occupation is reduced, but the bending stress on the flexible display panel increases causing unreliable operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature principles by designing the flexible display panel with optimized bending radius and the hinge mechanism with arc-shaped guide slots. The swing arms follow curved trajectories during folding, distributing stress more evenly across the panel. This curvature-based design allows the panel to bend smoothly without creating stress concentration points, thereby maintaining reliability while achieving compact folded state.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes geometric parameters of the folding mechanism, specifically optimizing the bending radius of the flexible display panel and the trajectory angles of the swing arms. By adjusting these parameters, the design achieves a balance between compact folded size and acceptable stress levels, preventing panel damage while maintaining space efficiency.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the flexible display panel is subjected to greater bending stress to achieve complete folding, then the folding completeness is improved, but the panel surface becomes uneven causing defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediary elements including the hinge mechanism with guide slots and the support structure beneath the flexible display panel. These intermediaries distribute and control the bending stress during folding, preventing direct concentrated stress on the panel surface. The guide slots constrain the swing arms to follow specific trajectories that minimize panel distortion, while support structures prevent buckling and maintain surface uniformity during the folding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The arc-shaped guide slots in the hinge mechanism create curved motion paths for the swing arms, ensuring the flexible display panel bends along a controlled curved trajectory. This curvature-based guidance prevents uneven surface deformation and maintains panel uniformity while achieving complete folding closure.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional foldable assembly uses symmetric hinge structure, then the manufacturing is simplified, but the housing cannot close completely along unified trajectory causing gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric hinge design where the left and right swing arms have different guide slot configurations and trajectory parameters. This asymmetry allows each side of the housing to follow its own optimized closure path, enabling complete and gapless closure. The asymmetric design compensates for manufacturing tolerances and ensures precise alignment of housing edges when closed, while the guide slots provide sufficient constraint to maintain manufacturing feasibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A foldable assembly includes a main body, a left first guide slot, a right first guide slot, a left swing arm, a right swing arm, a left hinge plate, a right hinge plate, a left housing and a right housing. A left first through hole of the left swing arm is pivotally connected to a positioning holder of the main body by a first cylinder. A right first through hole of the right swing arm is pivotally connected to the positioning holder of the main body by a second cylinder. A left second guide slot of the left hinge plate and a left second through hole of the left swing arm are passed through by a fourth cylinder. A right second guide slot of the right hinge plate and a right second through hole of the right swing arm are passed through by a sixth cylinder.