Foldable Support with Variable Rotation Centers to Reduce Screen Creasing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The crease formation in flexible screens of foldable display devices is severe, affecting the display effect and durability due to irreversible plastic deformation during bending.
Innovation Solution
A foldable support device with synchronously rotating members and support members that adjust the distance between their centers of rotation during folding, increasing the bending radius of the flexible screen to alleviate creases, using involute gears and sliding channels to facilitate smooth movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the flexible screen is folded with a fixed small bending radius, then the device can be compact and portable, but severe creases and plastic deformation occur affecting display quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic support members that can move relative to the rotating members during folding. This dynamic structure allows the bending radius to be adjusted during the folding process, increasing it progressively to reduce crease formation while maintaining compact folded size. The support members' movement capability enables adaptive control of the bending trajectory.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the bending radius parameter during the folding process by using rotating members with adjustable centers of rotation. The distance between centers of rotation can be adjusted to modify the bending radius dynamically, transforming the fixed-parameter folding into a variable-parameter process that minimizes creases while maintaining portability.
2Manufacturing precision
If the bending radius is increased to reduce creases, then display quality improves, but the folded device size increases reducing portability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to the folding process by using sequentially activated rotating members. Instead of increasing bending radius uniformly across all dimensions simultaneously, the rotation members are activated in sequence during folding, allowing the bending radius to increase progressively in one dimension while controlling the overall folded size through coordinated movement of multiple rotating members.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the folding mechanism into multiple independent rotating members that can operate sequentially or in coordination. Each rotating member controls a specific portion of the folding process, allowing independent optimization of bending radius at different stages. This segmentation enables precise control over the folding trajectory to achieve both quality and compactness.
3Device complexity
If conventional fixed support structures are used, then the device structure is simple, but the flexible screen experiences severe stress and crease formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces support members as intermediary elements between the rotating members and the flexible screen. These support members mediate the stress distribution during folding by providing a controlled contact interface that reduces peak stresses on the screen. The support members act as a buffer that transforms the rigid rotation motion into a gentler bending action on the flexible screen.
Solution Approach 2:
The support members are designed with movement capability relative to the rotating members, creating a dynamic support system rather than a fixed one. This dynamic characteristic allows the support members to adapt their position during folding, maintaining optimal contact with the flexible screen and distributing stress more evenly, thereby improving durability without excessive complexity.
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 crease formation and stress on the flexible screen, maintaining display quality and preventing damage by ensuring a gradual increase in bending radius and maintaining a consistent gap during folding.
Implementation Method 1
each of the rotating members is an involute gear, and the two rotating members which rotate synchronously mesh with each other
Implementation Method 2
the assembly member is provided with two first sliding channels spaced apart in the first direction, the first sliding channels extending obliquely in a thickness direction of the foldable support device, and the rotating members are each provided with a first sliding block, the first sliding blocks being correspondingly and slidably connected to the first sliding channels
Data Source
AI summary
The present application provides a foldable support device and a foldable display device. The foldable support device includes two rotating members arranged adjacent to each other in a first direction, the two rotating members rotating synchronously, and each rotating member having a center of rotation; and two support members arranged on two sides of the two rotating members in the first direction, the two support members being correspondingly connected to the two rotating members, and the rotating member driving the support member to move, wherein during folding of the foldable support device, a distance between the centers of rotation of the two rotating members which rotate synchronously tends to decrease. Therefore, according to the foldable support device and the foldable display device provided by the present application, the crease of a flexible screen can be alleviated.