Liquid Crystal Display Cover for Outdoor Visibility and Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices, such as laptops, require a protective cover that can shield the display from external shocks while allowing users to view the screen without opening the cover, especially in outdoor environments where visibility is crucial.
Innovation Solution
A display device with a liquid crystal display cover that includes a main display unit and a pivotable or sliding liquid crystal display cover, featuring a polymer dispersed liquid crystal layer or microcapsule liquid crystal layer, which can switch between opaque and transparent modes to protect the screen and enable outdoor visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protective cover is added to shield the display from external shocks, then the protection capability is improved, but the ability to view the screen while closed is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid crystal cover transitions between opaque and transparent states dynamically based on user needs. When closed, the cover can switch to transparent mode allowing screen visibility while maintaining physical protection, and switches to opaque mode when full privacy or protection is needed. This dynamic state change resolves the contradiction between protection and visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical properties of the cover are changed by adjusting the liquid crystal state through voltage control. By changing the transparency parameter of the liquid crystal material, the cover can adapt between providing full protection (opaque) and allowing screen viewing (transparent), thus resolving the contradiction between protection capability and screen visibility.
2Illumination intensity
If the cover is made transparent to allow screen viewing, then the visibility is improved, but the protection from external shocks is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cover dynamically adjusts its transparency state based on operational requirements. When screen viewing is needed, it becomes transparent; when maximum protection is required, it returns to opaque state. This temporal separation of functions allows both high visibility and high protection to be achieved at different times.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical transmission parameter of the cover is controllably adjusted through liquid crystal state changes. The cover maintains high protection structurally while modulating its optical transparency parameter electronically, allowing it to provide both protection and visibility as needed without compromising either function permanently.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a liquid crystal layer is added to enable transparency switching, then the visibility control is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid crystal cover serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides physical protection like a traditional cover, enables screen visibility when transparent, and offers privacy when opaque. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by eliminating the need for separate protective cover and display components.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid crystal layer is implemented as a thin film that can be integrated into the cover structure. This thin-film approach minimizes the added complexity and thickness while providing the desired transparency switching capability, making the solution practical for portable devices.
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 liquid crystal display cover effectively protects the device from external shocks and allows users to view the screen in both closed and open configurations, ensuring visibility in outdoor settings by switching between opaque and transparent states based on applied voltage.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid crystal layer disposed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate
Implementation Method 2
switching between opaque and transparent states based on applied voltage
Implementation Method 3
The liquid crystal layer may be a polymer dispersed liquid crystal layer
Implementation Method 4
The liquid crystal layer may be a liquid crystal layer including a liquid crystal microcapsule
Data Source
AI summary
A display device includes a main display unit and a liquid crystal display cover coupled with the main display unit. The liquid crystal display cover is movable between open and closed positions with respect to the main display unit. The liquid crystal display cover includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer. The lower substrate includes a plurality of first pixels thereon. The upper substrate faces the lower substrate and has a first common electrode thereon. The liquid crystal layer is between the lower substrate and the upper substrate.