Porous Substrate Support for Foldable Electronic Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible electronic devices face challenges in maintaining reliability due to external impacts and repeated folding operations, which can cause damage and deformation from shear stress, impact resistance, and elastic resilience issues.
Innovation Solution
The electronic device incorporates a support plate with a porous substrate composed of a metal base material, a first porous film with metal oxide, and a second porous film with metal oxide, formed through anodizing or plasma electrolytic oxidation processes. This configuration enhances shear stress, impact resistance, and elastic resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flexible display device uses a conventional support plate structure, then the device can be made portable and flexible, but the device suffers from damage and deformation due to external impacts and repeated folding operations
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate uses a composite structure consisting of a metal base material (aluminum, magnesium, or titanium) combined with metal oxide porous films formed through anodizing or plasma electrolytic oxidation. This composite material provides both the flexibility needed for portable devices and the enhanced mechanical strength to resist impact and folding damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal oxide porous films created through anodizing or plasma electrolytic oxidation provide a porous structure that enhances the support plate's ability to absorb impact energy while maintaining flexibility. The porous structure allows the material to deform elastically during folding operations and return to its original shape, preventing permanent deformation.
2Strength
If the support plate uses a metal base material with porous films, then shear stress and impact resistance are improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The metal base material serves itself by being directly converted into the protective porous structure through in-situ anodizing or plasma electrolytic oxidation processes. This self-service approach eliminates the need for separate coating or bonding steps, as the protective metal oxide porous films are formed directly on the metal substrate, simplifying the overall manufacturing process despite the enhanced functionality.
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 or prevents damage from external impacts and deformation due to repeated folding, thereby enhancing the reliability of the electronic device by improving its structural integrity and resilience.
Implementation Method 1
improving shear stress, impact resistance, and elastic resilience inside the electronic device
Implementation Method 2
reducing or preventing damage due to an external impact and damage or deformation due to repeated folding operations
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes: a display panel foldable about a virtual folding axis; and a support plate disposed under the display panel and including a porous substrate. The porous substrate includes: a base material including a metal, a first porous film disposed on the base material and including metal oxide, and a second porous film disposed under the base material and including metal oxide.