Translucent Flip Cover for Protected Display Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Apparatuses with flip parts face challenges in displaying information while the flip part is in the closed configuration without exposing the display, which can be damaged if an additional display is placed on the exterior surface.
Innovation Solution
A user-replaceable cover with a translucent substrate is designed to overlie the display, allowing its output to be visible externally while protecting it from scratches, and featuring a uniform opaque or matt finish to conceal the cover in ambient lighting, with a translucent portion for backlight visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a further display is placed on the exterior surface of the flip part, then information can be displayed while the flip part is in the closed configuration, but the display is exposed and may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
A translucent cover is introduced as an intermediary component between the exterior environment and the display. This cover allows light to pass through while providing physical protection, thus enabling the display to function externally without being directly exposed to damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is designed with specific optical properties (translucent rather than transparent) that allow it to modify light transmission. The cover appears opaque in ambient lighting but becomes translucent when backlit by the display, enabling both protection and visibility.
2Reliability
If a transparent cover is used to protect the display, then the display is protected from scratches, but the optical properties are more affected by scratches
Solution Approach 1:
The cover uses a translucent material that appears opaque in ambient lighting conditions but becomes translucent when illuminated from behind by the display. This optical property change allows the cover to provide protection while maintaining visibility only when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover's optical transmission parameter changes based on lighting conditions. In ambient light, the cover blocks light (appears opaque), but when backlit by the display, it allows light to pass through (becomes translucent), thus adapting its optical properties to the operational state.
3Shape
If a cover with uniform opaque finish is used, then the cover is concealed in ambient lighting, but the display output is not visible
Solution Approach 1:
The cover dynamically changes its optical appearance based on lighting conditions. In ambient lighting, it maintains an opaque finish for concealment, but when the display activates and provides backlighting, the cover becomes translucent, allowing the display output to become visible.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover's optical properties are not static but dynamic, adapting to the operational state of the display and the ambient lighting conditions. This allows the cover to serve dual purposes: concealment when the display is off and visibility when the display is active.
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 external display visibility without exposing the display itself, maintaining protection and maintaining the structural integrity of the flip part during attachment and detachment.
Implementation Method 1
a first part configured to be translucent and being positioned to overlie the display, wherein when the cover is attached to the apparatus, an output of the display is visible through the first part of the cover
Implementation Method 2
a layer over the exterior surface of the substrate, including the exterior surface of the first part of the substrate, that diffusely reflects light
Data Source
AI summary
A cover for an apparatus including a substrate defining the cover and having an exterior surface; a layer over the exterior surface of the substrate; a first portion of the substrate, underlying the layer, having a first composition and defining a first portion of the cover; a second portion of the substrate, underlying the layer, having a second composition and defining a second portion of the cover; wherein the first portion of the cover and the second portion of the cover are substantially opaque in exterior ambient lighting and the second portion of the cover is translucent to backlighting.