Variable-Size Wrist Display With Rollable Screen Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional smart watches have a significant disadvantage due to their small screen size, which limits their functionality and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A wrist-worn device with an expandable light-emitting display that includes a non-expanding first display on the dorsal portion and an expandable second display which can be rolled and unrolled from a lateral portion to the dorsal portion for expanded use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a small display is used in a wrist-worn device, then the device remains compact and comfortable to wear, but the screen size is limited and functionality is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The display transitions from a static small size to a dynamic variable size through rolling and unrolling mechanisms. The display can be compact during normal wear and expanded when additional screen real estate is needed, allowing the device to adapt its display area based on user requirements without permanently increasing its form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable display is nested within the wrist-worn device housing when in its compact state. The display can be rolled into a compact form that fits within the device boundaries, similar to a nested structure, allowing a larger display area to be contained within a small form factor device.
2Area of moving object
If a flexible rolled display is used, then the display can be expanded beyond the device boundaries, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display is divided into a first portion that remains within the device boundaries and a second portion that can extend beyond the device. This segmentation allows the display to have both a compact base structure and an expandable extension, reducing the complexity of controlling the entire display at once while maintaining flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes a flexible display structure that can be rolled and unrolled. This flexible film technology enables the display to change its effective area without requiring complex mechanical expansion structures, as the display itself can bend and roll to achieve the desired form factor changes.
3Area of moving object
If the display is expanded beyond device boundaries, then more information can be displayed, but the device becomes less compact
Solution Approach 1:
The display area is made dynamic rather than static. The display can be compact during normal wear to maintain a small device volume, and expanded when additional display area is needed. This dynamic adjustment allows the device to optimize between compactness and display area based on real-time user needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The display expansion utilizes a third dimension by rolling the display outward from the device body. Instead of increasing the display area within the plane of the device, the display extends in a perpendicular dimension, allowing more screen real estate without proportionally increasing the device's overall volume.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention is a device with an expandable light-emitting display which is worn on a persons' wrist and/or lower arm. The expandable display can be a flexible display which can be rolled and then expanded by unrolling it out from a housing. In an example, the flexibility of the expandable second display can be adjusted. The second display can be made flexible so that is can be rolled around a roller, but can also be made rigid for use as a touch screen in an expanded state.