Support structure for supporting flexible display screen, and flexible display screen module

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10827620-B2
Application number	US-201716303765-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2017
Priority date	Jul 8, 2016
Publication date	Nov 3, 2020
Grant date	Nov 3, 2020

Abstract

A support structure for supporting a flexible display screen includes a first flexible board, a second flexible board, a side board, and a number of electromagnets. The second flexible board is arranged opposite to the first flexible board and defines a gap together with the first flexible board. The gap is filled with an electro-rheological fluid. The side board encloses outer peripheral sides of the first and second flexible boards and seals the gap. The electromagnets are secured to the first flexible board and located in the gap, each electromagnet has a support surface attached to the first flexible board and a side surface at an acute angle to the support surface, and the side surfaces of adjacent electromagnets are mutually attached by a magnetic force to cause the first flexible board to roll up. A flexible display screen module is also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A support structure for supporting a flexible display screen, comprising:
a first flexible board configured to be attached to the flexible display screen;
a second flexible board arranged opposite to the first flexible board, the second flexible board and the first flexible board defining a gap therebetween, and the gap being filled with an electro-rheological fluid;
a side board coupling outer peripheries of the first flexible board and the second flexible board thereby sealing the gap; and
a plurality of electromagnets secured to the first flexible board and located in the gap, each electromagnet having a support surface attached to the first flexible board and a side surface at an acute angle to the support surface, and side surfaces of adjacent electromagnets being able to be attached to each other by a magnetic force to cause the first flexible board to roll up.

2. The support structure according to claim 1 , wherein a clearance is present between the second flexible board and the electromagnets, and the clearance is configured as a flow channel of the electro-rheological fluid.

3. The support structure according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electromagnets are tightly attached to an end of the first flexible board.

4. The support structure according to claim 3 , wherein the plurality of electromagnets are arranged in an array on the first flexible board.

5. The support structure according to claim 1 , wherein the electromagnet is tapered.

6. The support structure according to claim 5 , wherein each electromagnet further has a bottom surface parallel to the support surface, and the bottom surface is at an obtuse angle to the side surface.

7. The support structure according to claim 6 , wherein the bottom surface is attached to the second flexible board.

8. The support structure according to claim 7 , wherein the side board is a flexible board.

9. The support structure according to claim 8 , wherein the side board has two edges attached to a peripheral side of the first flexible board and a peripheral side of the second flexible board correspondingly.

10. The support structure according to claim 1 , wherein the first flexible board is an elastic memory board.

11. The support structure according to claim 1 , wherein the support surface is provided with a protrusion, and the first flexible board is provided with a groove corresponding to and fitted with the protrusion.

12. The support structure according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electromagnets are coupled via a conductive cable.

13. The support structure according to claim 12 , wherein the conductive cable can comprise a plurality of transverse wires and a plurality of longitudinal wires, each transverse wire is provided with a positive node while each longitudinal wire is provided with a negative node, and each positive node and each negative node are correspondingly coupled to the electromagnet.

14. A flexible display screen module, comprising:
a flexible display screen;
a first flexible board having a first outer surface and a first inner surface arranged oppositely, the flexible display screen being attached to the first outer surface;
a second flexible board arranged opposite to the first flexible board and spaced apart from the first flexible board, the first inner surface being oriented towards the second flexible board;
a side board coupling outer peripheries of the first flexible board and the second flexible board to cooperatively define a cavity with the first flexible board and the second flexible board, the cavity being filled with an electro-rheological fluid; and
a plurality of electromagnets secured to the first inner surface and located in the cavity, each electromagnet having a side surface, side surfaces of two adjacent electromagnets defining a clearance therebetween, and the side surfaces of two adjacent electromagnets being able to be attached to each other by a magnetic force to cause the first flexible board to roll up.

15. The flexible display screen module according to claim 14 , wherein each electromagnet has a support surface attached to the first inner surface, and support surfaces of two adjacent electromagnets are closely coupled.

16. The flexible display screen module according to claim 15 , wherein the side surface is at an acute angle to the support surface for each electromagnet.

17. The flexible display screen module according to claim 14 , wherein the first flexible board is a rectangular board, the second flexible board is a rectangular, and the second flexible board has the same size as the first flexible board.

18. A flexible display screen module, comprising:
a flexible display screen;
a flexible board arranged opposite to the flexible display screen, the flexible board and the flexible display screen defining a gap therebetween, and the gap being filled with an electro-rheological fluid;
a side board coupling outer peripheries of the flexible display screen and the flexible board thereby sealing the gap; and
a plurality of electromagnets secured to the flexible display screen and located in the gap, each electromagnet having a support surface attached to the flexible board and a side surface at an acute angle to the support surface, and side surfaces of adjacent electromagnets being able to be attached to each other by a magnetic force to cause the flexible board to roll up.

19. The flexible display screen module according to claim 18 , wherein the flexible display screen is an organic electroluminescent display layer.

20. The flexible display screen module according to claim 19 , further comprising a flexible circuit board, the flexible circuit board electrically coupling the electro-rheological fluid and the electromagnets, to provide an electrical signal to the electro-rheological fluid and the electromagnets.

Assignees

• Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd

Inventors

• Lin Yugui
• Cheng Jiao

Classifications

• H04M1/0268

  including a flexible display panel · CPC title

• H05K2201/10128

  Display · CPC title

• H05K1/189 Primary

  characterised by the use of flexible or folded printed circuits · CPC title

• G06F2203/04102

  Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper · CPC title

• H05K1/0393

  Flexible materials (H05K1/038 takes precedence; specific organic compositions are classified in H05K1/0313 and subgroups) · CPC title