Flexible display and electronic device including same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11024693-B2
Application number	US-201816497419-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2018
Priority date	Mar 24, 2017
Publication date	Jun 1, 2021
Grant date	Jun 1, 2021

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device may comprise a housing and a display received in at least a portion of the housing, wherein the display comprises: a flexible substrate; a first light-emitting unit which is disposed on a first area of the substrate, has a first attribute, and includes a plurality of first pixels; and a second light-emitting unit which is disposed on a second area of the substrate, has a second attribute different from the first attribute, and includes a plurality of second pixels. Various other embodiments are also possible.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing comprising a first surface facing a first direction, a second surface facing a second direction opposite the first direction, and a third surface surrounding a space between the first surface and the second surface; and
a display received in at least a part of the housing, wherein the display comprises:
a flexible substrate;
a first light-emitting unit which is disposed in a first region on the substrate, has a first attribute, and comprises multiple first pixels, the first region being disposed along at least a part of the first surface;
a second light-emitting unit which is disposed in a second region on the substrate, has a second attribute different from the first attribute, and comprises multiple second pixels, the second region being disposed along at least a part of the second surface; and
at least one display driver which is disposed in a third region on the substrate and configured to control the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit,
wherein a fourth region of the substrate electrically connects the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit and extends to be bent from the first region to the second region along at least a part of the third surface, and
wherein a fifth region of the substrate electrically connects the first light-emitting unit and the at least one display driver and extends to be bent from the first region to the third region such that the third region and the fifth region are disposed in the space between the first surface and the second surface.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first light-emitting unit is disposed such that the multiple first pixels have a first resolution as at least a part of the first attribute, and the second light-emitting unit is disposed such that the multiple second pixels have a second resolution, as at least a part of the second attribute, lower than the first resolution.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the third surface comprising a curved surface
the first light-emitting unit is disposed between the first surface of the housing and the first region of the substrate, and
the second light-emitting unit is disposed between the second surface of the housing and the second region on the substrate.

4. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the first light-emitting unit is further disposed between the third surface of the housing and the fourth region on the substrate.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first light-emitting unit, the second light-emitting unit, and the at least one display driver are all arranged on one of both surfaces of the substrate.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a through-hole formed in the fourth region of the substrate; and
an electronic component disposed in the housing and aligned with the through-hole.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein a curvature radius of the third region of the substrate is smaller than a curvature radius of the fourth region of the substrate.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a processor disposed in the housing and electrically connected to the at least one display driver,
wherein, the at least one display driver is configured to, based at least on a signal from the processor, drive the first light-emitting unit at a first frame rate as at least a part of the first attribute and drive the second light-emitting unit at a second frame rate, as at least a part of the second attribute, lower than the first frame rate.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a touch-sensing circuit disposed in the housing; and
a conductive pattern electrically connected to the touch-sensing circuit and disposed in the display or between the display and a transparent substrate forming at least a part of the housing.

10. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a wireless communication circuit disposed in the housing; and
a conductive pattern electrically connected to the wireless communication circuit and disposed in the display or between the display and a transparent substrate forming the at least a part of the housing.

11. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a pressure sensor disposed in the display or on at least a part of a rear surface of the display.

12. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first light-emitting unit or the second light-emitting unit comprises an OLED.

13. The electronic device of claim 9 , further comprising a processor disposed in the housing and electrically connected to the touch-sensing circuit,
wherein the touch-sensing circuit is configured to activate at least a part of the conductive pattern based on a signal from the processor.

14. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the conductive pattern is disposed in a sixth region on the substrate, and
wherein the sixth region is separate from the first region and the second region.

15. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the conductive pattern is arranged in a mesh type along the first region or the second region.

16. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one optical sensor disposed in at least a part of a rear surface of the display.

17. The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein the at least one optical sensor is configured to detect light from an outside through a through-hole or a light-transmitting region formed in a sixth region of the substrate.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cho Joung-Min
• Bae Jong-Kon
• Kang Kyongrok
• Kim Dong Hun
• Kim Taesung
• Shin Hyunchang
• An Jungchul
• Jung Song Hee
• Kim Kwang-Tai
• Byeon Hyungsup

Classifications

• H04M1/0269

  mounted in a fixed curved configuration, e.g. display curved around the edges of the telephone housing · CPC title

• H04M1/0268

  including a flexible display panel · CPC title

• G09F9/301 Primary

  flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED · 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

• G06F1/1652

  the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable · CPC title