Housing member and flexible display device including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11144096-B2
Application number	US-202016868151-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 6, 2020
Priority date	May 29, 2019
Publication date	Oct 12, 2021
Grant date	Oct 12, 2021

Abstract

A housing member and a flexible display device including the same are provided. A display panel includes a bending portion and non-bending portions provided on both sides of the bending portion; a body portion disposed under the display panel and includes a first frame and a second frame opposite to each other; and a connection portion connecting the first frame and the second frame to each other and defining a bending axis, the first frame and the second frame include facing surfaces including magnetic areas and a nonmagnetic area, the magnetic areas are spaced apart from each other by the nonmagnetic area, and two magnetic areas of the magnetic areas are disposed in the first frame and the second frame, respectively, and face each other, and have opposite polarities that attract the two magnetic areas.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A housing member comprising:
a first frame having a first side surface; and
a second frame having a second side surface disposed to face the first side surface of the first frame,
wherein each of the first side surface and the second side surface includes a plurality of magnetic areas and a nonmagnetic area that separates the magnetic areas,
at least one magnetic area of the plurality of magnetic areas includes a first sub magnetic area having a first polarity and a second sub magnetic area having a second polarity different from the first polarity, the first sub magnetic area and the second sub magnetic area are in the form of a matrix and alternately disposed in a row direction and a column direction crossing the row direction, and
each of the first side surface and the second side surface includes another magnetic area between the matrix of first and second sub magnetic areas, each of the another magnetic area of the first and second side surface alternate with the matrix of first and second sub magnetic areas and the another magnetic areas each have the same polarity, and the plurality of magnetic areas on respective first and second side surface have different polarities.

2. The housing member according to claim 1 , wherein the first side surface includes a first magnetic area and a second magnetic area which are separated from each other,
the second side surface includes a fourth magnetic area having the same area as the first magnetic area.

3. The housing member according to claim 2 , wherein the first side surface further includes a third magnetic area separated from the first magnetic area and the second magnetic area,
the second side surface further includes a sixth magnetic area separated from the fourth magnetic area and the fifth magnetic area, and
the fifth magnetic area and the sixth magnetic area have the same area.

4. The housing member of claim 3 , wherein the first magnetic area and the sixth magnetic area have the same area, the third magnetic area and the fourth magnetic area have the same area and the second magnetic area and the fifth magnetic area have the same area.

5. The housing member according to claim 3 , wherein the first magnetic area, the second magnetic area, and the third magnetic area are sequentially disposed in the row direction.

6. The housing member according to claim 3 , wherein the fourth magnetic area, the fifth magnetic area and the sixth magnetic area are disposed in the row direction.

7. The housing member according to claim 6 , wherein the first frame and the second frame rotate about a bending axis, and
the fifth magnetic area is positioned closer to the bending axis than the first magnetic area.

8. The housing member according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first frame and the second frame includes a thin magnet mounted on at least a portion of positions corresponding to the plurality of magnetic areas.

9. The housing member according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first frame and the second frame includes an electromagnet mounted on at least a portion of positions corresponding to the plurality of magnetic areas.

10. The housing member according to claim 9 , further comprising:
a first electromagnet mounted on the first frame; and
a second electromagnet mounted on the second frame and facing the first electromagnet,
wherein the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet are controlled to attract or repel the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet.

11. The housing member according to claim 1 , wherein two adjacent magnetic areas of the plurality of magnetic areas are spaced apart by the nonmagnetic area, and the first sub magnetic area and the second sub magnetic area are positioned in contact with each other in the row direction and the column direction.

12. The housing member of claim 1 , further comprising a flexible display device disposed on the housing member.

13. A flexible display device comprising:
a display panel including a bending portion and non-bending portions provided on both sides of the bending portion;
a body portion disposed under the display panel and including a first frame and a second frame opposite to each other; and
a connection portion connecting the first frame and the second frame to each other and defining a bending axis,
wherein the first frame and the second frame include facing surfaces including a plurality of magnetic areas and a nonmagnetic area,
the plurality of magnetic areas are spaced apart from each other by the nonmagnetic area,
at least one magnetic area of the plurality of magnetic areas includes a first sub magnetic area having a first polarity and a second sub magnetic area having a second polarity different from the first polarity, the first sub magnetic area and the second sub magnetic area are in the form of a matrix and alternately disposed in a row direction and a column direction crossing the row direction, and
each of the first side surface and the second side surface includes another magnetic area between the matrix of first and second sub magnetic areas, each of the another magnetic area of the first and second side surface alternate with the matrix of first and second sub magnetic areas and the another magnetic areas each have the same polarity, and the plurality of magnetic areas on respective first and second side surface have opposite polarities that attract.

14. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , wherein an attraction is maintained between the first frame and the second frame.

15. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , wherein a distance between the facing surfaces of the first frame and the second frame is in a range of about 50 pm to about 300 pm.

16. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , wherein the first frame and the second frame have an angle of about 180° to about 183° in a direction in which the display panel is disposed.

17. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , wherein each of the first frame and the second frame includes at least one electromagnet mounted on the plurality of magnetic areas.

18. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , wherein the display panel is in-folded such that a display surface moves to an inside with respect to a bending axis.

19. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , wherein, when the flexible display device is switched from a bending state to an unbending state, the first frame and the second frame are automatically aligned.

20. The flexible display device according to claim 19 , wherein the connection portion overlaps the bending portion of the display panel,
the first frame and the second frame overlap the non-bending portion of the display panel, and rotate about the connection portion, and
the first frame and the second frame are spaced apart from each other in the unbending state of the flexible display device.

21. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , further comprising:
a lower structure that performs a light shielding function, a shielding function, and a heat dissipation function, and disposed between the display panel and the body portion.

22. The flexible display device according to claim 13 , further comprising:
a lower structure that performs a light shielding function, a shielding function, or a heat dissipation function, and disposed between the display panel and the body portion.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cho Sun Haeng
• Yoon Hyo Yul

Classifications

• G09F9/301 Primary

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

• G06F1/1652 Primary

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

• G06F1/1679

  for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA (G06F1/1681 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1616 Primary

  with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position · CPC title

• G06F1/1613

  for portable computers (cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202) · CPC title