Rollable electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12375593-B2
Application number	US-202217903259-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 6, 2022
Priority date	Nov 11, 2021
Publication date	Jul 29, 2025
Grant date	Jul 29, 2025

Abstract

An electronic device may include a housing; a sliding frame, at least a portion of which is drawn out from the housing in a first direction, or at least a portion of which is retracted into the housing in a second direction; a flexible display including a first region visible from the outside, and a second region extending from the first region and varying in size; and a bending member disposed on a rear surface of the flexible display, the bending member including a plurality of bars arranged in a certain interval. The bending member may include a first bar including at least one first locking part protruding in an inner direction of the electronic device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
a sliding frame, at least a portion of which is configured to be drawn out from the housing in a first direction, and/or at least a portion of which is configured to be drawn in the housing in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a flexible display including a first region visible from an outside, and a second region extending from the first region and varying in size depending on a pulled-in or pulled-out state of the sliding frame; and
a bending member disposed a rear surface of the flexible display, the bending member including a plurality of bars arranged in an interval to support the flexible display;
wherein the bending member comprises a first bar including at least one first locking part protruding in an inner direction of the electronic device, among the plurality of bars, and
wherein the sliding frame comprises at least one locking jaw configured to cause the at least one first locking part to be caught.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the sliding frame includes a curved surface,
wherein the first bar is disposed adjacent to the curved surface in the open state.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 ,
wherein the sliding frame includes a curved surface,
wherein when the first bar is located on an upper part of the curved surface, in the open state, the at least one locking jaw is located on the upper part of the curved surface.

4. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the at least one locking jaw is formed in a direction generally parallel to a front surface of the sliding frame.

5. The electronic device of claim 2 ,
wherein the sliding frame includes a curved surface,
wherein when the first bar is located in a lower part of the curved surface, in the open state, the at least one locking jaw is disposed on the lower part of the curved surface.

6. The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the at least one locking jaw is formed in a direction perpendicular to a front surface of the sliding frame.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first bar is disposed, in the open state, on a rear surface of the sliding frame.

8. The electronic device of claim 7 ,
wherein the sliding frame includes a curved surface,
wherein the at least one locking jaw is disposed adjacent to the curved surface on the rear surface of the sliding frame.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the at least one locking jaw is formed in a direction generally perpendicular to a front surface of the sliding frame.

10. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the sliding frame includes a curved surface,
wherein the at least one first locking part is disposed adjacent to both ends of the first bar, and
wherein the at least one locking jaw is disposed adjacent to both ends of the curved surface.

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein an even number of the at least one first locking part are disposed adjacent to both ends of the first bar so as to be symmetrical with respect to a center of the first bar.

12. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the sliding frame comprises at least one passage of an empty space formed in a path through which the at least one first locking part travels in the pull-in and/or pull-out operation of the sliding frame.

13. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the sliding frame includes a curved surface,
wherein the bending member comprises a second bar including at least one second locking part protruding in an inner direction of the electronic device among the plurality of bars, and
wherein the first locking part and the second locking part are arranged, in the pull-in and/or pull-out operation of the sliding frame, so that a travelling path of the first locking part and a travelling path of the second locking part do not overlap each other, and
wherein the at least one locking jaw comprises at least one first locking jaw configured to be caught on the at least one first locking part and disposed on an upper part of the curved surface, and at least one second locking jaw configured to be caught on the at least one second locking part and disposed on a lower part of the curved surface.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 ,
wherein the sliding frame comprises at least one first passage formed in a path through which the at least one first locking part travels, and at least one second passage formed in a path through which the at least one second locking part travels, in the pull-in and/or pull-out operation of the sliding frame, and
wherein the at least one first passage and the at least one second passage do not overlap each other.

15. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein an overlapping maximum locking length when the at least one first locking part is caught on the at least one locking jaw at a predetermined position in an open state is greater than a maximum separation distance between the first bar and the sliding frame.

16. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one first locking part comprises a locking surface configured to be caught on the at least one locking jaw, and
wherein an angle formed by the locking surface and a plane of the first bar is formed, in the open state, to be generally the same as an angle formed by the plane of the first bar and the locking jaw.

17. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the bending member is attached to a portion of the rear surface of the flexible display.

18. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the open state is a state in which the second region is substantially maximized and/or enlarged.

19. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one first locking part and the at least one locking jaw are configured to reduce a chance of the flexible display from being lifted from the housing and/or the sliding frame, in the pull-out operation of the sliding frame, and
wherein the at least one first locking part and the at least one locking jaw are configured to reduce a chance of the flexible display from being lifted from the housing and/or the sliding frame, when performing the pull-in operation in the open state of the sliding frame.

20. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one first locking part and the at least one locking jaw are configured to reduce a chance of distortion of the bending member, due to narrowing of a gap between the bars in the pull-out operation of the sliding frame, and
wherein the at least one first locking part and the at least one locking jaw are configured to reduce a chance of distortion of the bending member, due to narrowing of the gap between the bars in the pull-in operation of the sliding frame.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Choi Junyoung
• Kang Youngmin
• Shin Moonchul
• Yoon Yeonggyu
• Lee Seungjoon
• Cho Joongyeon
• Kwak Myunghoon
• Kwon Yongjin
• Lee Soyoung
• Lee Jookwan
• Lee Junghyeob

Classifications

• H04M1/0268

  including a flexible display panel · CPC title

• G09F9/301

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

• G06F1/1652

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

• G06F1/1628

  Enclosures for carrying portable computers with peripheral devices, e.g. cases for a laptop and a printer · CPC title

• G09F9/30

  in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements (panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell controlling light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. electro-optical or magneto-optical cell, G02F1/00) · CPC title