Electronic device including flexible printed circuit board and operating method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12490374-B2
Application number	US-202318230027-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 3, 2023
Priority date	Jun 30, 2022
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

A foldable electronic device includes a display including a first and second areas; a first and second housings; a hinge structure foldably connecting the first housing and the second housing to each other on a folding axis; a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) extending across the folding axis from a first space between the first housing and the display to a second space between the second housing and the display and including a first bending portion and a second bending portion; a sensor configured to identify an impedance in the FPCB; and a processor configured to identify a folding angle between the first housing and the second housing based on the impedance. The first bending portion includes a first sensing pattern part including a first pattern forming a first electrical path and a second pattern forming a second electrical path.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A foldable electronic device comprising:
a display comprising a first area and a second area; a first housing on a rear surface of the first area; a second housing on a rear surface of the second area; a hinge structure foldably connecting the first housing and the second housing to each other on a folding axis; a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) extending across the folding axis from a first space between the first housing and the display to a second space between the second housing and the display and comprising a first bending portion and a second bending portion, wherein the first bending portion comprises a first sensing pattern part comprising a first pattern forming a first electrical path and a second pattern forming a second electrical path; a sensor configured to identify an impedance in the FPCB; and a processor configured to identify a folding angle between the first housing and the second housing based on the impedance, wherein the first electrical path extends in a first direction perpendicular to a surface of the FPCB, and wherein the second electrical path extends in a second direction parallel with the surface of the FPCB.

2 . The foldable electronic device claim 1 , wherein the first pattern comprises:
a plurality of vertical conductive lines extending in the first direction; and at least one horizontal conductive line extending in the second direction and connected to the plurality of vertical conductive lines.

3 . The foldable electronic device claim 2 , wherein at least one of the plurality of vertical conductive lines comprises a via.

4 . The foldable electronic device claim 1 , wherein the FPCB comprises a plurality of layers stacked in the first direction, and
wherein the first pattern comprises:
horizontal conductive lines respectively formed in some of the plurality of layers; and
a via penetrating the plurality of layers to connect adjacent horizontal conductive lines to each other.

5 . The foldable electronic device claim 1 , wherein the second pattern comprises:
a plurality of first conductive lines spaced apart from each other and extending in the second direction; and at least one second conductive line connecting adjacent first conductive lines to one another.

6 . The foldable electronic device claim 5 , wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the folding axis.

7 . The foldable electronic device claim 1 , wherein the FPCB comprises a plurality of layers stacked in the first direction, and
wherein the second pattern is provided in a layer forming the surface of the FPCB.

8 . The foldable electronic device claim 1 , wherein the hinge structure comprises a hinge along the folding axis, and
wherein the FPCB further comprises:
a central portion in a hinge space between the hinge and the display, wherein the first bending portion is connected to a first end of the central portion and extends to the first space, and the second bending portion is connected to a second end of the central portion and extends to the second space;
a first extension portion extending from the first bending portion and comprising a first fixing part fixed to the first space; and
a second extension portion extending from the second bending portion and comprising a second fixing part fixed to the second space.

9 . The foldable electronic device claim 8 , wherein the first pattern is between the central portion and the second pattern.

10 . The foldable electronic device claim 1 , wherein the FPCB further comprises a dummy pattern, and
wherein the sensor is configured to identify a reference impedance of the dummy pattern.

11 . The foldable electronic device claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to identify the folding angle based on the impedance and the reference impedance.

12 . The foldable electronic device claim 1 , wherein the second bending portion comprises a second sensing pattern part comprising a third pattern forming a third electrical path and a fourth pattern forming a fourth electrical path.

13 . The foldable electronic device claim 12 , wherein the first sensing pattern part and the second sensing pattern part are arranged on different surfaces of the FPCB.

14 . The foldable electronic device claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a first angle based on information on a first impedance of the first sensing pattern part, calculate a second angle based on a second impedance of the second sensing pattern part, and identify the folding angle based on the first angle and the second angle, and
wherein the folding angle is between the first angle and the second angle.

15 . An operating method of a foldable electronic device, the operating method comprising:
identifying an impedance of a sensing pattern part provided in a bending portion of a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) in response to a folding operation of the foldable electronic device; identifying a folding angle of the foldable electronic device based on the impedance of the sensing pattern part; and changing an operating mode of the foldable electronic device based on the folding angle, wherein the sensing pattern part comprises a first pattern forming a first electrical path extending in a first direction perpendicular to a surface of the FPCB and a second pattern forming a second electrical path extending in a second direction parallel with the surface of the FPCB, and wherein the identifying the impedance comprises detecting a first impedance of the first pattern and a second impedance of the second pattern.

16 . The operating method of claim 15 , wherein the identifying the folding angle comprises:
identifying a preliminary folding angle based on the impedance; and selecting a reference angle adjacent to the preliminary folding angle from among a set of reference angles.

17 . The operating method of claim 15 , wherein the sensing pattern part is one from among a plurality of sensing pattern parts provided in the FPCB, and
wherein the recognizing of the folding angle of the foldable electronic device further comprises:
identifying a plurality of preliminary folding angles based on a plurality of impedances respectively corresponding to the plurality of sensing pattern parts; and
identifying a mean value of the plurality of preliminary folding angles as the folding angle.

18 . A foldable electronic device comprising:
a display comprising a first area and a second area; a first housing on a rear surface of the first area; a second housing on a rear surface of the second area; a hinge structure foldably connecting the first housing and the second housing to each other on a folding axis; a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) extending across the folding axis from a first space between the first housing and the display to a second space between the second housing and the display; a sensor configured to identify an impedance in the FPCB; and a processor configured to identify a folding angle based on the impedance, wherein the hinge structure forms a hinge space between the first space and the second space, wherein the FPCB comprises:
a central portion in the hinge space;
a first bending portion connected to a first end of the central portion;
a second bending portion connected to a second end of the central portion; and
a sensing pattern part provided in the first bending portion, and
wherein the sensing pattern part comprises:
a first pattern extending in a first direction perpendicular to a

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Seo Bowoong
• Kang Hokyung
• Kim Yongwoon
• Woo Jonghoon
• An Jinwan

Classifications

• H05K2201/10151

  Sensor · CPC title

• H05K2201/10128

  Display · CPC title

• H05K2201/05

  Flexible printed circuits [FPCs] · CPC title

• H05K2201/10204

  Dummy component, dummy PCB or template, e.g. for monitoring, controlling of processes, comparing, scanning · CPC title

• H05K2201/09781

  Dummy conductors, i.e. not used for normal transport of current; Dummy electrodes of components · CPC title