Flexible display and electronic device including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12549652-B2
Application number	US-202217852624-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2022
Priority date	Jul 2, 2021
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a first housing, a second housing in which a rack being configured to guide sliding of the first housing is disposed, a flexible display including a first area and a second area extending from the first area and configured to be bendable or rollable, a motor disposed on the first housing and configured to be capable of sliding relative to the second housing, the motor being configured to transmit a driving force to a gear configured to rotationally move along the rack, and a first electrical component disposed in the first housing and configured to be capable of sliding together with the motor, wherein the motor may be disposed not to overlap the second area of the flexible display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electronic device comprising:
a first housing; a second housing disposed to be slidable relative to the first housing; a flexible display including:
a first area, and
a second area extending from the first area and configured to be bendable or rollable;
a rack configured to guide a sliding of the first housing; a motor disposed on the first housing and configured to transmit a driving force to a gear engaged with the rack; a first battery disposed in the first housing and capable of moving along with the first housing; and a second battery fixedly disposed on one side of the rack in the second housing, wherein the motor is disposed so as not to overlap the second area of the flexible display wherein the rack does not overlap with the first battery or the second battery, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to a back surface of the electronic device.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein a shaft of the motor is disposed to be perpendicular to a direction of a movement of the sliding, and wherein one surface of the motor that is oriented in a first direction overlaps the first area of the flexible display.

3 . The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein one surface of the motor that is oriented in a second direction opposite to the first direction faces a portion of the first housing in a slide-in state of the flexible display, and faces a portion of the second housing in a slide-out state of the flexible display.

4 . The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the motor has a diameter that is provided in a ratio of 0.62 to 0.68 of a total thickness of the electronic device.

5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a main circuit board disposed in the second housing; and a connection flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) electrically connecting the main circuit board and the first battery, the connection FPCB configured to be variable in response to the sliding of the first housing.

6 . The electronic device of claim 5 ,
further comprising at least one of a speaker or a subscriber identification module (SIM) socket, and wherein the speaker or the SIM socket is electrically connected to the main circuit board by the connection FPCB.

7 . The electronic device of claim 5 ,
wherein the first battery is electrically connected to the main circuit board by the connection FPCB.

8 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the motor is disposed in parallel to at least a portion of the first battery.

9 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the rack is disposed between the first battery and the second battery in a slide-in state of the flexible display.

10 . The electronic device of claim 5 , further comprising:
a connection board positioned in the first housing and disposed adjacent to the motor and the rack, wherein the main circuit board and the connection board are rigid boards.

11 . The electronic device of claim 9 ,
wherein a first portion corresponding to one end of a connection flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) is electrically connected to a connection board, wherein a second portion corresponding to another end of the connection FPCB is electrically connected to the main circuit board, wherein the first portion of the connection FPCB slides in response to the sliding of the first housing, and wherein the second portion maintains a fixed state without the sliding.

12 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the connection FPCB includes:
a plurality of rigid sections positioned between the first portion and the second portion, and flexible sections that interconnect the rigid sections and are capable of forming curved surfaces.

13 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the connection FPCB includes:
a first rigid section; a first flexible section interconnecting the first portion and the first rigid section and configured to be variable in response to the sliding of the first housing; a second rigid section disposed to face the first rigid section while the flexible display is in a slide-in state; a second flexible section interconnecting the first rigid section and the second rigid section and configured to be variable in response to the sliding of the first housing; a third rigid section extending from the second portion; and a third flexible section interconnecting the second rigid section and the third rigid section and configured to be variable in response to the sliding of the first housing.

14 . The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the connection FPCB includes:
a first elastic member disposed in an area of the first rigid section; and a second elastic member disposed to correspond to the first elastic member in an area of the second rigid section, wherein, while the flexible display is in the slide-in state, the first elastic member and the second elastic member prevent the first rigid section and the second rigid section from coming into contact with each other by being disposed to be in contact with each other.

15 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a processor configured to control driving of the motor, wherein the processor is configured to control the driving of the motor to automatically provide a slide-in/out operation of the flexible display.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Wonho
• Choi Junyoung
• Jung Hojin
• Cho Hyoungtak
• Kang Hyunggwang
• Kim Yangwook
• Hong Hyunju

Classifications

• G06F1/1624

  with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display · CPC title

• G06F1/1652

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

• H04M2201/38

  Displays · CPC title

• H04M1/0268

  including a flexible display panel · CPC title

• H04M1/0235 Primary

  Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts · CPC title