Flexible display device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9659995-B2
Application number	US-201414290405-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 29, 2014
Priority date	Oct 1, 2013
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A flexible display device includes a display panel having pliability and a dielectric elastomer unit on the display panel. The dielectric elastomer unit is reversibly deformable by an applied voltage to provide stiffness to the display panel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flexible display device, comprising:
a display panel having pliability; and
a plurality of dielectric elastomer units that are reversibly deformable by an applied voltage, the dielectric elastomer units each including a first electrode and a second electrode that face each other, and an electroactive polymer layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, the electroactive polymer layer being deformable to extend in an in-plane direction by an applied voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the dielectric elastomer units being located on the display panel with respect to each other such that adjacent dielectric elastomer units are separated from each other at predetermined intervals on the display panel in the absence of the applied voltage and are put into lateral contact with each other by the applied voltage to provide stiffness to the display panel.

2. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electroactive polymer layer includes any one of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS), and polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene (PVFT).

3. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the first electrode and the second electrode includes indium tin oxide (ITO).

4. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein display panel includes a first surface and a second surface, and the plurality of dielectric elastomer units are on the first surface.

5. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the plurality of dielectric elastomer units are on both the first surface and the second surface.

6. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dielectric elastomer units are inside the display panel.

7. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dielectric elastomer units are along an edge of the display panel.

8. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dielectric elastomer units are also along a transversal line that crosses the display panel.

9. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dielectric elastomer units are uniformly spaced on an entire surface of the display panel.

10. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein shapes of the dielectric elastomer units include polygonal shapes.

11. The flexible display device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the predetermined intervals are of uniform length.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Seung-Bae
• Lee Ja-Eun

Classifications

• H01L27/20 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L41/0986

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G09F9/00 Primary

  Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements (in which the variable information is permanently attached to a movable support G09F11/00; abacus G06C1/00; slide-rules G06G1/00) · CPC title

• H10N30/206

  using only longitudinal or thickness displacement, e.g. d33 or d31 type devices · CPC title

• H10N39/00 Primary

  Integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one piezoelectric, electrostrictive or magnetostrictive element covered by groups H10N30/00 – H10N35/00 · CPC title