Rollable display device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9772657-B2
Application number	US-201615015409-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 4, 2016
Priority date	Apr 30, 2015
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

A rollable display device is provided. The rollable display device includes first and second bodies, a display, a roller supported in the first body to be rotatable, to which one end portion of the display in a length direction of the display is fixed and around an outer circumference of which the display is wound, and a support member a plurality of segmented links connected to pivot around a hinge shaft perpendicular to an image display surface, the support member being accommodated in an accommodation unit provided in the first body. As the first body is separated from the second body, the display is unwound from the roller and is unrolled outward from the first body to expand in the length direction, and the support member is unrolled outward from the first body in the length direction to support a rear surface of the display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rollable display device comprising:
first and second bodies;
a display disposed between the first body and second body, and having an image display surface and a rear surface;
a roller disposed in the first body and connected to one end portion of the display so that the display is wounded around the roller according to rotation of the roller around a first rotation axis; and
a support member having a plurality of segmented links connected to pivot around a hinge shaft between an expanded state and a rolled state, the support member being accommodated in the first body,
wherein the display is unwound from the roller so that a portion of the display moves outward from the first body when the first body is apart from the second body, and
wherein at least one segmented link of the support member moves outward from the first body to support the rear surface of the display when the display is unrolled outward from the first body.

2. The rollable display device of claim 1 , wherein the first body comprises an accommodation unit to accommodate the support member in a width direction of the display.

3. The rollable display device of claim 1 , further comprising a sprocket provided in the first body that is rotatable around a second rotation axis perpendicular to the image display surface and that moves the support member.

4. The rollable display device of claim 3 , wherein the sprocket changes a movement direction of the support member from a width direction to a length direction of the display when the support member is unrolled outward from the first body, and from the length direction to the width direction of the display when the support member is rolled back into the first body.

5. The rollable display device of claim 4 , wherein the support member supports an edge in the width direction of the display.

6. The rollable display device of claim 5 , wherein a rib extending to the image display surface over the edge is provided in each of the plurality of segmented links.

7. The rollable display device of claim 5 , wherein the sprocket is disposed adjacent to the edge of the display,
wherein a plurality of connection members having a first connection portion is provided at the edge of the display, and
wherein a second connection portion connected to the first connection portion is provided at the plurality of segmented links.

8. The rollable display device of claim 7 , wherein the first connection portion and the second connection portion are connected to each other or disconnected from each other by the sprocket when a movement direction of the plurality of segmented links is changed between the length direction and the width direction.

9. The rollable display device of claim 7 , wherein the first connection portion has a shape of a protrusion extending in the width direction of the display, and
wherein the second connection portion has a shape of a groove into which the first connection portion is inserted.

10. The rollable display device of claim 7 , wherein intervals between the plurality of connection members are the same as intervals between the plurality of segmented links.

11. The rollable display device of claim 7 , wherein intervals between the plurality of connection members are intervals at which the plurality of connection members are aligned in a radial direction of the roller at a plurality of positions along a circumferential direction of the roller when the display is wound around the roller.

12. The rollable display device of claim 11 , wherein a protruding portion and a concave portion are provided in the connection member, and
wherein the protruding portion of the connection member disposed outwardly is inserted into the concave portion of the connection member disposed inwardly in a state in which the connection members are aligned in the radial direction.

13. The rollable display device of claim 12 , wherein the protruding portion comprises an elastic arm,
wherein the concave portion comprises an accommodation portion accommodating the elastic arm and having an opening whose width is smaller than a width of the elastic arm and a protruding step provided at an edge of the opening to catch the elastic arm, and
wherein the elastic arm of the connection member disposed outwardly is inserted into the accommodation portion of the connection member disposed inwardly in the state in which the connection members are aligned in the radial direction.

14. The rollable display device of claim 11 , wherein the connection member comprises a first magnetic member and a second magnetic member, and
wherein the second magnetic member of the connection member disposed inwardly and the first magnetic member of the connection member disposed outwardly are attracted to each other by a magnetic force in a state in which the connection members are aligned in the radial direction.

15. The rollable display device of claim 11 , wherein the connection member comprises a first facing portion and a second facing portion,
wherein a friction portion is provided at at least one of the first and second facing portions, and
wherein the second facing portion of the connection member disposed inwardly and the first facing portion of the connection member disposed outwardly contact each other in a state in which the connection members are aligned in the radial direction.

16. The rollable display device of claim 11 , wherein the connection member comprises a first facing portion and a second facing portion,
wherein a slip prevention member is provided between the plurality of connection members, and
wherein the second facing portion of the connection member disposed inwardly and the first facing portion of the connection member disposed outwardly contact each other in a state in which the connection members are aligned in the radial direction.

17. The rollable display device of claim 4 , wherein the support member comprises first and second support members supporting opposite edges in the width direction of the display.

18. The rollable display device of claim 17 , wherein pivot directions of the plurality of segmented links of the first and second support members are opposite to each other.

19. The rollable display device of claim 18 , wherein the sprocket comprises first and second sprockets disposed adjacent to the opposite edges in the width direction of the display,
wherein a plurality of connection members having a first connection portion are provided at the opposite edges of the display, and
wherein a second connection portion connected to the first connected portion is provided at the plurality of segmented links of the first and second support members.

20. The rollable display device of claim 19 , wherein the first connection portion and the second connection portion are connected to each other or disconnected from each other when movement directions of the first and second support members are changed by the first and second sprockets between the length direction and the width direction.

21. The rollable display device of claim 19 , wherein an interval between the plurality of connection members is an interval at which the plurality of connection members are aligned in a radial direction of the roller at a plurality of positions along a circumferential direction of the roller when the display is wound around the roller.

22. The rollable display device of claim 4 , wherein the support member comprises first and second support members supporting th

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takayanagi Toshikazu
• Shin Chang-Bong
• Kim Jin-Ho

Classifications

• H04M1/0268

  including a flexible display panel · CPC title

• G06F1/1615

  with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function (constructional details of portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts H04M1/0206) · CPC title

• G09F9/301 Primary

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

• G06F2203/04102

  Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper · CPC title