Flexible device and operating methods thereof

• US 10,230,039 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2017
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Jin, Chin, Woo-seok, Jung, Ji-yeon
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liang, Dong Hui
• Application Number:
  US15/784,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20180040803A1
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133305 Flexible substrates, e.g. plastics, organic film
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/1071 with electrical and mechanical input and output, e.g. having combined actuator and sensor parts
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/204 using bending displacement, e.g. unimorph, bimorph or multimorph cantilever or membrane benders
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/802 Drive or control circuitry or methods for piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A flexible device includes a flexible body and a plurality of piezoelectric materials arranged on the flexible body that deform in response to drive signals causing deformation of the flexible body of the flexible device.

Claims

1. A flexible device comprising:

a flexible body;

a first plurality of piezoelectric materials arranged in rows on the flexible body, wherein a longer axis of each of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials is in a vertical direction of the flexible device;

a second plurality of piezoelectric materials arranged in columns on the flexible body, wherein a longer axis of each of the second plurality of piezoelectric materials is in a horizontal direction of the flexible device;

a flexible display panel supported by the flexible body;

a storage configured to store information of a plurality of deformation states and information of at least one application matching the plurality of deformation states, respectively; and

a controller configured to, in response to executing an application among the at least one application, apply a drive signal to at least one row of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials or at least one column of the second plurality of piezoelectric materials according to a deformation state matching the executed application, causing the at least one row of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials to deform in the vertical direction of the flexible device or the at least one column of the second plurality of piezoelectric materials to deform in the horizontal direction of the flexible device.

2. The flexible device of claim 1, wherein the drive signal comprises a first drive signal and a second drive signal,

wherein the first plurality of piezoelectric materials deform in a first direction, in response to application of the first drive signal to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials of a lower piezoelectric layer and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials deform in a second direction, in response to application of the second drive signal to the second plurality of piezoelectric materials of an upper piezoelectric layer disposed on the lower piezoelectric layer, and

wherein the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials maintain a balanced state, in response to application of the first drive signal or the second drive signal to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials.

3. The flexible device of claim 2, wherein the controller divides the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials into a plurality of groups based on locations at which the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials are disposed, and applies different ones of the first drive signal and the second drive signal to the respective groups to cause the grouped first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials to locally deform.

4. The flexible device of claim 3, further comprising a display,

wherein the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials are disposed on a lower portion of the display,

wherein the controller selectively applies the first drive signal and the second drive signal to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials based on a type of the executed application, and

wherein the controller controls the display to display a user interface (UI) corresponding to the deformation state of the flexible body.

5. The flexible device of claim 1, further comprising a display;

and

at least one biosensor configured to detect a touch of a user arranged on lower side of the display,

wherein the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials are disposed between the display and the at least one biosensor, and

the controller selectively applies the first drive signal and the second drive signal to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials and controls the display to display a user interface on the display, in response to the at least one biosensor detecting the touch of the user.

6. The flexible device of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of piezoelectric materials, an intermediate layer, and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials are stacked sequentially on one side of the flexible body.

7. The flexible device of claim 1, wherein the magnitude of the drive signal corresponds to a degree of deformation of the at least one of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials.

8. The flexible device of claim 1, further comprising a detector configured to detect an electric signal generated from one or more piezoelectric materials of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials in response to a deformation of the flexible body,

wherein the controller determines a deformation state of the flexible body based on a change in the electric signal and performs a control operation corresponding to the determined deformation state.

9. A method for operating a flexible device, comprising:

detecting, by a controller of the flexible device, execution of an application; and

selectively applying drive signals to at least one row of a first plurality of piezoelectric materials arranged in rows on a flexible body or at least one column of a second plurality of piezoelectric materials arranged in columns on the flexible body, based on a deformation state matching the executed application, wherein the drive signals cause deformation of the at least one row of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials in a vertical direction of the flexible device or the at least one column of the second plurality of piezoelectric materials in a horizontal direction of the flexible device,

wherein the deformation state is a deformation state which is matched to the executed application from among a plurality of pre-stored deformation states, and

wherein a longer axis of each of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials is in the vertical direction of the flexible device and a longer axis of each of the second plurality of piezoelectric materials is in the horizontal direction of the flexible device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the selectively applying drive signals comprises:

determining drive signals to apply to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials based on the type of the executed application; and

applying the determined drive signals to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials,

wherein the first plurality of piezoelectric materials deform in a first direction in response to application of a first drive signal to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials of a lower piezoelectric layer and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials deform in a second direction, in response to application of the second drive signal to the second plurality of piezoelectric materials of an upper piezoelectric layer, and

wherein the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials maintain a balanced state, in response to application of the first drive signal or the second drive signal to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the selectively applying comprises:

dividing the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials into a plurality of groups based on locations at which the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials are disposed; and

applying different ones of the drive signals to the respective groups to cause the grouped first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials to locally deform.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising displaying a user interface (UI) corresponding to the deformation state of the flexible device on a display of the flexible device.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting a touch of a user through a biosensor provided on the flexible device;

selectively applying the drive signals to the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials and displaying a user interface on a display of the flexible device, in response to detecting the touch of the user through the biosensor provided on the flexible device.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the magnitudes of the drive signals correspond to degree of deformations of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting an electric signal generated from one or more piezoelectric materials of the first plurality of piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of piezoelectric materials in response to a deformation of the flexible body;

determining deformation state of the flexible device based on a change in the electric signal; and

performing a control operation corresponding to the determined deformation state.

16. A flexible device comprising:

a flexible body;

a first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials supported by the flexible body, the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials arranged in rows orthogonal to elongated axes of the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials;

a second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials supported by the flexible body, the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials arranged in columns which are orthogonal to the rows of the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials and orthogonal to elongated axes of the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials, the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials in each of the columns disposed in spaces between the rows of the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials;

a storage configured to store information of a plurality of deformation state and information of at least one application matching the plurality of deformation states, respectively; and

a controller configured to, in response to executing an application among the at least one application, apply a drive signal, selectively, to at least one row of the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials or at least one column of the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials according to a deformation state matching the executed application, causing the at least one row of the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials to be deform from the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials in the vertical direction of the flexible device or the at least one column of the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials to be deform from the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials in the horizontal direction of the flexible device,

wherein the elongated axes of the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials are in the vertical direction of the flexible device and the elongated axes of the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials are in the horizontal direction of the flexible device.

17. The flexible device of claim 16, wherein the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials are disposed in different layers of piezoelectric materials.

18. The flexible device of claim 17, wherein the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials are disposed in a lower piezoelectric layer and the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials are disposed in an upper piezoelectric layer disposed on the lower piezoelectric layer.

19. The flexible device of claim 16, wherein the first plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials and the second plurality of elongated piezoelectric materials are disposed in a single layer of piezoelectric materials.