PORTABLE TERMINAL WITH FLEXIBLE DISPLAY

• US 20080151480A1
• Filed: 07/25/2007
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: CHUNG, Woo-Chang, LEE, Yang-Un
• Application Number:
  US11/828,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20080151480A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/681
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1615 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 Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1671 Special purpose buttons or auxiliary keyboards, e.g. retractable mini keypads, keypads or buttons that remain accessible at closed laptop G06F1/1666 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1679 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 Class Codes: G09F 9/301 flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0268 including a flexible display panel
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

A portable terminal with a flexible display is disclosed. The portable terminal includes a first housing in which a portion of a flexible display is embedded in such a way to be inserted or drawn from the first housing, a second housing which faces or is separated from the first housing and in which the other portion of the flexible display is embedded in such a way to be inserted or drawn from the second housing, and locking units for fixing the first housing and the second housing in order to expose or hide the flexible display.

Claims

1. A portable terminal comprising:

a first housing in which a portion of a flexible display is embedded in such a way to be inserted or drawn from the first housing;

a second housing which faces or is separated from the first housing and in which an other portion of the flexible display is embedded in such a way to be inserted or drawn from the second housing; and

locking units for fixing the first housing and the second housing in order to expose or hide the flexible display.

2. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein the flexible display is connected between the first housing and the second housing, and the first housing and the second housing are separated from each other in order to spread the flexible display.

3. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein the locking units are formed as a pair in one side face of the first housing and one side face of the second housing in such a way that the first housing and the second housing are fixed to each other by at least two configurations.

4. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein the locking units are fixed by engagement using an instrumental groove.

5. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein the locking units are fixed by engagement using different poles of a magnet.

6. The portable terminal of claim 1, further comprising a small-size Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a keypad capable of controlling the small-size LCD in a first side face of the first housing and a second side face of the second housing.

7. The portable terminal of claim 6, wherein the portable terminal can be used as an MP3 player using the small-size LCD and the keypad in the first side face and the second side face.

8. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein when the first housing and the second housing are fixed to each other by the locking units in such a way that a segment of the flexible display is exposed, a part of the exposed segment of the flexible display provides a soft keypad of a touch pad type.

9. The portable terminal of claim 1, further comprising a keypad disposed on a keypad surface of the first housing and the second housing when the first housing and the second housing are fixed to each other by the locking units in such a way that a segment of the flexible display is exposed on the keypad surface.

10. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein each of the first housing and the second housing comprises a rotation member for rolling up and keeping the flexible display therein.

11. The portable terminal of claim 1, further comprising supports capable of connecting the first housing and the second housing with each other as one body when the first housing and the second housing are separated from each other to expose the flexible display.

12. The portable terminal of claim 11, wherein the supports are connected while being spaced apart from the first housing and the second housing by a predetermined angle.

13. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein the flexible display can change a configuration of an internal screen according to an extent to which the flexible display is exposed from the first housing and the second housing.