Electronic device

• US 9,958,976 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2017
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Endo, Akio, Onoya, Shigeru, Hiroki, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Jerry
• Application Number:
  US15/443,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20170177130A1
• Time in Patent Office: 428 Days
• Field of Search: 36167921
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133305 Flexible substrates, e.g. plastics, organic film
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1368 in which the switching element is a three-electrode device G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1618 the display being foldable up to the back of the other housing with a single degree of freedom, e.g. by 360° rotation over the axis defined by the rear edge of the base enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 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 Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0448 Details of the electrode shape, e.g. for enhancing the detection of touches, for generating specific electric field shapes, for enhancing display quality
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/3026 Top emission
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/84 Passivation; Containers; Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/127 comprising two substrates, e.g. display comprising OLED array and TFT driving circuitry on different substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/35 comprising red-green-blue [RGB] subpixels
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/40 OLEDs integrated with touch screens

Abstract

Provided is an electronic device with high portability and/or high browsability. The electronic device includes first and second support bodies, a first hinge, and a flexible display panel. The first hinge has a first rotation axis and connects the first and second support bodies to each other, and the first and second support bodies are capable of relatively rotating on the first rotation axis. The display panel includes at least first and second portions supported by the first and second support bodies, respectively; the first rotation axis and a first plane including the display surface overlapping with the first portion or a second plane including the display surface overlapping with the second portion are parallel to each other; and each of a distance between the first rotation axis and the first plane or the second plane is greater than zero.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a display panel having flexibility;

a first support body and a second support body each supporting the display panel; and

a pair of connections connecting the first support body and the second support body to each other,

wherein;

the display panel comprises a first portion supported by the first support body, a second portion supported by the second support body, and a third portion between the first portion and the second portion,

the pair of connections have a rotation axis,

the first support body with the first portion are configured to rotate on the rotation axis,

the second support body with the second portion are configured to rotate on the rotation axis,

a distance between the first portion and the rotation axis is greater than zero,

a distance between the second portion and the rotation axis is greater than zero,

when an angle from a state where the first and second support bodies are horizontal is 0 degree, the rotation axis is located on a front surface side of the third portion, and

when an angle from the state is 180 degrees, the rotation axis is located on a back surface side of the third portion.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display panel is foldable so that an end portion of the first support body is in contact with an end portion of the second support body.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the third portion and the rotation axis is greater than zero, when the first support body and the second support body are horizontal or an end portion of the first support body is in contact with an end portion of the second support body.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein:

the display panel comprises a display surface overlapping with the first portion, the second portion and the third portion,

the rotation axis and a first plane including the display surface overlapping with the first portion are parallel to each other, and

the rotation axis and a second plane including the display surface overlapping with the second portion are parallel to each other.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the first portion and the rotation axis and the distance between the second portion and the rotation axis are substantially equal to each other.

6. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the first support body and the second support body are capable of rotating on the rotation axis by an angle greater than 180 degrees from the state.

7. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display panel comprises a module including a touch sensor provided on a surface of the display panel.

15. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the third portion is in contact with the first and second support bodies on the back surface side in the state.

8. A display device comprising:

a display panel having flexibility;

a first support body, a second support body, and a third support body each supporting the display panel;

a pair of first connections connecting the first support body and the second support body to each other; and

a pair of second connections connecting the second support body and the third support body to each other,

wherein;

the display panel comprises a first portion supported by the first support body, a second portion supported by the second support body, a third portion supported by the third support body, a fourth portion between the first portion and the second portion, and a fifth portion between the second portion and the third portion,

the pair of first connections have a first rotation axis,

the pair of second connections have a second rotation axis,

each of the first support body with the first portion and the second support body with the second portion is configured to rotate on the first rotation axis,

each of the third support body with the third portion and the second support body with the second portion is configured to rotate on the second rotation axis,

a distance between the first portion and the first rotation axis is greater than zero,

a distance between the second portion and the first rotation axis is greater than zero,

a distance between the third portion and the second rotation axis is greater than zero,

a distance between the second portion and the second rotation axis is greater than zero,

when an angle from a first state where the first and second support bodies are horizontal is 0 degree, the first rotation axis is located on a front surface side of the fourth portion, and

when an angle from the first state is 180 degrees, the first rotation axis is located on a back surface side of the fourth portion.

9. The display device according to claim 8, wherein the display panel is foldable so that an end portion of the first support body is in contact with one of end portions of the second support body and/or an end portion of the third support body is in contact with the other of end portions of the second support body.

10. The display device according to claim 8, wherein:

a distance between the fourth portion and the first rotation axis is greater than zero, when the first support body and the second support body are horizontal or an end portion of the first support body is in contact with one of end portions of the second support body, and

a distance between the fifth portion and the second rotation axis is greater than zero, when the third support body and the second support body are horizontal or an end portion of the first support body is in contact with the other of end portions of the second support body.

11. The display device according to claim 8, wherein:

the display panel comprises a display surface overlapping with the first portion, the second portion, the third portion, the fourth portion and the fifth portion,

wherein the first rotation axis and a first plane including the display surface overlapping with the first portion are parallel to each other,

wherein the first rotation axis and a second plane including the display surface overlapping with the second portion are parallel to each other,

wherein the second rotation axis and a third plane including the display surface overlapping with the third portion are parallel to each other, and

wherein the second rotation axis and the second plane are parallel to each other.

12. The display device according to claim 8, wherein:

the distance between the first portion and the first rotation axis and the distance between the second portion and the first rotation axis are substantially equal to each other, and

the distance between the second portion and the second rotation axis and the distance between the third portion and the second rotation axis are substantially equal to each other.

13. The display device according to claim 8, wherein:

the first support body and the second support body are capable of rotating on the first rotation axis by an angle greater than 180 degrees from the first state, and

the second support body and the third support body are capable of rotating on the second rotation axis by an angle greater than 180 degrees from a second state where the second support body and the third support body are horizontal.

14. The display device according to claim 8, wherein the display panel comprises a module including a touch sensor provided on a surface of the display panel.

16. The display device according to claim 8, wherein the fourth portion is in contact with the first and second support bodies on the back surface side in the first state.