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EP-4184281-B1 - MULTI-FOLDABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE

EP4184281B1EP 4184281 B1EP4184281 B1EP 4184281B1EP-4184281-B1

Inventors

  • SEO, Pilwon
  • AN, JINWAN
  • LEE, JIWOO

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210727

Claims (15)

  1. A multi-foldable electronic device (20) comprising: a first housing (21); a second housing (22); a third housing (23); a flexible display (26) disposed across the first, second, and third housings (21,22,23) and including a first folding area (262) and a second folding area (264); a first folding unit (24) configured to allow the first and second housings (21,22) to fold the first folding area (262) in a folded-out manner; a second folding unit (25) configured to allow the second and third housings (22,23) to fold the second folding area (264) in a folded-in manner; and a supporting plate (30) disposed to face the flexible display (26), wherein the supporting plate (30) comprises: a first supporting area (31) disposed to support the first folding area (262), the first supporting area (31) comprising a plurality of first openings (310) formed in a first pattern (P1) along a first folding axis (f1) provided by the first folding unit (24), and a second supporting area (32) disposed to support the second folding area (264), the second supporting area (32) comprising a plurality of second openings (320) formed in a second pattern (P2) different from the first pattern (P1) along a second folding axis (f2) provided by the second folding unit (25).
  2. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, wherein the flexible display (26) comprises a first flat area (261) at least partially disposed in the first housing (21), a second flat area (263) at least partially disposed in the second housing (22) and a third flat area (265) at least partially disposed in the third housing (23), wherein the first folding area (262) is disposed between the first flat area (261) and the second flat area (263), wherein the second folding area (264) is disposed between the second flat area (263) and the third flat area (265), wherein when the first folding unit (24) is folded in the folded-out manner, the first flat area (261) is disposed to face in a direction opposite to the direction in which the second flat area (263) faces. wherein when the second folding unit (25) is folded in the folded-in manner, the second flat area (263) is disposed to face the third flat area (265).
  3. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 2, wherein the first flat area (261) and the first folding area (262) of the flexible display (26) are at least partially exposed to an outside of the multi-foldable electronic device (20), when the first housing (21) and the second housing (22) are folded in the folded-in manner by the first folding unit (24).
  4. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, wherein a width of the first supporting area (31) is greater than a width of the second supporting area (32).
  5. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 3, wherein a first width (w1) of each of the first openings (310) is greater than a second width (w2) of each of the second openings (320).
  6. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, wherein a first distance (s1) between two adjacent openings of the first plurality of openings (310) is greater than a second distance (s2) between two adjacent openings of the second plurality of openings (320).
  7. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, wherein a first number of the first plurality of openings (310) is greater than a second number of the second plurality of openings (320).
  8. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, further comprising: a third supporting area comprising a third pattern (P3) disposed between one end of the supporting plate (30) and the first folding area (31), wherein the third pattern (P3) is different from the first and second patterns (P1,P2).
  9. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 8, further comprising: a fourth supporting area comprising a fourth pattern (P4) disposed between the first folding area (31) and the second folding area (32), wherein the fourth pattern (P4) is different from the first and second patterns (P1,P2).
  10. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of any preceding claim, wherein the first folding area (262) has a relatively greater radius of curvature configured by the first folding unit (24) and the second folding area (264) having a relatively smaller radius of curvature may be configured by the second folding unit (25).
  11. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings are filled with a filling material that is elastic
  12. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, wherein the flexible display (26) comprises: a first surface (26a) oriented in a first direction; a second face (26b) oriented in a second direction opposite the first direction; and a transparent protective layer (27) exposed to an outside of the multi-foldable electronic device (20) and disposed to face the first surface (26a), wherein the supporting plate (30) is disposed to face the second surface (26b).
  13. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 12, wherein the supporting plate (30) is bonded to the second surface (26b) of the flexible display (26).
  14. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to perform a folding operation by implementing an out-folding operation by the first folding unit (24) and sequentially implementing an in-folding operation by the second folding unit (25).
  15. The multi-foldable electronic device (20) of claim 14, wherein, based at least in part on the out-folding operation implemented by the first folding unit (24), the multi-foldable electronic device (20) is switched from a fully unfolded mode to a flex mode before the multi-foldable electronic device (20) is switched to a fully folded mode.

Description

Technical Field The disclosure relates to a multi-foldable electronic device. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a foldable display mounting structure that is folded one or more times. Background Art A foldable electronic device may include a foldable display made of a flexible material. In such a foldable display, a back plate is disposed on the bottom surface so that the foldable display can be supported by the back plate. For example, as the foldable display, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display may be used. The OLED display is a display using a self-luminous organic material that emits light by itself when current flows therein, and is used as a display for a wide range of electronic devices due to its advantage for a thin structure, a wide viewing angle, and a fast response speed. DE202020100190U1 discloses a foldable device including a flexible screen and a support plate arranged on one side of the screen. US10334750B2 discloses a device with a flexible frame laminated with a flexible display. KR20190003257A discloses a foldable display device having a folding structure. KR20200012359A discloses a flexible display device including a flexible back cover. KR20190049454A discloses a rollable display having a display panel adhered to a plate. Disclosure of the Invention Technical Problem A back plate may have greater stiffness than a display substrate and may be made of a metal material such as steel use stainless (SUS). In the back plate, an elastic deformation section may be expanded by providing at least one opening pattern in a folding area thereof. However, when a foldable electronic device of the related art is a multi-foldable electronic device having rotation directions with different curvatures, it may be difficult to accommodate elastic deformation of the back plate. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide a multi-foldable electronic device including a Z-foldable multi-foldable display mounting structure. Another aspect of the disclosure is to provide a multi-foldable electronic device that is capable of stably providing an in-folding/out-folding operation thereof by including a flexible metal plate constituting differential patterns in display folding areas including a plurality of folding units and having different folding rotation directions (e.g., in-folding and out-folding) and radii of curvature. Solution to Problem The invention is set out in the appended claims. The implementations described below are not all claimed, they are included to help understanding the context of the invention. While the description often refers of embodiments, the embodiments of the invention are those which comprise at least all the features of an independent claim. Any embodiment which does not fall within the scope of the claims does not form part of the invention, but is rather included as an illustrative example that is useful for understanding the invention. Advantageous Effects of Invention According to various embodiments of the disclosure, by providing different patterns in the folding portions of the metal plate supporting the multi-foldable display, it is possible to implement a stable Z-folding operation including in-folding and out-folding operations of the multi-foldable display. According to various embodiments of the disclosure, by providing different patterns in the folding portions of the metal plate supporting the multi-foldable display, it is possible to implement various folding operations of the multi-foldable display. Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device in a network environment according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an electronic device in a full-folding mode according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an electronic device in a full-unfolding mode according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an electronic device in a flex mode according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a flexible display mounting structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a mounting state of a metal plate having differential pattern structures according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a metal plate, showing an enlarged view of some patterns according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a metal plate according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a flexible display mounting structure of an electronic device including an input detection panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a multi-foldable electronic device in a full-folding mode according to an embodiment of the disclosure;FIG. 11 is a pe