Patent Application
20240071285
Many electronic devices include expandable displays. An expandable display enables a user to dynamically increase and decrease the viewing area of the display. Such an electronic device generally includes a base member and a display composed of a flexible material, such as plastic. A primary portion of the display is in front of the base member and visible to the user, while an auxiliary portion of the display is behind the base member, hidden from the user. As a user pulls on an edge of the device, the auxiliary portion of the display is gradually translated (e.g., using a rolling pin coupled to an edge of the base member) from behind the base member to the front of the base member and becomes visible to the user. The more the user pulls on the edge of the device, the more of the auxiliary portion becomes visible to the user. Similarly, pushing on the edge of the device causes the visible areas of the auxiliary portion of the display to return behind the base member, out of user view.
Various examples will be described below referring to the following figures:
As explained above, many electronic devices include expandable displays. An expandable display enables a user to dynamically increase and decrease the viewing area of the display. Such an electronic device generally includes a base member and a display composed of a flexible material, such as plastic. A primary portion of the display is in front of the base member and visible to the user, while an auxiliary portion of the display is behind the base member, hidden from the user. As a user pulls on an edge of the device, the auxiliary portion of the display is gradually translated (e.g., using a rolling pin coupled to an edge of the base member) from behind the base member to the front of the base member and becomes visible to the user. The more the user pulls on the edge of the device, the more of the auxiliary portion becomes visible to the user. Similarly, pushing on the edge of the device causes the visible areas of the auxiliary portion of the display to return behind the base member, out of user view.
Various structural limitations prevent expandable displays from expanding in multiple directions. For example, an expandable display of a laptop computer will expand only to the left and in no other direction, or only to the right and in no other direction, or only upward and in no other direction. Each of these expansion options diminishes the user experience because it has limited usefulness and limited user-friendliness. For example, a laptop display that expands only to the right or to the left will have asymmetry of the display with respect to the keyboard, resulting in an awkward viewing experience, challenges in navigating the physical environment of the user, weight balancing issues, and so on. Similarly, a display that expands upward may provide symmetry but retains the challenges relating to the user physical environment and presents new challenges stemming from the diminished usefulness of a screen that is significantly taller than it is wide.
This disclosure describes various examples of electronic devices having multi-directional expandable displays. An example electronic device includes a display that is expandable in multiple horizontal directions. When the expandable display is not expanded, the display is said to be in a default mode, with a primary portion of the display visible to a user. When the expandable display is expanded by any amount, the display is said to be in an expanded mode, with both the primary portion and at least some of an auxiliary portion of the display visible to the user. The electronic device also includes first and second timing controllers (TCONs) on separate printed circuit boards (PCBs) positioned on opposing top and bottom horizontal sides of the primary portion of the expandable display. The electronic device also includes a graphics processing unit (GPU) coupled to and controlling the first and second TCONs.
The first TCON, which is positioned on a first side (e.g., top or bottom) of the primary portion of the expandable display, is coupled to and controls the pixels in the primary portion of the expandable display. The second TCON, which is positioned on a second side (e.g., top or bottom) of the primary portion of the expandable display and opposite the first side, is coupled to and controls the pixels in the first and second auxiliary portions of the expandable display. Unlike expandable displays, hardware and circuitry such as TCONs are inflexible and are not retractable, and thus coupling the TCONs only to the primary portion of the expandable display enables the display to be expanded or retracted in multiple directions without difficulty. Further, because the primary and auxiliary portions of the expandable display are controllable by separate TCONs, when the expandable display is in the default mode, the TCON that controls the auxiliary portions of the expandable display may be shut off or put in a low power state to conserve power.
The primary portion 102 includes illustrative pixels 304, 306, 308, and 310. Additional pixels may be included in the primary portion 102 but are not expressly shown to preserve clarity and ease of explanation. The auxiliary portion 110A includes illustrative pixels 316, 318, and the auxiliary portion 1106 includes illustrative pixels 320, 322, although each of the auxiliary portions 110A, 1106 may include additional pixels as well. The TCON on one side of the primary portion 102, such as the TCON 202 in this example, couples to and controls the pixels in the primary portion 102 (e.g., the pixels 304, 306, 308, and 310), and the TCON 202 does not control the pixels in the auxiliary portions 110A, 1106 (e.g., the pixels 316, 318, 320, and 322). The TCON on an opposing side of the primary portion 102, such as the TCON 200 in this example, couples to and controls the pixels in the auxiliary portions 110A, 1106 (e.g., the pixels 316, 318, 320, and 322), and the TCON 200 does not control the pixels in the primary portion 102 (e.g., the pixels 304, 306, 308, and 310).
The TCON 202 is coupled to the pixels 304, 306, 308, and 310 by way of a gate line 332. The gate line 332 does not couple to the pixels of the auxiliary portions 110A, 1106. The gate line 332 is referred to as a “gate line” because it is a connection that couples to the gate terminals (or other suitable control terminals) of transistors (e.g., metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs)) in the pixels 304, 306, 308, and 310. Thus, signals provided on the gate line 332 control the switching action of such transistors in the pixels 304, 306, 308, and 310. The FPC 300 of the TCON 202 is coupled to the pixels 304, 306 by way of data lines 324, 326, respectively. The FPC 302 of the TCON 202 is coupled to the pixels 308, 310 by way of data lines 328, 330, respectively. Data lines, such as data lines 324, 326, 328, and 330, are referred to as “data lines” because they provide graphical data to pixels of the display 101. The data lines 324, 326, 328, and 330 do not couple to the pixels of the auxiliary portions 110A, 1106. A pixel transistor that is on in response to an appropriate gate line signal may respond to a data line signal, while a pixel transistor that is off in response to an appropriate gate line signal may not respond to a data line signal.
The TCON 200 is coupled to the pixels 316, 318, 320, and 322 by way of a gate line 342. The gate line 342 is referred to as a “gate line” because it is a connection that couples to the gate terminals (or other suitable control terminals) of transistors (e.g., MOSFETs) in the pixels 316, 318, 320, and 322. Thus, signals provided on the gate line 342 control the switching action of such transistors in the pixels 316, 318, 320, and 322. In examples, the gate line 342 extends through pixels in the primary portion 102, such as the pixels 304, 306, 308, and 310, but these pixels are not controlled by the gate line 342, nor are these pixels coupled to the gate line 342. The FPC 312 of the TCON 200 is coupled to the pixels 316, 318 by way of data lines 334, 336, respectively. The FPC 314 of the TCON 200 is coupled to the pixels 320, 322 by way of data lines 338, 340, respectively. The data lines 334, 336, 338, and 340 do not couple to pixels in the primary portion 102. Data lines, such as data lines 334, 336, 338, and 340, are referred to as “data lines” because they provide graphical data to pixels of the display 101. A pixel transistor that is on in response to an appropriate gate line signal may respond to a data line signal, while a pixel transistor that is off in response to an appropriate gate line signal may not respond to a data line signal.
Alternative configurations besides that shown in
In examples, the gate line 342 and the data lines 334, 336, 338, and 340 are flexible such that they remain appropriately connected to their respective pixels in the auxiliary portions 110A, 1106 irrespective of whether the display 101 is in an expanded mode (e.g., the auxiliary portions 110A, 110B are exposed) or a default mode (e.g., the auxiliary portions 110A, 110B are hidden). In examples, the gate line 332 and the data lines 324, 326, 328, and 330 may be flexible or rigid, as such lines are positioned in the primary portion 102, which remains visible irrespective of whether the electronic device 100 is in the default mode or the expanded mode.
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various examples of the present disclosure. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
In the figures, certain features and components disclosed herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form, and some details of certain elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. In some of the figures, in order to improve clarity and conciseness, a component or an aspect of a component may be omitted.
As used herein, including in the claims, the word “or” is used in an inclusive manner. For example, “A or B” means any of the following: “A” alone, “B” alone, or both “A” and “B.” In addition, when used herein including the claims, the word “generally” or “substantially” means within a range of plus or minus 10% of the stated value.
As used herein, the term “display” refers to an electronic display (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, etc.) that is to display images generated by an associated computing device. The terms “flexible display” or “expandable display” refer to an electronic display that may be deformed (e.g., rolled, folded, etc.) within a given parameter or specification (e.g., a minimum radius of curvature) without losing electrical function or connectivity.
