According to LetsGoDigital, recently, one of Samsung’s latest foldable mobile phone patents was disclosed by the International Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The mobile phone-based on this patent can not only be folded for use but can also double the screen area of the mobile phone in a way similar to opening a scroll painting. The user can pull the original screen to move the hidden screen out of the folding phone, thereby increasing the area of the entire phone screen.
Compared with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series folding phones already on the market, the mobile phone using this patent design is also a compact square design when folded, with a similar area, but when unfolded, the size of the phone will be 2 the size of the Galaxy Z Flip unfolded screen area. times.
Published patent documents show that Samsung filed the patent with WIPO in September 2021. The 60-page patent document titled “Multi-folding Electronic Device” has an international publication date of March 10, 2022.
The example phone shown in this Samsung patent is as small as the existing Galaxy Z Flip 3 in its most compact form but has a much larger maximum display area than the Galaxy Z Flip 3. By moving the original screen and pulling out the hidden screen, users can double the display area of the phone. When fully unfolded, the patent shows the phone being twice the length of the Galaxy Z Flip 3, up to 30cm.
The pull-out screen and camera are mounted on the upper part of the phone case. This design leaves enough space in the lower part of the phone case to integrate the battery. In this way, the top and bottom frames of the phone remain intact, allowing the device to maintain optimal crash protection.
Thanks to the unique structure, users can also pull out the screen from the middle, allowing the user to see a vertical screen and a landscape screen on both sides, similar to two Galaxy Z Flip devices placed back to back, the two vertical displays are magnetically attracted pull towards each other.
This screen state is ideal for multiplayer games, as the user cannot see the screen of a face-to-face game opponent. Samsung has also provided the device with virtual game buttons, including a directional pad (D-pad), to give users more flexibility in using the device.
The patent shows the device without a separate front screen, like the existing Galaxy Z Flip series. Users can also just pull out the hidden screen instead of unfolding the device in a foldable manner so that the phone can be used folded. At this point, this small piece of the screen that is pulled out can be used as a front-facing monitor.
In terms of mobile phone cameras, from the description of the patent document, a camera is installed on the back of the phone, and there is a punch-hole camera on the screen, which seems to be similar to the dual-camera mode of the Galaxy Z Flip.
Curling screen plus folding screen, three-layer structure supports the new design
There are two key technologies in the patent: curling screen technology and folding screen technology. Curling screen technology is used to pull out or push back the screen, and folding screen technology is used to expand or close the screen.
The whole device can be divided into three-layer structures: shell member, support member, and display member.
We can see that as the user pulls, part of the mobile phone screen from the folded state to the tiled state moves to a new position with the guide rails, and the hidden screen part begins to occupy the position of the previous part of the screen. From this, how to ensure that users do not feel creases or breaks when using the mobile phone is the key.
The device demonstrated by the patent folds very snugly. In November 2021, it was reported that Samsung was working on a new Flex OLED display with a curvature of up to 1.4R, which could be covered by the patent. This is another breakthrough after Samsung disclosed a patent for a folding screen that can be folded vertically and horizontally last month.
Similar to the previous patent, if this patent is to be put into production, it also needs to overcome various difficulties such as screen materials, so its commercialization time is full of uncertainty.
However, since Samsung released its first folding-screen phone, Samsung has become the leader in the field of folding screens. According to the data of Counterpoint, an international research institute, Samsung occupies nearly 90% of the global market for folding screen mobile phones. Samsung has been investing in folding screen technology and innovation.
Conclusion: Folding smart devices are becoming more and more diverse
With the development of technologies such as folding screens, the forms of smart devices such as mobile phones are becoming more and more diverse, and people’s experience is constantly being upgraded. For example, this patent from Samsung allows one mobile phone to experience three-screen usages.
As Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers increase their efforts to fold-screen phones, the proportion of foldable-screen phones in smartphones is increasing. However, whether the folding screen can maintain the current growth trend and reach more users remains to be tested over time.