Invent or design?

Hello.

The topic for the text logically arose in the wake of the development of ideas from my recent articles, technological

trends and Konstantin's material about the problems of folding smartphones. There are enough difficulties with them, read:

7 actual problems of folding smartphones

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In the technical field, not only knowledge is important, but alsoan experience. And it just so happened that the phrase “forget what you were taught at the institute” that became a meme is not a meme, but a point in the plan for a more or less successful career ladder. I can’t say unequivocally why it happened this way, but it is a fact that the breaking of the creative views of young specialists for the sake of regulated procedures is welcomed by the authorities. Some time after employment, trainees completely forget about theoretical calculations and are completely immersed in everyday routine. There is no trace of creativity left. On the one hand, this is a plus. A person as quickly as possible delves into actual problems and begins to solve them. On the other hand, the solutions remain the same as before. How can one not remember Einstein, who claimed that repeating the same thing, counting on a new result, is nothing but madness. Old problems need to be looked at in a new way.

I did not just mention smartphones with a flexible screen. They have a lot of things that could be fixed. And, perhaps, the most important problem can be considered a crease on the display at the fold.

Image from ANDROID AUTHORITY website

And the problem, no doubt, can be called old.It has been going hand in hand with flexible smartphones since the very first Fold. And for four generations, many simply do not imagine such smartphones without a fold, considering it a given of such a design. For the company's engineers, this is a stroke of luck. The imperfection of the product does not require an urgent solution, and the consumer is also satisfied. However, the problem with the fold is quite solvable. And either the company's designers cannot solve it, or they don't want to (which is more likely). Let's help them.

I make no secret of my liking for theoryinventive problem solving (TRIZ). I have used it many times and often found very non-trivial solutions to contradictions that have existed for years. After analyzing the wrinkle on the flexible screen, I found several options that make it possible to get rid of it. But first, let's look at the original construction:

The illustration above is from US20170364123A1.Its original version was filed in Korea back in 2014. The picture shows the location of the flexible display inside the folded case. The main problem of such screens is the limitation of the minimum bending radius. So the thicknesses that we have today are not only an attempt to fit everything, but also the space requirements for folding the screen along a certain radius.

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Why flexible screens are doomed

Is this really the same revolution and the next step in the development of our pocket companions?

The whole structure looks like this:

We are interested in the place of the hinge.Samsung demonstrates enviable frankness in describing its developments. In particular, the picture shows elements of gears that ensure the coordinated movement of the body halves and a decorative overlay that covers the technological slots of the hinge elements.

The key elements we need are not marked in this illustration. But they are visible. They are located at the fold a little further from the edge. In the following illustration, they are indicated by positions 73-1 and 73-2.

These are the same elements that are responsible for keeping the fold zone flush with the rest of the display. These supports are fixed in the grooves 72 of the plate 7. It all works as follows:

In the closed state, we see a picture thatillustrated above. The screen is bent, the supports in the slots of the plate are deployed and take the plate to the "back" of the device. When breeding the halves, we will see the following:

The props rotate and converge together, simultaneously moving the plate towards the back of the display, until finally the halves are fully opened:

In theory, everything looks very thoughtful, but onthen it is a theory, in order to give out something unpredictable in practice. And in this case, the company's designers simply did not fight with the "memory" of the material. It may be objected that, they say, props are a means of struggle, but their essence is only to provide support when touching the screen with a finger. No more. In fact, most of the time the smartphone is in the folded state, which leads to the formation of a non-disappearing jam.

However, patent applications rarely contain only one embodiment of the patented device. And this document is no exception. The company's designers also declare this option:

Here, during the opening of the halves of the prop bodyalso push the plate 7 to the reverse side of the screen in order to straighten it on the same level with the rest of the surface. But you can see the hinged elements 82, which, straightening out, support the shape of the screen not only at the bend, but also at a significant distance from it.

However, if we imagine the bending of the screen infolded, accept the fact that the fold is “remembered”, and mentally open the smartphone, the screen will be in the position as in the picture below (red line):

This thought experiment is also confirmed inreal life. Why is this happening? The fact is that the screen for a flexible smartphone is multi-layered. And each layer is, in fact, glued to the next one. Their number is quite large. For example, this is how Huawei's on-screen sandwich looks like:

You can do this experiment yourselfeven without a Galaxy Fold 4 smartphone. To do this, you need ten A4 sheets from a nearby printer. If you put them exactly one on top of the other, then the edges will form a flat surface. However, if you take a marker (of a circular section) and wrap this stack around it, you will see that the edges of the sheets lined up in a “ladder”, moving relative to the edge of the first sheet in contact with the marker. If you glued these sheets with glue, then they would not exactly wrap around the marker, since they are inelastic (you can check for yourself). In screens, the layers are certainly thinner, but the problems are similar. But if you choose a special glue that would allow a slight shift of the sheets (layers), then you will be able to freely bend and unbend the sheets with the return of their original shape. And again another "BUT". How would we align the glued A4 sheets after being folded? That's right - they would put it on the table and smooth it with their hands until they straightened out. And how does the Samsung display align? Similar. He pulls out plate 7 as an analogue of the table for A4 sheets, and ... And that's it. It is not supposed to smooth the display over its surface until it is completely leveled. And how to be?

The first option is to implement disclosurebody halves by more than 180 degrees. This will compensate for the unidirectional effect on the screen, complementing it with the opposite. But this is inconvenient, impractical, illogical and ridiculous.

The second option is to implement tension until complete alignment. But then there is a risk of stretching the surface layers to the point where they begin to wrinkle when the body halves are folded.

The third option is to make handset smartphones with a bend radius of 5 centimeters and wear them in a tube. Cons are obvious.

However, one can turn to TRIZ and tryresolve the conflict before us. But first it must be formulated. I won't bore. In the case of a fold on the screen, it will sound like this:

"The smartphone case must act on the screen to fold it and must not act on the screen to avoid deformation"

This task is solvable. Easily solvable.However, her terms are wrong because they stem from the contrived use of flexible screen technology. In TRIZ, this happens all the time. But since there is a problem with a fold, let's solve it. Reread the contradiction: the case must bend the screen and must not bend the screen. This conflict is caused by the conjugated action of the body (element "A") on the screen (element "B"). That is, while having a beneficial effect in the form of bending and holding the screen in the housing, it simultaneously has a harmful effect in the form of forming a certain shape at the screen, which is undesirable.

For the solution, we use the algorithm for solving inventive problems (ARIZ). It consists of 9 steps (tasks such as "fold" are usually solved on the first), I will list them all:

• task analysis;
• problem model analysis;
• definition of the ideal end result and functional contradiction;
• mobilization and application of material-field resources;
• application of the information fund;
• changing or replacing a task;
• analysis of the way to eliminate the physical contradiction;
• application of the received answer;
• analysis of the solution.

At the stage of problem analysis, we formulate the conditionsmini tasks. It is important to formulate it without special terms so that stereotypical thinking does not arise. Then we indicate the conflicting pair (case and screen). Next, we graphically depict a diagram of a technical contradiction, where the body (element "A") affects both positively (smooth arrow) and negatively (wavy arrow) on the screen (element "B"):

In this case, the simplest option would be to introduce an additional element "X". Its task is to eliminate either the negative impact or its consequences.

A difficult option would be to exclude the introduction altogetherany elements. In this case, it is usually necessary to rethink existing components so that the negative impact of the case on the screen at one point in time is completely (or partially) eliminated at another point in time. We will leave this option behind the curtain.

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So, you need to enter the element "X".This, of course, is not about a manipulator that will smooth the screen. Ideally, it should smooth itself out using the available resources. Let's return to the picture, where the deformed screen is shown with a red line:

To smooth it out, it is necessary tothe rotary levers 81 and 82 existing on the movable support were at the level of elements 122 and 222. Now it needs to be pulled somehow ... That, in fact, is the answer. To that ten layers of the screen, another one is added in the form of a metal substrate (of course, not monolithic, to be able to bend), and the base plate 7 with levers 81 and 82 is made in the form of an electromagnet to attract the bend and straighten its surface.

Perhaps between the metal substrate andthe rest of the screen will need some kind of dielectric layer, but I think the point is clear. The solution is far from the IFR. I had to introduce a metal substrate and an electromagnet.

How about just the underlayment?

And here one of the standard methods of resolving contradictions can help us. Namely, the “principle of prior anti-action”.

It's hard to see what's what from the picture.But the meaning of the above method is that if, according to the condition of the problem, it is required to perform some action (bending the screen), then it is necessary to perform an anti-action in advance. These methods are not to be taken literally.

Let's do another experiment with sheetsA4 (I hope you didn't glue them). Take 1, wrap it around the marker and iron it in place. Remove marker. The leaf was folded. If we understand the "principle of preliminary anti-action" literally, then we need to bend the sheet in advance in the opposite direction. But don't rush. How else can you give it evenness? Those who went through the kindergarten and paper crafts with their children probably immediately guessed. Here is the solution:

If you carefully look at the support of the bend,you can see that it is curved. That is, if we place a set of spring plates of a certain radius as a screen substrate, which will straighten out when folded and bend when unfolded, then the screen crease will smooth out by itself (it’s better to check in practice in the laboratory). Try with a leaf. If you have a sheet folded along the marker, then place the fold vertically, and then bend the sheet horizontally along a barely perceptible radius. Is she visible?

We fix the success with the formula of the invention:

A smartphone containing a body consisting of twohalves connected by a hinge; flexible screen, battery, characterized in that said screen contains an additional magnetic layer, and the hinge contains an electromagnet.

Well, the second option:

1. A smartphone containing a body consisting of twohalves connected by a hinge; flexible screen, battery, characterized in that said screen contains an additional layer of shape memory material.
2. Smartphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the hinge contains at least one curvilinear element, the shape of which corresponds to the shape of said additional screen layer.

From these formulas and the text of the article, one can easily understandthe essence and principle of operation of the device, so the main thing is that the article remains in the public domain. If you come across a patent with similar features, you can appeal.

In the comments I was told that no one elsedid not get rich on such, I quote, "near logical writings." I can object. Many companies that are highly streamlined and patenting are making huge amounts of money both from licenses and from anti-competitive measures through patents.

Conclusion

I would like to note that the inventors andconstructors are not always the same people. Often a designer simply refines a weak idea that once came to someone's head. Entire departments or design bureaus can line up around it. And then a half-educated person comes with a new idea and puts the industry giant on the shoulder blades.

It is important to remember that, even becoming high-classan experienced specialist, you can not blinker your eyes. It is necessary to look at the problem from different angles and listen to the opinions of different people (not just reputable scientists). Well, or learn TRIZ.

Bold ideas, great inventions and successful products. Good luck.

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