Samsung granted patent for flexible display tech; could be used in shatter-proof displays

Flexible displays have been around for a while, but still belong to the niche category. Korean players such as LG and Samsung are the only companies which are paving the way for others in this department. Samsung and LG have not only released phones with curved displays, but also televisions. And now, according to Patently Mobile , Samsung has been granted a new flexible display patent for future phones.

New Samsung flexible display patent

Samsung Display has been granted a patent for what it calls a new type of flexible display, by the US Patent office. The schematic diagrams of the foldable display point possible use cases in foldable smartphones and also screens that will be shatter proof upon impact.

In fact, Samsung is rooting for the use of this display more in the ‘shatter-proof’ segment than in the bendable display smartphones. Reason being, the flexible display includes a flexible substrate that is made of plastic material which is highly resistant to heat and has high durability.

In terms of design, the display has a primary electrode layer, dielectric elastometer film and a second electrode layer are dispersed on the upper or lower portion of the flexible display panel. Voltage is either applied to the first or second electrode layer, which helps in bending the flexible display device without using hands, says Patently Mobile.

The dielectric elastometer film is the ‘smart material system’ which can transform electric energy into mechanical strain. This means that the panel, according to the patent, can technically bend on its own without applying any external force. There is no clarity on how that will happen, or what command will trigger it.

Project Valley

Project Valley is Samsung’s project that has been in the works since 2015. In fact, according to this GSMArena report , Samsung was building a bendable phone with a continuous screen covering the insides of both halves. This phone was expected to release in January this year. Well, we certainly did not see that from the Korean company.

We are all familiar with future-looking Samsung advertisement about foldable displays which was showcased back in CES 2013. Samsung is certainly invested in the foldable smartphone department. This design patent win from Samsung is another hint at its onward march at adding to the bendable display phones category.

Flexible electronics, still a question mark

As we had noted before , the idea of a foldable phone sounds great on paper. But bendable display are just one aspect of the entire equation. For a flip phone, which has a bend somewhere in the middle, the underlying electronic components don’t necessarily need to have a flex. But to make a truly bendable or rollable display phone or tablet, that is only possible if the underlying components are also allowing flex mechanism. The circuit board for instance cannot be flexed in its current form.

Smartphones with flexible displays wear out their novelty value pretty quick, if we look at the Samsung Galaxy Round or LG Flex series of phones. After fawning over the design, it is ultimately the usability that matters. Flexible displays on smartphones aren’t serving any purpose in their current forms. Moreover, phones with bendable displays do not really improve your overall user experience in any way. Not to mention the tricky way in which you have to place them in your pockets.

Releasing phones with shatter-proof displays, now that’s something innovative. Motorola had released the Moto X Force , which had shatter proof glass design. If Samsung Display’s current patent win helps in increasing the volume of phones with shatter-proof displays, then that could be a great value addition.

So it is safe to assume that the future shown in that CES 2013 Samsung Displays ad, still has some time become mainstream.