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SamsungGranted patentPhones & computersInterest 6/10

Samsung patents sliding phone design with internal support bars

Samsung has been granted a patent for a phone design where one part of the body slides inside another to change the screen size. The filing describes a flexible display held in place by support bars that slide along rails to keep the screen stable during movement.

Why it mattersThis design aims to make sliding-screen phones more durable by adding internal structures that prevent the flexible screen from bending too much.

In the filing’s own words

An electronic device includes a first housing; a second housing that can be drawn into and out of the first housing; a guide rail connected; and a display module supported by at least one of the first housing or the second housing and having a display region that varies according to the movement of the second housing relative to the first housing. The display module includes a display panel, a support plate positioned on the rear surface of the display panel, and support structures positioned on the rear surface of the support plate. The support structures include a support bar and a guide head positioned at one end of the support bar. The guide head includes a guide portion, which can slide along the guide rail, and an extension portion, which extends from the guide portion and is positioned between one end of the support bar and the support plate.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device comprising: a first housing; a second housing connected to the first housing to enable insertion or withdrawal of the second housing into or from the first housing; at least one guide rail connected to the second housing; and a display module which is supported by at least one of the first housing and the second housing and of which a display area changes depending on a movement of the second housing relative to the first housing, wherein the display module comprises: a display panel; a support plate disposed on a rear surface of the display panel; and a plurality of support structures spaced apart from each other and disposed on a rear surface of the support plate, wherein each of the support structures comprises: a support bar formed in a longitudinal direction; and at least one guide head disposed on an end of the support bar, wherein the at least one guide head comprises: a guide portion that is slidable along the at least one guide rail; and an extension extending from an end of the guide portion, wherein at least a portion of the extension is disposed between the end of the support bar and the support plate.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Electronic device including plurality of support structures for supporting flexible display
Patent number
US12739319B2
Application number
18761703
Filed
Jul 2, 2024
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
8
Claims
20

Classified under

H04M 1/0269 Electricity & electronicsH04M 1/0237 Electricity & electronicsH04M 1/0249 Electricity & electronicsH05K 5/0018 Electricity & electronicsH05K 5/0217 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.