Not content in its ability to boast about having the world’s only modular television, Samsung has begun working to make those displays flexible too, based on a recent US patent filing spotted by Android Headlines. The documentation associated with the patent showcases an ordinary looking display panel that features a power supply along the edge comprised of electro-magnetic connectors. The connectors are rectangular in shape with irregular cuts at both leading ends.
The angled pieces on those connectors are where the display patent takes an interesting twist since those connectors are used to make the display modular. Each panel can summarily be connected to another, resulting in a larger overall display area. Since the ends aren’t flat, those connections can be articulated.
If the surface area of the displays themselves were engineered from standard glass, the product would be a multi-screen arrangement resembling those used in setups of some PC gamers or creative computer enthusiast. The rigid panels would simply sit at varying degrees with some gap in between from the frame.
Samsungs design takes matters further though and utilizes flexible panels not dissimilar to what’s expected to ship in its upcoming foldable smartphone. That means the panels can be connected and arranged into waved or curved shapes to suit the requirements of content to be shown on-screen. It also means the curvature can be adjusted across differing angles, display ratios, and sizes depending on how many panels are used.
A bendable Samsung ‘The Wall’
On initial inspection, the details contained in Samsung’s new patent seem to imply that the technology in use would be nearly identical to that used in the company’s “The Wall” with obvious exceptions in flexibility and connectors. The Wall was first introduced in 2018 at CES in Las Vegas before being fully unveiled at CES 2019. In its consumer-ready form, The Wall is built on Micro LED technology and ships at 219-inches.
A smaller counterpart to The Wall was revealed this year too, measuring in at 75-inches.
Micro LED isn’t new but has proved difficult to engineer at scale. The technology is capable of squeezing a larger number of tiny pixel-generating LEDs into a smaller space for increased resolution while also eliminating problems found in traditional displays. Using Micro LED, OEMs can reduce heat generated by a panel, eliminate burn-in, and reduce the thickness of displays drastically.
Both variants on Samsung’s implementation of Micro LEDs are made possible by the use of more manageable ‘modules’, connected together at the edges to create a full-size image without gaps.
An innovative multi-purpose solution
The most obvious use for Samsung’s patented invention would be in home entertainment and other use case scenarios. A television built on the platform could be customized to fit the size and furniture arrangement of a room perfectly, with the possibility of further adjustments if that changes or if it isn’t quite right the first time.
Curved modular panels would make sense for multi-display computer users. They could also help revolutionize the use of displays in home decor or be configured into a more artistic take among ongoing trends in connected media playback solutions.
Use wouldn’t automatically be limited to home users either since a customizable, flexible display could serve additional uses in advertising and other industries as well.
