14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung is one of the leading smartphone manufacturers in the world, and over time, it has filed multiple patents with ideas that it wishes to implement on upcoming phones. Some of these ideas have been incorporated into new devices while others are still expected to see the light of day.
Samsung has filed two new patents in the United States for a smartphone able bend using an “artificial muscle,” which can hold any shape after voltage is applied through an internal controller, according to SamMobile.
The first patent shows a flexible display panel and a flexible image processing board featured on the Samsung smartphone. The flexible image processing unit is connected with an artificial muscle that changes its shape when voltage is applied.
The patent reveals a smartphone display that would bend in half
Samsung states that the artificial muscle is a matrix of connected plates that receive voltage from a controller in the image processor board so that the muscle can bend and change its shape.
The second patent that Samsung has filed shows a display panel that has a distinct section in the middle, which allows the panel to bend in half. It's too early to say if and when Samsung will actually apply this technology on an upcoming device, but the company is clearly interested in the concept of a flexible smartphone.
Just last month, another Samsung patent surfaced online, and it revealed that the South Korean company was keen on the idea of a 3-in-1 device (tablet, smartphone, and smartwatch) with flexible OLED display.
Samsung is also said to be working on a Galaxy X smartphone with a flexible display, as part of the Project Valley initiative. Besides, word got out that that Samsung could release two Galaxy X variants during next year's edition of the Mobile World Congress in February. These are mere rumors at this point, but there have been many hints over the years that Samsung is working on a phone with a flexible display that such a product might actually arrive sooner rather than later.
