The smartphone industry is evolving at a high speed with its innovations like foldable phones. Similarly, Honor is rumoured to be working on a multidirectional foldable phone according to a patent spotted by 91mobiles. Yes, you heard that right, unlike the single fold pattern that is trending in the market, Honor is going to upgrade the game by allowing the phone’s display to fold in various directions. A device that can have multiple rotating shafts seems like a very interesting concept. This technology combines benefits of both book style largest screen capabilities along with clamshell-style compactness.
Looking at the patent, it appears that the foldable device will feature multiple hing systems which are absolutely more versatile than the current single fold mobiles. What is even more interesting is that the device looks like it is going to have multiple axes, including both vertical and horizontal folding, which will depend on the number of placement of Hinges. Multiple housing will be used to hold smaller parts whereas Central connecting piece will link the Hinges and displays that will ensure smooth flexibility. Here’s a look at the patent document design
The Hinges are located on the back side of the foldable screen that will allow folding in multiple directions. Due to Central placement of these mechanisms it becomes easier for the display to be folded by the user. As there is a single connecting piece in the middle of the device it will be holding all the Hinges together which will facilitate the bi-directional folding. Extra focus has been made on the structural durability, which is why materials like rubber, fibre or metal may be used as the patent document has mentioned these. Including these materials will make it easier for the device to be both flexible as well as strong enough to protect the internal components from damage.
Although the device has multifold capabilities, it is important to ensure structural integrity as well which is why the makers have given a lot of thought on the design of the connecting pieces as well as the component housings. To balance the stress on the folding areas, special attention has been given to the Central connecting element which is responsible for holding all the mechanisms in place. It is possible that this multifold system may go beyond smartphones which might potentially change the designs for tablets laptops or even wearable devices. Honor’s idea is to make devices more portable without compromising on the screen size.
Although we have seen the patent demonstrate the new technology, it is not yet clear that Honor has any plans to release such a product anytime soon because it has not confirmed a timeline for when such a product would be made available commercially. However, the patent reflects the company’s plans of actively exploring next generation innovations in the foldable space just like how Huawei has introduced the tri-fold design.