LG patents a pull-out display device with stylus support

LG is often a proponent of a future with rollable displays. Its most real-world form thus far is the company's SIGNATURE OLED TV R, a long box containing a large-scale flexible display that can rise smoothly from within it to show content, then retract again when not in use.

LG has patented what is essentially a variation on this form-factor, except this one is smaller and seems intended to deploy horizontally. It most resembles a laminator (particularly as one alternative housing design has a downward curve to it), although the flexible material that can extend from within obviously stays attached to it, and can (again) curl up within the box.

This display - which can apparently be pulled out by hand - is also ostensibly durable enough to support the stylus featured in the new patent alongside it (something that can't be said for even high-end flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2).

It is depicted as living in a silo built into the side of the box, and reinforces the impression the claimed design is aimed at a desktop setup that enables the user to unfurl the display and doodle at will. The device may also incorporate a camera, so that it might reproduce other image types on its scroll-like screen.

This patent, approved by the USPTO on September 1, 2020, may also help bring the rollable smartphones perhaps envisioned by LG closer to reality. Then again, given this publication date, it may be some time before such products come to fruition.