Patent ID: 12225753

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure clear, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments can be implemented in a number of different forms. Those of ordinary skill in the technical field can easily understand the fact that the method and content can be transformed into various forms without departing from the purpose and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited to the content described in the following embodiments. In the case of no conflict, the embodiments in the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other arbitrarily.

In the drawings, for the sake of clarity, the size, the thickness, or the area of each constituent element may be exaggerated. Therefore, an embodiment of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to this size, and the shape and size of each component in the drawings do not reflect the true ratio. In addition, the drawings schematically show ideal examples, and an embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the shapes, numerical values, or the like shown in the drawings.

It should be noted that terms “on”, described herein may mean that one layer is directly formed or placed on another layer, or one layer is indirectly formed or arranged on another layer, that is, there are other layers between the two layers.

Terms “one”, “a”, and “the” are used to indicate the presence of one or more elements/components, etc.; term “include” is used to indicate an open type meaning of including and means that there may be additional elements/components/etc. in addition to the listed elements/components/etc.

The ordinal numbers “first”, “second”, and the like in this specification are used to avoid confusion between constituent elements, but not to constitute limitations on quantities.

In this specification, term “connection” shall be understood in a broad sense unless otherwise explicitly specified and defined. For example, a connection may be a fixed connection, or may be a detachable connection, or an integrated connection; it may be a mechanical connection, or may be an electrical connection; it may be a direct connection, or may be an indirect connection through middleware, or may be an internal communication between two elements. Those of ordinary skills in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above mentioned terms in the present disclosure according to specific situations.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display module, as shown inFIGS.1and2. The display module may include a flexible display panel10, a first back film11and a second back film12. Specifically:the flexible display panel10may include a display portion101(a part on a left side of a dotted line A inFIG.1), a binding portion102(a part on a right side of a dotted line B inFIG.1), and a bending portion103(a part between the dotted line A and the dotted line B inFIG.1) connecting the display portion101and the binding portion102. The display portion101is provided with a display side and a back side opposite to each other in a thickness direction Z of the display module. For example, the display portion101in the embodiment of the present disclosure may display OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode). The binding portion102is provided with a binding side and a back side that are opposite in a thickness direction Z. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the binding portion102is bent to the back side of the display portion101, and the back side of the binding portion102is closer to the display portion101than the binding side of the binding portion102. That is, the back side of the binding portion102faces the back side of the display portion101. The dotted lines A and B represent a starting position and an ending position of the flexible display panel10, respectively.

The first back film11may be located between the display portion101and the binding portion102and fitted to the back side of the display portion101. An orthographic projection of the first back film11on a reference plane is located in or overlaps with an orthographic projection of the display portion101on the reference plane. The second back film12may be fitted to a side of the binding portion102facing the display portion101(i.e., the back side of the binding portion102). An orthographic projection of the second back film12on the reference plane is located in or overlaps with an orthographic projection of the binding portion102on the reference plane.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, by the arrangement that the first back film11and the second back film12is arranged on the back side of the display portion101and the back side of the binding portion102in the flexible display panel10, respectively, the display portion101and the binding portion102may be protected or buffered. It should be noted that the bending portion103of the flexible display panel10is not provided with a back film, and such design may ensure bending performance of the bending portion103.

For example, materials of the first back film11and the second back film12may be polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyimide (PI), but are not limited thereto. The materials of the first back film11and the second back film12may be the same.

It should be noted that since the materials of the first back film11and the second back film12in the embodiments of the present disclosure are PET or PI, an elastic modulus of the first back film11and an elastic modulus of the second back film are relatively small. Specifically, the elastic modulus of the first back film11and the elastic modulus of the second back film12may range from 3 GPa to 9 GPa, such as 3 GPa, 5 GPa, 7 GPa, 9 GPa, and the like. The flexible display panel10cannot be strongly supported at positions close to a bending part of the flexible display panel10, and that is, the display portion101and the binding portion102of the flexible display panel10are not provided with sufficient support. In this way, during the binding portion102is bent to the back side of the display portion101, it is hard for the flexible display panel10to start bending at a predetermined position (i.e., a position of the dotted line A inFIG.1), which causes that the flexible display panel10starts bending in advance (i.e., the flexible display panel10starts to bend at a position of a dotted line O shown inFIG.1). That is, the bending starts at a part of the display portion101close to the bending portion103. A shape of the flexible display panel10after being bent is shown inFIG.2, which illustrates a situation of poor bending.

In order to improve the above situation, as shown inFIGS.3to6, the display module according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may also include an auxiliary support layer13, which may be located between the first back film11and the second back film12, and the auxiliary support layer13may be bonded with the first back film11through a first adhesive layer14, and be bonded with the second back film12through a second adhesive layer15. An elastic modulus of the auxiliary support layer13may be greater than the elastic modulus of the first back film11and the elastic modulus of the second back film12. Thus, the design may assist the first back film11and the second back film12to support the display portion101and the binding portion102, so as to prevent the flexible display panel10from bending in advance, that is, to ensure that the flexible display panel may be bent at a predetermined position (the dotted line A shown inFIG.3), and to keep an overall bending shape of the flexible display panel10, as shown inFIG.4, thereby preventing the poor bending of the flexible display panel10, and thus improving the process yield.

For example, a material of the auxiliary support layer13may be stainless steel (SUS) to ensure that the auxiliary support layer13has good support performance, or may also be other material, as long as the auxiliary support layer13has the good support performance, which is not limited herein. The elastic modulus of the auxiliary support layer13may range from 150 GPa to 200 GPa, such as 150 GPa, 175 GPa, 200 GPa, etc.

Optionally, a thickness of the auxiliary support layer13may range from 30 μm to 150 μm, such as 30 μm, 50 μm, 100 μm, 150 μm and the like, so as to ensure the support strength of the auxiliary support layer13.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned reference plane in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction Z of the display module.

Structure of the display module according to the embodiments of the present disclosure is described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

A boundary line between the bending portion103and the display portion101in the flexible display panel10is a first boundary line (the first boundary line is the dotted line A shown inFIGS.1to6), and a boundary line between the bending portion103and the binding portion102is a second boundary line (the second boundary line is the dotted line B shown inFIGS.1to6). A side edge of the first back film11close to the bending portion103is a first side edge111, a side edge of the second back film12close to the bending portion103is a second side edge121, and a side edge of the auxiliary support layer13close to the bending portion103is a third side edge131, as shown inFIGS.3to6.

As shown inFIGS.3to6, the first side edge111of the first back film11may be located on a side of the first boundary line A away from the bending portion103, and a spacing between the first side edge111of the first back film11and the first boundary line A may be less than or equal to 0.1 mm. The second side edge121of the second back film12is located on a side of the second boundary line away from the bending portion103, and a spacing between the second side edge121of the second back film12and the second boundary line may be less than or equal to 0.1 mm. Such design may improve the protection and buffering effect of the first back film11and the second back film12on the display portion101and the binding portion102of the flexible display panel10while meeting the bending accuracy.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned spacing of the present disclosure refers to a minimum spacing between two objects.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown inFIGS.3and4, the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13may be flush with at least one of the first side edge111of the first back film11and the second side edge121of the second back film12. Such design may improve the supporting effect of the auxiliary support layer13on the first back film11and the second back film12, ensure that regions of both sides of the bending portion103(i.e., the regions where the display portion101and the binding portion102are located) have high strength, and prevent the flexible display panel10from bending in advance during the bending.

For example, when the first side edge111of the first back film11is further away from the bending portion103than the second side edge121of the second back film12, the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13may be flush with the first side edge111of the first back film11. When the first side edge111of the first back film11is closer to the bending portion103than the second side edge121of the second back film12, the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13may be flush with the second side edge121of the second back film12. When the first side edge111of the first back film11is flush with the second side edge121of the second back film12, the first side edge111, the second side edge121and the third side edge131are flush with each other, referring toFIGS.3and4.

In the present embodiment, through the arrangement that the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13is flush with at least one of the first side edge111of the first back film11and the second side edge121of the second back film12, the regions of both sides of the bending portion103(i.e., the regions where the display portion101and the binding portion102are located) have high strength, which also prevents the auxiliary support layer13from damaging the bending portion103.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown inFIGS.5and6, the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13may be located on a side of the first side edge111of the first back film11and the second side edge121of the second back film12away from the bending portion103. A spacing between the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13and the first side edge111of the first back film11may be less than or equal to 0.35 mm, such as 0.05 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.35 mm, and the like. A spacing between the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13and the second side edge121of the second back film12may be less than or equal to 0.35 mm, such as 0.05 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.35 mm, and the like. Such design may ensure that the two sides of the bending portion103(i.e., the regions where the display portion101and the binding portion102are located) have high strength.

It should be noted that when the first side edge111of the first back film11is flush with the second side edge121of the second back film12, the spacing between the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13and the first side edge111of the first back film11may be equal to the spacing between the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13and the second side edge121of the second back film12.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13may be located on a side of the first side edge111of the first back film11and the second side edge121of the second back film12close to the bending portion103. The spacing between the third side edge131and the first side edge111may be less than or equal to 0.35 mm, and the spacing between the third side edge131and the second side edge121may also be less than or equal to 0.35 mm, such as 0.35 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.05 mm, and the like, which is not limited herein, as long as the spacing between the third side edge131of the auxiliary support layer13and the bending portion103is ensured to be greater than sums of a material accuracy, a fitting accuracy and a bending accuracy of the auxiliary support layer13, so as to prevent the risk that the auxiliary support layer13damages the bending portion103during the bending of the flexible display panel10.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown inFIGS.3to6, in the flexible display panel10, the orthographic projection of the binding portion102on the reference plane overlaps with a partial region of the orthographic projection of the display portion101on the reference plane. That is, an area of the display portion101is greater than an area of the binding portion102. Specifically, a side edge of the display portion101away from the bending portion103is further away from the bending portion103than a side edge of the binding portion102away from the bending portion103, and that is, the side edge of the display portion101away from the bending portion103exceeds the side edge of the binding portion102away from the bending portion103. In the present embodiment, an area of the display portion101is far greater than an area of the binding portion102, and a part of the display portion101exceeding the bending portion103may be bent or folded.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to realize that the first back film11has a good protection and buffering effect on the display portion101and the second back film12has a good protection and buffering effect on the binding portion102, the first back film11needs to be fitted to the back side of the display portion101as closely as possible, and the second back film12needs to be fitted to the whole back side of the binding portion102as much as possible. It may be seen that when the area of the display portion101is far greater than the area of the binding portion102, an area of the first back film11is also far greater than an area of the second back film12.

When the area of the display portion101is far greater than the area of the binding portion102, an entire surface of the auxiliary support layer13may be used to be fitted to the first back film11, and the auxiliary support layer13may exceed the second back film12. When the part of the display portion101exceeding the bending portion103is bent or folded, the auxiliary support layer13may also be bent or folded together with the display portion101. Optionally, a thickness of the auxiliary support layer13ranges from 50 μm to 150 μm, such as 50 μm, 100 μm, 150 μm and the like. A via hole may be designed at a position of the auxiliary support layer13corresponding to a bending region of the display portion101, so as to reduce a rigidity of the auxiliary support layer13and ensure the bending performance. When the thickness of the auxiliary support layer13is less than 50 μm and greater than or equal to 30 μm, the auxiliary support layer13itself has the good support ability and bending deformation ability without requiring the design of the via hole for auxiliary support layer13.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown inFIGS.3to6, an outer contour of an orthographic projection of the first adhesive layer14on the reference plane is located on an inner side of an outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first back film11on the reference plane, and a spacing between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first adhesive layer14on the reference plane and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first back film11on the reference plane is less than or equal to 0.2 mm. Such design may increase an adhesion area of the first adhesive layer14with the first back film11and the display portion101while ensuring non-overflow of adhesive, thereby ensuring the adhesive stability between the first back film11and the display portion101.

It should be noted that, in case of ensuring the non-overflow of adhesive, the spacing between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first adhesive layer14on the reference plane and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first back film11on the reference plane should be as small as possible. In case of ensuring the non-overflow of adhesive, the orthographic projection of the first adhesive layer14on the reference plane may overlap with the orthographic projection of the first back film11on the reference plane.

Similarly, as shown inFIGS.3to6, an outer contour of an orthographic projection of the second adhesive layer15on the reference plane is located on an inner side of an outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second back film12on the reference plane, and a spacing between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second adhesive layer15on the reference plane and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second back film12on the reference plane is less than or equal to 0.2 mm. Such design may increase an adhesion area of the second adhesive layer15with the second back film12and the binding portion102while ensuring non-overflow of adhesive, thereby ensuring the adhesive stability between the second back film12and the binding portion102.

It should be noted that, in case of the non-overflow of adhesive, the spacing between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second adhesive layer15on the reference plane and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second back film12on the reference plane should be as small as possible. In case of ensuring the non-overflow of adhesive, the orthographic projection of the second adhesive layer15on the reference plane may overlap with the orthographic projection of the second back film12on the reference plane.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, since the part of the display portion101exceeding the binding portion102may be bent or folded, in order to ensure that the part of the display portion101exceeding the binding portion102may have the good bending performance, the first adhesive layer14may have a small elastic modulus, and that is, the first adhesive layer14may have good flexibility while having good adhesive performance, so as to bend or fold with the display portion101. In order to enable the flexible display panel10to meet requirement of a bending radius, the second adhesive layer15with a relatively large elastic modulus may be used to bond the auxiliary support layer13and the second back film12. That is, the second adhesive layer15may have high strength while having good adhesive performance, such that that the flexible display panel10may meet the requirement of the bending radius and maintain the bending shape of the flexible display panel10. Based on the foregoing, according to different requirements, an elastic modulus of the first adhesive layer14in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be less than that of the second adhesive layer15.

For example, the above-mentioned first adhesive layer14may be an optical adhesive layer or a foam adhesive, while the second adhesive layer15may be a pressure sensitive adhesive. When the first adhesive layer14is an optical adhesive layer, a thickness of the optical adhesive layer ranges from 20 μm to 50 μm, such as 20 μm, 30 μm, 40 μm, 50 μm and the like. Such design may have the good bending performance and the good recovery deformation ability while ensuring the good adhesive performance. When the first adhesive layer14is the foam adhesive, a thickness of foam adhesive is greater than or equal to 130 μm. It should be understood that the thickness of the foam adhesive should not be too large, as long as the foam adhesive has the good bending performance and the good recovery deformation ability while having the good adhesive performance. It should be noted that the second adhesive layer15is not only used to bond the auxiliary support layer13and the second back film12, but also enables the flexible display panel10to meet the requirement of the bending radius and maintain the bending shape of the flexible display panel10. Thus, the thickness of the second adhesive layer15mainly depends on the bending radius or a thickness of other film layer of the bending portion103, which is not specifically limited herein.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown inFIGS.3to6, the display module may also include a strain neutral adhesive layer16, which covers an outer side of the bending portion103as well as edge parts of the display portion101and the binding portion102. The bending portion103of the flexible display panel10may be protected by providing the strain neutral adhesive layer16, so as to prevent fracture during the bending. For example, the strain neutral adhesive layer16may be an organic adhesive material.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provides a display apparatus, as shown inFIG.7, which may include the display module described in any of the above embodiments. The structure of the display module will not be described in detail herein. The display apparatus may also include a flexible circuit board17, which may be bound with the binding portion102of the flexible display panel10.

It should be noted that, in addition to the above structure, the display apparatus also includes other necessary components and compositions, such as a cover plate, a touch function layer, a polarizer, a housing, a main circuit board, a power line, etc., which may be supplemented accordingly according to the specific use requirements of the display apparatus by the those skilled in the art, and will not be repeated herein.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a specific type of display apparatus is not specifically limited, and could be any type of the display apparatus commonly used in the related art, such as television, mobile phone, computer, watch, vehicle mounted equipment, medical equipment, etc. Those skilled in the art may select accordingly according to the specific use of the display apparatus, which will not be repeated herein.

Those skilled in the art will easily conceive other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the content disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure. These variations, uses, or adaptations are subject to the general principles of the present disclosure and include common general knowledge or conventional technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are to be regarded as illustrative only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure is pointed out by the appended claims.