Glass Substrate, Method for Manufacturing the Same, Transparent Cover Plate, and Display Device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a glass substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, a transparent cover plate, and a display device. In a specific embodiment, the glass substrate includes a glass substrate body, which includes a bending area and a non-bending area located outside the bending area. The bending area includes a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and each opening unit includes strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner. This embodiment enables the glass substrate to have excellent bending performance by forming a plurality of repeated opening units in the bending area and each opening unit including strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of display technology. More specifically, it relates to a glass substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, a transparent cover plate, and a display device. Background Art

[0002] With the development of display technology, foldable electronic products have increasingly appeared in the consumer market, and the reliability requirements for foldable and rollable electronic products by various terminals are also getting higher and higher. Samsung has made innovations in the cover plate and took the lead in introducing ultra-thin glass. The addition of ultra-thin glass has improved the depth of creases on the one hand and also greatly improved the surface hardness on the other hand. However, experimental data show that ultra-thin glass is more likely to break when facing the impact of sharp objects. This fatal defect also limits the fact that ultra-thin glass cannot temporarily replace the organic film as the outermost layer material of the cover plate.

[0003] Under such circumstances, existing ultra-thin glass usually forms the cover plate material of the OLED display module together with other organic film materials. However, such a combination has problems with creases during display, and both the touch feeling and wear resistance are inferior to those of glass. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide one to solve at least one of the problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] The first aspect of the present invention provides a glass substrate, including:

[0007] A glass substrate, including a bending area and a non-bending area located outside the bending area, where

[0008] The bending area includes a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening unit includes strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner.

[0009] In some optional embodiments, the opening unit includes a first row of openings, a second row of openings, and a glass body other than the first row of openings and the second row of openings, where

[0010] The first row of openings includes: strip-shaped half-holes located at both side edges and at least one strip-shaped full-hole located in the middle, and the strip-shaped half-holes are opened near the edge side and are half of the strip-shaped full-hole;

[0011] The second row of openings is a strip-shaped full-hole;

[0012] The total opening area of each row of strip-shaped openings is equal.

[0013] In some optional embodiments, the edge of the glass body is arc-shaped.

[0014] In some alternative embodiments,

[0015] The strip-shaped full hole includes two long sides arranged oppositely, and two ends formed by connecting the two long sides;

[0016] The strip-shaped half hole includes two long sides arranged oppositely, and one end formed by connecting the two long sides;

[0017] The end is arc-shaped.

[0018] In some alternative embodiments, the width of the strip-shaped opening gradually decreases from the end.

[0019] In some alternative embodiments, the radius of curvature of the end satisfies:

[0020] 0.1mm ≤ R1 ≤ 0.3mm;

[0021] The glass substrate further satisfies:

[0022] 0.15mm ≤ h1 ≤ 0.5mm;

[0023] 0.1mm ≤ h2 ≤ 0.3mm;

[0024] 0.1 ≤ w1 ≤ 0.4;

[0025] 3.6 ≤ w2 ≤ 6.9,

[0026] wherein, h1 is the half-period width of the opening unit along the direction from the non-bending area to the bending area, h2 is the maximum distance from the central axis of the second row of openings to the edge of the glass body, w1 is the distance between the centers of adjacent ends of adjacent strip-shaped openings in each row of openings, and w2 is the distance from the center of one end of a strip-shaped opening to the center of the end of the next strip-shaped opening far from this end adjacent to this end.

[0027] In some alternative embodiments, the glass substrate further includes a filling layer for filling the strip-shaped opening, and the material of the filling layer includes at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic.

[0028] The second aspect of the present invention provides a transparent cover plate, including the glass substrate described above.

[0029] In some alternative embodiments, the glass cover plate further includes: a first protective layer disposed on one side of the glass substrate.

[0030] In some alternative embodiments, the glass cover plate further includes: a second protective layer disposed on one side of the glass substrate, and the second protective layer is disposed on the same side or opposite side of the first protective layer.

[0031] The third aspect of the present invention provides a display device,

[0032] It includes a support plate arranged in a stacked manner, a glass substrate as described above, an OLED display panel, a polarizer, and a cover plate, and further includes: a fingerprint sensor, which is adhesively bonded to the non-bending area on the side of the glass substrate away from the OLED display panel via an adhesive.

[0033] Or

[0034] It includes an OLED display panel, a polarizer, and a cover plate arranged in a stacked manner on the glass substrate as described above.

[0035] Or

[0036] It includes a support plate, an OLED display panel, a polarizer, and a transparent cover plate as described above arranged in a stacked manner.

[0037] The fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing the glass substrate as described above.

[0038] A glass substrate is formed, and the glass substrate includes a bending area and a non-bending area located outside the bending area, where

[0039] The bending area includes a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening units include strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner.

[0040] In some alternative embodiments, forming the glass substrate further includes:

[0041] Applying acid-proof ink on both sides of the glass base material and curing to form a first glass base material with an acid-proof film;

[0042] Exposing both sides of the first glass base material using a mask, removing the mask, and performing alkali washing on the exposed first glass base material to form a second glass base material;

[0043] Etching the second glass base material and removing the remaining acid-proof film to form the glass substrate.

[0044] In some alternative embodiments, after forming the glass substrate, the method further includes:

[0045] Adhering a mold substrate on a glass carrier plate and adhering the glass substrate on the mold substrate;

[0046] Injecting a filling material into the strip-shaped openings using a dispensing process to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic;

[0047] Removing the glass carrier plate and the mold substrate to form the glass substrate.

[0048] Or

[0049] Adhere a mold substrate to a glass carrier plate, and adhere a glass substrate to the mold substrate;

[0050] Use a doctor blade coating process to coat a filling material to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic;

[0051] Remove the glass carrier plate and the mold substrate to form a glass substrate,

[0052] Or

[0053] Adhere a mold substrate to a glass carrier plate, and adhere a glass substrate to the mold substrate;

[0054] Use an imprint mask to imprint the glass substrate to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic;

[0055] Remove the glass carrier plate, the mold substrate, and the remaining imprint mask after imprinting to form a glass substrate.

[0056] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0057] In view of the existing problems, the present invention provides a glass substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, a transparent cover plate, and a display device. By providing a glass substrate including a bending area and a non-bending area, and setting the bending area to include a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening units include strip-shaped openings arranged in an interleaved manner, the stress is dispersed by the interleaved strip-shaped openings when the bending area is bent, thereby improving the flexibility of the bending area. Even if the thickness of the glass substrate is increased considering the strength problem, excellent bending performance can still be provided, and it has broad application prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] The following further describes in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

[0059] Figure 1 A schematic top view showing a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0060] Figure 2 A schematic top view showing a glass substrate according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 3 Show Figure 2 A schematic enlarged view showing the opening unit in the illustrated embodiment;

[0062] Figure 4a And 4b An exemplary view showing a strip-shaped full hole in a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Figures 5 to 7Schematic cross-sectional view showing a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0064] Figure 8 Schematic flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a glass substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] Figures 9 to 14 Schematic cross-sectional view showing the process of a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention Detailed implementation manners

[0066] To describe the present invention more clearly, the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with embodiments and drawings. Similar components in the drawings are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. Those skilled in the art should understand that the content specifically described below is illustrative rather than restrictive, and should not be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0067] It should be noted that the terms "having", "including", "comprising", etc. described in the present invention have an open meaning, that is, when describing that a module "has", "includes" or "comprises" a first element, a second element and / or a third element, it means that the module includes other elements in addition to the first element, the second element and / or the third element. In addition, the ordinal numbers such as "first", "second" and "third" in the present invention are not intended to limit the specific order, but only to distinguish each part.

[0068] The terms "on...", "formed on...", and "disposed on..." described in the present invention may mean that one layer is directly formed or disposed on another layer, or may mean that one layer is indirectly formed or disposed on another layer, that is, there are other layers between the two layers.

[0069] The inventor has found through research that for the glass substrate included in the existing foldable display device, when used as a cover plate, if relatively thin glass is used, such as ultra-thin glass, in order to improve the strength, an organic film material needs to be laminated on the glass substrate. For such an application, on the one hand, after being bent hundreds of thousands of times, the polymer organic film material laminated on the outermost layer has a change in optical properties due to the crystallization of molecular chain orientation, and the molecular chains tend to be arranged in an orderly manner, resulting in an obvious crease phenomenon still existing macroscopically. For consumers, this phenomenon is relatively unacceptable in terms of the use experience. On the other hand, even with the coating of a hardening layer and an anti-fingerprint layer, the touch feeling of the organic film material is relatively rough compared with that of the glass material, and the touch sliding feeling is relatively astringent; and the scratch resistance is also much different from that of the glass, and scratches, pits and other appearance defects are very likely to occur during use, which is also a major pain point problem for consumers.

[0070] However, if the glass substrate is exposed on the outermost layer, the primary problem to be solved is the contradiction between its thickness and bending performance. As is well known, the thicker the glass, the stronger its impact and drop resistance, but the worse its bending performance.

[0071] To solve at least one of the above problems, as Figure 1 shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a glass substrate, comprising:

[0072] a glass substrate, comprising a bending region 100 and a non-bending region 200 located outside the bending region 100, wherein

[0073] the bending region 100 comprises a plurality of repeated opening units 101 parallel to the bending axis of the bending region 100, and the opening unit 101 comprises strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner.

[0074] In this embodiment, by providing a glass substrate comprising a bending region and a non-bending region, and arranging the bending region to comprise a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending region, and the opening unit comprises strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner, the stress is dispersed by the alternating strip-shaped openings during bending, thereby improving the flexibility of the bending region. Even if the thickness of the glass substrate is increased considering the strength problem, excellent bending performance can still be provided, and it has broad application prospects.

[0075] In a specific example, as Figure 1 shown, the glass substrate comprises a glass substrate as shown in Figure 1 . The glass substrate comprises a bending region 100 and a non-bending region 200. The bending region 100 of the glass substrate can be bent in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface inward or in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface outward around the bending axis AA' as shown in the figure. That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, the axis around which the glass substrate is bent is called the bending axis of the bending region.

[0076] Particularly, in the embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 1 shown, the bending region 100 comprises a plurality of repeated opening units 101 parallel to the bending axis of the bending region 100. That is, a plurality of opening units 101 are arranged periodically in a direction perpendicular to the bending axis AA'. Each opening unit 101 comprises strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner. When the bending region of the glass substrate is bent around the bending axis AA', due to the hollow pattern formed by the staggered extension of the edges of each opening in the alternately arranged strip-shaped openings, the bending stress can be dispersed by the staggered and extended edges, thereby enhancing the toughness of the bending region and greatly improving the bending resistance of the glass substrate.

[0077] It should be noted that the number of cycles of the opening unit 101 is not particularly limited and depends on the design requirements of the specific application scenario. For example, when the specification size of the opening unit 101 is fixed, the number of cycles depends on the target bending shape and bending radius.

[0078] In addition, the specific shape of the strip-shaped opening is not particularly limited. Rectangles, rectangles with rounded corners, long strips with arc-shaped ends, long strips with varying widths, etc. As long as they are arranged repeatedly and staggered, in principle, the edge of the staggered and extended opening can be used to disperse the bending stress, achieving the effect of enhancing the toughness of the bending area. Preferably, compared with Figure 1 the opening shape with only rounded corners shown in the embodiment, Figure 2 the bending performance of the embodiment with the opening end being arc-shaped as shown is more excellent.

[0079] To facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the following further describes the specific embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the enlarged view of one opening unit in the bending area intercepted by the dashed line box in Figure 2 and Figure 2 .

[0080] As Figure 3 shown, the opening unit 101 includes a first row of openings, a second row of openings, and the glass body other than the first row of openings and the second row of openings. For the convenience of identification, the strip-shaped openings are marked with shadows in the figure.

[0081] Specifically, the first row of openings includes: strip-shaped half holes 111 located at both side edges, and at least one strip-shaped full hole 121 located in the middle. The strip-shaped half holes 111 are open on the edge side, and the strip-shaped half holes 111 are half of the strip-shaped full holes 121. The second row of openings are all strip-shaped full holes 121. The total opening area of each row of strip-shaped openings is equal. Specifically in the example of Figure 3 , the first row of openings includes one strip-shaped full hole 121 and two strip-shaped half holes 111, and its total opening area is equivalent to the sum of the areas of two strip-shaped full holes. The second row of openings includes two strip-shaped full holes 121, and its total area is also equivalent to the sum of the areas of two strip-shaped full holes. Through this setting, it can be ensured that the strip-shaped openings can evenly disperse stress during bending, avoiding the fracture of the glass substrate due to uneven stress.

[0082] Therefore, it should also be understood that the spacing between each strip-shaped opening is equal, and the glass body between each strip-shaped full hole and strip-shaped half hole should also be symmetrically arranged with respect to the strip-shaped opening. In some alternative embodiments, the glass substrate satisfies:

[0083] 0.15mm ≤ h1 ≤ 0.5mm;

[0084] 0.1mm ≤ h2 ≤ 0.3mm;

[0085] 0.1 ≤ w1 ≤ 0.4;

[0086] 3.6 ≤ w2 ≤ 6.9,

[0087] Among them, h1 is the half-period width of the periodically perforated unit along the direction from the non-bending area to the bending area, h2 is the maximum distance from the central axis of the second row of openings to the edge of the glass body, w1 is the distance between the centers of adjacent ends of two adjacent strip-shaped openings in each row of openings, and w2 is the distance from the center of one end of a strip-shaped opening to the center of the end of the next strip-shaped opening adjacent to this end and away from this end. Among them, the strip-shaped opening includes two long sides, and the end is the area connecting the two long sides. The half-period means that the width from the center of the end of the first row of openings to the center of the end of the second row of openings is half of the width of the perforated unit.

[0088] Combined with the above description, the arc-shaped edge shape will not concentrate stress at the sharp corners during bending compared to the sharp corners, so that the stress can be well dispersed and the bending toughness of the bending area can be improved. Therefore, preferably, the edge of the glass body is arc-shaped.

[0089] Preferably, as Figure 4a and Figure 4b shown, the ends of the strip-shaped openings are arc-shaped. Specifically, the strip-shaped full hole 121 includes two opposite long sides and two ends formed by connecting the two long sides, the strip-shaped half hole 111 includes two opposite long sides and one end formed by connecting the two long sides, and the ends of the strip-shaped full hole 121 and the strip-shaped half hole 111 are arc-shaped. Optionally, the radius of curvature R1 of the end satisfies: 0.1 mm ≤ R1 ≤ 0.3 mm. Those skilled in the art should understand that although the end is shown as a complete semi-circle in the figure, in actual applications, it is not limited to this. The arc shape can have various radian sizes that meet the design requirements of the radius of curvature, and the design size is also limited by the minimum processing size of the equipment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0090] Continuing to refer to Figure 4a and Figure 4b shown, the width of the strip-shaped opening can be consistent as Figure 4a shown, or it can gradually decrease from the end as Figure 4b shown. Through repeated simulation experiments by the inventor, it is found that when the width of the strip-shaped opening gradually decreases from the end, compared with the shape with a constant width, it has better bending performance. Preferably, the strip-shaped opening should satisfy 0.1 mm ≤ H1 ≤ 0.4 mm. When the width of the strip-shaped opening gradually decreases from the end, the position where the width of the strip-shaped opening is the smallest satisfies 0.1 ≤ H2 ≤ 0.3. In addition, as shown in the figure, when the distance between the centers of the ends at both ends of the strip-shaped opening satisfies: 3.4 ≤ W1 ≤ 6.6, the bending performance of the staggered arrangement of strip-shaped opening shapes is good.

[0091] In some alternative embodiments, when the appearance of the glass substrate is required to be uniform in color, the glass substrate further includes a filling layer for filling the strip-shaped openings. The material of the filling layer can be selected from at least one of optical adhesive (OCA), polyurethane (PU), polyimide (PI), and acrylic (PMMA). Of course, other transparent materials can also be used. More preferably, the refractive index of the material of the filling layer is equal to or slightly greater than the refractive index of the glass substrate itself, so as to reduce or eliminate the fogging phenomenon caused by optical refraction and scattering in the strip-shaped opening area, and achieve the optical consistency of the entire glass substrate.

[0092] In some embodiments of the present invention, when including the filling layer, the glass substrate can be used as a transparent cover plate of a foldable or rollable display panel.

[0093] Generally, the cover plate has a relatively large thickness, high appearance requirements, and a smooth sliding experience is desired when touching. In the prior art, compromises need to be made in terms of thickness, appearance, and touch experience, and often the results of each parameter are only satisfactory. Using the glass substrate provided by the embodiments of the present invention as a transparent cover plate can simultaneously meet the above three requirements because it provides a bending area with excellent bending performance, that is, it can increase the thickness to improve the protection performance of the bending area and the non-bending area, does not affect the display, and can make the user have a smooth touch when sliding the touch screen, and has the natural advantage of glass scratch resistance, and has a wide application prospect.

[0094] Furthermore, in some application scenarios, it may be necessary for the transparent cover plate to have stronger drop resistance and impact resistance. Therefore, in some alternative embodiments, the transparent cover plate further includes a first protective layer disposed on one side of the glass substrate. For example, the first protective layer can be bonded to the light-emitting side of the glass substrate or the backlight side of the glass substrate through an adhesive layer. In addition, according to specific needs, the transparent cover plate can further include a second protective layer disposed on one side of the glass substrate. The second protective layer is disposed on the same side or opposite side as the first protective layer. The second protective layer can be one layer or multiple layers, and those skilled in the art can determine according to specific needs. Optionally, the materials of the first protective layer and the second protective layer can be organic film materials, such as PET, transparent polyimide (CPI), etc.

[0095] As Figures 5 to 7 shown, the glass substrate provided by the above embodiments can also be applied to foldable or rollable display devices. The display device can be any foldable or rollable product or component with a display function, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a television, a monitor, a laptop computer, a digital photo frame, or a navigator.

[0096] Optionally, as Figure 5As shown in the figure, the display device includes a support plate 10-1, a glass substrate 20-1 described in the above embodiment, an OLED display panel 30-1, a polarizer 40-1, and a cover plate 50-1 that are stacked. The display device further includes: a fingerprint sensor 60-1, which is bonded to the non-bending area on the side of the glass substrate 20-1 away from the OLED display panel 30-1 via an adhesive 70-1. Among them, in this embodiment, the glass substrate generally does not need to include a filling layer, and in this embodiment, it is not required that the cover plate 50-1 is the transparent cover plate of the embodiment of the present invention, and it can be an ordinary glass cover plate in the prior art.

[0097] Through this setting, by using the characteristic that the glass in the non-bending area is rigid, the phenomenon of die imprint caused by the fitting and extrusion process of the fingerprint sensor can be avoided. At the same time, because the bending area 100 has staggered strip-shaped openings, the overall bending performance can also be ensured, and the bending property of the display device does not have to be affected due to the addition of a rigid film layer.

[0098] Optionally, the above-mentioned glass substrate is used as the support layer of the display device. As Figure 6 shown, the display device includes an OLED display panel 30-2, a polarizer 40-2, and a cover plate 50-1 that are stacked on the above-mentioned glass substrate 10-2. The glass substrate 10-2 can be bonded to the OLED display panel 30-2 via an adhesive 70-2. Among them, in this embodiment, the glass substrate generally does not need to include a filling layer, and in this embodiment, it is not required that the cover plate 50-1 is the transparent cover plate of the embodiment of the present invention, and it can be an ordinary glass cover plate in the prior art.

[0099] Through this setting, by using the characteristic that the glass is rigid, the supporting ability of the existing stainless steel (SUS) support layer can be provided; at the same time, because the bending area 100 has staggered strip-shaped openings, the overall bending performance can be further improved compared with the existing support layer; in addition, the glass density is only 30% of that of SUS, and using the glass substrate as the support layer can play a role in reducing the weight of the display device.

[0100] Further optionally, the above-mentioned transparent cover plate can be directly used as the cover plate 50-3 in the display device. Specifically, as Figure 7 shown, the display device includes a support plate 10-3, an OLED display panel 30-3, a polarizer 40-3, and the above-mentioned transparent cover plate 50-3 that are stacked. The support layer 10-3 can be bonded to the OLED display panel 30-3 via an adhesive 70-3.

[0101] With this setting, since the glass thickness in the non-bending area is relatively thick, when facing the impact of sharp objects, it has a high enough performance to protect the display panel. At the same time, the bending area has the strip-shaped openings arranged in a staggered manner with the hollow patterns provided in this article, which can also ensure the bending performance and optimize the bending performance and impact resistance of the cover plate of the display device. Of course, according to the above description, the transparent cover plate may include a first protective layer and a second protective layer. The principle of specific embodiments is similar to the above and will not be elaborated here.

[0102] To fabricate the glass substrate of the above embodiments, the present invention also provides a fabrication method, including:

[0103] Forming a glass substrate, the glass substrate includes a bending area and a non-bending area located outside the bending area, where

[0104] The bending area includes a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening units include strip-shaped openings arranged in a staggered manner.

[0105] In this embodiment, by providing a glass substrate including a bending area and a non-bending area, and setting the bending area to include a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening units include strip-shaped openings arranged in a staggered manner, the stress is dispersed by the staggered strip-shaped openings during bending, thereby improving the flexibility of the bending area. Even considering increasing the thickness of the glass substrate due to strength issues, excellent bending performance can still be provided, having broad application prospects.

[0106] Referring to Figures 8 - 11 As shown, the step of forming the glass substrate can specifically be:

[0107] In step S1, an acid-proof ink is coated on both sides of the glass substrate and cured to form a first glass substrate with an acid-proof film.

[0108] Specifically, the glass substrate can be cleaned, and the acid-proof ink can be coated on both sides of the glass substrate by methods such as coating / printing and cured to form the first glass substrate 100-1. Specific coating methods can be, for example, screen printing, yellow light, pad printing and other process methods. During coating / printing, it is necessary to ensure that the glass surface will not be damaged by the ink coating tool. The clamping jigs, equipment, etc. used for coating / printing can share the clamping jigs, equipment, etc. used for glass ink printing, and there is no need to purchase acid-proof ink printing equipment separately. And the acid-proof ink needs to have the function of being resistant to strong acids, and at least ensure that there is no damage after spraying or soaking in the etching solution for 1 hour, and the etching solution will not penetrate the acid-proof ink to damage the glass within the specified time, and this specified time is the time for forming strip-shaped openings in the etching solution later. In addition, the acid-proof ink needs to have the characteristic of being easily soluble in alkali after being irradiated by light of a specific wavelength, such as photoresist ink. This photoresist ink can be positive photoresist ink or negative photoresist ink.

[0109] The following process of forming the strip-shaped opening pattern is described using a positive photoresist ink. For the pattern formation process of a negative photoresist ink, only the pattern of the mask needs to be adjusted to be complementary to the following process. Similar to the negative photoresist, it will not be elaborated herein.

[0110] In step S2, the two sides of the first glass substrate 100-1 are exposed using a mask, the mask is removed, and the exposed first glass substrate is alkali-washed to form a second glass substrate 100-2.

[0111] Specifically, the glass can be clamped on both sides by a mask with a strip-shaped opening pattern in the bending area and aligned up and down using alignment marks. The clamping method can adopt roll-to-roll laminating. Since a positive photoresist ink is used in this example, the pattern on the mask in this step is the same as the pattern of the bending area and non-bending area of the glass substrate to be formed. Using this mask, the two sides are exposed using light of the above specific wavelength. After exposure, the mask is removed, and it is placed in a weak alkaline solution to wash away the exposed part to obtain the second glass substrate 100-2.

[0112] In this second glass substrate 100-2, the ink in the acid-proof ink on both sides of the glass substrate corresponding to the area where the strip-shaped openings are to be formed on the glass substrate is washed away by the weak base. Figure 10 The area corresponding to the removed strip-shaped half-holes in the cross-sectional view is represented by a dot area.

[0113] In step S3, the second glass substrate is acid-etched and the remaining acid-proof ink is removed to form a glass substrate. Among them, in the cross-sectional view, the cross-sectional view of the strip-shaped half-holes is represented by a dot area, and the cross-sectional view of the strip-shaped full-holes in the second row of openings is represented by a dashed box.

[0114] Specifically, the second glass substrate 100-2 is placed in a solution such as hydrofluoric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid for etching. The glass part corresponding to the strip-shaped openings is etched away because there is no protection of the acid-proof ink, thus forming staggered strip-shaped openings. The remaining acid-proof film is removed to form the glass substrate described above.

[0115] In the above manner, using the acid-proof ink with photoresist properties, a manufacturing method with a simple process can be provided, enabling the easy formation of the above complex and delicate hollow patterns with the help of existing equipment. By providing a glass substrate including a bending area and a non-bending area, and setting the bending area to include multiple repeating opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening units include staggered strip-shaped openings, the stress can be dispersed by the staggered strip-shaped openings during bending, thereby improving the flexibility of the bending area. Even considering increasing the thickness of the glass substrate due to strength issues, excellent bending performance can still be provided, having a wide range of application prospects.

[0116] In some alternative embodiments, when the glass substrate needs to include a filling layer, the method shown in Figures 12 to 14 can be used:

[0117] Optionally, as shown in Figure 12 , adhere the mold substrate to the glass carrier 1-1, and adhere the glass substrate to the mold substrate;

[0118] Inject a filling material into the strip-shaped openings by means of a dispensing process to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide and acrylic;

[0119] Remove the glass carrier and the mold substrate to form a glass substrate.

[0120] Optionally, as shown in Figure 13 , adhere the mold substrate 2-2 to the glass carrier 1-2, and adhere the glass substrate to the mold substrate;

[0121] Coat the filling material by means of a doctor blade process to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide and acrylic;

[0122] Remove the glass carrier and the mold substrate to form a glass substrate.

[0123] Further optionally, as shown in Figure 14 , adhere the mold substrate 2-3 to the glass carrier 1-3, and adhere the glass substrate to the mold substrate;

[0124] Imprint the glass substrate using an imprint mask to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide and acrylic;

[0125] Remove the glass carrier, the mold substrate and the remaining imprint mask after imprinting to form a glass substrate.

[0126] The refractive index of the material of the filling layer needs to be equal to or slightly greater than the refractive index of the glass substrate itself, so as to reduce or eliminate the fogging phenomenon caused by optical refraction and scattering in the strip-shaped opening area, and achieve the optical consistency of the entire glass substrate.

[0127] In view of the existing problems at present, the present invention provides a glass substrate and its manufacturing method, a transparent cover plate, and a display device. By providing a glass substrate including a bending area and a non-bending area, and arranging the bending area to include a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening units include staggered strip-shaped openings, the stress is dispersed by the staggered strip-shaped openings during bending, so as to improve the flexibility of the bending area. Even if the thickness of the glass substrate is increased considering the strength problem, excellent bending performance can still be provided, and it has a wide application prospect.

[0128] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, rather than limitations on the implementation manners of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is impossible to list all the implementation manners here. Any obvious changes or modifications derived from the technical solutions of the present invention still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A glass substrate, characterized in that, it comprises: a glass substrate including a bent region and a non-bent region outside the bent region, wherein the bent region includes a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bent region, and the opening units include strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating pattern, the opening unit includes a first row of openings, a second row of openings, and a glass body other than the first row of openings and the second row of openings, wherein the first row of openings includes strip-shaped half-holes located at both side edges and at least one strip-shaped full-hole located in the middle, and the strip-shaped half-holes are opened near the edge side and are half of the strip-shaped full-hole; the second row of openings is a strip-shaped full-hole; the total opening area of each row of strip-shaped openings is equal.

2. The glass substrate according to claim 1, characterized in that, the edge of the glass body is arc-shaped.

3. The glass substrate according to claim 1, characterized in that, the strip-shaped full-hole includes two long sides arranged oppositely and two end parts formed by connecting the two long sides; the strip-shaped half-hole includes two long sides arranged oppositely and one end part formed by connecting the two long sides; the end part is arc-shaped.

4. The glass substrate according to claim 3, characterized in that, the width of the strip-shaped opening gradually decreases from the end part.

5. The glass substrate according to claim 3, characterized in that, the radius of curvature of the end part satisfies: 0.1mm ≤ R1 ≤ 0.3mm; the glass substrate further satisfies: 0.15mm ≤ h1 ≤ 0.5mm; 0.1mm ≤ h2 ≤ 0.3mm; 0.1≤w1≤0.4; 3.6≤w2≤6.9, wherein, h1 is the half-period width of the opening unit along the direction from the non-bent region to the bent region, h2 is the maximum distance from the central axis of the second row of openings to the edge of the glass body, w1 is the distance between the centers of adjacent end parts of two adjacent strip-shaped openings in each row of openings, and w2 is the distance from the center of one end part of a strip-shaped opening to the center of the end part of the next strip-shaped opening far from this end part adjacent to this end part.

6. The glass substrate according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, it further includes a filling layer for filling the strip-shaped openings, and the material of the filling layer includes at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic.

7. A transparent cover plate, characterized in that, it includes the glass substrate according to claim 5.

8. The transparent cover plate according to claim 7, characterized in that, it further includes: a first protective layer provided on one side of the glass substrate.

9. The transparent cover plate according to claim 8, characterized in that, it further includes: a second protective layer provided on one side of the glass substrate, and the second protective layer is provided on the same side as or opposite to the first protective layer.

10. A display device, characterized in that, it includes a support plate, the glass substrate according to any one of claims 1-5, an OLED display panel, a polarizer, and a cover plate stacked, and further includes: a fingerprint sensor, and the fingerprint sensor is bonded via an adhesive on the non-bent region on the side of the glass substrate away from the OLED display panel, or It includes an OLED display panel, a polarizer, and a cover plate that are stacked on the glass substrate described in any one of claims 1-5. Or It includes a support plate, an OLED display panel, a polarizer, and a transparent cover plate described in any one of claims 7-9 that are stacked.

11. A method for manufacturing the glass substrate described in any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that a glass substrate is formed, the glass substrate includes a bending area and a non-bending area located outside the bending area, where the bending area includes a plurality of repeated opening units parallel to the bending axis of the bending area, and the opening units include strip-shaped openings arranged in an alternating manner.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the forming of the glass substrate further includes: coating an acid-proof ink on both sides of the glass substrate and curing to form a first glass substrate with an acid-proof film; exposing both sides of the first glass substrate using a mask, removing the mask, and performing an alkali wash on the exposed first glass substrate to form a second glass substrate; etching the second glass substrate with acid and removing the remaining acid-proof film to form the glass substrate.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that after the forming of the glass substrate, the method further includes: adhering a mold substrate on a glass carrier plate and adhering the glass substrate on the mold substrate; injecting a filling material into the strip-shaped openings using a dispensing process to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic; removing the glass carrier plate and the mold substrate to form the glass substrate, or adhering a mold substrate on a glass carrier plate and adhering the glass substrate on the mold substrate; coating a filling material using a doctor blade process to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic; removing the glass carrier plate and the mold substrate to form the glass substrate, or adhering a mold substrate on a glass carrier plate and adhering the glass substrate on the mold substrate; imprinting the glass substrate using an imprint mask to form a filling layer, and the material of the filling layer is at least one of optical glue, polyurethane, polyimide, and acrylic; removing the glass carrier plate, the mold substrate, and the remaining imprint mask after imprinting to form the glass substrate.

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