Display module and electronic device

Abstract

The present application provides a display module and an electronic device. The display module includes a flexible display panel, a flexible circuit board, and a conductive connection member. The display panel includes a display portion, a bending portion, and a bonding portion that are sequentially connected. In the thickness direction of the display module, the bonding portion is spaced opposite to the display portion and is located on the non-display side of the display portion. In the width direction of the display module, the bending portion is located on the side portion of the display module. A protective layer is laminated on the surface of the bending portion facing away from the display portion. The protective layer includes a first section that extends towards the bonding portion. The flexible circuit board includes a main body and an extension section. The main body includes a side surface, and the extension section protrudes from the side surface. The extension section includes a conductive connection area. The flexible circuit board is laminated on the bonding portion and is electrically connected to the display panel. The conductive connection member is laminated on the surface of the flexible circuit board facing away from the display panel and is electrically conductive to the conductive connection area. The free end of the conductive connection member is grounded. In the thickness direction of the display module, at least a part of the extension section is opposite to the first section, and the conductive connection area faces the first section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of display technologies, and particularly to a display module and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] At present, static electricity is inevitably generated during the use of electronic devices. After the static electricity appears, if it is not discharged or eliminated in time, a discharge phenomenon may occur due to direct contact or induction, that is, the Electro Static Discharge (ESD) effect. And the static electricity will enter the display panel from the side of the electronic device, thereby damaging the display panel and affecting the quality of the electronic device. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a display module and an electronic device to solve the technical problem that the ESD effect in the prior art damages the display panel.

[0004] To solve the above problems, in a first aspect, this application provides a display module, which includes a flexible display panel, a flexible circuit board, and a connection member;

[0005] The display panel includes a display portion, a bending portion, and a bonding portion that are connected in sequence; in the thickness direction of the display module, the bonding portion is spaced apart from and located on the non-display side of the display portion, and in the width direction of the display module, the bending portion is located on the side of the display module.

[0006] A protective layer is laminated on the surface of the bending portion facing away from the display portion; the protective layer includes a first section that extends towards the bonding portion.

[0007] The flexible circuit board includes a main body and an extension section. The main body includes a side surface, and the extension section protrudes from the side surface and extends away from the side surface. The extension section includes a connection area.

[0008] The flexible circuit board is laminated on the bonding portion and electrically connected to the display panel; the connection member is laminated on the surface of the flexible circuit board facing away from the display panel and electrically conducts with the connection area. The free end of the connection member is grounded. In the thickness direction of the display module, at least a part of the extension section is opposite to the bending portion, and the connection area faces the first section.

[0009] In this embodiment, by using the layer structure of the flexible circuit board as the protective layer for the dielectric lap edge and the internal conducting component, the structure is simple and easy to implement, without occupying additional space. That is, the conducting component for grounding uses the flexible circuit board bound to the display panel as an intermediate medium to conduct away the static electricity on the surface of the protective layer on the side of the panel. When a user holds the side of the electronic device, static electricity will be generated, and the static charge will enter the side of the display module through the frame gap; when external static electricity passes through the protective layer, since the conducting area of the extension section and the second section of the protective layer overlap in the X-axis direction, when the static charge accumulates to a certain extent, the static electricity can also be attracted by the conducting area, and conducted through the extension section and the flexible circuit board to the conducting component; this avoids static electricity damaging the bent part of the display panel, ensures the yield of the display module, does not require additional occupation of the internal space of the electronic device, can improve the battery life, and also ensures that the end face distance from the vertex O (the vertex of the arc on the side of the protective layer facing away from the bent part) to the first section is less than the distance from the vertex to the side of the flexible circuit board, preventing the grounding of the conducting component from being affected by tolerance problems and avoiding the display part from being broken down by static electricity, thereby improving the quality of the electronic device.

[0010] In one embodiment, the flexible circuit board includes a conduction part, the conduction part is insulated from the body and electrically conducts with the conduction area of the extension section, and one end of the conduction part exposes the surface of the flexible circuit board and is electrically connected to the conducting component. In this embodiment, the conduction path for conducting static electricity between the conducting component and the conduction area is formed by the conduction part provided inside the flexible circuit board, avoiding the problem that the free end of the conducting component cannot be lapped with the grounding point, and the conduction part is insulated from the body of the flexible circuit board, preventing static electricity from affecting the operation of other functional devices in the body, and ensuring the normal operation of the electronic device while providing static electricity protection.

[0011] In one embodiment, the conduction part is located inside the body and is a hole arranged along the thickness direction of the body. An insulating layer insulated from the body is provided in the hole, and a metal layer electrically connected to the conducting component and the extension section is also provided, and the metal layer exposes the surface of the body. In this embodiment, in the field of flexible circuit boards, the process of forming holes in the circuit board layer structure is relatively mature and is a common means to achieve mutual conduction between the multi-layer structures of the flexible circuit board. Directly using the body of the flexible circuit board to set the conduction part is easy to implement, can save process costs, and improve processing efficiency.

[0012] In one embodiment, in the thickness direction of the display module, the extension section is laminated with the first section, and the connection area contacts the surface of the first section. The extending direction of the extension section intersects with the extending direction of the conduction part and is electrically connected thereto. The contact between the connection area and the surface of the first section can achieve a more stable electrical connection, can conduct static electricity more stably, and avoid damage to the bending part of the display panel caused by static electricity. Moreover, when the area of the connection area is larger, the amount of conductive electricity is larger, which can increase the static electricity conduction speed and accelerate the efficiency of static electricity removal.

[0013] In one embodiment, the conduction part is located on the side of the extension section away from the side surface. The conduction part is a hole arranged along the thickness direction of the extension section. In the thickness direction of the display module, the conduction part penetrates through the extension section to connect the connection member and the connection area, and the conduction part is insulated from the body and the extension section. In this embodiment, arranging the conduction part on the extension section can reduce the occupation of the area of the body, increase the complete area of the body, thereby enhancing the strength of the body. At the same time, the mature via process can save the process cost and improve the processing efficiency.

[0014] In one embodiment, in the thickness direction of the display module, the extension section is spaced opposite to the first section. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to contact the extension section with the protective layer, and the assembly accuracy requirement is not high, which simplifies the assembly method. Moreover, the layer structure of the flexible printed circuit board can be arbitrarily selected to form the extension section, improving the design convenience. In addition, the extension section can be directly formed by cutting the redundant part of the flexible circuit board between the extension section and the bonding part, which simplifies the process steps and improves the processing efficiency.

[0015] In one embodiment, a functional area is provided on the surface of the circuit board, and the conduction part is electrically connected to the connection member through the functional area. The functional area is used to attract static electricity outside the protective layer into the conduction part. The contact area between the functional area and the connection member is large, the effect of conducting static electricity is better, and the static electricity protection ability is stronger.

[0016] In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board includes a plurality of conductive layers and a plurality of insulating layers, and the plurality of conductive layers and the plurality of insulating layers are alternately laminated along the thickness direction of the display module. The extension section is formed by at least one of the conductive layers and the insulating layer laminated with the at least one conductive layer extending in parallel and away from the body direction. The extension section is directly formed during the manufacturing process of the flexible circuit board, which simplifies the process, saves the processing cost, and improves the production efficiency.

[0017] In one embodiment, the display module further includes a back film, a support layer and a connection layer; the back film, the support layer and the connection layer are stacked between the display portion and the binding portion; the free end of the conductive member is electrically connected to the support layer to achieve a grounding setting. The back film, the support layer and the connection layer are stacked between the display portion and the binding portion, so that the binding portion can be more stably supported, thereby improving the stability of the electronic device. It is important that in this embodiment, the conductive member, the flexible circuit board and the support layer are stacked, and in the thickness direction, the free end of the conductive member can be directly bent and connected to the support layer to achieve grounding, without the need for precise matching in the width direction of the display module, thereby ensuring assembly accuracy and grounding reliability of the conductive member.

[0018] In one embodiment, a relief area is provided on the body of the flexible printed circuit board, the display module includes a driver chip, the driver chip is provided on the binding portion and is located in the relief area, and the conductive member covers the relief area in the thickness direction of the display module. The relief area can accommodate the driver chip, reduce the thickness of the display module, and make the electronic device thinner and lighter.

[0019] In one embodiment, the conductive member is a conductive cloth, which is a common flexible conductive member. Using the deformable conductive cloth as the conductive member can utilize the internal space of the display module, which is more flexible in design.

[0020] On the other hand, the present application also provides an electronic device, which includes the display module and a main body, wherein the display module is stacked on one side of the main body, and the main body can drive the display module to be flattened or folded. The electronic device uses the display module to ensure the screen display effect and increase the service life of the screen.

[0021] In one embodiment, the electronic device includes a short-range antenna module and a cellular antenna module, and the main body includes a first shell and a second shell, the short-range antenna module is distributed at the periphery of the first shell, and the cellular antenna module is distributed at the periphery of the second shell. The display module provided in the present application can achieve the effect of electrostatic protection by only setting an extension section on the flexible circuit board and connecting it with the protective layer. Not only does it not need to increase the pad printing area to affect the design of the antenna, it greatly enhances the flexibility of the overall antenna architecture design, and the space suitable for antenna design around the electronic device is greatly increased; it also eliminates the process of pad printing and applying conductive silver paste, significantly reducing the cost of electrostatic protection.

[0022] In summary, the display module provided by the present application forms a path between the protective layer, the extension section and the conductive member to transfer static electricity, thereby preventing static electricity from damaging the display panel and ensuring the quality of the electronic device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the background art, the accompanying drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application or the background art will be described below.

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the electronic device in the folded state provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic structural diagram of the electronic device shown in the unfolded state:

[0026] Figure 3a is Figure 2 a partial structural sectional view of the electronic device shown in the A-A direction, where the extension section and the conduction part are not shown;

[0027] Figure 3b is Figure 3a a partial structural exploded view of the electronic device shown;

[0028] Figure 3c is Figure 3a a sectional view of the electronic device shown including a flexible circuit board in another embodiment;

[0029] Figure 4 is Figure 3a a schematic structural diagram of the first embodiment of the display module shown;

[0030] Figure 5 is Figure 4 a partial structural plan view of the first embodiment of the display module shown;

[0031] Figure 6 is Figure 3a a schematic structural diagram of the second embodiment of the display module shown;

[0032] Figure 7 is Figure 6 a partial structural plan view of the second embodiment of the display module shown;

[0033] Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of the electronic device provided by the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0034] The embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0035] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 which is a schematic structural diagram of the electronic device 500 provided by the present application in the folded state, Figure 2It is a schematic structural diagram of the unfolded state of the electronic device 500 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device 500 can be in an unfolded state or a folded state; generally, the electronic device 500 is used in the unfolded state, and in the folded state, the electronic device 500 is mostly in a closed mode for easy carrying.

[0036] For ease of description, the width direction of the electronic device 500 is defined as the X direction, the length direction is defined as the Y direction, and the thickness direction is defined as the Z direction. The X direction, Y direction, and Z direction are perpendicular to each other in pairs.

[0037] The electronic device 500 includes, but is not limited to, electronic products such as mobile phones, tablet computers, personal digital assistants, laptop computers, wearable devices, etc. that use flexible display panels. In the embodiments of the present application, the electronic device 500 is described by taking a folding mobile phone as an example.

[0038] The electronic device 500 includes a main body 100 and a display module 200. The display module 200 is installed on the main body 100. The main body 100 includes a first housing 110 and a second housing 120. The first housing 110 and the second housing 120 are connected by a rotating structure to achieve the rotational connection between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120, and the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 can rotate relative to each other through a rotating mechanism, so that the electronic device 500 can be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state. The first housing 110 and the second housing 120 are used to accommodate electronic components and structural components such as the processor, circuit board, and camera module of the electronic device 500. The display module 200 is stacked on one side of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120. The side of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 facing away from the display module 200 is the outer surface of the electronic device 500.

[0039] For convenience of description, the width direction of the display module 200 is defined as the X direction, the length direction is defined as the Y direction, and the thickness direction is defined as the Z direction.

[0040] The first housing 110 includes a first side frame 112, and the first side frame 112 surrounds a part of the perimeter of the display module 200. The second housing 120 includes a second side frame 122, and the second side frame 122 surrounds another part of the perimeter of the display module 200. The first side frame 112 and the second side frame 122 serve as the peripheral outer shell of the electronic device 500, that is, the part that the user can hold with the hand when using the electronic device 500.

[0041] Please refer to Figure 3a 、 Figure 3b and Figure 3c , Figure 3a is Figure 2 A partial structural cross-sectional view of the electronic device 500 shown in the A-A direction, in which the extension section 350 and the conduction section 360 are not shown;Figure 3b is Figure 3a a partial structural exploded view of the electronic device shown; Figure 3c is Figure 3a a cross-sectional view of the electronic device shown including a flexible circuit board according to another embodiment.

[0042] The display module 200 includes a display panel 210, a cover plate 270, a driving chip 290, a connection member 260, and a flexible circuit board 300. The display panel 210 is a flexible display panel, such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel, an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display panel, etc. That is to say, the display module 200 in this embodiment is a flexible display module, and drives the display panel 210 to fold when the first housing 110 folds relative to the second housing 120.

[0043] The display panel 210 and the cover plate 270 are stacked. The cover plate 270 is a light-transmitting plate-like structure. The cover plate 270 is used to protect the display panel 210, and the cover plate 270 can transmit the image light emitted by the display panel 210.

[0044] Specifically, the display panel 210 includes a display area 210a and a non-display area 210b. The display area 210a is used to display images and operate the display module 200. The non-display area 210b is an area that does not display and surrounds at least one side edge of the display area 210a. In the non-display area 210b, light-shielding structures such as a light-shielding ink layer and a light-shielding tape are usually provided on the surface of the cover plate 270 close to the display panel 210. The part of the cover plate 270 opposite to the display area 210a is a light-transmitting part to allow the image light generated in the display area to pass through, thereby realizing image display.

[0045] The display panel 210 includes a display portion 211, a bending portion 214, and a bonding portion 217. The bending portion 214 is located between the display portion 211 and the bonding portion 217 and connects the display portion 211 and the bonding portion 217. The display portion 211 is located in the display area 210a, the bending portion 214 is located in the non-display area 210b, and the bonding portion 217 is located on the back of the display portion 211 and is spaced opposite to the display portion 211. Among them, the bending portion 214 at least includes a partial arc segment.

[0046] The display portion 211 includes a display surface 212 and a backlight surface 213, and the display surface 212 and the backlight surface 213 are arranged opposite to each other. The cover plate 270 covers the display surface 212, and the display side of the display portion 211 is the display surface 212, which is used to display text, images, videos, etc. of the display panel 210.

[0047] The display module 200 further includes a structural layer 280, which includes a polarizer and a transparent adhesive layer (not labeled in the figure). The polarizer and the transparent adhesive layer are connected between the display surface 212 of the display unit 211 and the cover plate 270. The polarizer is used to reduce the influence of reflected light on the display effect of the display module 200. The polarizer can be directly formed on the display area 210a or adhered to the display area 210a through an adhesive layer. The transparent adhesive layer is disposed between the polarizer and the cover plate 270 and is used to bond the display panel 210 with the polarizer to the cover plate 270, and the transparent adhesive layer can transmit the image light emitted from the display area. In some embodiments, the transparent adhesive layer is an optically clear adhesive (OCA). It can be understood that, in addition to the polarizer and the transparent adhesive layer, other structures such as a touch layer may be included on the side of the display surface 212, which is not specifically limited herein.

[0048] The bonding portion 217 and the display portion 211 are stacked, and the bonding portion 217 is located on the back of the display portion 211, specifically on the side of the backlight surface 213 of the display portion 211. The bonding portion 217 includes a bonding surface 218, and the bonding surface 218 is away from the backlight surface 213 and faces the same direction as the backlight surface 213. The bonding portion 217 is used to bond the flexible circuit board 300 and achieve electrical connection between the display panel 210 and the flexible circuit board 300. In this embodiment, the driving chip 290 is mounted on the bonding surface 218 and is electrically connected to the display panel 210. The bonding portion 217 can be understood as an area for introducing signals and electric power to the display portion 211. The bonding portion 217 is provided with leads and pads for transmitting signals and electric power, and the leads pass through the bending portion 214 to the display portion 211.

[0049] The display module 200 further includes a back film 220, a support layer 230, and a connection layer 240. In this embodiment, the back film 220, the support layer 230, and the connection layer 240 are stacked in sequence. The support layer 230 is located between the back film 220 and the connection layer 240 and connects the first back film 220 and the connection layer 240. The back film 220 is connected to the bonding portion 217; the connection layer 240 is connected to the backlight surface 213 of the display portion 211. The support layer 230 is made of a conductive material, and the back film 220 is made of an insulating material. The back film 220, the support layer 230, and the connection layer 240 connect the bonding portion 217 and the display portion 211 and support between the display portion 211 and the bonding portion 217.

[0050] The bent portion 214 is located at the side of the display panel 210, and when the display module 200 is installed on the main body 100, the bent portion 214 is adjacent to the side frames (112, 122) and faces the side frames (112, 122). Specifically, the bent portion 214 is generally arc-shaped, including a first surface 215 and a second surface 216, and the second surface 216 is disposed opposite to the first surface 215. The second surface 216 faces and connects to the display portion 211 and the bonding portion 217; a part of the first surface 215 faces the side frames (112, 122).

[0051] The protective layer 250 covers the first surface 215 of the bent portion 214, and the two ends thereof extend to the bonding surface 218 of the bonding portion 217 and the display surface 212 of the display portion 211 respectively. The contact part of the protective layer 250 with the first surface 215 is insulated to prevent the protective layer 250 from being short-circuited with the bent portion 214. At the same time, the protective layer 250 can also be used to protect the bent portion 214 to avoid physical damage caused by the exposure of the bent portion 214 of the display panel 210. Specifically, the cross-section of the protective layer 250 is generally U-shaped, including a second section 251 and a first section 252. The second section 251 is located on one side of the display surface 212 (inside the non-display area 210b), and the end surface of the second section 251 is connected to the display surface 212 (actually, the junction of the display portion 211 and the bent portion 214). The first section 252 is located on one side of the backlight surface 213 and is connected to the bonding surface 218 (actually, the junction of the bonding portion 217 and the bent portion 214). An arc section (not marked in the figure) is between the second section 251 and the first section 252, and the arc section is located at the side of the display module 200 and also at the side of the electronic device 500.

[0052] The flexible printed circuit board 300 is a printed circuit board made of a flexible insulating substrate (mainly polyimide or polyester film), and can be freely bent, wound, and folded. The flexible printed circuit board 300 has a multi-layer structure. The flexible printed circuit board 300 includes a main body 300A, a conduction portion 360, and an extension section 350, and the extension section 350 protrudes from the main body 300A and extends away from the main body 300A. The main body 300A includes several conductive layers 300a and several insulating layers 300b, and the conductive layers 300a and the insulating layers 300b are alternately stacked along the thickness direction of the display module 200; that is, there is an insulating layer 300b spaced between every two adjacent conductive layers 300a. The conductive layers 300a are used to arrange metal traces. Usually, the insulating layer 300b is located on the surface of the flexible printed circuit board 300, and there are solder pads and pins to connect the traces of the conductive layers 300a, facilitating the connection of external electronic devices. One end of the flexible printed circuit board 300 is electrically connected to the display panel 210, and the other end is electrically connected to the circuit board of the main body 100. Thus, the signals and electric power output by the circuit board are transmitted to the display module 200 to control the display panel 210 to display text, images, and videos.

[0053] The main body 300A includes a mounting surface 310, a functional surface 320, and a side surface 330. The mounting surface 310 and the functional surface 320 are arranged opposite to each other. The side surface 330 connects the mounting surface 310 and the functional surface 320, and the side surface 330 faces the bending portion 214. Among them, the mounting surface 310 and the functional surface 320 are two outer surfaces of the flexible circuit board 300, and the conductive layer 300a is located between the mounting surface 310 and the functional surface 320. The functional surface 320 is the surface of the insulating layer 300b, and is provided with pads and pins for connecting electronic devices. The functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300 is used to mount various electronic devices. The mounting surface 310 of the flexible circuit board 300 is attached to the bonding surface 218 of the bonding portion 217 for the connection and electrical conduction between the flexible circuit board 300 and the display panel 210. It can be understood that the mounting surface 310 and the functional surface 320 are also two surfaces of the flexible circuit board 300. The conductive layer 300a and the insulating layer 300b are the specific layer structures of the flexible circuit board 300.

[0054] An avoidance area 340 can also be provided on the flexible circuit board 300. The opening of the avoidance area 340 is located on the functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300, and the avoidance area 340 is recessed from the functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300 towards the mounting surface 310. Exemplarily, the avoidance area 340 can be used to set the driving chip 290. The avoidance area 340 can penetrate the flexible circuit board 300 entirely, or can penetrate part of the flexible circuit board 300, such as Figure 3c , which is to penetrate part of the flexible circuit board 300.

[0055] The conducting member 260 of the display module 200 is a deformable conductive cloth. The conducting member 260 is laminated on the functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300. The part of the conducting member 260 extending out of the functional surface 320 is laminated with the bonding portion 217 of the display panel 210. The free end 261 of the conducting member 260 extending out of the functional surface 320 is attached to and conducts with the support layer 230. The conducting member 260 is used to conduct away the accumulated static charges.

[0056] Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , Figure 4 which is Figure 3a a schematic structural diagram of the first embodiment of the display module 200 shown in Figure 5 and Figure 4 is a partial structural plan view of the first embodiment of the display module 200 shown in

[0057] In this embodiment, the extension section 350a extends out of the side surface 330 and extends upward (in the thickness direction) above the bending section 214 away from the side surface 330. Specifically, the extension section 350a of this embodiment extends parallel to the flexible circuit board 300 above the protective layer 250 (in the Z-axis direction) and contacts the second section 251 of the protective layer 250. The extension section 350a includes at least one conductive layer 300a and at least one insulating layer 300b laminated with the conductive layer 300a. In this embodiment, the extension section 350a includes one conductive layer 300a and one insulating layer 300b; actually, the extension section 350a is formed by one insulating layer 300b and one conductive layer 300a laminated with this insulating layer 300b. Of course, it can also be two or more layers. The extension section 350a extends from any one of the multiple insulating layers 300b and conductive layers 300a and one conductive layer 300a laminated with this insulating layer 300b. The extension section 350a can extend from the intermediate layer of the flexible circuit board 300, so as to ensure the strength of the extension section 350a.

[0058] A conducting connection area 351a is arranged on the extension section 350a. The conducting connection area 351a is located on the surface of the extension section 350a facing the bonding part 217 of the display panel 210. The conducting connection area 351a is used to contact and conduct with the first section 252 of the protective layer 250. Exemplarily, the conductive layer 300a can be a copper foil layer. The conducting connection area 351a belongs to a part of the conductive layer 300a and can be realized by a copper leakage design.

[0059] A conduction part 360a is also arranged on the flexible circuit board 300. The conduction part 360a extends along the thickness direction of the flexible circuit board 300, and one end exposes the functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300 for electrically connecting with the conducting connector 260. Specifically, the conduction part 360a in this embodiment is in a hole shape and can be a through hole or a blind hole. The hole wall of the conduction part 360a has a conductive metal layer, which can realize current conduction. In other embodiments, the conduction part 360a can also be a columnar body of conductive metal, which is arranged inside the flexible circuit board 300. Or, the conduction part 360a can also be a metal trace, connecting the conducting connection area 351a and extending out of the functional surface 320.

[0060] In this embodiment, a functional area 321a is further provided on the functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300. The functional area 321a is used to contact and conduct with the conducting member 260. Exemplarily, the functional area 321a can also be implemented by a copper flashing design, that is, a copper flashing design is made on a part of the insulating layer 300b forming the functional surface 320 to expose a part of the underlying conductive layer 300a. The opening of the conduction part 360a is located in the functional area 321a of the flexible circuit board 300, and the conduction part 360a extends from the functional area 321a of the flexible circuit board 300 to the mounting surface 310. Exemplarily, the through-hole-shaped conduction part 360a can penetrate the flexible circuit board 300 in the thickness direction and extend from the functional area 321a to the mounting surface 310. It can be understood that the functional surface 320 and the mounting surface 310 can also be the surfaces of the conductive layer 300a, and an insulating treatment is performed, such as coating an ink layer. Therefore, in other embodiments, it is not limited whether the outermost layer is the insulating layer 300b or the conductive layer 300a in the thickness direction.

[0061] In this embodiment, in the thickness direction of the display module 200, the flexible circuit board 300 is laminated on the bonding surface 218 of the bonding part 217, the extension section 350a is located above the protective layer 250, and the conduction area 351a contacts and conducts with the first section 252 of the protective layer 250. The maximum contact surfaces of the extension section 350a and the second section 251 in this embodiment are both the conduction area 351a, which can be fixed by soldering or by adhering with conductive glue. Thus, the larger the contact area, the better the antistatic conduction effect between the conduction area 351a and the first section 252. The contact areas of the conduction area 351a and the second section 251 are all copper flashing areas.

[0062] When the user holds the side of the handheld electronic device 500 (i.e., the frame position), static electricity will be generated. The static electricity charge will enter the side of the display module 200 through the frame gap. Since the display panel 210 itself is relatively thin, the bending part has a weak ability to resist static electricity and is easily damaged. The first surface 215 of the bending part 214 is laminated with a protective layer 250. The static electricity is guided away along the protective layer 250 through the extension section 350a to the conducting member 260, avoiding damage to the bending part 214 of the display panel 210. Further, along the width direction of the display module 200, the distance A from the vertex O (the vertex of the arc on the side of the protective layer 250 facing away from the bending part 214) to the first section 252 is less than the distance B from the vertex to the side surface 330 of the flexible circuit board 300. The external static electricity passes through the protective layer 250, flows to the extension section 350a of the flexible circuit board 300, contacts and conducts with the second section 251 of the protective layer 250 through the conducting area 351a. Therefore, the static electricity charge in the protective layer 250 will enter the conducting area 351a and reach the conducting part 360a of the flexible circuit board 300 through the conduction of the conducting layer 300a of the extension section 350a, and then reach the functional area 321a along the conducting part 360a. Since the functional area 321a is in contact with and conducts with the conducting member 260, the conducting member 260 can guide the static electricity charge from the functional area 321a of the flexible circuit board 300 to the support layer 230, achieving the grounding effect, that is, eliminating static electricity, avoiding damage to the display part 211 caused by the ESD effect, ensuring the normal display of the electronic device 500, and further improving the quality of the electronic device 500.

[0063] Please also refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 , Figure 6 is Figure 3a the schematic structural diagram of the second embodiment of the display module 200 shown in Figure 7 is Figure 6 the partial structural plan view of the second embodiment of the display module 200 shown in

[0064] In this embodiment, the flexible circuit board 300 further includes an extension section 350b that extends out of the side surface 330 and away from the side surface 330 and extends above the bending portion 214 (in the thickness direction of the display module 200). Specifically, the extension section 350b of this embodiment extends parallel to the flexible circuit board 300 above the protective layer 250 (in the Z-axis direction). The extension section 350b and the first section 252 of the protective layer 250 at least partially overlap in the thickness direction of the display module 200, but do not contact in the Z-axis direction. The extension section 350b includes at least one conductive layer 300a and at least one insulating layer 300b laminated with the conductive layer 300a. In this embodiment, the extension section 350b includes one conductive layer 300a and one insulating layer 300b; actually, the extension section 350b is formed by one insulating layer 300b and one conductive layer 300a laminated with this insulating layer 300b. Of course, it can also be two or more layers. The extension section 350b is formed by extending any one insulating layer 300b and one conductive layer 300a laminated with this insulating layer 300b among multiple insulating layers 300b and conductive layers 300a. The extension section 350b can be an extension of the surface layer of the flexible circuit board 300, so as to ensure the strength of the extension section 350b. The extension section 350b of this embodiment is formed by one conductive layer 300a and one insulating layer 300b on the side of the flexible circuit board 300 where the functional surface 320 is located, so as to ensure the flatness of the functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300 and simplify the processing process.

[0065] A connection area 351b is provided on the extension section 350b. The connection area 351b is located on the surface of the extension section 350b facing the bonding portion 217 of the display panel 210. The connection area 351b is spaced opposite to the first section 252 of the protective layer 250. Exemplarily, the conductive layer 300a can be a copper foil layer. The connection area 351b belongs to a part of the conductive layer 300a and can be achieved through a copper leakage design. The connector 260 covers the functional surface of the body 300A and the surface of the extension section 350b facing away from the display panel 210.

[0066] The flexible circuit board 300 is further provided with a conduction part 360. The conduction part 360 is arranged in the extension section 350b and extends along the thickness direction of the flexible circuit board 300. One end of the conduction part 360 exposes the functional surface 320 of the flexible circuit board 300. In this embodiment, it exposes the surface of the extension section 350b facing away from the display panel 210 and is used for electrically connecting with the connection part 260. The other end of the conduction part 360 is connected and conducted with the connection area 351b. Specifically, the conduction part 360 in this embodiment is in the shape of a hole, which can be a through hole. The hole wall of the conduction part 360 has a conductive metal layer, which can realize current conduction. In other embodiments, the conduction part 360 can also be a columnar body of conductive metal, which is arranged inside the extension section 350b. Alternatively, the conduction part 360 can also be a metal trace, connecting the connection area 351b and extending out of the functional surface 320.

[0067] Further, a functional area 321b is arranged on the surface of the extension section 350b facing away from the display panel 210 (which can also be called the functional surface). The functional area 321b is used for contacting and conducting with the connection part 260. Exemplarily, the functional area 321b can also be realized through a copper leakage design, that is, a copper leakage design is made on a part of the insulating layer 300b forming the functional surface 320 to expose a part of the underlying conductive layer 300a. It can be understood that the connection part 260 is electrically connected to the connection part 260 and the connection area 351b through the functional area 321b.

[0068] In this embodiment, in the thickness direction of the display module 200, the flexible circuit board 300 is stacked on the bonding surface 218 of the bonding portion 217, the extension section 350b is located above the protective layer 250, and the connection area 351b is spaced from the first section 252 of the protective layer 250. When a user holds the side part (i.e., the frame position) of the electronic device 500, static electricity will be generated, and the static electricity charges will enter the side of the display module 200 through the frame gap; since the display panel 210 itself is relatively thin in size, the bending part has a weak resistance to static electricity and is easily damaged. The first surface 215 of the bending part 214 is stacked with the protective layer 250, and the static electricity is attracted by the connection area 351b of the extension section 350b and is led away along the protective layer 250 through the extension section 350b to the connector 260, avoiding damage to the bending part 214 of the display panel 210. Further, along the width direction of the display module 200, the distance A from the vertex O (the vertex of the arc on the side of the protective layer 250 facing away from the bending part 214) to the end face of the first section 252 is less than the distance B from the vertex O to the side face 330 of the flexible circuit board 300. Therefore, after the external static electricity passes through the protective layer 250, due to the overlap of the connection area 351b of the extension section 350b and the second section 251 of the protective layer 250 in the X-axis direction, when the static electricity charges accumulate to a certain extent, even if there is no contact in the Z-axis direction, the static electricity can break down the medium between the connection area 351b and the second section 251 of the protective layer 250, realizing the charge transfer from the second section 251 of the protective layer 250 to the connection area 351b. Therefore, the static electricity charges in the protective layer 250 will enter the connection area 351b and reach the conduction part 360 of the flexible circuit board 300 through the conduction of the conductive layer 300a of the extension section 350b, and then reach the functional area 321 along the conduction part 360. Since the functional area 321 is in contact with and conducts electricity to the connector 260, the connector 260 can guide the static electricity charges from the functional area 321 of the flexible circuit board 300 to the support layer 230, realizing the grounding effect, that is, eliminating static electricity, avoiding damage to the display part 211 caused by the ESD effect, ensuring the normal display of the electronic device 500, and further improving the quality of the electronic device 500.

[0069] In an existing technology, those skilled in the art adopted a solution of adding pad printing silver paste on the inner surface of the plastic front shell of a mobile phone and connecting it to the laser engraving area of the main body 100, so as to directly conduct the static electricity generated on the surface of the mobile phone during use into the main body 100 to avoid damage to the screen caused by the ESD effect. However, since the main component of the pad printing area is a metal composite material, adding a pad printing area on the inner surface of the plastic front shell is equivalent to adding suspended metal above the display panel 210 at this time, which will have a significant impact on the high-frequency band of the antenna and greatly restrict the design of the antenna and the overall machine architecture design. The display module 200 provided in this application can achieve the ESD protection effect only by changing the structure of the existing display module 200. It not only does not need to add a pad printing area to affect the antenna design, greatly enhancing the flexibility of the overall machine architecture design, but also omits the processes of pad printing and applying conductive silver paste, significantly reducing the ESD protection cost. Taking a folding screen mobile phone as an example below, it is illustrated that the display module 200 provided in this application can be applied to different antenna design schemes to meet different overall machine architecture designs.

[0070] Please refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of the electronic device 500 provided in this application. In one embodiment, the system on chip (SoC) is located in the first housing 110, and the radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) is located in the second housing 120. In the traditional architecture, the integrated design of the system on chip and the radio frequency integrated circuit has restricted the overall battery life of the folding screen mobile phone due to its low space utilization rate. Now it has gradually evolved into a new design scheme in which the system on chip and the radio frequency integrated circuit are separated in two middle frames, and the radio frequency integrated circuit side is combined with the flexible screen binding design to expand the battery space of the folding screen mobile phone and improve the overall battery life. The first housing 110 includes several first regions 111, and the several first regions 111 are arranged at intervals along the periphery of the first housing 110 and can be used to install short-range antenna modules. Among them, the short-range antenna modules can include wireless communication modules such as global positioning system (GPS), blue teeth (BT), and wireless fidelity (WiFi). The second housing 120 includes several second regions 121, and the several second regions 121 are arranged at intervals along the periphery of the second housing 120 and can be used to install cellular antenna modules, and the cellular antenna modules include several sub-antennas.

[0071] At this time, if a solution of using pad printing silver paste for ESD protection is adopted, it will inevitably affect the high-frequency signals of the cellular antenna module distributed in the second region 121, thereby reducing the communication quality of the electronic device 500. However, compared with the prior art, the display module 200 provided in this application can achieve electrostatic ESD protection without adding a pad printing area. Therefore, it will not affect the signals of the antenna, and there is no longer any restriction on the distribution of the antenna, making the overall machine architecture design more flexible.

[0072] Furthermore, the installation accuracy of the flexible circuit board 300 in the binding area of this application can reach + / - 0.15 mm, which is much higher than the fitting tolerance of + / - 0.8 mm of the conductive cloth fixture. This avoids the situation where the ESD resistance of the display module 200 is weak because the conductive cloth cannot contact the protective layer due to the too large fitting tolerance of the conductive cloth fixture in the direct lap joint solution between the conductive cloth and the first section 252 of the protective layer 250. Therefore, in the first and second embodiments of the display module 200 provided in this application, the extension sections 350a and 350b of the flexible circuit board 300 can more stably form an overlapping area with the first section 252 of the protective layer 250 in the width direction (i.e., the X-axis direction) of the display module 200, significantly reducing the resistance of electrostatic charge transfer on the protective layer 250, improving the ESD resistance of the display module 200, and ensuring the quality of the electronic device 500.

[0073] The above are only some embodiments and implementation manners of this application. The protection scope of this application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application, and all should be covered within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A display module, characterized in that, The display module includes a flexible display panel, a flexible circuit board, and a connection member; The display panel includes a display portion, a bending portion, and a bonding portion that are connected in sequence; in the thickness direction of the display module, the bonding portion is spaced opposite to the display portion and is located on the non-display side of the display portion, and in the width direction of the display module, the bending portion is located on the side portion of the display module; A protective layer is laminated on the surface of the bending portion facing away from the display portion; the protective layer includes a first section that extends toward the bonding portion; The flexible circuit board includes a body and an extension section, the body includes a side surface, the extension section protrudes from the side surface and extends away from the side surface, and the extension section includes a connection area; The flexible circuit board is laminated on the bonding portion and is electrically connected to the display panel; the connection member is laminated on the surface of the flexible circuit board facing away from the display panel and is electrically connected to the connection area, the free end of the connection member is grounded, and in the thickness direction of the display module, at least a part of the extension section is opposite to the first section, and the connection area faces the first section; The static electricity outside the display module flows through the protective layer to the extension section and then through the extension section to the connection member.

2. The display module according to claim 1, wherein The flexible circuit board includes a conduction portion that is insulated from the body and is electrically connected to the connection area of the extension section, and one end of the conduction portion exposes the surface of the flexible circuit board and is electrically connected to the connection member.

3. The display module according to claim 2, wherein The conduction portion is located inside the body and is a hole provided along the thickness direction of the body. An insulating layer insulated from the body is provided in the hole, and a metal layer electrically connected to the connection member and the extension section is also provided, and the metal layer exposes the surface of the body.

4. The display module according to claim 3, wherein In the thickness direction of the display module, the extension section is laminated with the first section, and the connection area is in contact with the surface of the first section, and the extending direction of the extension section intersects and is electrically connected to the extending direction of the conduction portion.

5. The display module according to claim 2, wherein, The conduction portion is located on the side of the extension section away from the side surface, the conduction portion is a hole provided along the thickness direction of the extension section, and in the thickness direction of the display module, the conduction portion penetrates through the extension section to connect the connection member and the connection area, and the conduction portion is insulated from the body and the extension section.

6. The display module according to claim 5, wherein In the thickness direction of the display module, the extension section is spaced opposite to the first section.

7. The display module according to claim 2, characterized in that A functional area is provided on the surface of the circuit board, and the conduction portion is electrically connected to the connection member through the functional area.

8. The display module according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The flexible circuit board includes a plurality of conductive layers and a plurality of insulating layers, and the plurality of conductive layers and the plurality of insulating layers are alternately laminated along the thickness direction of the display module; the extension section is formed by at least one of the conductive layers and the insulating layer laminated with at least one of the conductive layers extending parallel and away from the body direction.

9. The display module according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The display module further includes a back film, a support layer, and a connection layer; the back film, the support layer, and the connection layer are laminated between the display portion and the bonding portion; the free end of the connection member is electrically connected to the support layer to achieve grounding.

10. The display module according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, An avoidance area is provided on the body of the flexible circuit board. The display module includes a driving chip, and the driving chip is disposed on the bonding portion and located within the avoidance area.

11. The display module according to claim 8, wherein, The electrical connection member is a conductive cloth.

12. An electronic device, characterized in that, It includes the display module and the main body according to any one of claims 1-11. The flexible circuit board is electrically connected to the circuit board within the main body. The display module is stacked on one side of the main body, and the main body can drive the display module to flatten or fold.

13. The electronic device according to claim 12, wherein The electronic device includes a short-range antenna module and a cellular antenna module. The main body includes a first housing and a second housing. The short-range antenna module is distributed at the peripheral position of the first housing, and the cellular antenna module is distributed at the peripheral position of the second housing.

Images