Display device

Abstract

The present application provides a display device including a display panel and a light source module. The light source module includes a flexible light guide plate and a light emitting element. The flexible light guide plate has a light exit portion and a light entrance portion. The flexible light guide plate is bent such that the display panel is located between the light exit portion and the light entrance portion. An end of the light entrance portion has a light entrance surface. The thickness of the light entrance portion gradually increases toward the light entrance surface. The light emitting element is disposed toward the light entrance surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to a display device. Background Technology

[0002] Display devices are increasingly widely used, and various designs have emerged to suit different application environments. For example, some display devices are designed to be flexible, allowing them to be used in non-planar environments or bendable during use. To achieve flexibility, the components in the display device are made as thin as possible; for instance, the thickness of traditional light guide plates has been reduced from 400μm to 100μm or even less than 50μm to make them bendable. However, due to limitations in traditional packaging design and yield considerations, the thickness of the light source cannot be reduced from 400μm to 50μm along with the front light plate. As a result, most of the light source's energy cannot be successfully coupled into the light guide plate, leaving only about 10% of the light energy available for use. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in display devices to achieve flexibility while maintaining ideal performance. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a display device that maintains ideal light source utilization using a thin, flexible light guide plate.

[0004] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display device includes a display panel and a light source module. The light source module includes a flexible light guide plate and a light-emitting element. The flexible light guide plate has a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion, wherein the flexible light guide plate is bent so that the display panel is located between the light-emitting portion and the light-receiving portion. The end of the light-receiving portion has a light-receiving surface. The thickness of the light-receiving portion gradually increases towards the light-receiving surface. The light-emitting element is disposed towards the light-receiving surface.

[0005] In a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the light-incident portion is 85% to 100% of the thickness of the light-emitting element at the light-incident surface.

[0006] In a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the light-incident portion has a first inclined surface connected to the light-incident surface, and the first inclined surface is inclined at an angle relative to the normal direction of the light-incident surface. The angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than 7 degrees.

[0007] In a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a first inclined surface is located between the light-incident portion and the display panel.

[0008] In a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the light-receiving portion has a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface connected to the light-receiving surface. The first inclined surface and the second inclined surface face each other, and each of the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface is inclined at an angle relative to the normal direction of the light-receiving surface. The angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than 7 degrees.

[0009] In the display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible light guide plate further has a bending portion connected between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion.

[0010] In a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a flexible light guide plate includes a first material layer and a second material layer. The second material layer is disposed on the first material layer, and the light-incident portion is formed by stacking the first material layer and the second material layer. The refractive index difference between the first material layer and the second material layer is, for example, less than 0.1. The thickness of the second material layer gradually increases toward the light-incident surface. The second material layer also extends into the light-emitting portion, and the thickness of the second material layer in the light-incident portion is greater than its thickness in the light-emitting portion. The light-incident portion has a first inclined surface that intersects with the light-incident surface, and the first inclined surface is located in either the first material layer or the second material layer.

[0011] In a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the light-emitting portion has a light-guiding microstructure on the side away from the display panel.

[0012] Based on the above, the display panel of this embodiment uses a thinned flexible light guide plate in the light source device, and the flexible light guide plate has a light-incident portion with a thickness that gradually increases towards the light-incident surface. In this way, the display device can effectively utilize the light emitted by the light-emitting element for display, while still maintaining ideal light source utilization efficiency in the thinned design. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a side view schematic diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 This is a side view schematic diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 This is a side view schematic diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 This is a side view schematic diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 This is a side view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Where possible, identical element symbols are used in the drawings and description to denote the same or similar parts.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a side view schematic diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1The display device 100 includes at least a display panel 102 and a light source module 104. In some embodiments, the display device 100 may further include a cover plate 106 and optical adhesives 108 and 110. The light source module 104 can be attached to the display panel 102 via optical adhesive 108, and the cover plate 106 can be attached to the optical module 104 via optical adhesive 110. Optical adhesives 108 and 110 can be light-transmitting adhesives, and can have a form similar to double-sided tape to attach components on both sides together. In some embodiments, the display panel 102 can be a reflective display panel, and the light source module 104 is a front light source disposed in front of the display panel 102. The light provided by the light source module 104 can be irradiated toward the display area AA of the display panel 102 and reflected by the display panel 102 to emit display light toward the cover plate 106 for the user to see. For example, the display panel 102 includes an electronic paper display panel, which uses electrophoretic display technology, electrowetting display technology, or similar display technology to realize the display function. Additionally, the cover plate 106 may be selectively disposed on the light source module 104 to provide protection against damage to the light source module 104 and the display panel 102. In some embodiments, the cover plate 106 may be a plate-like element or a film with good light transmittance.

[0020] The light source module 104 includes a flexible light guide plate 120 and a light-emitting element 130. The flexible light guide plate 120, for example, has a light-emitting portion 122 and a light-incident portion 124. Specifically, the flexible light guide plate 120 is flexible and further has a bending portion 126. The bending portion 126 connects the light-emitting portion 122 and the light-incident portion 124, and the bending portion 126 is bent such that the display panel 102 is located between the light-emitting portion 122 and the light-incident portion 124. The end of the light-incident portion 124 has a light-incident surface S124, and the light-emitting element 130 is disposed facing the light-incident surface S124. That is, the light-emitting element 130 is disposed beside the flexible light guide plate 120, and the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting element 130 faces the light-incident surface S124. The light-emitting element 130 is, for example, a light-emitting diode, but is not limited thereto.

[0021] In this embodiment, the light-emitting portion 122 of the flexible light guide plate 120 can be attached to the display panel 102 by optical adhesive 108, and the area of ​​the light-emitting portion 122 can cover the entire display area AA of the display panel 102. The flexible light guide plate 120 can guide the light emitted by the light-emitting element 130 to the light-emitting portion 122, and then the light-emitting portion 122 illuminates the entire display area AA of the display panel 102 to provide the light source required for the display image. In some embodiments, the light-emitting portion 122 has a light-guiding microstructure LG on the side away from the display panel 102. The light-guiding microstructure LG can be a concave-convex structure, which helps to guide the light to be distributed more evenly in the flexible light guide plate 120. In some embodiments, the distribution area of ​​the light-guiding microstructure LG can be larger than the display area AA of the display panel 102, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the light-incident portion 124 can be disposed outside the display area AA without overlapping the display area AA. In some embodiments, the distribution density of the light-guiding microstructure LG can be adjusted as needed. For example, the distribution density of the light guide microstructure LG can be relatively sparse in the center of the flexible light guide plate 120 and relatively dense near the edge, but is not limited to this.

[0022] In this embodiment, the thickness 122T of the light-emitting portion 122 can be less than the thickness 124T of the light-receiving portion 124. In some embodiments, the thickness 122T of the light-emitting portion 122 can range from 50 micrometers to 100 micrometers. The light-emitting portion 122 with its reduced thickness and the display panel 102 are flexible, allowing the user to bend the display device 100 during use to achieve flexibility. This also allows the display device 100 to be used in non-planar environments to achieve curved display applications. In addition, the thickness 126T of the bending portion 126 can be approximately the same as the thickness 122T of the light-emitting portion 122. Therefore, the bending portion 126 can be bent so that the light-emitting portion 122 and the light-receiving portion 124 are located on opposite sides of the display panel 102.

[0023] When the light-emitting element 130 is a light-emitting diode, its thickness 130T may be several hundred micrometers, for example, 300 to 400 micrometers. In this embodiment, the light-emitting portion 122 has a thinned structure, making its thickness 122T significantly smaller than the thickness 130T of the light-emitting element 130. If the entire flexible light guide plate 120 is designed with a thinned thickness, a certain proportion of the light emitted by the light-emitting element 130 will not be able to enter the flexible light guide plate 120, resulting in poor light source utilization efficiency. Therefore, in this embodiment, the light-incident portion 124 is the part of the flexible light guide plate 120 close to the light-incident surface S124, and the thickness 124T of the light-incident portion 124 gradually increases towards the light-incident surface S124. For example, the thickness 124T of the light-incident portion 124 can have its maximum thickness at the light-incident surface S124, and this maximum thickness can be 85% to 100% of the thickness 130T of the light-emitting element 130, or even slightly greater than the thickness 130T. In this way, the size of the light-incident surface S124 can be matched with the size of the light-emitting element 130, allowing the light emitted by the light-emitting element 130 to enter the flexible light guide plate 120 more efficiently, achieving ideal light source utilization efficiency.

[0024] In this embodiment, the light-incident portion 124 has, for example, a wedge-shaped structure. For ease of explanation, Figure 1 A virtual line LR is marked. The virtual line LR is approximately parallel to the normal direction of the light-incident surface S124 and divides the light-incident portion 124 into a first region 124A and a second region 124B. The first region 124A may have a light-incident surface S124A, and the second region 124B may have a light-incident surface S124B, with the light-incident surfaces S124A and S124B being coplanar. The first region 124A can be considered as a region extending outward from the light-emitting portion 122 in the flexible light guide plate 120, and the light-incident portion 124 has a substantially constant thickness TA in the first region 124A, where the thickness TA may be approximately the same as the thickness 122T of the light-emitting portion 122. The light-incident portion 124 in the second region 124B has a thickness TB that gradually increases towards the light-incident surface S124. Figure 1It is known that the first region 124A is located between the second region 124B and the display panel 102. Thus, the light-receiving portion 124 in the first region 124A may have a first inclined surface OLS connecting to the light-receiving surface S124, and the light-receiving portion 124 in the second region 124B may have a planar surface FLS connecting to the light-receiving surface S124. The planar surface FLS is closer to the display panel 102 than the first inclined surface OLS, meaning the light-receiving portion 124 is located between the first inclined surface OLS and the display panel 102. The planar surface FLS can be approximately parallel to the normal direction of the light-receiving surface S124. The first inclined surface OLS is tilted at an angle θ relative to the normal direction of the light-receiving surface S124 (e.g., parallel to the direction of the virtual line LR). According to simulation experiments, an angle θ greater than 7 degrees may cause light to be inefficiently guided to the light-emitting portion 122 after entering the flexible light guide plate 120 from the light-receiving surface S124. Therefore, in some embodiments, the angle θ is, for example, greater than 0 degrees and less than 7 degrees.

[0025] In some embodiments, the flexible light guide plate 120 may be made of polycarbonate (PC), acrylic (PMMA), or similar materials. The flexible light guide plate 120 may be integrally formed from the same material, or it may be formed from portions of the same material or portions of different materials. For example, the first region 124A of the light-incident portion 124 may be integrally formed from the same first material layer as the bending portion 126 and the light-emitting portion 122, while the second region 124B of the light-incident portion 124 may be formed from a second material layer and stacked with the first region 124A. That is, the first material layer may extend continuously within the flexible light guide plate 120, and the second material layer may be stacked with the first material layer to form the light-incident portion 124. The first material layer and the second material layer may be different materials or the same material, but they have similar optical properties. For example, the refractive index difference between the first material layer and the second material layer may be less than 0.1. In other words, there may be a physical interface between the first region 124A and the second region 124B of the light-receiving section 124 (for example, the location of the virtual line LR is the interface), wherein the second region 124B may be a region with a triangular cross-sectional shape, but is not limited thereto.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a side view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 The display device 200 is roughly similar to Figure 1 The display device 100 uses the same component symbols to represent the same components in both embodiments, and the descriptions of these components in both embodiments can be referenced and applied to each other. The display device 200 includes a display panel 102, a light source module 204, a cover plate 106, optical adhesive 108, and optical adhesive 110, wherein the structural design of the light source module 204 is slightly different from... Figure 1This embodiment describes a light source module 204 that includes a flexible light guide plate 220 and a light-emitting element 130. The flexible light guide plate 220 has a light-emitting portion 122, a light-incident portion 224, and a bending portion 126. A description of the light-emitting element 130, the light-emitting portion 122, and the bending portion 126 can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 1 The embodiments are not repeated here.

[0027] In this embodiment, the light-incident portion 224 has, for example, a wedge-shaped structure with a light-incident surface S224 at its end. The light-incident portion 224 is divided into a first region 224A and a second region 224B by a virtual line LR, where the virtual line LR is approximately parallel to the normal direction of the light-incident surface S224. The first region 224A can be considered as the area extending outward from the light-emitting portion 122 / bending portion 126 within the flexible light guide plate 220, and the light-incident portion 224 has a thickness approximately equal to that of the light-emitting portion 122 in the first region 224A. The light-incident portion 224 gradually thickens towards the light-incident surface S224 in the second region 224B. In this embodiment, the second region 224B is located between the first region 224A and the display panel 102. In other words, the light-incident portion 224 may have a first inclined surface OLS, and the first inclined surface OLS is located between the light-incident portion 224 (the solid portion of the flexible light guide plate 220) and the display panel 102. Similar to... Figure 1 In one embodiment, the first inclined plane OLS is tilted at an angle θ relative to the normal direction of the incident light plane S224 (e.g., the direction parallel to the virtual line LR).

[0028] The flexible light guide plate 220 may be made of polycarbonate (PC), acrylic (PMMA), or similar materials. The flexible light guide plate 220 can be integrally manufactured from the same material, or it can be manufactured from different materials in sections. For example, the first region 224A of the light-incident portion 224 may be integrally manufactured from the same first material layer as the bending portion 126 and the light-emitting portion 122, while the second region 224B of the light-incident portion 224 may be manufactured from a second material layer and stacked with the first region 224A. In other words, the first material layer may extend continuously within the flexible light guide plate 220, and the second material layer may be stacked with the first material layer to form the light-incident portion 224. Overall, the main difference between the flexible light guide plate 220 and the flexible light guide plate 120 lies in the location of the first inclined surface OLS of the light-incident portion 224. Thus, when the flexible light guide plate 220 is stretched into a flat state, the first inclined surface OLS of the light-incident portion 224 and the light-guiding microstructure LG of the light-exit portion 122 are located on opposite sides of the flexible light guide plate 220. In contrast, in Figure 1 In one embodiment, when the flexible light guide plate 120 is stretched into a flat state, the first inclined surface OLS and the light guide microstructure LG on the light emitting part 122 are located on the same side of the flexible light guide plate 120.

[0029] Figure 3This is a side view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 The display device 300 is roughly similar to Figure 2 The display device 200, therefore, uses the same element symbols to represent the same elements in both embodiments, and the descriptions of these elements in the two embodiments can be referenced and applied to each other. Figure 3 The display device 300 includes a display panel 102, a light source module 304, a cover plate 106, optical adhesive 108 and optical adhesive 110, and the light source module 304 includes a flexible light guide plate 320 and a light-emitting element 130. Specifically, this embodiment and Figure 2 The main difference between the display device 200 and the previous one lies in the structural design of the flexible light guide plate 320. Therefore, the description of the remaining components of the display device 300 can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Related explanations.

[0030] In this embodiment, the flexible light guide plate 320 has a light emitting portion 122, a light receiving portion 324, and a bending portion 126, the description of which refers to the foregoing embodiment. The light receiving portion 324 may have a light receiving surface S324 at its end. In a side view, the light receiving portion 324 has a funnel-shaped outline and is divided into a first region 224A, a second region 224B, and a third region 324C by virtual lines LR1 and LR2, wherein the second region 224B and the third region 324C are located on opposite sides of the first region 224A. When the flexible light guide plate 320 is in a flattened state, the virtual lines LR1 and LR2 may be lines extending outward along the outline of the bending portion 126 and are approximately parallel to the normal of the light receiving surface S324. Similar to the description of the foregoing embodiments, the first region 224A can be considered as the area extending outward from the light-emitting portion 122 / bending portion 126 in the flexible light guide plate 220, and has a structure of approximately equal thickness. The light-incident portion 324 has a thickness that gradually increases toward the light-incident surface S324 in the second region 224B and the third region 324C. Thus, the light-incident portion 324 has a first inclined surface OLS1 and a second inclined surface OLS2 that are connected to the light-incident surface S324. The first inclined surface OLS1 and the second inclined surface OLS2 are opposite each other, and the first inclined surface OLS1 and the second inclined surface OLS2 are each inclined at angles θ1 and θ2 relative to the normal direction of the light-incident surface S324. In some embodiments, angles θ1 and θ2 may each be greater than 0 degrees and less than 7 degrees.

[0031] The flexible light guide plate 320 can be integrally manufactured from the same material, or it can be manufactured from different materials in sections. For example, the first region 224A of the light-incident portion 324 can be integrally manufactured from the same first material as the bending portion 126 and the light-emitting portion 122, while the second region 224B and the third region 324C of the light-incident portion 324 can be manufactured from a second material and stacked with the first region 224A. In some embodiments, the material of the flexible light guide plate 320 may include polycarbonate (PC), acrylic (PMMA), or similar materials. With the varying thickness of the second region 224B and the third region 324C, the light-incident surface S324 can have a thickness that approximately corresponds to that of the light-emitting element 130, which helps to improve the efficiency of light entering the flexible light guide plate 320.

[0032] Figure 4 This is a side view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 The display device 400 is roughly similar to Figure 1 The display device 100, therefore, uses the same element symbols to represent the same elements in both embodiments, and the descriptions of these elements in the two embodiments can be referenced and applied to each other. Figure 4 The display device 400 includes a display panel 102, a light source module 404, a cover plate 106, optical adhesive 108 and optical adhesive 110, and the light source module 404 includes a flexible light guide plate 420 and a light-emitting element 130. Specifically, this embodiment and Figure 1 The main difference between the display device 100 and the previous one lies in the structural design of the flexible light guide plate 420. Therefore, the description of the remaining components of the display device 400 can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Related explanations.

[0033] The flexible light guide plate 420 includes a first material layer 420A and a second material layer 420B. The first material layer 420A extends continuously within the flexible light guide plate 420. The second material layer 420B is disposed on the first material layer 420A and also extends continuously within the flexible light guide plate 420. Therefore, the entire flexible light guide plate 420 is composed of a stack of the first material layer 420A and the second material layer 420B. The first material layer 420A and the second material layer 420B can be made of different materials or the same material. When different materials are used, the difference in refractive index between the first material layer 420A and the second material layer 420B can be less than 0.1. The first material layer 420A and the second material layer 420B can be manufactured by extrusion molding to form the flexible light guide plate 420, but are not limited thereto.

[0034] Specifically, the flexible light guide plate 420 can be divided into a light emitting portion 422, a light receiving portion 424, and a bending portion 426. The bending portion 426 can be bent so that the light emitting portion 422 and the light receiving portion 424 are located on opposite sides of the display panel 102. The light emitting portion 422 is formed by stacking a portion 422A of the first material layer 420A and a portion 422B of the second material layer 420B, wherein the portion 422A of the first material layer 420A is thicker than the portion 422B of the second material layer 420B. The light receiving portion 424 is formed by stacking a portion 424A of the first material layer 420A and a portion 424B of the second material layer 420B. Meanwhile, the bending portion 426 is formed by stacking a portion 426A of the first material layer 420A and a portion 426B of the second material layer 420B, and the portion 426A of the first material layer 420A is thicker than the portion 426B of the second material layer 420B. In some embodiments, the second material layer 420B may be formed on the first material layer 420A by coating, deposition, or similar methods. In some embodiments, the flexible light guide plate 420 may be fabricated by extrusion molding to have the desired structure and shape.

[0035] In this embodiment, the light-emitting portion 422 may have multiple light-guiding microstructures LG, and the light-guiding microstructures LG are disposed on the side of the flexible light guide plate 420 away from the display panel 102. Meanwhile, the flexible light guide plate 420 is attached to the display panel 102 with a first material layer 420A located between the second material layer 420B and the display panel 102. Therefore, the light-guiding microstructures LG can be located on the surface of the second material layer 420B, and the distribution area of ​​the light-guiding microstructures LG can at least cover the area of ​​the display area AA of the display panel 102. The thickness 422T of the light-emitting portion 422 can be from 50 micrometers to 100 micrometers. In some embodiments, the light-emitting portion 422 and the display panel 102 are bendable to achieve non-planar or foldable applications. In some embodiments, the bending portion 426 may extend continuously from the light-emitting portion 422 but does not have light-guiding microstructures LG, so the bending portion 426 may have a substantially consistent thickness 426T. The thickness of 426T can range from 50 micrometers to 100 micrometers.

[0036] The light-incident portion 424 can be formed by stacking a first material layer 420A and a second material layer 420B. In this embodiment, a portion 424A of the first material layer 420A and a portion 424B of the second material layer 420B constitute the light-incident portion 424. The portion 424A of the first material layer 420A can have a fixed thickness TC, and the portion 424A of the first material layer 420A can be the same thickness as portions 422A and 426A of the first material layer 420A. That is, the first material layer 420A can be a material layer with uniform thickness. The thickness TD of the portion 424B of the second material layer 420B is a variable thickness. Furthermore, the thickness TD of the second material layer 420B in the light-incident portion 424 is greater than its thickness in the light-emitting portion 422 (not shown).

[0037] In this embodiment, the end face S420A of the first material layer 420A and the end face S420B of the second material layer 420B are coplanar to form the light-incident surface S424 of the flexible light guide plate 420. The thickness TD of the second material layer 420B can gradually increase towards the light-incident surface S424. Based on the thickness variation, the light-incident portion 424 has a first inclined surface OLS, and the first inclined surface OLS is inclined at an angle θ relative to the normal direction of the light-incident surface S424. Therefore, the first upper OLS is located in the second material layer 420B. In some embodiments, the angle θ is greater than 0 degrees and less than 7 degrees. The light-incident portion 424 with varying thickness can be approximately the size of the light-incident surface S424, which can effectively receive the light emitted by the light-emitting element 130, achieving ideal light utilization efficiency. In addition, the inclined angle of the first inclined surface OLS is relatively gentle, which helps to guide the light to pass through the flexible light guide plate 420 and reduce unwanted light leakage generated in the first inclined surface OLS.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a side view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 The display device 500 is roughly similar to Figure 4 The display device 400, therefore, uses the same element symbols to represent the same elements in both embodiments, and the descriptions of these elements in the two embodiments can be referenced and applied to each other. Figure 5 The display device 500 includes a display panel 102, a light source module 504, a cover plate 106, optical adhesive 108 and optical adhesive 110, and the light source module 504 includes a flexible light guide plate 520 and a light-emitting element 130. Specifically, this embodiment and Figure 1The main difference of the display device 100 is that the flexible light guide plate 520 includes a first material layer 520A and a second material layer 520B, and the first material layer 520A and the second material layer 520B are stacked to form a light emitting part 522, a light receiving part 524 and a bending part 526. The first material layer 520A and the second material layer 520B extend continuously throughout the entire flexible light guide plate 520, and the first material layer 520A is located between the second material layer 520B and the display panel 102.

[0039] The flexible light guide plate 520 can be divided into a light emitting section 522, a light incident section 524, and a bending section 526. The end face S520A of the first material layer 520A and the end face S520B of the second material layer 520B are coplanar to form the light incident surface S524, and the light-emitting element 130 is configured to emit light toward the light incident surface S524. The bending section 526 can be bent so that the light emitting section 522 and the light incident section 524 are located on opposite sides of the display panel 102. The light emitting section 522 is formed by stacking a portion 522A of the first material layer 520A and a portion 522B of the second material layer 520B. The portion 522A of the first material layer 520A is thinner than the portion 522B of the second material layer 520B. The light-receiving portion 524 is formed by stacking a portion 524A of a first material layer 520A and a portion 524B of a second material layer 520B, and the portion 524A of the first material layer 520A has a thickness TE that gradually increases toward the light-receiving surface S524. The bending portion 526 is formed by stacking a portion 526A of the first material layer 520A and a portion 526B of the second material layer 520B, and the bending portion 526 may have a substantially constant thickness. In some embodiments, the second material layer 520B has a substantially equal thickness in the light-receiving portion 524 and the bending portion 526, and the thickness TF of the portion 524B of the second material layer 520B is substantially constant.

[0040] In this embodiment, a portion 522B of the second material layer 520B has a light-guiding microstructure LG, and the light-guiding microstructure LG is located on the side of the light-emitting portion 522 away from the display panel 102. Additionally, a portion 524A of the first material layer 520A has a varying thickness TE, thus forming a first inclined surface OLS on the side of the light-incident portion 524 adjacent to the display panel 102. That is, the first inclined surface OLS is located in the first material layer 520A. The first inclined surface OLS is inclined at an angle θ relative to the normal direction of the light-incident surface S524, and the angle θ can be greater than 0 degrees and less than 7 degrees. Specifically, the thickness variation of the portion 524A of the first material layer 520A causes the light-incident portion 524 to gradually thicken towards the light-incident surface S524. In some embodiments, the size of the light-incident surface S524 can be approximately approximating the thickness 130T of the light-emitting element 130, so as to fully receive the light emitted by the light-emitting element 130 to achieve ideal light utilization efficiency.

[0041] In summary, the display device of this invention has a flexible light guide plate with a thinner light-emitting section and a thicker light-receiving section. The flexible light guide plate can be matched to the size of the light-emitting element to fully receive the light emitted by the element. Therefore, the light source module of the display device has ideal light utilization efficiency. Furthermore, the thinner light-emitting section design meets the requirements for bendable use, thus the display device can be applied to non-planar environments or to foldable (flexible) products.

[0042] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A display device, characterized in that, include: Display panel; as well as A light source module includes a flexible light guide plate and a light-emitting element. The flexible light guide plate has a light-emitting part and a light-incident part. The flexible light guide plate is bent so that the display panel is located between the light-emitting part and the light-incident part. The end of the light-incident part has a light-incident surface. The thickness of the light-incident part gradually increases towards the light-incident surface, and the light-emitting element is disposed towards the light-incident surface. The flexible light guide plate includes a first material layer and a second material layer. The first material layer extends continuously in the flexible light guide plate, and the second material layer is disposed on the first material layer. The light-incident portion is formed by stacking the first material layer and the second material layer. The second material layer also extends into the light-emitting portion, and the thickness of the second material layer in the light-incident portion is greater than the thickness in the light-emitting portion.

2. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the light-incident portion at the light-incident surface is 85% to 100% of the thickness of the light-emitting element.

3. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light-incident portion has a first inclined surface that connects to the light-incident surface, and the first inclined surface is inclined at an angle relative to the normal direction of the light-incident surface.

4. The display device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than 7 degrees.

5. The display device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first inclined surface is located between the light-incident portion and the display panel.

6. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible light guide plate further has a bending portion connected between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion.

7. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The difference in refractive index between the first material layer and the second material layer is less than 0.

1.

8. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the second material layer gradually increases toward the light-incident surface to form the light-incident portion.

9. The display device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The light-incident portion has a first inclined surface that connects to the light-incident surface, and the first inclined surface is located in the first material layer or the second material layer.

10. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light-emitting part has a light-guiding microstructure on the side away from the display panel.

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