Processing method for flexible foldable glass with unequal thickness

Abstract

The present invention provides a processing method for an uneven-thickness flexible foldable glass, comprising the following steps: 1) Heating the to-be-formed defined area of the glass sheet: Transfer the glass sheet to the heating station in the heating chamber, clamp the glass sheet into the profiling machine, and heat the to-be-formed defined area of the glass sheet; 2) Forming the uneven-thickness area of the glass sheet: Under the action of the profiling machine, the profiling machine stretches the glass sheet along the length direction of the glass sheet, so that an upper groove is formed on the upper side of the to-be-formed defined area of the glass sheet, and a lower groove is formed on the lower side of the to-be-formed defined area of the glass sheet, and the upper groove and the lower groove are arranged opposite to each other; the upper groove and the lower groove constitute the uneven-thickness area of the glass sheet; 3) Annealing the uneven-thickness area of the glass sheet. The processing method of the glass can ensure the impact resistance of the whole glass while obtaining the folding function of the flexible glass.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of glass production, and particularly to a processing method for an uneven-thickness flexible foldable glass. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous iteration of the technology of folding screen terminal products and the continuous growth of market demand, ultra-thin flexible glass materials have gradually replaced polyimide materials with characteristics such as ultra-thin, wear-resistant, high strength, bendable, and good resilience, and have become the mainstream flexible technology solution in the current market. For a long time, the problems of creases and costs have affected the use experience of folding screen smartphones and have become the main factors restricting their development. As one of the core materials of the flexible foldable display module, the cover plate material has an important impact on the improvement of creases, cost reduction, and use experience improvement of folding screen products.

[0003] In existing folding screen products, flexible glass after secondary thinning and one-time formed flexible glass are generally used as cover plate protection materials. The flexible glass after secondary thinning is obtained by acid etching and thinning treatment of an ultra-thin glass original sheet with a thickness greater than 0.3 mm to obtain flexible glass with different thicknesses of 30-70 μm. The method of acid etching and thinning flexible glass has a long processing process flow, the use of acid solution causes pollution, and the acid solution will magnify the surface micro-defects of the glass original sheet during the process of thinning the glass, and it is impossible to ensure the surface flatness and appearance quality of the treated glass. Although the method of one-time formed flexible glass does not require chemical thinning, the process technology is difficult. Thus, in the prior art, no matter what method is used to prepare the ultra-thin flexible glass of 30-70 μm, it is impossible to avoid the problem of sacrificing the impact resistance due to the pursuit of an extremely thin thickness of the glass, and potential safety risks will inevitably be brought during use. In addition, in order to improve the safety of foldable terminal products, multiple layers of optical materials need to be stacked on the upper surface of the ultra-thin flexible glass with weak impact resistance and easy to break for protection. This process cannot give full play to the advantages of glass materials in terms of hardness, touch, and wear resistance, affects the user experience of folding screen terminal products, and has a complex process flow and high cost, restricting the further popularization and application of flexible foldable terminal products.

[0004] Due to the above problems in the preparation of ultra-thin flexible glass with a thickness of 30 - 70 μm, it is considered to manufacture flexible glass with unequal thickness. The flexible glass with unequal thickness has grooves provided on the glass, and the areas where the grooves are located are the regions with a smaller glass thickness, and these are also the bendable parts. The existing processing technology for flexible glass with unequal thickness provides the possibility for using a single-layer ultra-thin flexible glass as a folding screen cover plate. For the Chinese invention patent "An Unequal-Thickness Flexible Foldable Glass and Its Preparation Process", the application publication number is: CN 115124250 A. Among them, under the action of an etching solution, combined with a film coating process to protect the non-etched area, directional etching and thinning of the flexible glass are achieved to obtain flexible glass with unequal thickness. For the Chinese invention patent "An Unequal-Thickness Flexible Foldable Glass and Its Preparation Process", the application publication number is: CN 115745416 A. Among them, laser cutting is used in combination with a chemical thinning process to obtain ultra-thin flexible glass with unequal thickness. For the Chinese invention patent "An Unequal-Thickness Glass and Its Processing Process", the application publication number is: CN112679101A. Among them, unequal-thickness flexible glass is obtained through processes such as CNC, chemical thinning, and polishing. The above technologies all use mechanical processing or chemical thinning methods to obtain ultra-thin flexible glass with unequal thickness. In production practice, it is found that such technologies have the following problems: On the one hand, when manufacturing grooves on the glass surface by mechanical processing, it is inevitable to generate glass debris, which easily causes micro-scratches or cracks on the glass, affecting the product yield; on the other hand, when manufacturing grooves on the glass surface by chemical thinning, even if the area with unequal thickness is small, the process has many steps and is complex, and it is difficult to control the quality consistency, and it is not suitable for large-scale preparation. In addition, using chemical agents for thinning is not environmentally friendly.

[0005] How to design a processing method for unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass with a simple process flow, that does not damage the glass, and does not involve acidic chemical agents is a problem that needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a processing method for unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass with a simple process flow, that does not damage the glass, and does not involve acidic chemical agents, to solve the above problems existing in the prior art.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose and other related purposes, the present invention provides a processing method for unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass, including the following steps:

[0008] 1). Heat the to-be-shaped defined area of the glass substrate: Transfer the glass substrate to the heating station in the heating chamber, clamp the glass substrate into the shaping machine, and heat the to-be-shaped defined area of the glass substrate.

[0009] 2) Forming the non-uniform thickness region of the glass sheet: Under the action of a profiling machine, the profiling machine stretches the glass sheet along the length direction of the glass sheet, so that an upper groove is formed on the upper side of the to-be-formed defined region of the glass sheet, and a lower groove is formed on the lower side of the to-be-formed defined region of the glass sheet. The upper groove and the lower groove are arranged opposite to each other; the upper groove and the lower groove constitute the non-uniform thickness region of the glass sheet.

[0010] 3) Annealing the non-uniform thickness region of the glass sheet: Move the processed glass sheet to the annealing area and perform annealing treatment on the non-uniform thickness region of the glass sheet.

[0011] Preferably, in step 1), the glass sheet is an ultra-thin flexible glass produced by the down-drawing method or the floating method.

[0012] Preferably, in step 1), in the heating chamber, there are two parallel heat insulation baffles, and the glass sheet is located between the two heat insulation baffles; each heat insulation baffle is provided with a heating slit, and each heating slit penetrates the upper surface and the lower surface of the heat insulation baffle. The heating slit extends along the width direction of the heat insulation baffle; the heating slits of the two heat insulation baffles are arranged opposite to each other; a plurality of local heating devices are provided on the heating slits of the heat insulation baffle, and all the local heating devices are arranged in sequence along the width direction of the heating slit; the to-be-formed defined region of the glass sheet is located between the heating slits of the two heat insulation baffles; the heat output by each local heating device passes through the heating slit to heat the to-be-formed defined region of the glass sheet.

[0013] Furthermore, each heat insulation baffle is provided with a temperature detection device, and the temperature detection device is connected to the local heating device through a controller; each temperature detection device can detect the actual temperature in the corresponding heating slit, and each temperature detection device transmits the detected actual temperature in the corresponding heating slit to the controller so that the controller controls the heating temperature of the local heating device.

[0014] Preferably, in step 1), the to-be-formed defined region of the glass sheet is heated to 600°C - 1200°C.

[0015] Preferably, in step 1), a plurality of inner cavity preheating devices are provided on both the top surface and the bottom surface of the heating chamber.

[0016] Preferably, in step 1), the inner cavity preheating device is first used to preheat the heating chamber to 400°C - 600°C to preheat the glass sheet entering the heating chamber.

[0017] Preferably, the profiling machine includes two clamping devices arranged oppositely, and at least one of the clamping devices is provided with a stretching device;

[0018] In step 1), the two clamping devices respectively clamp both ends of the glass sheet in the length direction, so that the glass sheet is clamped into the profiling machine;

[0019] In step 2), under the action of the profiling machine, the stretching device drives the connected clamping device to stretch the glass sheet along the length direction of the glass sheet, so as to form an unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet.

[0020] Preferably, the thickness value of the minimum-thickness area of the unequal-thickness area is 20 μm - 50 μm.

[0021] Preferably, in step 3), an annealing device is provided in the annealing area, and the glass sheet is moved into the annealing device, and the annealing temperature range is 530°C - 720°C, so as to anneal the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet.

[0022] As described above, the processing method of the unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0023] The processing method of the glass of the present invention does not involve acidic chemical agents, and is safe and environmentally friendly; this processing method does not require mechanical processing, so the surface quality of the processed glass is high and the physical and chemical properties are stable; the forming and annealing processes of this glass processing method have high controllability, making the glass products have good consistency; in the processing method of the glass, except for the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet, no additional film covering or filling of an optical protection layer is required in the main area of the glass sheet, so that the thickness of the main area of the glass sheet is relatively large, and while obtaining the folding function of the flexible glass, the overall impact resistance of the glass can be ensured; the present invention is a processing method of unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass with a simple process flow, which will not damage the glass and does not involve acidic chemical agents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It shows a schematic structural view of the inside of the heating chamber of this embodiment provided with a local heating device and an inner cavity preheating device, and when the clamping device clamps the glass sheet.

[0025] Figure 2 It shows a schematic structural view of the inside of the heating chamber of this embodiment not provided with a local heating device and an inner cavity preheating device, and when the clamping device clamps the glass sheet.

[0026] Figure 3 It shows a schematic structural view of the heat insulation baffle of this embodiment.

[0027] Figure 4It shows a schematic structural view when a local heating device and a temperature detection device are provided on the heat insulation baffle of this embodiment.

[0028] Figure 5 It shows a schematic principle view in which the local heating device, the temperature detection device, the stretching device and the inner cavity preheating device of this embodiment are all connected to the controller.

[0029] Figure 6 It shows a schematic side structural view of the glass sheet before processing in this embodiment.

[0030] Figure 7 It shows a schematic side structural view of an unequal thickness area formed on the glass sheet of this embodiment.

[0031] Figure 8 It shows a schematic three - dimensional structural view of the glass sheet before processing in this embodiment.

[0032] Figure 9 It shows a schematic three - dimensional structural view of an unequal thickness area formed on the glass sheet of this embodiment.

[0033] Explanation of the reference numerals in the drawings

[0034] 10 Glass sheet

[0035] 11 To - be - formed limited area

[0036] 12 Upper groove

[0037] 13 Lower groove

[0038] 100 Heating chamber

[0039] 200 Molding machine

[0040] 210 Clamping device

[0041] 220 Stretching device

[0042] 300 Heat insulation baffle

[0043] 310 Heating gap

[0044] 410 Local heating device

[0045] 420 Temperature detection device

[0046] 430 Inner cavity preheating device

[0047] 500 Controller Detailed implementation manners

[0048] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation manners of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand the other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification.

[0049] Please refer to the attached drawings. It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings of this specification are only used to cooperate with the content disclosed in the specification for those skilled in this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the limiting conditions for the implementation of the present invention. Therefore, they do not have any substantial technical significance. Any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship, or adjustment of the size, without affecting the effects that the present invention can produce and the purposes that can be achieved, should still fall within the scope that can be covered by the technical content disclosed in the present invention. At the same time, the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle", and "one" cited in this specification are only for the convenience of clear narration and are not used to limit the scope for the implementation of the present invention. The change or adjustment of their relative relationships, without substantial change in the technical content, should also be regarded as the scope within which the present invention can be implemented.

[0050] As Figures 1 to 9 shown, the processing method of the glass with unequal thickness and flexible foldability in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0051] 1). Heating the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass substrate 10: Transfer the glass substrate 10 to the heating station in the heating chamber 100, clamp the glass substrate 10 into the profiling machine 200, and heat the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass substrate 10.

[0052] 2). Forming the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10: Under the action of the profiling machine 200, the profiling machine 200 stretches the glass substrate 10 along the length direction of the glass substrate 10, so that an upper groove 12 is formed on the upper side of the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass substrate 10, and a lower groove 13 is formed on the lower side of the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass substrate 10. The upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 are arranged opposite to each other; the upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 constitute the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10; the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10 is the bendable part of the glass. Figure 3 The A direction in Figure 3 is the length direction of the glass substrate 10,

[0053] 3). Annealing the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10: Transfer the processed glass substrate 10 to the annealing area and perform annealing treatment on the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10.

[0054] The processing method of the glass of the present invention does not involve acidic chemical agents, is safe and environmentally friendly; this processing method does not require mechanical processing, so the surface quality of the processed glass is high and the physical and chemical properties are stable; the forming and annealing processes of this glass processing method have high controllability, making the glass products have good consistency; in the processing method of the glass, except for the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10, there is no need to additionally coat or fill an optical protection layer in the main area of the glass substrate 10, so that the thickness of the main area of the glass substrate 10 is relatively large, and while obtaining the folding function of the flexible glass, the impact resistance of the whole glass can be ensured. The present invention is a processing method for an unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass with a simple process flow, which will not damage the glass and does not involve acidic chemical agents.

[0055] In step 1), the glass substrate 10 is an ultra-thin flexible glass produced by the down-draw method or the float method. By using the down-draw method or the float method to process the glass substrate 10, the size of the glass substrate 10 can be flexibly adjusted according to the processing requirements.

[0056] In step 1), in the heating chamber 100, there are two heat insulation baffles 300 arranged in parallel, and the glass substrate 10 is located between the two heat insulation baffles 300; each heat insulation baffle 300 is provided with a heating slit 310, and each heating slit 310 penetrates the upper surface and the lower surface of the heat insulation baffle 300, and the heating slit 310 extends along the width direction of the heat insulation baffle 300; the heating slits 310 of the two heat insulation baffles 300 are arranged opposite to each other; a plurality of local heating devices 410 are arranged on the heating slit 310 of the heat insulation baffle 300, and all the local heating devices 410 are arranged in sequence along the width direction of the heating slit 310; the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10 is located between the heating slits 310 of the two heat insulation baffles 300; the heat output by each local heating device 410 passes through the heating slit 310 to heat the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10. The width direction of the glass substrate 10 is parallel to the width direction of the heating slit 310.

[0057] The local heating device 410 located above heats the upper surface of the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10 through the heating slit 310 of the upper heat insulation baffle 300, and the local heating device 410 located below heats the lower surface of the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10 through the heating slit 310 of the lower heat insulation baffle 300; all the local heating devices 410 are arranged in sequence along the width direction of the heating slit 310, so that the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10 can be evenly heated. When the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10 is heated and the glass substrate 10 sags, the lower heat insulation baffle 300 can support the glass substrate 10.

[0058] A temperature detection device 420 is provided on each heat insulation baffle 300. The temperature detection device 420 is connected to the local heating device 410 through a controller 500. Each temperature detection device 420 can detect the actual temperature in the corresponding heating gap 310. Each temperature detection device 420 transmits the detected actual temperature in the corresponding heating gap 310 to the controller 500, so that the controller 500 controls the heating temperature of the local heating device 410. Then, the local heating device 410 can adjust the heating temperature according to the temperature feedback by the temperature detection device 420.

[0059] On each heat insulation baffle 300, the number of temperature detection devices 420 is multiple. The number of temperature detection devices 420 is equal to the number of local heating devices 410, and the temperature detection devices 420 and the local heating devices 410 are in one-to-one correspondence. All the temperature detection devices 420 are arranged in sequence along the width direction of the heating gap 310. The multiple temperature detection devices 420 can transmit the detected actual temperatures at different positions in the corresponding heating gap 310 to the controller 500. The controller 500 can independently control the corresponding local heating device 410 to control the temperatures at different positions of the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10. The temperature detection device 420 can be a thermocouple.

[0060] In step 1), the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10 is heated to 600°C - 1200°C. The temperature range of 600°C - 1200°C is the common softening temperature range of the glass sheet 10. Heating the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10 to this temperature range is beneficial for the shaping machine 200 to stretch the glass sheet 10 and form an unequal-thickness area on the glass sheet 10. The heating temperature of the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10 is determined according to the material of the glass.

[0061] In step 1), a plurality of inner cavity preheating devices 430 are provided on both the top surface and the bottom surface of the heating chamber 100. The inner cavity preheating devices 430 heat the inside of the heating chamber 100. The heat output by the inner cavity preheating devices 430 can preheat the glass at room temperature entering the heating chamber 100.

[0062] In step 1), first, the inner cavity preheating devices 430 are used to preheat the heating chamber 100 to 400°C - 600°C to preheat the glass sheet 10 entering the heating chamber. This can not only prevent the glass sheet 10 from breaking under the condition of rapid cooling and heating, but also shorten the heating time of the glass sheet 10. The temperature range of 400°C - 600°C is lower than the softening temperature range of the glass sheet 10, so that the preheated glass sheet 10 will not deform. The preheating temperature of the heating chamber 100 is determined according to the material of the glass sheet 10.

[0063] The molding machine 200 includes two clamping devices 210 arranged oppositely, and at least one clamping device 210 is provided with a stretching device 220;

[0064] In step 1), the two clamping devices 210 respectively clamp both ends of the glass substrate 10 in the length direction, so that the glass substrate 10 is clamped into the molding machine 200;

[0065] In step 2), under the action of the molding machine 200, the stretching device 220 drives the connected clamping device 210 to stretch the glass substrate 10 along the length direction of the glass substrate 10, so as to form an unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10.

[0066] The molding machine 200 can stretch an unequal-thickness area on the glass substrate 10 through a simple structure and working steps. In this embodiment, stretching devices 220 are provided on both clamping devices 210, and the two stretching devices 220 simultaneously pull the connected clamping devices 210 to stretch the glass substrate 10. The stretching speed at which the stretching device 220 of the molding machine 200 pulls the clamping device 210 can be adjusted.

[0067] The stretching device 220 includes a rod and a driving motor connected to the rod. The driving motor can drive the rod to move, and the rod is connected to the clamping device 210. The stretching device 220 can also be any other device that can pull the clamping device 210.

[0068] The stretching device 220 stretches out an unequal-thickness area, and the upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 form a symmetric structure. Both the upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 are arc-shaped grooves. The greater the stretching degree of the stretching device 220, the smaller the thickness value of the minimum-thickness area of the unequal-thickness area, and the larger the radius of the upper groove 12.

[0069] The processing method of this glass has a wide application range, a simple and flexible adjustable process flow, and is applicable to large-scale batch preparation; under the glass processing method, the obtained unequal-thickness area has flexible adjustable dimensions while ensuring a certain thinness, is applicable to the process requirements of display panels in multiple scenarios, and can be adapted to a variety of hinge assembly processes.

[0070] The thickness value of the minimum-thickness area of the unequal-thickness area is 20 μm - 50 μm; this value range can meet the size requirements of the bendable parts of existing folding screens.

[0071] In step 3), an annealing device is provided in the annealing area. The glass substrate 10 is moved into the annealing device, and the annealing temperature range is 530°C - 720°C to anneal the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10. The temperature range of 530°C - 720°C conforms to the common annealing temperature range of the glass substrate 10.

[0072] In this embodiment, the upper side of the glass sheet 10 is rectangular; the connection line of the midpoints of the long sides of the upper sides of the two glass sheets 10 forms the bending axis L of the glass sheet 10; the vertical plane passing through the bending axis L is the vertical reference plane M, and the arc-shaped grooves of the glass sheet 10 are symmetrically arranged structures with the vertical reference plane M as the central plane.

[0073] Embodiment 1

[0074] In this embodiment, aluminosilicate glass prepared by the float process is used as the glass sheet 10, and an unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass is made by using the processing method of this glass to improve the folding performance. The length of the glass sheet 10 is 200 mm, the width is 200 mm, and the thickness is 0.5 mm. The arc-shaped upper groove 12 and the arc-shaped lower groove 13 form the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10, and the thickness value of the minimum thickness area of the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10 is 40 μm. Both the local heating device 410 and the inner cavity preheating device 430 can use silicon carbide rods. The processing method of this embodiment can batch-process unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass.

[0075] The processing method of the unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0076] 1). Heat the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass sheet 10: The inner cavity preheating device 430 preheats the heating chamber 100 so that the heating chamber 100 is kept at 550 °C, transfer the aluminosilicate glass sheet 10 prepared by the float process to the heating station in the heating chamber 100, clamp the glass sheet 10 into the shaping machine 200, and the glass sheet 10 completely covers the heat insulation baffle 300. The heating gap 310 of the upper heat insulation baffle 300 is directly above the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass sheet 10, and the heating gap 310 of the lower heat insulation baffle 300 is directly below the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass sheet 10; the heat output by each local heating device 410 passes through the heating gap 310 to heat the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass sheet 10.

[0077] 2). Form the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10: Each temperature detection device 420 transmits the actually detected temperature in the corresponding heating gap 310 to the controller 500, and the controller 500 adjusts the heat output by the local heating device 410 according to the temperature fed back by the temperature detection device 420 so that the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass sheet 10 can be heated to 1150 °C.

[0078] Under the action of the molding machine 200, the molding machine 200 stretches the glass sheet 10 along the length direction of the glass sheet 10, so that an upper groove 12 is formed on the upper side of the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass sheet 10, and a lower groove 13 is formed on the lower side of the to-be-formed limited area 11 of the glass sheet 10. The upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 are arranged opposite to each other; the upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 constitute an unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10; the thickness value of the minimum-thickness area of the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10 is 40 μm;

[0079] 3) Annealing the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10: Move the processed foldable glass sheet 10 to the annealing area and perform annealing treatment on the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10; the upper limit of the annealing temperature is 710 °C.

[0080] After processing the unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass by using the processing method of this embodiment, the bending performance test is carried out by using the two-point bending test method and the continuous bending test method, and the test results are shown in Table 1. The two-point bending test method can obtain the ultimate bending radius, and the continuous bending test method can obtain the number of bending times of the glass.

[0081] Table 1

[0082]

[0083]

[0084] Example 2

[0085] In this embodiment, aluminosilicate glass prepared by the float process is used as the glass sheet 10, and an unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass is made by using the processing method of this glass to improve the folding performance. The length of the glass sheet 10 is 400 mm, the width is 400 mm, and the thickness is 0.5 mm. The arc-shaped upper groove 12 and the arc-shaped lower groove 13 constitute the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10, and the thickness value of the minimum-thickness area of the unequal-thickness area of the glass sheet 10 is 50 μm. Both the local heating device 410 and the inner cavity preheating device 430 can adopt silicon carbide rods.

[0086] The processing method of the unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0087] 1). Heat the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10: The inner cavity preheating device 430 preheats the heating chamber 100 so that the heating chamber 100 is kept at 600 °C. Transfer the aluminosilicate glass sheet 10 prepared by the float process to the heating station in the heating chamber 100, and clamp the glass sheet 10 into the profiling machine 200. The glass sheet 10 completely covers the heat insulation baffle 300. The heating gap 310 of the upper heat insulation baffle 300 is directly above the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10, and the heating gap 310 of the lower heat insulation baffle 300 is directly below the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10. The heat output by each local heating device 410 passes through the heating gap 310 to heat the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10.

[0088] 2). Forming the non-uniform thickness area of the glass sheet 10: Each temperature detection device 420 transmits the detected actual temperature in the corresponding heating gap 310 to the controller 500. The controller 500 adjusts the heat output of the local heating device 410 according to the temperature feedback by the temperature detection device 420, so that the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10 can be heated to 1100 °C.

[0089] Under the action of the profiling machine 200, the profiling machine 200 stretches the glass sheet 10 along the length direction of the glass sheet 10, so that an upper groove 12 is formed on the upper side of the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10, and a lower groove 13 is formed on the lower side of the to-be-formed defined area 11 of the glass sheet 10. The upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 are arranged oppositely. The upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 constitute the non-uniform thickness area of the glass sheet 10. The thickness value of the minimum thickness area of the non-uniform thickness area of the glass sheet 10 is 50 μm.

[0090] 3). Annealing the non-uniform thickness area of the glass sheet 10: Transfer the processed foldable glass sheet 10 to the annealing area and perform annealing treatment on the non-uniform thickness area of the glass sheet 10. The upper limit of the annealing temperature is 700 °C.

[0091] After processing the non-uniform thickness flexible foldable glass by the processing method of this embodiment, the bending performance test is carried out by the two-point bending test method and the continuous bending test method. The test results are shown in Table 2. The two-point bending test method can obtain the ultimate bending radius, and the continuous bending test method can obtain the number of bending times of the glass.

[0092] Table 2

[0093]

[0094] Example 3

[0095] In this embodiment, aluminosilicate glass prepared by the down-drawing process is used as the glass substrate 10, and an unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass is made by using the processing method of this glass to improve the folding performance. The length of the glass substrate 10 is 200 mm, the width is 150 mm, and the thickness is 0.1 mm. The arc-shaped upper groove 12 and the arc-shaped lower groove 13 constitute the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10, and the thickness value of the minimum-thickness area of the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10 is 30 μm. Both the local heating device 410 and the inner cavity preheating device 430 can use silicon carbide rods. The processing method of this embodiment can continuously process multiple small-sized ultra-thin unequal-thickness flexible foldable glasses.

[0096] The processing method of the unequal-thickness flexible foldable glass in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0097] 1), heating the to-be-formed and defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10: The inner cavity preheating device 430 preheats the heating chamber 100 so that the heating chamber 100 is kept at 580 °C. The aluminosilicate glass substrate 10 prepared by the float process is transferred to the heating station in the heating chamber 100, and the glass substrate 10 is clamped into the profiling machine 200, and the glass substrate 10 completely covers the heat insulation baffle 300. The heating gap 310 of the upper heat insulation baffle 300 is directly above the to-be-formed and defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10, and the heating gap 310 of the lower heat insulation baffle 300 is directly below the to-be-formed and defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10; The heat output by each local heating device 410 passes through the heating gap 310 to heat the to-be-formed and defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10;

[0098] 2), forming the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10: Each temperature detection device 420 transmits the actually detected temperature in the corresponding heating gap 310 to the controller 500. The controller 500 adjusts the heat output by the local heating device 410 according to the temperature fed back by the temperature detection device 420, so that the to-be-formed and defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10 can be heated to 1180 °C;

[0099] Under the action of the profiling machine 200, the profiling machine 200 stretches the glass substrate 10 along the length direction of the glass substrate 10, so that an upper groove 12 is formed on the upper side of the to-be-formed and defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10, and a lower groove 13 is formed on the lower side of the to-be-formed and defined area 11 of the glass substrate 10. The upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 are arranged opposite to each other; The upper groove 12 and the lower groove 13 constitute the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10; The thickness value of the minimum-thickness area of the unequal-thickness area of the glass substrate 10 is 30 μm;

[0100] 3) Annealing of the non-uniform thickness region of the glass sheet 10: Move the processed foldable glass sheet 10 to the annealing region and perform annealing treatment on the non-uniform thickness region of the glass sheet 10; the upper limit of the annealing temperature is 690 °C.

[0101] After processing the non-uniform thickness flexible foldable glass using the processing method of this embodiment, the bending performance test is carried out by the two-point bending test method and the continuous bending test method, and the test results are shown in Table 3. The two-point bending test method can obtain the ultimate bending radius, and the continuous bending test method can obtain the number of bending times of the glass.

[0102] Table 3

[0103]

[0104] The above detection and statistics of the bending performance of the non-uniform thickness flexible foldable glass can clearly show that good technical effects can be achieved through the technical solution of the present invention, and the prepared foldable glass has good bending performance.

[0105] This processing method has conducted in-depth research and careful selection in the processing and annealing links of the non-uniform thickness region of the glass sheet 10, realizing the organic coordination of each production process link, and achieving the organic unity of green, large-scale, intelligent, and high-quality processing and production. It overcomes the common key problems that it is difficult to balance the surface quality and mechanical and physical and chemical properties of the non-uniform thickness flexible foldable glass formed by process technologies such as mechanical processing and chemical thinning. This processing method can be compatible with aluminosilicate glass sheets 10 of various size specifications prepared by the float process and the down-draw one-step forming process, and can be compatible with the single or continuous preparation of the original sheet glass, having good industrial utilization value.

[0106] In summary, the present invention effectively overcomes various disadvantages in the prior art and has high industrial utilization value.

[0107] The above embodiments are only illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention. Any person familiar with this technology can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes completed by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical ideas disclosed by the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for processing flexible and foldable glass of unequal thickness, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: 1) Heating the limited area (11) to be formed of the glass original sheet (10): the glass original sheet (10) is transferred to a heating station in a heating chamber (100), the glass original sheet (10) is inserted into a molding machine (200), and the limited area (11) to be formed of the glass original sheet (10) is heated; in the step 1), two parallel heat insulation baffles (300) are provided in the heating chamber (100), and the glass original sheet (10) is located between the two heat insulation baffles (300). ); each of the heat insulation baffles (300) is provided with a heating slit (310), each of the heating slits (310) penetrates the upper surface of the heat insulation baffle (300) and the lower surface of the heat insulation baffle (300), and the heating slit (310) extends along the width direction of the heat insulation baffle (300); the heating slits (310) of the two heat insulation baffles (300) are arranged opposite to each other; the heating slits (310) of the heat insulation baffle (300) are provided with a plurality of local heating devices (410 ), all the local heating devices (410) are arranged in sequence along the width direction of the heating gap (310); the to-be-formed limited area (11) of the glass original sheet (10) is located between the heating gaps (310) of the two heat-insulating baffles (300); the heat output by each local heating device (410) passes through the heating gap (310) to heat the to-be-formed limited area (11) of the glass original sheet (10); each of the heat-insulating baffles (300) is provided with a temperature detection device (420), and the temperature detection device (420) is connected to the local heating device (410) through a controller (500); each of the temperature detection devices (420) can detect the actual temperature in the corresponding heating gap (310), and each of the temperature detection devices (420) transmits the detected actual temperature in the corresponding heating gap (310) to the controller (500), so that the controller (500) controls the heating temperature of the local heating device (410); 2) Forming the uneven thickness regions of the glass original sheet (10): under the action of the molding machine (200), the molding machine (200) stretches the glass original sheet (10) along the length direction of the glass original sheet (10), processes an upper groove (12) on the upper side surface of the limited region (11) to be formed of the glass original sheet (10), and processes a lower groove (13) on the lower side surface of the limited region (11) to be formed of the glass original sheet (10), wherein the upper groove (12) and the lower groove (13) are arranged opposite to each other; the upper groove (12) and the lower groove (13) form the uneven thickness regions of the glass original sheet (10); 3) Annealing the uneven thickness regions of the glass original sheet (10): the processed glass original sheet (10) is moved to an annealing region, and the uneven thickness regions of the glass original sheet (10) are annealed; the thickness of the smallest region of the uneven thickness regions is 20 μm to 50 μm.

2. The method for processing flexible and foldable glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 1), the glass sheet (10) is an ultra-thin flexible glass produced by a down-draw method or a float method.

3. The method for processing flexible and foldable glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 1), the defined area (11) to be formed of the glass sheet (10) is heated to 600° C.-1200° C.

4. The method for processing flexible and foldable glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 1), a plurality of inner cavity preheating devices (430) are provided on the top surface and the bottom surface of the heating chamber (100).

5. The method for processing flexible and foldable glass of unequal thickness according to claim 4, characterized in that: In the step 1), the inner cavity preheating device (430) is first used to preheat the heating chamber (100) to 400° C.-600° C., so as to preheat the glass sheet (10) entering the heating chamber.

6. The method for processing flexible and foldable glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The molding machine (200) comprises two clamping devices (210) arranged opposite to each other, and at least one of the clamping devices (210) is provided with a stretching device (220); In step 1), the two clamping devices (210) respectively clamp the two ends of the glass original sheet (10) in the length direction, so that the glass original sheet (10) is clamped into the molding machine (200); In step 2), under the action of the molding machine (200), the stretching device (220) drives the connected clamping device (210) to stretch the glass sheet (10) along the length direction of the glass sheet (10) to form regions of unequal thickness on the glass sheet (10).

7. The method for processing flexible and foldable glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 3), the annealing area is provided with an annealing device, and the original glass sheet (10) is moved into the annealing device. The annealing temperature range is 530° C.-720° C., so as to perform annealing treatment on the unequal thickness areas of the original glass sheet (10).

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