Cover plate, preparation method of cover plate, display module and preparation method of display module

Abstract

The invention discloses a cover plate and a preparation method thereof, and a display module and a preparation method thereof. The cover plate is provided with a first non-bending area and at least two bending areas, the first non-bending area is located between the adjacent bending areas, and the first non-bending area is in butt joint with the bending areas; the cover plate comprises a base layer, at least one side of the base layer is provided with a first concave part and a second concave part, the same side of the base layer is provided with at least two first concave parts, and different first concave parts on the same side of the base layer are located in different bending areas; the second concave part is located in the first non-bending area; and the second concave part and the first concave part on the same side of the base layer are communicated. According to the cover plate, the process and yield loss in the preparation process can be reduced, the process yield of the cover plate is improved, and meanwhile, the applicability of the cover plate in a multi-fold display product is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure belong to the field of display technology, and specifically relate to a cover plate and a preparation method thereof, a display module and a preparation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display screens have attracted widespread attention due to their advantages such as self-luminescence, low power consumption, lightness, flexibility, bright colors, high contrast, and fast response rate. Summary of the invention

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a cover plate and a method for preparing the same, and a display module and a method for preparing the same.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a cover plate, comprising a first non-bending area and at least two bending areas, wherein the first non-bending area is located between adjacent bending areas, and the first non-bending area and the bending area are butted against each other;

[0005] The cover plate comprises a base layer,

[0006] At least one side of the base layer is provided with a first recess and a second recess,

[0007] At least two first recesses are provided on the same side of the base layer, and different first recesses on the same side of the base layer are located in different bending areas; the second recess is located in the first non-bending area;

[0008] The second concave portion and the first concave portion, which are located on the same side of the base layer, are communicated with each other.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first concave portion and the second concave portion are formed on opposite sides of the base layer.

[0010] Orthographic projections of the first concave portions on opposite sides of the base layer on the base layer at least partially overlap;

[0011] Orthographic projections of the second recessed portions at opposite sides of the base layer on the base layer at least partially overlap.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first recessed portion and the second recessed portion located on the same side of the base layer have the same recessed depth.

[0013] In some embodiments, there is also a second non-bending area, which is located on a side of the bending area away from the first non-bending area, and the second non-bending area is butted against the bending area;

[0014] The orthographic projection of the first concave portion on the base layer covers the bending area, and the orthographic projection of the second concave portion on the base layer covers the first non-bending area;

[0015] The thickness of the base layer located in the bending area is less than or equal to 1 / 2 of the thickness of the base layer located in the second non-bending area;

[0016] The thickness of the base layer in the first non-bending area is less than or equal to 1 / 2 of the thickness of the base layer in the second non-bending area.

[0017] In some embodiments, the length L of the bending zone along its bending direction is L=πR+Δ, wherein R is the bending radius of the bending zone, and Δ is the fitting tolerance of the cover plate.

[0018] In some embodiments, it further includes a first filling portion and a second filling portion,

[0019] The first filling portion is located in the first recess, and the second filling portion is located in the second recess,

[0020] The modulus of the first filling portion is smaller than the modulus of the second filling portion.

[0021] In some embodiments, the orthographic projections of the first filling portion and the first concave portion on the base layer coincide;

[0022] The orthographic projections of the second filling portion and the second concave portion on the base layer coincide;

[0023] A side surface of the first filling portion facing away from the first concave portion, a side surface of the second filling portion facing away from the second concave portion, and a same side surface of the base layer are flush.

[0024] In some embodiments, the absolute value of the difference in refractive index between the first filling part and the base layer is less than 0.1;

[0025] An absolute value of a difference in refractive index between the second filling part and the base layer is less than 0.1.

[0026] In some embodiments, the bending zone includes a first bending zone and a second bending zone, and the bending radius of the first bending zone is smaller than the bending radius of the second bending zone;

[0027] The first filling portion includes a first sub-portion and a second sub-portion,

[0028] The first sub-portion is located in the first recess in the first bending region;

[0029] The second sub-portion is located in the first recess in the second bending zone;

[0030] The modulus of the first subsection is smaller than the modulus of the second subsection.

[0031] In some embodiments, the modulus of the first filling part ranges from 10 MPa to 10 GPa.

[0032] In some embodiments, the material of the first filling part includes any one of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, silicone, polyurethane and polymethyl methacrylate;

[0033] The material of the second filling part includes any one of polyimide, polymethyl methacrylate, non-Newtonian fluid and microcrystalline glass.

[0034] In some embodiments, the thickness of the base layer located in the bending area ranges from 0.02 to 0.07 mm;

[0035] The thickness of the base layer located in the first non-bending area ranges from 0.02 to 0.07 mm;

[0036] The thickness of the base layer located in the second non-bending area is in the range of 0.06 to 0.5 mm.

[0037] In some embodiments, the material of the base layer includes glass.

[0038] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display module, including a display panel and the above-mentioned cover plate.

[0039] The cover plate covers the display side of the display panel, and the cover plate covers the display panel.

[0040] In some embodiments, a heat insulating layer and a protective layer are also included.

[0041] The heat insulation layer is located between the display panel and the cover plate, and the heat insulation layer covers the display panel;

[0042] The protection layer is located at a side of the cover plate away from the display panel, and the protection layer covers the cover plate.

[0043] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for preparing the above-mentioned cover plate, comprising: opening a first recess and a second recess on at least one side of a base layer;

[0044] At least two of the first recesses are provided on the same side of the base layer;

[0045] The first concave portion and the second concave portion located on the same side of the base layer are simultaneously formed through a single cutting process.

[0046] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for preparing the above-mentioned display module, comprising: preparing an intermediate display panel and an intermediate cover plate respectively;

[0047] The middle cover plate is attached to the display side of the middle display panel, and the middle cover plate covers the middle display panel;

[0048] Integrating the edges of the middle cover plate and the middle display panel to form patterns of the cover plate and the display panel;

[0049] The surface of the cover plate facing away from the display panel is physically strengthened by a heating process.

[0050] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The cover plate provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure makes different first recesses on the same side of the base layer located in different bending zones, the second recesses are located in the first non-bending zone between adjacent bending zones, and the second recesses and the first recesses located on the same side of the base layer are connected, so that the second recesses and at least two first recesses located on the same side of the base layer can be simultaneously prepared and formed through a one-time grooving process. At the same time, compared with the solution of only grooving in the bending zone of the glass cover plate in the related art, in this embodiment, since the opening area of ​​the recesses on the same side of the base layer is significantly increased, the process complexity of the cover plate can be greatly reduced, thereby greatly reducing the process and yield loss of the cover plate in the preparation process, improving the process yield of the cover plate, and at the same time improving the applicability of the cover plate in multi-fold display products.

[0051] The display module provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can achieve multiple folding states of the display module by adopting the above-mentioned cover plate, while also ensuring good support and impact resistance protection of the display panel by the cover plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the present disclosure and do not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure. The above and other features and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by describing detailed example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0053] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the stacking structure of a flexible foldable display module in the related art.

[0054] Figure 2a It is a schematic top view of a cover plate in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] Figure 2b For along Figure 2a A structural cross-sectional diagram of the DD' section line.

[0056] Figure 2c It is a top view schematic diagram of another cover plate in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] Figure 2d For along Figure 2c Schematic diagram of the structural section along the EE' section line.

[0058] Figure 2e For along Figure 2a Another structural section diagram of the DD' section line.

[0059] Figure 2f Schematic diagram of the bending area of ​​the cover plate in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0060] Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display module in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0061] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a preparation process of a display module in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a cover plate and a preparation method thereof, a display module and a preparation method thereof provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0063] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the embodiments shown may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth in the present disclosure. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the present disclosure thorough and complete and to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the present disclosure.

[0064] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but include modifications of the configurations formed based on the manufacturing process. Therefore, the regions illustrated in the drawings have schematic properties, and the shapes of the regions shown in the drawings illustrate the specific shapes of the regions, but are not intended to be limiting.

[0065] With the development of display technology, display modules of various forms have become a hot spot for major screen manufacturers and terminal development. Compared with flat display modules, flexible display modules such as folding and curling can be folded, curled or bent like paper, and their portability and convenience are gradually attracting the attention of consumers.

[0066] Single-fold products (i.e. display modules with only one bendable area) are already very common. Recently, various terminal and panel manufacturers have begun to pay attention to multi-fold products to increase screen size and upgrade user experience. Multi-fold products (i.e. display modules with multiple bendable areas) are larger in size and more complex in bending shape, and have higher requirements for module stacking and module materials.

[0067] In the related art, the stacking structure of the flexible foldable display module is as follows Figure 1As shown, the cover plate 5 is made of a transparent polyimide film (CPI, Clear Polyimide) or a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film coated with a hard coating (Hard Coating) on ​​the surface, or is made of any one of CPI and PET bonded with ultra-thin glass (UTG, Ultra Thin Glass). Below the cover plate 5 are film layers such as an optically transparent adhesive layer (OCA) 10, a polarizer layer (Polarizer, which can reduce ambient light reflection) 13, a display layer (Panel) 14, a back film support film (Bottom film) 15 and a bracing component layer (formed by a combination of an adhesive layer and a rigid layer) 16.

[0068] In current flexible folding display modules, the cover plate 5 is usually composed of one to three layers of CPI or PET, or any one of CPI and PET in combination with ultra-thin glass. To meet the folding performance requirements, the thickness of the ultra-thin glass is generally ≤0.03mm. The ultra-thin design structure makes the cover plate 5 more flexible and less rigid, and cannot provide better protection and support for the flexible folding display module in terms of flatness and resistance to external impact.

[0069] In the related art, there is also a cover plate design in which grooves are made in the bending area of ​​a relatively thick glass cover plate. However, due to different groove directions (i.e., some grooves are toward one side of the cover plate, and some grooves are toward the other side of the cover plate) and / or different groove depths, the manufacturing process of the thicker glass cover plate is complicated, the yield is low, and the applicability is poor.

[0070] In addition, for flexible folding display modules using glass cover plates, the glass cover plates need to be physically strengthened after being attached to the display panel, and then the edges of the entire display module are laser cut to form the final product of the display module. Since the physically strengthened glass cover plates are prone to cracking during laser cutting, the edges of the glass cover plates in the display module are currently designed to be retracted so that the glass cover plates will not be cut when the edges of the entire display module are laser cut. Considering that the cumulative tolerance of the attachment and cutting of the glass cover plates is greater than 0.25mm, the edges of the glass cover plates need to be retracted by at least 0.25mm, so that there is no glass cover plate support at the edge of the display module, which can easily lead to edge collapse.

[0071] In order to solve the problems in the related art, in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a cover plate, referring to Figure 2a , Figure 2b , Figure 2c , Figure 2d and Figure 2eThe cover plate has a first non-bending zone A and at least two bending zones B, the first non-bending zone A is located between adjacent bending zones B, and the first non-bending zone A and the bending zone B are butt-jointed; the cover plate includes a base layer 1, at least one side of the base layer 1 is provided with a first recess 11 and a second recess 12, at least two first recesses 11 are provided on the same side of the base layer 1, and different first recesses 11 on the same side of the base layer 1 are located in different bending zones B; the second recess 12 is located in the first non-bending zone A; the second recess 12 and the first recess 11 located on the same side of the base layer 1 are connected.

[0072] Each bending area B of the cover plate can be bent in any direction, and the bending directions of different bending areas B can be consistent or inconsistent, that is, the cover plate in this embodiment is a multi-fold (i.e., multiple bending areas) cover plate. The first recess 11 and the second recess 12 are pits or grooves provided in the base layer 1, and the thickness of the base layer 1 is thinned in the area where the first recess 11 and the second recess 12 are provided. The second recess 12 and the first recess 11 are connected to each other, which means that the second recess 12 and the first recess 11 are connected to form a whole or a whole piece of recess.

[0073] In the present embodiment, by making different first recesses 11 on the same side of the base layer 1 located in different bending zones B, the second recess 12 is located in the first non-bending zone A between adjacent bending zones B, and the second recess 12 and the first recess 11 located on the same side of the base layer 1 are connected, the second recess 12 and at least two first recesses 11 located on the same side of the base layer 1 can be simultaneously prepared and formed through a single grooving process (such as laser cutting grooving). At the same time, compared with the solution of only grooving in the bending zone of the glass cover plate in the related art, in the present embodiment, since the opening area of ​​the recesses located on the same side of the base layer 1 is significantly increased, the process complexity of the cover plate can be greatly reduced, thereby greatly reducing the process and yield loss of the cover plate in the preparation process, improving the process yield of the cover plate, and at the same time improving the applicability of the cover plate in multi-fold display products.

[0074] In some embodiments, the material of the base layer 1 includes glass. The cover plate can be covered on the display side of the flexible display panel. Compared with the cover plate with a flexible laminated structure in the related art, the cover plate made of glass and provided with the first recess 11 and the second recess 12 can ensure a certain degree of flexibility while also ensuring a certain degree of rigidity, so that the cover plate can provide better protection and support for the flatness and resistance to external impact of the flexible folding display product.

[0075] In some embodiments, a first recess 11 and a second recess 12 are provided on opposite sides of the base layer 1, and the orthographic projections of the first recess 11 on opposite sides of the base layer 1 on the base layer 1 at least partially overlap; the orthographic projections of the second recess 12 on opposite sides of the base layer 1 on the base layer 1 at least partially overlap.

[0076] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2a and Figure 2b , the first concave portion 11 and the second concave portion 12 are provided on opposite sides of the base layer 1. The orthographic projections of the first concave portions 11 on opposite sides of the base layer 1 overlap on the base layer 1, and the orthographic projections of the second concave portions 12 on opposite sides of the base layer 1 overlap on the base layer 1. This arrangement makes the thickness of the bending area B of the cover plate thinner, so that the bending area B has better flexibility; at the same time, it can greatly reduce the process and yield loss of the opposite sides of the base layer 1 during the preparation process, and improve the process yield of the cover plate.

[0077] It should be noted that, refer to Figure 2c and Figure 2d The orthographic projections of the first concave portions 11 on the opposite sides of the base layer 1 on the base layer 1 may also partially overlap, and the orthographic projections of the second concave portions 12 on the opposite sides of the base layer 1 on the base layer 1 may also partially overlap.

[0078] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2e , only one side of the base layer 1 is provided with a first recess 11 and a second recess 12 .

[0079] In some embodiments, the first concave portion 11 and the second concave portion 12 located on the same side of the base layer 1 have the same concave depth. In this way, the second concave portion 12 and the first concave portion 11 located on the same side of the base layer 1 can be simultaneously prepared and formed through a single grooving process, thereby greatly reducing the process complexity of the cover plate, thereby greatly reducing the process and yield loss of the cover plate during the preparation process, improving the process yield of the cover plate, and at the same time improving the applicability of the cover plate in multi-fold display products.

[0080] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2a and Figure 2b The cover plate also has a second non-bending zone C, which is located on the side of the bending zone B away from the first non-bending zone A, and the second non-bending zone C is connected to the bending zone B; the orthographic projection of the first recess 11 on the base layer 1 covers the bending zone B, and the orthographic projection of the second recess 12 on the base layer 1 covers the first non-bending zone A; the thickness t1 of the base layer 1 located in the bending zone B is less than or equal to 1 / 2 of the thickness t2 of the base layer 1 located in the second non-bending zone C; the thickness t1 of the base layer 1 located in the first non-bending zone A is less than or equal to 1 / 2 of the thickness t2 of the base layer 1 located in the second non-bending zone C.

[0081] Such a configuration, on the one hand, can make the thickness of the bending zone B of the cover plate thinner, so that the bending zone B has better flexibility; on the other hand, it can enable the second recess 12 and the first recess 11 located on the same side of the base layer 1 to be simultaneously prepared and formed through a single grooving process, thereby greatly reducing the process complexity of the cover plate, and further greatly reducing the process and yield loss of the cover plate in the preparation process, thereby improving the process yield of the cover plate, and at the same time improving the applicability of the cover plate in multi-fold display products.

[0082] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2a and Figure 2f , the length of the bending zone B along its bending direction L = πR + Δ; wherein R is the bending radius of the bending zone B, and Δ is the fitting tolerance of the cover plate. Such an arrangement can realize smooth bending of different bending zones B, thereby facilitating the realization of multi-fold cover plates.

[0083] In some embodiments, the cover plate further includes a first filling portion 2 and a second filling portion 3, wherein the first filling portion 2 is located in the first recess 11, and the second filling portion 3 is located in the second recess 12, and the modulus of the first filling portion 2 is smaller than the modulus of the second filling portion 3. In this way, the bending requirements of the bending zone B can be met on the one hand, and the support strength and resistance to external impact requirements of the first non-bending zone A can be met on the other hand.

[0084] In some embodiments, the orthographic projections of the first filling part 2 and the first concave part 11 on the base layer 1 overlap; the orthographic projections of the second filling part 3 and the second concave part 12 on the base layer 1 overlap; the side surface of the first filling part 2 facing away from the first concave part 11, the side surface of the second filling part 3 facing away from the second concave part 12 are flush with the same side surface of the base layer 1. Such an arrangement can, on the one hand, avoid the appearance of a gap between the first filling part 2 and the second filling part 3, thereby avoiding poor bending performance at the gap and insufficient support strength and impact resistance; on the other hand, it can also ensure that the surface of the cover plate is flat, thereby ensuring that the cover plate has a good appearance effect.

[0085] In some embodiments, the absolute value of the difference in refractive index between the first filling part 2 and the base layer 1 is less than 0.1; the absolute value of the difference in refractive index between the second filling part 3 and the base layer 1 is less than 0.1. This ensures that the refractive indexes of the first filling part 2 and the base layer 1 match, and the refractive indexes of the second filling part 3 and the base layer 1 match, thereby ensuring the overall light transmission effect of the cover plate.

[0086] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2f , the bending zone B includes a first bending zone B1 and a second bending zone B2, the bending radius R1 of the first bending zone B1 is smaller than the bending radius R2 of the second bending zone B2; the first filling portion 2 includes a first sub-portion 21 and a second sub-portion 22, the first sub-portion 21 is located in the first concave portion 11 in the first bending zone B1; the second sub-portion 22 is located in the first concave portion 11 in the second bending zone B2; the modulus of the first sub-portion 21 is smaller than the modulus of the second sub-portion 22. In this way, the bending performance of the first bending zone B1 can be better than that of the second bending zone B2.

[0087] In some embodiments, the modulus of the first filling portion 2 is in the range of 10 MPa to 10 GPa. For example, the modulus of the first sub-portion 21 is in the range of 10 MPa to 100 MPa; the modulus of the second sub-portion 22 is in the range of 100 MPa to 10 GPa; and the modulus of the second filling portion 3 is greater than 10 GPa.

[0088] In some embodiments, the material of the first filling part 2 includes any one of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU), silicone, polyurethane (PU) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA); the material of the second filling part 3 includes any one of polyimide (CPI), polymethyl methacrylate, non-Newtonian fluid and microcrystalline glass.

[0089] Among them, the modulus of the non-Newtonian fluid material increases rapidly when it is impacted by an external force, thereby further improving the impact resistance of the first non-bending area A. The second filling part 3 of the microcrystalline glass material can be attached to the first non-bending area A by bonding, thereby improving the impact resistance and scratch resistance of the first non-bending area A of the cover plate. In specific operations, the second filling part 3 of the microcrystalline glass material can be attached to the first non-bending area A first, and then the flexible material can be filled in different bending areas B.

[0090] In some embodiments, the thickness t1 of the base layer 1 located in the bending zone B ranges from 0.02 to 0.07 mm; the thickness t1 of the base layer 1 located in the first non-bending zone A ranges from 0.02 to 0.07 mm; the thickness t2 of the base layer 1 located in the second non-bending zone C ranges from 0.06 to 0.5 mm.

[0091] Based on the above structure of the cover plate, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a method for preparing the cover plate, including: opening a first recess and a second recess on at least one side of the base layer; opening at least two first recesses on the same side of the base layer; and the first recess and the second recess located on the same side of the base layer are simultaneously formed through a one-time cutting process.

[0092] In some embodiments, the method for preparing the cover plate further includes: filling the first concave portion with a first filling material; filling the second concave portion with a second filling material; curing the first filling material to form a first filling portion; and curing the second filling material to form a second filling portion.

[0093] The first filling material and the second filling material may be cured by light curing (such as UV light curing) and / or heat curing. The cutting process includes a laser cutting process.

[0094] The preparation method of the cover plate in this embodiment can, on the one hand, avoid the formation of a gap between the first filling part and the second filling part, thereby avoiding poor bending performance at the gap and insufficient supporting strength and impact resistance; on the other hand, it can also ensure that the surface of the cover plate is flat, thereby ensuring that the cover plate has a good appearance.

[0095] In some embodiments, when the second filling part is made of microcrystalline glass, the second filling part made of microcrystalline glass can be firstly attached to the first non-bending area, and then the flexible material can be filled in different bending areas.

[0096] In some embodiments, after the first recess and the second recess are simultaneously formed through a one-time cutting process, the surfaces of the first recess and the second recess may be physically strengthened to have certain bending, supporting and impact resistance properties.

[0097] The cover plate provided by the disclosed embodiment has different first recesses on the same side of the base layer located in different bending zones, the second recesses located in the first non-bending zone between adjacent bending zones, and the second recesses and the first recesses located on the same side of the base layer are connected, so that the second recesses and at least two first recesses located on the same side of the base layer can be simultaneously prepared and formed through a single grooving process. At the same time, compared with the solution of only grooving in the bending zone of the glass cover plate in the related art, in this embodiment, since the opening area of ​​the recesses on the same side of the base layer is significantly increased, the process complexity of the cover plate can be greatly reduced, thereby greatly reducing the process and yield loss of the cover plate in the preparation process, improving the process yield of the cover plate, and at the same time improving the applicability of the cover plate in multi-fold display products.

[0098] In a second aspect, the present disclosure also provides a display module, referring to Figure 3 , including a display panel 4 , and also including the cover plate 5 in the above embodiment, the cover plate 5 covers the display side of the display panel 4 , and the cover plate 5 covers the display panel 4 .

[0099] By adopting the cover plate 5 in the above embodiment, the display module can be folded in multiple states, while ensuring good support and impact protection of the display panel 4 by the cover plate 5 .

[0100] In some embodiments, the display module also includes a thermal insulation layer 6 and a protective layer 7. The thermal insulation layer 6 is located between the display panel 4 and the cover plate 5, and covers the display panel 4. The protective layer 7 is located on the side of the cover plate 5 facing away from the display panel 4, and covers the cover plate 5.

[0101] In some embodiments, the heat insulating layer 6 is made of porous materials, such as transparent foam plastics, ultra-fine glass wool, high-silicon wool, etc. The heat insulating layer 6 can prevent the heat of the cover plate 5 from diffusing to the display panel 4 during the physical strengthening process of the glass cover plate 5, thereby preventing the heat from affecting the display panel 4. At the same time, the heat insulating layer 6 can also form impact buffering protection for the display panel 4, thereby improving the impact resistance of the entire display module. The protective layer 7 is made of organic materials, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyimide (CPI), etc., and the protective layer 7 can protect the cover plate 5.

[0102] In some embodiments, the display panel 4 may be an OLED display panel, a Micro LED display panel, or a MiniLED display panel. Taking the OLED display panel as an example, the display panel 4 includes a substrate, a pixel circuit layer, a light-emitting device layer, an encapsulation layer, a touch layer, and an anti-reflection layer stacked on one side of the substrate in sequence. A back film and a support film may also be attached to the side of the substrate away from the pixel circuit layer. The encapsulation layer may be a laminated structure of an inorganic layer, an organic layer, and an inorganic layer, the material of the inorganic layer may be silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or silicon oxynitride; the material of the organic layer may be an acrylic resin material, etc. The anti-reflection layer may be a polarizer or a color film layer. In addition, the cover plate 5 and the display panel 4 are bonded together by an optically transparent adhesive (OCA).

[0103] Based on the above structure of the display module, the present disclosure also provides a method for preparing the display module. Figure 4 , comprising: step S01: preparing the middle display panel 8 and the middle cover plate 9 respectively;

[0104] In this step, the intermediate display panel 8 can be obtained by cutting from the motherboard by laser cutting.

[0105] Step S02: attaching the middle cover plate 9 to the display side of the middle display panel 8, and the middle cover plate 9 covers the middle display panel 8;

[0106] This step also includes: attaching a heat insulating layer 6 to the display side of the middle display panel 8 , and then attaching the middle cover plate 9 to the side of the heat insulating layer 6 facing away from the middle display panel 8 .

[0107] In this step, by making the middle cover plate 9 cover the middle display panel 8, it is possible to prevent the edge of the display module from collapsing.

[0108] Step S03: performing integrated edge cutting on the middle cover plate 9 and the middle display panel 8 to form a pattern of the cover plate 5 and the display panel 4;

[0109] In this step, the edges of the middle cover plate 9 and the middle display panel 8 can be cut by laser cutting. By cutting the middle cover plate 9 and the middle display panel 8 that are not physically strengthened as a whole, the cut edge of the middle cover plate 9 can be prevented from being broken, and the middle cover plate 9 supports the edge of the entire display module to prevent the edge of the display module from collapsing.

[0110] Step S04: physically strengthening the surface of the cover plate 5 facing away from the display panel 4 by a heating process.

[0111] In this step, the physical strengthening of the surface of the cover plate 5 can be achieved by heating the surface of the cover plate 5, such as by heating the surface of the cover plate 5 through flame spraying, so that the surface of the cover plate 5 is physically strengthened; after physical strengthening, a compressive stress layer is formed on the surface of the cover plate 5, so that the cover plate 5 has good bending properties.

[0112] In this step, the heat insulating layer 6 can block the heat of the cover plate 5 from diffusing to the display panel 4 during the physical strengthening process of the glass cover plate 5, thereby preventing the heat from affecting the display panel 4. At the same time, the heat insulating layer 6 can also form impact buffering protection for the display panel 4, thereby improving the impact resistance of the entire display module.

[0113] In this embodiment, after step S04 is completed, a protective layer 7 may be provided on the side of the cover plate 5 away from the display panel 4 by coating or laminating process. The protective layer 7 protects the cover plate 5 .

[0114] The display module provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can achieve multiple folding states of the display module by adopting the cover plate in the above embodiment, while also ensuring good support and impact protection of the display panel by the cover plate.

[0115] The display module provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be any product or component with a display function, such as an OLED panel, an OLED TV, an OLED billboard, a display, a mobile phone, a navigator, or the like.

[0116] It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments used to illustrate the principles of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For those of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and substance of the present disclosure, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A cover plate, comprising a first non-bending area and at least two bending areas, wherein the first non-bending area is located between adjacent bending areas, and the first non-bending area and the bending area are butted against each other; The cover plate comprises a base layer, It is characterized in that At least one side of the base layer is provided with a first recess and a second recess, At least two first recesses are provided on the same side of the base layer, and different first recesses on the same side of the base layer are located in different bending areas; the second recess is located in the first non-bending area; The second concave portion and the first concave portion, which are located on the same side of the base layer, are communicated with each other.

2. The cover plate according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first concave portion and the second concave portion are formed on opposite sides of the base layer. Orthographic projections of the first concave portions on opposite sides of the base layer on the base layer at least partially overlap; Orthographic projections of the second recessed portions at opposite sides of the base layer on the base layer at least partially overlap.

3. The cover plate according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first concave portion and the second concave portion located on the same side of the base layer have the same concave depth.

4. The cover plate according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also has a second non-bending area, which is located on a side of the bending area away from the first non-bending area, and the second non-bending area is butted against the bending area; The orthographic projection of the first concave portion on the base layer covers the bending area, and the orthographic projection of the second concave portion on the base layer covers the first non-bending area; The thickness of the base layer located in the bending area is less than or equal to 1 / 2 of the thickness of the base layer located in the second non-bending area; The thickness of the base layer in the first non-bending area is less than or equal to 1 / 2 of the thickness of the base layer in the second non-bending area.

5. The cover plate according to claim 4, characterized in that: The length of the bending zone along its bending direction is L=πR+Δ, wherein R is the bending radius of the bending zone, and Δ is the fitting tolerance of the cover plate.

6. The cover plate according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Also includes a first filling part and a second filling part, The first filling portion is located in the first recess, and the second filling portion is located in the second recess, The modulus of the first filling portion is smaller than the modulus of the second filling portion.

7. The cover plate according to claim 6, characterized in that: The orthographic projections of the first filling portion and the first concave portion on the base layer coincide; The orthographic projections of the second filling portion and the second concave portion on the base layer coincide; A side surface of the first filling portion facing away from the first concave portion, a side surface of the second filling portion facing away from the second concave portion, and a same side surface of the base layer are flush.

8. The cover plate according to claim 6, characterized in that: The absolute value of the difference in refractive index between the first filling part and the base layer is less than 0.1; An absolute value of a difference in refractive index between the second filling part and the base layer is less than 0.

1.

9. The cover plate according to claim 6, characterized in that: The bending zone includes a first bending zone and a second bending zone, and the bending radius of the first bending zone is smaller than the bending radius of the second bending zone; The first filling portion includes a first sub-portion and a second sub-portion, The first sub-portion is located in the first recess in the first bending region; The second sub-portion is located in the first recess in the second bending zone; The modulus of the first subsection is smaller than the modulus of the second subsection.

10. The cover plate according to claim 6, characterized in that: The modulus of the first filling part ranges from 10 MPa to 10 GPa.

11. The cover plate according to claim 6, characterized in that: The material of the first filling part includes any one of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, silicone, polyurethane and polymethyl methacrylate; The material of the second filling part includes any one of polyimide, polymethyl methacrylate, non-Newtonian fluid and microcrystalline glass.

12. The cover plate according to claim 4, characterized in that: The thickness of the base layer located in the bending area ranges from 0.02 to 0.07 mm; The thickness of the base layer located in the first non-bending area ranges from 0.02 to 0.07 mm; The thickness of the base layer located in the second non-bending area is in the range of 0.06 to 0.5 mm.

13. The cover plate according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the base layer includes glass.

14. A display module, comprising a display panel, characterized in that: Also comprising the cover plate according to any one of claims 1 to 13, The cover plate covers the display side of the display panel, and the cover plate covers the display panel.

15. The display module according to claim 14, characterized in that: It also includes thermal insulation and protective layers. The heat insulation layer is located between the display panel and the cover plate, and the heat insulation layer covers the display panel; The protection layer is located at a side of the cover plate away from the display panel, and the protection layer covers the cover plate.

16. A method for preparing a cover plate according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that: include: A first recess and a second recess are provided on at least one side of the base layer; At least two of the first recesses are provided on the same side of the base layer; The first concave portion and the second concave portion located on the same side of the base layer are simultaneously formed through a single cutting process.

17. A method for preparing a display module according to any one of claims 14 to 15, characterized in that: include: Prepare a middle display panel and a middle cover plate respectively; The middle cover plate is attached to the display side of the middle display panel, and the middle cover plate covers the middle display panel; Integrating the edges of the middle cover plate and the middle display panel to form patterns of the cover plate and the display panel; The surface of the cover plate facing away from the display panel is physically strengthened by a heating process.

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