Flexible display module and display device

Abstract

The invention provides a flexible display module and a display device.The flexible display module comprises a display panel, a cover plate layer and a protective layer, the cover plate layer and the protective layer are arranged on the light emitting side of the display panel, and the cover plate layer is located in a display area and a non-display area of the display panel; the cover plate layer comprises first ultra-thin glass and a first covering layer covering the surface of the side, away from the display panel, of the first ultra-thin glass and the side face of the first ultra-thin glass, the protective layer is arranged on the side, away from the display panel, of the cover plate layer, and the protective layer is arranged in an inwards-shrinking mode relative to the cover plate layer and correspondingly arranged in the display area; the protective layer comprises a first base material layer and a second surface coating arranged on the side, away from the cover plate layer, of the first base material layer, and at least one of the first base material layer and the second surface coating is made of glass or glass-like materials, so that more polymer film layers and adhesive layers on a cover plate in an existing folding product are removed, the surface hardness of the repair layer is increased, and the repair cost is reduced. The problems that an existing folding display product is obvious in creases and poor in indentation resistance are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a flexible display module and a display device. Background Art

[0002] Folding display devices are the development trend of future display technology. Currently, the most popular ones are organic light emitting diode (OLED) display devices, which have unique bending and folding properties, and can be prepared into folding display devices in various forms. They are easy to carry and store, and have received widespread attention in the market.

[0003] The cover panels of current folding display products use more polymer film layers, which makes the superposition of plastic deformation more obvious, resulting in obvious creases and poor indentation resistance; secondly, the composite of multiple polymer film layers requires the use of more layers of adhesive layers, which leads to reduced compressive resistance. Because the modulus of the adhesive layer is at the Kpa level, it has almost no compressive resistance. Under the force of fingernails or electromagnetic pens, the surface depression is very obvious; in addition, in folding products, there are dislocations between layers, and the use of more polymer film layers and adhesive layers means that the risk of peeling between film layers increases.

[0004] Moreover, the repair layer in current folding display products is usually made of a polymer film layer and a glue layer, and the surface pencil hardness is between BH; even if the surface of the repair layer is provided with a hard coating, the plastic deformation of the polymer film as a substrate cannot be ignored, resulting in obvious creases and poor indentation resistance. Therefore, the problems of obvious creases and poor indentation resistance in current folding display products need to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a flexible display module and a display device to alleviate the technical problems of obvious creases and poor indentation resistance in foldable display products.

[0006] To solve the above problems, the technical solutions provided by this application are as follows:

[0007] An embodiment of the present application provides a flexible display module, which includes a display area and a non-display area adjacent to the display area; the flexible display module also includes:

[0008] Display panel;

[0009] a cover layer, arranged on the light-emitting side of the display panel, the cover layer being located in the display area and the non-display area, the cover layer comprising a first ultra-thin glass, a first covering layer, and a first surface coating located on a side of the first covering layer away from the first ultra-thin glass, the first covering layer covering a surface of the first ultra-thin glass away from the display panel and a side surface of the first ultra-thin glass;

[0010] A protective layer, arranged on a side of the cover layer away from the display panel, the protective layer being arranged inwardly relative to the cover layer and correspondingly arranged in the display area;

[0011] The protective layer includes a first substrate layer and a second surface coating layer disposed on a side of the first substrate layer away from the cover layer, and at least one of the first substrate layer and the second surface coating layer is made of glass or glass-like material.

[0012] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the cover layer also includes a shading layer, which is located on the side of the first ultra-thin glass close to the display panel and is located in the non-display area, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the display panel is separated from the orthographic projection of the shading layer on the display panel.

[0013] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the material of the first substrate layer includes one of PET and CPI, and the second surface coating layer is a glass-like material.

[0014] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the second surface coating includes a substrate and a hyperbranched polymer, rigid nanoparticles and linear prepolymer doped in the substrate.

[0015] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first substrate layer includes:

[0016] A second ultra-thin glass comprises a first upper surface and a first lower surface opposite to each other, and a first side surface connecting the first upper surface and the first lower surface, wherein the first upper surface is located on a side of the second ultra-thin glass away from the cover layer;

[0017] a second covering layer, covering the first upper surface, the first side surface, and the first lower surface of the second ultra-thin glass, wherein the second covering layer is connected to the cover layer through the first adhesive layer;

[0018] The second surface coating is located on a side of the second covering layer away from the second ultra-thin glass.

[0019] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first substrate layer includes:

[0020] A second ultra-thin glass, wherein the second ultra-thin glass comprises a first upper surface and a first lower surface opposite to each other, and a first side surface connecting the first upper surface and the first lower surface, wherein the first upper surface is located at a side of the second ultra-thin glass away from the cover layer;

[0021] a second covering layer, covering the first upper surface and the first side surface of the second ultra-thin glass;

[0022] The bearing layer is arranged on a side of the second ultra-thin glass close to the cover layer, the bearing layer is connected to the cover layer through the first adhesive layer, and the bearing layer is also connected to the second ultra-thin glass through the second adhesive layer.

[0023] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the ratio of the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass to the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass is in the range of 1 / 3-1 / 1.

[0024] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first ultra-thin glass includes a second upper surface and a second lower surface opposite to each other, and a second side surface connecting the second upper surface and the second lower surface, and the second upper surface is located on a side of the first ultra-thin glass away from the display panel;

[0025] The first covering layer covers the second upper surface and the second side surface, and the cover plate layer is connected to the display panel via a third adhesive layer.

[0026] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the display area includes a bending area and a non-bending area adjacent to the bending area;

[0027] The first ultra-thin glass is provided with a first groove at a position corresponding to the bending area, and the third adhesive layer is filled in the first groove.

[0028] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the thickness of the first covering layer covering the second side surface in the direction away from the first ultra-thin glass is greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than or equal to 0.4 mm.

[0029] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first covering layer also covers the second side surface and the second lower surface, and the first covering layer is connected to the display panel through the third adhesive layer.

[0030] In the flexible display module provided in the embodiment of the present application, the display area includes a bending area and a non-bending area adjacent to the bending area;

[0031] The first ultra-thin glass is provided with a first groove at a position corresponding to the bending area, and the first covering layer is filled in the first groove.

[0032] An embodiment of the present application further provides a display device, which includes the flexible display module described in one of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0033] The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: in the flexible display module and display device provided by the present application, the flexible display module includes a display panel and a cover layer and a protective layer arranged on the light-emitting side of the display panel, the cover layer is located in the display area and the non-display area of ​​the display panel, the cover layer includes a first ultra-thin glass, a surface covering the first ultra-thin glass away from the display panel and a first covering layer on the side of the first ultra-thin glass, the protective layer is arranged on the side of the cover layer away from the display panel, the protective layer is set inwardly relative to the cover layer, and is arranged correspondingly in the display area, the protective layer includes a first substrate layer and a substrate layer arranged away from the cover layer on the first substrate layer The second surface coating on one side, at least one of the first substrate layer and the second surface coating is made of glass or glass-like material; in this way, a cover layer is formed by covering the cover layer on the ultra-thin glass, and directly connected to the protective layer with a larger surface hardness, so as to remove more polymer film layers and adhesive layers on the cover of the current folding product, and increase the surface hardness of the repair layer, thereby improving the surface touch, hardness and crease and indentation resistance of the flexible display module while realizing the bendability of the flexible display module, reducing the risk of creases and indentations on the flexible display module, and improving the problems of obvious creases and poor indentation resistance in the current folding display products. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0035] Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a flexible display module is illustrated.

[0036] Figure 2 A partial cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a non-folding display module is illustrated.

[0037] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a first cross-sectional structure of a flexible display module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0038] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover layer.

[0039] Figure 5 for Figure 1Schematic diagram of the structure of the hard coating material on the middle protective layer.

[0040] Figure 6 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the second surface coating material.

[0041] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a second cross-sectional structure of a flexible display module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0042] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover layer.

[0043] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a third cross-sectional structure of the flexible display module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] Fig.10 for Fig. 9 Detailed structural diagram of the middle protective layer.

[0045] Fig.11 for Fig. 9 Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover layer.

[0046] Fig.12 This is a schematic diagram of a fourth cross-sectional structure of the flexible display module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0047] Fig.13 for Fig.12 Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover layer.

[0048] Fig.14 for Fig.12 Detailed structural diagram of the middle protective layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The following descriptions of the embodiments are with reference to the attached diagrams to illustrate specific embodiments that the present application can be implemented in. The directional terms mentioned in the present application, such as [up], [down], [front], [back], [left], [right], [inside], [outside], [first side], etc., are only with reference to the directions of the attached drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are used to illustrate and understand the present application, rather than to limit the present application. In the figures, units with similar structures are represented by the same reference numerals. In the accompanying drawings, the thickness of some layers and regions is exaggerated for clear understanding and ease of description. That is, the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown, but the present application is not limited to this.

[0050] In view of the problem that foldable display products have obvious creases and poor indentation resistance, the inventors of this application found in their research that: Figure 1 , Figure 1A schematic diagram of a partial cross-sectional structure of a flexible display module is illustrated. The flexible display module 100' is a foldable display module. The flexible display module 100' includes a display panel, a cover layer 20' and a protective layer 30' located on the light-emitting side of the display panel 10'. The display panel 10' includes a panel layer Panel and a polarizer or a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer ( Figure 1 The cover layer 20' includes a polyethylene terephthalate layer ( Figure 1 and PET1+HC is used to represent this layer in the following text), a transparent polyimide (Colorless Polyimide, CPI) layer or an ultrathin glass (Ultrathin glass, UTG) layer ( Figure 1 PET1+HC is connected to CPI / UTG through optical adhesive OCA1, and CPI / UTG is connected to POL / POP through optical adhesive OCA2. The cover layer 20' also includes an ink layer disposed on the side of PET1+HC close to CPI / UTG. The protective layer 30' includes a polyethylene terephthalate layer ( Figure 1 The protective layer 30' is a replaceable layer, which can be directly torn off from the flexible display module 100' and replaced with a new protective layer after the protective layer 30' is damaged and invalid.

[0051] from Figure 1 It can be seen from the stacked structure of the flexible display module 100' that the cover layer 20' uses more polymer film layers and optical adhesive layers, which makes the plastic deformation superposition more obvious, resulting in obvious creases and poor indentation resistance of the flexible display module 100'; secondly, the large number of optical adhesive layers leads to reduced compressive resistance, because the modulus of the adhesive layer is at the Kpa level, which has almost no compressive resistance. Under the force of the fingernail or electromagnetic pen, the surface depression is very obvious; in addition, in folding products, there are dislocations between layers, and the use of more polymer film layers and adhesive layers means that the risk of peeling between film layers increases. Moreover, the protective layer 30' is a composite of a polymer film layer and an adhesive layer, and the surface pencil hardness is between BH; even if the surface of the protective layer 30' is provided with a hard coating, the plastic deformation of the polymer film as the substrate cannot be ignored, resulting in obvious creases and poor indentation resistance.

[0052] The inventor of the present application found in practice that: Figure 2 , Figure 2A partial cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a non-folding display module is illustrated, wherein the non-folding display module 100" includes a display panel 10", a cover layer 20" and a protective layer 30" located on the light-emitting side of the display panel 10", and a support layer 40" located on the side of the display panel 10" away from the light-emitting side. The display panel 10" includes a panel layer Panel and a polarizer or a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer ( Figure 1 And POL / POP is used to represent this layer in the following text). The cover layer 20" includes a glass cover CG, and the glass cover CG is connected to the POL / POP layer by optical adhesive OCA. The glass cover CG is a surface strength providing layer for the overall non-folding display module 100", and its thickness ranges from 400-600um. It has good impact resistance and the steel ball level is above 50mm. The protective layer 30" is connected to the glass cover, and the protective layer 30" can be a tempered film or a PET high-transmittance film. The supporting layer 40" includes a back panel BP and a composite functional layer SCF. The protective layer 30" is a replaceable layer on the non-folding display module 100". Due to the high surface strength of the glass cover, the protective layer 30" is dispensable for the non-folding display module 100". Compared with the glass cover Figure 1 The multi-layer polymer film layers and multi-layer adhesive layers have greater surface hardness, stronger pressure resistance, and a good smooth glass surface touch.

[0053] Based on this, the inventor of the present application proposes a flexible display module and a display device, under the premise that the flexible display module can be bent and folded, the cover layer and the protective layer of the flexible display module are Figure 2 The cover layer 20" and the protective layer 30" in the example non-folding display module are aligned, which improves the surface touch, hardness, and resistance to creases and indentations of the flexible display module, reduces the risk of creases and indentations in the flexible display module, and improves the problems of obvious creases and poor resistance to indentations in folding display products.

[0054] Please refer to Figures 1 to 6 , Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a first cross-sectional structure of a flexible display module provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 4 for Figure 3 Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover layer. Figure 5 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the hard coating material on the middle protective layer, Figure 6 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the second surface coating material. Figure 3The flexible display module 100 includes a display area NA and a non-display area NA adjacent to the display area NA. For example, the non-display area NA may surround the display area NA. The display area NA is used to display images.

[0055] The flexible display module 100 further includes a display panel 10 and a cover layer 20 and a protective layer 30 disposed on the light-emitting side of the display panel 10. The display panel 10 is located in the display area NA and the non-display area NA, and the cover layer 20 is connected to the display panel 10, so that the cover layer 20 is also located in the display area NA and the non-display area NA.

[0056] The cover layer 20 includes a first ultra-thin glass 21, a first covering layer 22, and a first surface coating 23 located on a side of the first covering layer 22 away from the first ultra-thin glass 21, and the first covering layer 22 covers a surface of the first ultra-thin glass 21 away from the display panel 10 and a side surface of the first ultra-thin glass 21.

[0057] The protective layer 30 is disposed on a side of the cover layer 20 away from the display panel 10 and connected to the cover layer 20. The protective layer 30 is set inward relative to the cover layer 20 and is correspondingly disposed in the display area NA. The protective layer 30 includes a first substrate layer 31 and a second surface coating 32 disposed on a side of the first substrate layer 31 away from the cover layer 20. At least one of the first substrate layer 31 and the second surface coating 32 is made of glass or glass-like material, so that the surface hardness of the protective layer 30 away from the cover layer 20 is greater than 7H and less than or equal to 9H.

[0058] In this embodiment, the cover layer 20 is formed by covering the cover layer on the ultra-thin glass and directly connected to the protective layer 30 with a larger surface hardness, so as to remove the polymer film layer and the glue layer on the cover of the current folding product and increase the surface hardness of the repair layer. Figure 3 The flexible display module 100 of the example is compared to Figure 1 The example flexible display module 100' removes more polymer film layers and adhesive layers on the cover layer 20 in the flexible display module 100' and increases the surface hardness of the protective layer 30, thereby improving the surface touch, hardness, and resistance to creases and indentations of the flexible display module 100 while ensuring that the flexible display module 100 is bendable, reducing the risk of creases and indentations on the flexible display module 100, and improving the problems of obvious creases and poor resistance to indentations in current folding display products.

[0059] Specifically, in one embodiment, referring to Figure 3The display panel 10 includes a panel layer 11 and a first buffer layer 12 disposed on the panel layer 11. The first buffer layer 12 includes one of a polarizer and a PET layer. For example, when the display panel 10 uses a polarizer, the first buffer layer 12 is the polarizer. When the display panel 10 uses a depolarizer technology, a color filter layer is disposed on the panel layer 11 to replace the polarizer. In this case, the first buffer layer 12 is the PET layer. In addition to compensating for the optical properties, the buffer layer can also reduce the impact absorption of the panel layer 11 and extend the service life.

[0060] In some embodiments, the panel layer 11 may include a substrate and a thin film transistor layer disposed on the substrate, wherein the thin film transistor layer is located on a side of the substrate close to the cover layer 20. The substrate may be a substrate formed of polyimide. When the substrate is a flexible substrate, the substrate may be formed of multiple sub-substrates with the same material such as polyimide, and adjacent sub-substrates are bonded by bonding sub-layers.

[0061] In some embodiments, the thin film transistor layer includes a thin film transistor, which includes a semiconductor located on a substrate, and the semiconductor can be formed of polysilicon or a metal oxide (such as indium gallium zinc oxide). Among them, the semiconductor is divided into a channel region and a source region and a drain region formed on both sides of the channel region. The thin film transistor layer also includes a first gate insulating layer, and the first gate insulating layer covers the semiconductor. The thin film transistor also includes a first gate formed on the first gate insulating layer, and the first gate overlaps with the channel region. The first gate can be formed as a plurality of layers or a single layer including a low resistance material such as Al, Ti, Mo, Cu, Ni, or an alloy thereof, or a material with high corrosion resistance. The thin film transistor layer also includes a second gate insulating layer, and the second gate insulating layer covers the first gate. The thin film transistor also includes a second gate located on the second gate insulating layer, and the second gate overlaps with the first gate. The second gate can be formed as a plurality of layers or a single layer including a low resistance material such as Al, Ti, Mo, Cu, Ni, or an alloy thereof, or a material with high corrosion resistance. The thin film transistor layer also includes a first interlayer insulating layer formed on the second gate. The first interlayer insulating layer, the first gate insulating layer and the second gate insulating layer include a source contact hole and a drain contact hole, and the source region and the drain region are exposed through the source contact hole and the drain contact hole, respectively.

[0062] The thin film transistor also includes a source and a drain arranged in the same layer, both formed on the first interlayer insulating layer, the source electrode is connected to the source region through the source contact hole, and the drain electrode is connected to the drain region through the drain contact hole. Among them, the source and the drain can be multiple layers or a single layer formed by a low resistance material such as Al, Ti, Mo, Cu, Ni, or their alloys, or a material with high corrosion resistance. For example, the source and the drain can be a triple layer of Ti / Cu / Ti, Ti / Ag / Ti, Ti / Al / Ti or Mo / Al / Mo or other single or multilayer structures.

[0063] In some embodiments, the panel layer 11 further includes a planar layer located between the thin film transistor layer and the light emitting layer, and the planar layer covers the source electrode and the drain electrode.

[0064] In some embodiments, the panel layer 11 further includes an anode layer located on a side of the planar layer away from the thin film transistor layer, the anode layer includes a plurality of anodes, and the anodes are arranged one by one in correspondence with the pixel units. Each anode is electrically connected to the thin film transistor respectively. The planar layer includes an anode contact hole, and the anode contacts the source or drain of the thin film transistor through the anode contact hole.

[0065] In some embodiments, the panel layer 11 further includes a pixel definition layer, which is disposed on a side of the planar layer away from the thin film transistor layer, and the pixel definition layer includes a pixel definition portion and an opening between the pixel definition portions. The panel layer 11 further includes a light-emitting layer, which includes a plurality of pixel units. The pixel unit is located in the opening. The opening exposes a portion of the anode and covers the edge of the anode. The pixel unit may include a red pixel unit, a green pixel unit, and a blue pixel unit.

[0066] In some embodiments, the panel layer 11 also includes a cathode layer, and the cathode layer covers the light-emitting layer. In the direction from the anode to the cathode layer, the light-emitting layer includes a hole organic layer, a light-emitting material layer, and an electronic organic layer stacked in sequence. The hole organic layer may include a hole injection layer and a hole transport layer, the hole injection layer is in direct contact with the anode, and the hole transport layer is located between the hole injection layer and the light-emitting material layer. The hole organic layer may also include an electron blocking layer located between the hole transport layer and the light-emitting material layer. The electronic organic layer may include an electron injection layer and an electron transport layer, the electron injection layer is in direct contact with the cathode layer, and the electron transport layer is located between the electron injection layer and the light-emitting material layer. The electronic organic layer may also include a hole blocking layer located between the electron transport layer and the light-emitting layer.

[0067] In some embodiments, the panel layer 11 further includes an encapsulation layer located on a side of the cathode layer away from the light-emitting layer. The encapsulation layer is formed by alternating a plurality of inorganic film layers and organic film layers. For example, along the direction from the substrate to the thin film transistor layer, the encapsulation layer includes a first inorganic encapsulation sublayer, a first organic encapsulation sublayer, and a second inorganic encapsulation sublayer.

[0068] In some embodiments, the panel layer 11 further includes a touch layer located on a side of the encapsulation layer away from the light-emitting layer. The touch layer can implement the touch function in a self-capacitive touch or mutual-capacitive touch manner. When the touch layer implements the touch function in a self-capacitive touch manner, the touch layer can have only one touch metal layer.

[0069] When the touch layer implements the touch function by mutual capacitive touch, the touch layer includes a first touch metal layer, a touch insulating layer and a second touch metal layer, wherein the touch insulating layer is located on a side of the first touch metal layer away from the encapsulation layer, and the second touch metal layer is located on a side of the touch insulating layer away from the encapsulation layer. The first touch metal layer can be directly disposed on the encapsulation layer, or a spacer layer is further disposed between the first touch layer and the encapsulation layer, and the spacer layer may include an inorganic spacer layer and / or an organic spacer layer. The first touch metal layer includes a first touch electrode, a second touch electrode and a first bridge wire, the second touch metal layer includes a second bridge wire, and the first touch electrode and the second touch electrode are both metal networks; or the second touch metal layer includes a first touch electrode, a second touch electrode and a first bridge wire, and the first touch metal layer includes a second bridge wire.

[0070] In some embodiments, when the display panel 10 adopts the depolarizer technology, the color filter layer used to replace the polarizer is located on the side of the light-emitting layer away from the thin film transistor layer.

[0071] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the cover layer 20 is connected to the display panel 10, for example, the cover layer 20 is connected to the first buffer layer 12 on the display panel 10. The cover layer 20 includes a first ultra-thin glass 21, a first covering layer 22 and a third adhesive layer 24. The cover layer 20 is connected to the display panel 10 through the third adhesive layer 24. The first ultra-thin glass 21 includes a second upper surface 211 and a second lower surface 212 opposite to each other, and a second side surface 213 connecting the second upper surface 211 and the second lower surface 212, and the second upper surface 211 is located on a side of the first ultra-thin glass 21 away from the display panel 10.

[0072] The thickness range of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is 30-100um. When the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is less than 30um, the mechanical properties of the glass are too poor to meet the requirements of the folding cover. When the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is greater than 100um, the bending radius is greater than R3.0, and the rebound force is too large, and the entire machine shaft can no longer meet the requirements.

[0073] The first covering layer 22 at least covers the second upper surface 211. For example, in one embodiment, the first covering layer 22 covers the second upper surface 211 and the second side surface 213. The first ultra-thin glass 21 layer is connected to the display panel 10 through the third adhesive layer 24. Optionally, the material of the first covering layer 22 includes transparent polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), thermoplastic polyurethane rubber (TPU) or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The material of the third adhesive layer 24 includes transparent optical adhesive, such as OCR or OCA.

[0074] In one embodiment, the thickness D1 of the first covering layer 22 covering the second side surface 213 in the direction away from the first ultra-thin glass 21 is greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than or equal to 0.4 mm, so as to avoid the front frame pressing on the part of the first covering layer 22 covering the second side surface 213 when the front frame is assembled on the flexible display module 100, thereby damaging the first covering layer 22.

[0075] Continue to refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The cover layer 20 further includes a first surface coating 23, and the first surface coating 23 is located on a side of the first covering layer 22 away from the first ultra-thin glass 21 to further improve the surface compression resistance.

[0076] Optionally, the elastic modulus of the first surface coating 23 is greater than or equal to 3 Gpa and less than or equal to 7 Gpa, and the thickness of the first surface coating 23 may be greater than or equal to 3 microns and less than or equal to 10 microns, for example, it may be 3 microns, 4 microns, 5 microns, 6 microns, 7 microns, 8 microns, 9 microns or 10 microns.

[0077] The material of the first surface coating 23 may be a composite material of organic and inorganic phases mixed or hybridized. The material of the first surface coating 23 may be selected from inorganic-organic materials containing silicon, for example, the material of the first surface coating 23 may be selected from at least one of a composite material having silicon oxide and / or silicon nitride, a polymer of siloxane and acrylic, a semi-siloxane polymer, and an aliphatic or aromatic polymer containing an inorganic silicon group.

[0078] When the first surface coating 23 is selected from a composite material of organic and inorganic phases, the surface of the first surface coating 23 away from the first covering layer 22 has a high surface hardness and good recovery performance. For example, when the material of the first surface coating 23 is selected from a polymer having siloxane, since such a material has good recovery performance, when a stylus pen or other hard object is used to slide with a large force on the surface of the first surface coating 23 away from the first covering layer 22, a slight mark may be left on the surface, and when the stylus pen or other hard object leaves the surface, the slight mark will automatically recover and disappear.

[0079] In some embodiments, the surface hardness of the first surface coating 23 on the side away from the first covering layer 22 is greater than or equal to 3H, and the surface hardness of the first surface coating 23 on the side away from the first covering layer 22 is less than or equal to 9H, for example, it can be 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, etc.

[0080] The cover layer 20 further includes a light shielding layer 25 located on a side of the first ultra-thin glass 21 close to the display panel 10. The light shielding layer 25 is located in the non-display area NA and surrounds the display area NA for shielding the non-display area NA to prevent light leakage in the non-display area NA. The material of the light shielding layer 25 includes light shielding ink and the like.

[0081] Continue to refer to Figure 3 , the protective layer 30 is connected to the cover layer 20. The orthographic projection of the protective layer 30 on the display panel 10 is separated from the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer 25 on the display panel 10, that is, the orthographic projection of the protective layer 30 on the display panel 10 and the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer 25 on the display panel 10 do not have an overlapping area.

[0082] Optionally, the orthographic projection of the shading layer 25 on the display panel 10 is outside the orthographic projection of the protective layer 30 on the display panel 10, and there is a gap between the orthographic projection of the shading layer 25 on the display panel 10 and the orthographic projection of the protective layer 30 on the display panel 10, so that the protective layer 30 is completely located in the display area NA, so that the protective layer 30 can be torn off and replaced after it is damaged and fails, and the protective layer 30 is a replaceable layer.

[0083] The protective layer 30 includes a first substrate layer 31 , a second surface coating 32 and a first adhesive layer 33 . The second surface coating 32 is located on a side of the first substrate layer 31 away from the cover layer 20 . The first substrate layer 31 is connected to the cover layer 20 via the first adhesive layer 33 .

[0084] Optionally, the material of the first substrate layer 31 includes one of PET and CPI. The material of the first adhesive layer 33 includes transparent optical adhesive, such as OCA adhesive.

[0085] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 The second surface coating 32 includes a substrate 320 and a hyperbranched polymer 321, rigid nanoparticles 323 and a linear prepolymer 322 doped in the substrate 320. The substrate 320 includes one of PET and CPI. The linear prepolymer 322 corresponds to the hyperbranched polymer 321 and is used as a carrier for the polymerization of the hyperbranched polymer 321. The structures of the hyperbranched polymer 321, the rigid nanoparticles 323 and the linear prepolymer 322 are as follows: Figure 6 The hyperbranched polymer 321, the rigid nanoparticles 323 and the linear prepolymer 322 are doped in a substrate 320 and cured by UV light to form a Figure 6 The polymer structure shown in (b).

[0086] and Figure 1 The hard coating layer on the middle protective layer 30' includes a substrate 320' and an acrylic polymer 321' and a linear prepolymer 322' doped in the substrate 320'. The substrate 320' includes one of PET and CPI. The structures of the acrylic polymer 321' and the corresponding linear prepolymer 322' are as follows: Figure 5 As shown in (a), an acrylic polymer 321' and a corresponding linear prepolymer 322' are doped in a substrate 320' and cured by UV light to form a Figure 5 The polymer structure shown in (b).

[0087] Compared with the acrylic polymer 321', the hyperbranched polymer 321 can increase the crosslinking density to a greater extent, forming a high-hardness surface, so that the surface hardness of the second surface coating 32 is greater than 7H and less than or equal to 9H, for example, it can reach 9H, similar to the texture of glass; secondly, the rigid nanoparticles 323 are Figure 5 The linear prepolymer 322' in (a) can better block the spread of damage, that is, the ability to prevent crack propagation is greatly improved.

[0088] The overall thickness of the protective layer 30 can be maintained at 100-150 um, and the light transmittance is greater than 92%. Figure 2The protective layer 30" in the example is a PET high-transmittance film, the thickness of the PET high-transmittance film is 100-300um, the light transmittance of the PET high-transmittance film is greater than 88%, and the surface hardness of the PET high-transmittance film is between HB-9H. The protective layer 30 of this embodiment has high surface hardness and high light transmittance while being thinned to meet the requirements of bendability and foldability. It has glass-like characteristics, greater surface hardness, stronger pressure resistance, and a good smooth glass surface touch, and its characteristics are better than those of the PET high-transmittance film.

[0089] Continue to refer to Figure 3 The flexible display module 100 further includes a support layer 40 disposed on the side of the display panel 10 away from the cover layer 20, and the support layer 40 is used to support and protect the display panel 10. The support layer 40 may include a back plate 41 and a support plate 42 stacked in sequence and disposed on the side of the display panel 10 away from the cover layer 20. Optionally, the support layer 40 may further include a second buffer layer 43 located between the back plate 41 and the support plate 42. The back plate 41 is disposed on the side of the display panel 10 away from the cover layer 20, and the material of the back plate 41 includes PET; the second buffer layer 43 is disposed on the side of the back plate 41 away from the display panel 10, and the material of the second buffer layer 43 can be selected from a black material that is easy to bend, such as black polyimide and other materials; the support layer 40 is disposed on the side of the second buffer layer 43 away from the back plate 41, and the material of the support plate 42 can be selected from a metal material with good heat dissipation, such as stainless steel and other materials.

[0090] Reference Figures 1 to 8 , Figure 7 A second cross-sectional structural diagram of the flexible display module 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 8 for Figure 7 Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover plate layer 20. Figure 7 and Figure 8 ,and Figure 3 The difference of the exemplary flexible display module 100 is that the first covering layer 22 also covers the second side surface 213 and the second lower surface 212, so that the first covering layer 22 completely wraps the first ultra-thin glass 21 and the light shielding layer 25. The first covering layer 22 is connected to the display panel 10 through the third adhesive layer 24. For other descriptions, please refer to the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0091] Reference Figures 1 to 11 , Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of a third cross-sectional structure of the flexible display module 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.10 for Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the detailed structure of the middle protective layer 30, Fig.11 for Fig. 9Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover plate layer 20. Fig. 9 , Fig.10 as well as Fig.11 ,and Figure 3 The difference of the exemplary flexible display module 100 is that the structures of the cover layer 20 and the protection layer 30 are different.

[0092] The first substrate layer 31 includes a second ultra-thin glass 311 and a second covering layer 312. The second ultra-thin glass 311 includes a first upper surface 3111 and a first lower surface 3112 opposite to each other, and a first side surface 3113 connecting the first upper surface 3111 and the first lower surface 3112, wherein the first upper surface 3111 is located on a side of the second ultra-thin glass 311 away from the cover layer 20. The second covering layer 312 covers the first upper surface 3111, the first side surface 3113 and the first lower surface 3112 of the second ultra-thin glass 311, so that the second covering layer 312 wraps the second ultra-thin glass 311. The second covering layer 312 is connected to the cover layer 20 through the first adhesive layer 33. The material of the second covering layer 312 may be the same as that of the first covering layer 22.

[0093] The thickness range of the second ultra-thin glass 311 is 30-100um. When the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311 is less than 30um, the mechanical properties of the glass are too poor to meet the requirements of the folding cover. When the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311 is greater than 100um, the bending radius is greater than R3.0, and the rebound force is too large, and the entire machine shaft can no longer meet the requirements.

[0094] The second surface coating 32 is located on the side of the second covering layer 312 away from the cover plate layer 20. The second surface coating 32 can be made of the same material as the first surface coating 23, or can be made of the same material as the first surface coating 23. Figure 3 The same material as the second surface coating 32 of the example. In this embodiment, the protective layer 30 is Figure 2 The protective layer 30" in the example is made of glass like a tempered film, so the feel is consistent when used. The thickness of the tempered film is generally between 100-400um, while the thickness of the protective layer 30 in this embodiment is between 100-200um. The protective layer 30 of this embodiment has a high surface hardness and the characteristics of glass while being thinned to meet the requirements of bendability and foldability. The surface hardness is greater, the pressure resistance is stronger, and it has a good smooth glass surface touch.

[0095] The display area NA includes a bending area FA and a non-bending area NFA adjacent to the bending area FA. The first ultra-thin glass 21 is provided with a first groove 210 at a position corresponding to the bending area FA, and the third adhesive layer 24 is filled in the first groove 210. In order to ensure the flatness of the use surface, the first groove 210 is provided on a side of the first ultra-thin glass 21 close to the display panel 10, that is, the first groove 210 is formed on the second lower surface 212. The third adhesive layer 24 can be made of transparent optical adhesive OCR, and the OCR technology can be used to directly fill the first groove 210.

[0096] The thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 in the bending area FA is less than the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 in the non-bending area NFA. For example, the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 in the bending area FA is 10um less than the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 in the non-bending area NFA. In this embodiment, the first ultra-thin glass 21 adopts an unequal thickness design. The non-bending area NFA of a large area can use an ultra-thin glass with a thickness greater than 50um, and the bending area FA can be thinned to meet different bending requirements of the whole machine. For example, the thickness of the ultra-thin glass in the non-bending area NFA is 100um, and the thickness of the ultra-thin glass in the bending area FA is 50um.

[0097] The thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is less than or equal to the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311. For example, the ratio of the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 to the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311 is in the range of 1 / 3-1 / 1, for example, the thickness ratio is 1 / 3, 1 / 2, 2 / 3, 3 / 4, 2 / 5, 3 / 5, 4 / 5, 5 / 6, 3 / 7, 4 / 7, 5 / 7, 6 / 7, 1 / 1, etc. Optionally, the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is 30um, and the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass is 90um; or, the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is 33um, and the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass is 99um; or, the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is 50um, and the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass is 100um; or, the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 is 80um, and the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass is 90um.

[0098] By making the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 smaller than the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311, the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass 21 can be reduced, and the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311 can be increased, while the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311 does not occupy the thickness of the entire device, and increasing the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass 311 can enhance the surface strength of the flexible display module 100. In this way, through the special design of the first ultra-thin glass 21 and the second ultra-thin glass 311, the surface strength of the flexible display module 100 can be further enhanced without increasing the overall thickness of the flexible display module 100, or the overall thickness of the flexible display module 100 can be reduced while ensuring the surface strength of the flexible display module 100. For other descriptions, please refer to the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0099] Reference Figures 1 to 14 , Fig.12 This is a fourth cross-sectional structural diagram of the flexible display module 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.13 for Fig.12 Detailed structural diagram of the middle cover plate layer 20, Fig.14 for Fig.12 Detailed structural diagram of the protective layer 30. Fig.12 , Fig.13 as well as Fig.14 ,and Fig. 9 The difference of the exemplary flexible display module 100 is that the structures of the cover layer 20 and the protection layer 30 are different.

[0100] The first substrate layer 31 includes a second ultra-thin glass 311, a second covering layer 312, a bearing layer 313 and a second adhesive layer 314. The second ultra-thin glass 311 includes a first upper surface 3111 and a first lower surface 3112 opposite to each other, and a first side surface 3113 connecting the first upper surface 3111 and the first lower surface 3112. The first upper surface 3111 is located on the side of the second ultra-thin glass 311 away from the cover layer 20. The second covering layer 312 covers the first upper surface 3111 and the first side surface 3113 of the second ultra-thin glass 311. The bearing layer 313 is arranged on the side of the second ultra-thin glass 311 close to the cover layer 20. The bearing layer 313 is connected to the cover layer 20 through the first adhesive layer 33, and the bearing layer 313 is also connected to the second ultra-thin glass 311 through the second adhesive layer 314. The bearing layer 313 is arranged to facilitate the tearing and replacement of the protective layer 30 after it is damaged and invalid. The material of the bearing layer 313 includes PET and the like.

[0101] The display area NA includes a bending area FA and a non-bending area NFA adjacent to the bending area FA. The first ultra-thin glass 21 is provided with a first groove 210 at a position corresponding to the bending area FA, and the first covering layer 22 covers the second upper surface 211, the second side surface 213 and the second lower surface 212, and fills the first groove 210. For other descriptions, please refer to the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0102] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a display device, which includes the flexible display module 100 described in one of the above embodiments. The display device can be a display terminal such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a television, etc., which is not limited here.

[0103] According to the above embodiments, it can be seen that:

[0104] The present application provides a flexible display module and a display device, wherein the flexible display module includes a display panel and a cover layer and a protective layer arranged on the light-emitting side of the display panel, the cover layer is located in the display area and the non-display area of ​​the display panel, the cover layer includes a first ultra-thin glass, a surface of the first ultra-thin glass away from the display panel and a first covering layer on the side of the first ultra-thin glass, the protective layer is arranged on the side of the cover layer away from the display panel, the protective layer is set inwardly relative to the cover layer, and is arranged correspondingly in the display area, the protective layer includes a first substrate layer and a second substrate layer arranged on the side of the first substrate layer away from the cover layer. At least one of the surface coating, the first substrate layer and the second surface coating layer is made of glass or glass-like material; in this way, a cover layer is formed by covering the ultra-thin glass with a covering layer, and directly connected to a protective layer with a larger surface hardness, so as to remove more polymer film layers and adhesive layers on the cover of the current folding product, and increase the surface hardness of the repair layer, thereby improving the surface touch, hardness and crease and indentation resistance of the flexible display module while achieving the bendability of the flexible display module, reducing the risk of creases and indentations on the flexible display module, and improving the problems of obvious creases and poor indentation resistance in current folding display products.

[0105] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0106] The embodiments of the present application are introduced in detail above. Specific examples are used in this article to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the technical solution and core idea of ​​the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some of the technical features therein with equivalents; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A flexible display module, characterized in that: comprising a display area and a non-display area adjacent to the display area; The flexible display module also includes: Display panel; a cover layer, arranged on the light-emitting side of the display panel, the cover layer being located in the display area and the non-display area, the cover layer comprising a first ultra-thin glass, a first covering layer, and a first surface coating located on a side of the first covering layer away from the first ultra-thin glass, the first covering layer covering a surface of the first ultra-thin glass away from the display panel and a side surface of the first ultra-thin glass; A protective layer, arranged on a side of the cover layer away from the display panel, the protective layer being retracted relative to the cover layer and corresponding to the display area; The protective layer includes a first substrate layer and a second surface coating layer disposed on a side of the first substrate layer away from the cover layer, and at least one of the first substrate layer and the second surface coating layer is made of glass or glass-like material.

2. The flexible display module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cover layer also includes a shading layer, which is located on a side of the first ultra-thin glass close to the display panel and in the non-display area. The orthographic projection of the protective layer on the display panel is separated from the orthographic projection of the shading layer on the display panel.

3. The flexible display module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The material of the first substrate layer includes one of PET and CPI, and the second surface coating layer is a glass-like material.

4. The flexible display module according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second surface coating comprises a substrate and a hyperbranched polymer, rigid nanoparticles and linear prepolymer doped in the substrate.

5. The flexible display module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first substrate layer comprises: A second ultra-thin glass comprises a first upper surface and a first lower surface opposite to each other, and a first side surface connecting the first upper surface and the first lower surface, wherein the first upper surface is located on a side of the second ultra-thin glass away from the cover layer; a second covering layer, covering the first upper surface, the first side surface and the first lower surface of the second ultra-thin glass, wherein the second covering layer is connected to the cover layer through a first adhesive layer; The second surface coating is located on a side of the second covering layer away from the second ultra-thin glass.

6. The flexible display module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first substrate layer comprises: A second ultra-thin glass, wherein the second ultra-thin glass comprises a first upper surface and a first lower surface opposite to each other, and a first side surface connecting the first upper surface and the first lower surface, wherein the first upper surface is located at a side of the second ultra-thin glass away from the cover layer; a second covering layer, covering the first upper surface and the first side surface of the second ultra-thin glass; The bearing layer is arranged on a side of the second ultra-thin glass close to the cover layer, the bearing layer is connected to the cover layer through a first adhesive layer, and the bearing layer is also connected to the second ultra-thin glass through a second adhesive layer.

7. The flexible display module according to claim 6, characterized in that: The ratio of the thickness of the first ultra-thin glass to the thickness of the second ultra-thin glass is in the range of 1 / 3-1 / 1.

8. The flexible display module according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first ultra-thin glass comprises a second upper surface and a second lower surface opposite to each other, and a second side surface connecting the second upper surface and the second lower surface, wherein the second upper surface is located on a side of the first ultra-thin glass away from the display panel; The first covering layer covers the second upper surface and the second side surface, and the cover plate layer is connected to the display panel via a third adhesive layer.

9. The flexible display module according to claim 8, characterized in that: The display area includes a bending area and a non-bending area adjacent to the bending area; The first ultra-thin glass is provided with a first groove at a position corresponding to the bending area, and the third adhesive layer is filled in the first groove.

10. The flexible display module according to claim 8, characterized in that: The thickness of the first covering layer covering the second side surface in a direction away from the first ultra-thin glass is greater than or equal to 0.1 mm and less than or equal to 0.4 mm.

11. The flexible display module according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first covering layer also covers the second side surface and the second lower surface, and the first covering layer is connected to the display panel through the third adhesive layer.

12. The flexible display module according to claim 11, characterized in that: The display area includes a bending area and a non-bending area adjacent to the bending area; The first ultra-thin glass is provided with a first groove at a position corresponding to the bending area, and the first covering layer is filled in the first groove.

13. A display device, characterized in that: The display device comprises the flexible display module according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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