Unequal-thickness ultra-thin glass processing method and unequal-thickness ultra-thin glass

Abstract

The invention discloses an unequal-thickness ultra-thin glass processing method and unequal-thickness ultra-thin glass. A to-be-thinned surface of ultra-thin glass is coated with a protective coating, a protective layer at least covers a non-bending area, and a brush is adopted to grind a bending area of the to-be-thinned surface of the ultra-thin glass until the thickness of the bending area of the ultra-thin glass meets the set thickness; and removing the protective coating on the surface of the ultra-thin glass to obtain the ultra-thin glass with different thicknesses. According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the surface of the ultra-thin glass is coated with the protective coating, the non-bending area is subjected to coating protection, and then the ultra-thin glass in the bending area is ground by adopting a brush in a rolling manner until the glass in the bending area is ground to the set thickness; and when the brush is in contact with the non-bending area in the rolling and polishing process, the brush is in contact with the protective coating at the non-bending area firstly, and the protective coating is polished, so that the purpose of protecting the surface of the glass at the non-bending area is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to the field of ultra-thin glass, and more particularly to a method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness and ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness. Background Technology

[0002] Ultra-thin glass (UTG) refers to flexible glass with a thickness of less than 100μm. Due to its ultra-thin characteristics, excellent bendability, and high scratch resistance, it has become an important material in the field of foldable flexible cover glass, following CPI (colorless polyimide) film materials. Currently, ultra-thin glass has been applied in the field of foldable display terminals. The existence of ultra-thin glass has enabled display terminals to move beyond the limitations of flat panel phones or conventional flip phones, exhibiting a diversified and popular development trend.

[0003] The conventional method for producing ultra-thin glass involves etching thick glass, typically between 0.2μm and 0.5mm, to a thickness of less than 0.1mm. However, existing ultra-thin glass thinning processes result in all areas being thinned to the same thickness (i.e., the folded and unfolded areas have the same thickness). This leads to identical strength and impact resistance in both areas, failing to improve the strength and impact resistance of the unfolded areas. Therefore, precise thinning is performed at the locations where the glass needs to be bent, allowing the bending area to be bent while maintaining a better thickness in the unfolded areas, thus ensuring better strength and impact resistance in the unfolded areas. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned defects or deficiencies in the prior art, it is desirable to provide a method for processing ultra-thin glass with unequal thickness and ultra-thin glass with unequal thickness.

[0005] Firstly, a method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness is provided, comprising:

[0006] An ultra-thin glass to be processed is provided, the ultra-thin glass having a bending region and non-bending regions located on both sides of the bending region.

[0007] A protective coating is applied to the surface of the ultrathin glass to be thinned, and the protective layer covers at least the non-bending area.

[0008] The bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass surface to be thinned is ground with a brush until the thickness of the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass meets the set thickness.

[0009] Remove the protective coating from the surface of the ultrathin glass to obtain ultrathin glass of varying thickness.

[0010] As an alternative implementation, the protective coating is provided to cover both the bending area and the non-bending area, wherein the thickness of the protective coating at the bending area is less than or equal to the thickness of the protective coating at the non-bending area.

[0011] As an option, the protective coating at the bending area is set to a uniform thickness.

[0012] As an implementation method, the protective coating at the bending area location extends from the center of the bending area toward the non-bending area with a gradually decreasing thickness.

[0013] As a possible implementation, the ultrathin glass has two opposing surfaces, at least one of which is coated with the protective coating.

[0014] As an alternative approach, the axial direction of the brush roller is the same as the width direction of the ultrathin glass.

[0015] As an achievable method, the relationship between the brush diameter D and the bending zone length L is D = 2 / 3L - 4 / 3L.

[0016] As a feasible method, grinding the bent areas of the ultrathin glass surface to be thinned using a brush specifically includes:

[0017] The brush polishes the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass at a set rotation speed, and the polishing center of the brush coincides with the bending center of the bending area.

[0018] Meanwhile, the brush moves along the direction close to the ultra-thin glass until the ultra-thin glass is polished to the set thickness.

[0019] As a feasible method, grinding the bent areas of the ultrathin glass surface to be thinned using a brush specifically includes:

[0020] The brush polishes the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass at a set rotation speed, and the brush moves back and forth in the bending area.

[0021] Meanwhile, the brush moves along the direction close to the ultra-thin glass until the ultra-thin glass is polished to the set thickness.

[0022] Secondly, an unequal-thickness ultrathin glass is provided, which is prepared using the aforementioned unequal-thickness ultrathin glass processing method.

[0023] According to the technical solution provided in this application, a protective coating is applied to the surface of ultra-thin glass, protecting the non-bending areas. Then, a rolling brush is used to polish the ultra-thin glass in the bending areas until the bent areas are polished to a predetermined thickness. When the brush contacts the non-bending areas during polishing, it first contacts the protective coating in those areas and polishes it, thus protecting the glass surface in the non-bending areas. Furthermore, when the brush polishes the bending areas of the ultra-thin glass to a greater depth, it first polishes the protective coating when it contacts the non-bending areas, without affecting the surface of the ultra-thin glass. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Other features, objects, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the unequal thickness ultrathin glass processing method in this embodiment;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the unequal thickness ultrathin glass processing technology in this embodiment;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the division of the ultra-thin glass region in this embodiment;

[0028] Figures 4-6 This is a schematic diagram of the ultrathin glass coating protective layer structure in this embodiment;

[0029] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the ultra-thin glass bending area in this embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The present application will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and not intended to limit it. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0031] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be combined with each other. This application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0032] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 A method for processing ultra-thin glass 10 with unequal thickness is provided, comprising:

[0033] S10: Provide ultra-thin glass 10 to be processed, the ultra-thin glass 10 having a bending region A and non-bending regions B located on both sides of the bending region A.

[0034] S20: A protective coating 20 is applied to the surface of the ultrathin glass 10 to be thinned, the protective layer covering at least the non-bending area B.

[0035] S30: Use a brush 30 to grind the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass 10 surface to be thinned until the thickness of the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass 10 meets the set thickness.

[0036] S40: Remove the protective coating 20 from the surface of the ultrathin glass 10 to obtain ultrathin glass 10 with unequal thickness.

[0037] In this embodiment, a protective coating 20 is applied to the surface of the ultra-thin glass 10, and the non-bending area B is also protected by the coating. Then, a brush 30 is used to polish the ultra-thin glass 10 in the bending area until the glass in the bending area is polished to a predetermined thickness. When the brush 30 comes into contact with the non-bending area B during the polishing process, it first contacts the protective coating 20 at the non-bending area B and polishes the protective coating 20, thereby achieving the purpose of protecting the glass surface at the non-bending area B. Furthermore, when the brush 30 polishes the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass 10 to a greater depth, when the brush 30 comes into contact with the non-bending area B, it first polishes the protective coating 20 without affecting the surface of the ultra-thin glass 10.

[0038] refer to Figure 2 As shown, firstly, an ultra-thin glass 10 to be processed is provided, and this ultra-thin glass 10 is divided into a bending area A and a non-bending area B. The bending area A is determined according to the different sizes and requirements of the ultra-thin glass 10, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the middle part is the bending area A, and the two sides are non-bending areas B. In practice, multiple bending areas can be set according to different products to form a three-fold or multi-fold ultra-thin glass 10 structure to meet diverse folding needs.

[0039] Subsequently, a protective coating 20 is applied to the surface of the ultra-thin glass 10. The ultra-thin glass 10 has two opposing surfaces. Depending on the thinning requirements, at least one surface is thinned, and the protective coating 20 is applied to the surface requiring thinning. Specifically, the thinning process is determined based on the thickness of the ultra-thin glass 10 itself. For example, if the glass is thick, to ensure a good bending radius after thinning in the bending area, both sides of the ultra-thin glass 10 are thinned, and the protective coating 20 is applied to both surfaces requiring thinning. This protective coating 20 covers the non-bending areas, and selectively applies the protective coating 20 to the bending areas, forming... Figures 4 to 6As shown in the structure, when the brush 30 contacts the bending area for polishing, the protective coating 20 of different structures and thicknesses in the bending area is polished by the brush 30, thereby achieving different degrees of polishing of the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass 10, forming a form with a gradual change in the thickness of the bending area, and there is no step surface between the bending area and the non-bending area, but a smooth transition is formed, so that the ultra-thin glass 10 has a good bending effect while its strength is not affected, and there are no adverse phenomena such as light shadows.

[0040] Optionally, the protective coating 20 is provided to cover the bending area and the non-bending area, and the thickness of the protective coating 20 at the bending area is less than or equal to the thickness of the protective coating 20 at the non-bending area.

[0041] refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, this embodiment provides several ways to apply a protective coating 20 to the ultra-thin glass 10. Preferably, a corresponding protective coating 20 is provided in both the bending and non-bending areas, and the protective coating 20 in the non-bending area is thicker. When the brush 30 polishes the non-bending area, it will grind away a portion of the protective coating 20 near the bending area. The relatively thick protective coating 20 can protect the glass in the non-bending area. The thickness of the non-bending area is not affected by the polishing of the brush 30, ensuring that the strength of the glass in the non-bending area is not affected. The ultra-thin glass 10 has good strength and impact resistance when used as a cover for display devices.

[0042] Optionally, the protective coating at the bending area can be set to a uniform thickness of 20 mm. For example... Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, the protective coating 20 at the bending area is preferably set to a uniform thickness, and the brush 30 rotates to grind the bending area into a structure of unequal thickness.

[0043] Optionally, the protective coating 20 at the bending area location extends from the center of the bending area toward the non-bending area with a gradually decreasing thickness.

[0044] like Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, the protective coating 20 at the bending area is preferably of unequal thickness. Specifically, the protective coating 20 at the middle of the bending area is thinner, and the protective coating 20 near the non-bending area is thicker. When the brush 30 rotates and polishes, it first contacts the middle part of the bending area and polishes the middle part, which can polish the bending area of ​​unequal thickness more quickly.

[0045] This embodiment can also be configured with varying thicknesses of the protective coating 20 at the bending area based on the bending radius or the different areas requiring polishing. For example, the glass in the middle of the bending area requires more polishing, while the glass on both sides of the bending area requires less. This can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the protective coating 20 covering the bending area, resulting in a thicker protective coating on both sides of the bending area, thus delaying and reducing the polishing time for the glass on both sides of the bending area.

[0046] In this embodiment, a protective coating 20 is provided on one side of the ultra-thin glass 10. Specifically, the protective coating 20 can be set at different locations depending on the application scenario after the ultra-thin glass 10 is thinned. Optionally, the ultra-thin glass 10 has two opposing surfaces, and at least one surface is coated with the protective coating 20. If it is necessary to thin both sides of the ultra-thin glass 10 to form a structure with thinned sides of the bending area, then the protective coating 20 is applied to both surfaces of the ultra-thin glass 10 for protection.

[0047] refer to Figure 2 As shown, the brush 30 is placed at the area requiring thinning and rotated for polishing. Preferably, the axis of the brush 30 roller is the same as the width direction of the ultra-thin glass 10. The length of the brush 30 is greater than or equal to the width of the ultra-thin glass 10, enabling it to polish and thin the bent areas of the ultra-thin glass 10 in one pass. Two pipes are provided on both sides of the brush 30: one for pure water and the other for polishing powder, to achieve the polishing and thinning of the ultra-thin glass 10.

[0048] Furthermore, the width of the brush 30 should cover the bending area as much as possible, so that the brush 30 can polish the entire bending area while rotating, maximizing the efficiency of thinning the glass in the bending area. Preferably, the relationship between the diameter D of the brush 30 and the length L of the bending area is set as D = 2 / 3L - 4 / 3L. If the diameter of the brush 30 is set too small, the bending area covered will be smaller, resulting in lower polishing efficiency; if the diameter of the brush 30 is set too large, if the polishing depth in the bending area is large, it will affect the non-bending areas, thus impacting the glass thickness in the non-bending areas.

[0049] Optionally, the grinding of the bent area of ​​the ultrathin glass 10 surface to be thinned using a brush 30 specifically includes:

[0050] The brush 30 polishes the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass 10 at a set rotation speed, and the polishing center of the brush 30 coincides with the bending center of the bending area.

[0051] Meanwhile, the brush 30 moves along the direction close to the ultra-thin glass 10 until the ultra-thin glass 10 is polished to the set thickness.

[0052] If the diameter of the brush 30 is greater than the length of the bending area, the brush 30 is rotated around the axis to polish at a set depth, and the depth of the brush 30 is increased according to the polishing speed, so that the final thickness of the polished bending area meets the bending requirements of the ultra-thin glass 10 in this embodiment.

[0053] Optionally, the grinding of the bent area of ​​the ultrathin glass 10 surface to be thinned using a brush 30 specifically includes:

[0054] The brush 30 polishes the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass 10 at a set rotation speed, and the brush 30 reciprocates in the bending area.

[0055] Meanwhile, the brush 30 moves along the direction close to the ultra-thin glass 10 until the ultra-thin glass 10 is polished to the set thickness.

[0056] If the diameter of the brush 30 is smaller than the length of the bending area, the brush 30 rotates around the set depth to polish while simultaneously moving in a plane within the current depth of the brush 30. It reciprocates on the plane where the ultra-thin glass 10 is located to polish, thereby reducing the thickness of the entire bending area. At the same time, the depth of the brush 30 needs to be increased according to the polishing speed so that the final polished thickness of the bending area meets the bending requirements of the ultra-thin glass 10 in this embodiment.

[0057] Regardless of the configuration and thickness of the protective coating 20 in the above embodiments, the polishing method of the brush 30 can also be adjusted according to the actual product size, such as the size of the ultra-thin glass 10 itself, the size of the bending area, and the thickness of the bending area. The thickness of the bending area on the ultra-thin glass 10 after polishing is not uniform; it is a structure with a gradual thickness change, and the thickness change is smooth. There is no abrupt thickness step structure between the bending area and the non-bending area, so the ultra-thin glass 10 does not have visual defects caused by step surfaces. At the same time, the thinning of the bending area gives the ultra-thin glass 10 good bending performance, while the non-bending area, without thinning, has better strength and impact resistance. Overall, the ultra-thin glass 10 is easier to bend and has better strength.

[0058] like Figure 2 and Figure 7As shown, in this embodiment, the thickness of the protective coating 20 in the non-bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass 10 is adjusted according to the actual grinding depth of the bending area by the brush 30. If the ultra-thin glass 10 needs to remove a larger depth of the bending area, the protective coating 20 in the corresponding non-bending area is set thicker, so that the brush 30 does not cause wear to the non-bending area during the grinding process. Preferably, the thickness h2 of the protective coating 20 on the non-bending area is set to be equivalent to the depth h1 of the brush 30. This setting ensures that even if the brush 30 grinds the non-bending area, it will not cause wear to the glass itself in the non-bending area.

[0059] In addition, in this embodiment, the glass in the bending area is polished to form a bendable structure with a gradually changing thickness. Preferably, a nylon brush 30 is used, wherein the thickness of the thinnest part of the bending area is h, the thickness of the ultra-thin glass 10 before thinning is H, and the depth of the polishing brush 30 is h1. The depth h1 of the brush 30 is greater than the thickness h of the bending area. Preferably, h1 is set to (1.1-1.2)(Hh) to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the polishing by the brush 30.

[0060] After the above polishing process is completed, the remaining protective coating 20 on the surface of the ultrathin glass 10 is removed, forming... Figure 2 The final structure is shown below.

[0061] In the above embodiment, a protective coating 20 is applied to the surface of the ultra-thin glass 10 and the non-bending area is protected by the coating. A brush 30 is used to roll and polish the ultra-thin glass 10 in the bending area until the glass in the bending area is polished to the set thickness. This achieves the purpose of protecting the glass surface in the non-bending area without affecting other surfaces of the ultra-thin glass 10. It also enables the ultra-thin glass 10 with a gradual change in thickness in the bending area, without the appearance of a step surface at the thinning position.

[0062] It should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer" used above to indicate orientation or positional relationships are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention; the directional terms "inner" and "outer" refer to the inside or outside relative to the outline of each component itself. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

[0063] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and an explanation of the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention involved in this application is not limited to technical solutions formed by specific combinations of the above-described technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by arbitrary combinations of the above-described technical features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, technical solutions formed by substituting the above features with (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in this application.

Claims

1. A method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness, characterized in that, include: An ultra-thin glass to be processed is provided, the ultra-thin glass having a bending region and non-bending regions located on both sides of the bending region. A protective coating is applied to the surface of the ultrathin glass to be thinned, and the protective layer covers at least the non-bending area. The bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass surface to be thinned is ground with a brush until the thickness of the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass meets the set thickness. Remove the protective coating from the surface of the ultrathin glass to obtain ultrathin glass of varying thickness.

2. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protective coating is provided to cover both the bending area and the non-bending area, and the thickness of the protective coating at the bending area is less than or equal to the thickness of the protective coating at the non-bending area.

3. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 2, characterized in that, The protective coating at the bending area is set with equal thickness.

4. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 2, characterized in that, The protective coating at the bending area gradually decreases in thickness as it extends from the center of the bending area toward the non-bending area.

5. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ultrathin glass has two opposing surfaces, at least one of which is coated with the protective coating.

6. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that, The axial direction of the brush roller is the same as the width direction of the ultra-thin glass.

7. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 1, characterized in that, The relationship between the brush diameter D and the bending zone length L is D = 2 / 3L - 4 / 3L.

8. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 7, characterized in that, The specific steps of grinding the bent areas of the ultra-thin glass surface to be thinned using a brush include: The brush polishes the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass at a set rotation speed, and the polishing center of the brush coincides with the bending center of the bending area. Meanwhile, the brush moves along the direction close to the ultra-thin glass until the ultra-thin glass is polished to the set thickness.

9. The method for processing ultra-thin glass of unequal thickness according to claim 7, characterized in that, The specific steps of grinding the bent areas of the ultra-thin glass surface to be thinned using a brush include: The brush polishes the bending area of ​​the ultra-thin glass at a set rotation speed, and the brush moves back and forth in the bending area. Meanwhile, the brush moves along the direction close to the ultra-thin glass until the ultra-thin glass is polished to the set thickness.

10. An ultrathin glass with unequal thickness, characterized in that, It is prepared using the unequal thickness ultrathin glass processing method described in any one of claims 1-9.

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