Supporting piece and flexible screen assembly

Abstract

The application discloses a support, comprising a main plate, the main plate having at least one bending part and at least two non-bending parts respectively connected to opposite sides of the bending part, one end of the bending part being provided with a plurality of groove-shaped thinning regions, the other end of the bending part being provided with a plurality of stress release structures penetrating the main plate, and projections of the plurality of stress release structures in a direction perpendicular to the main plate being located in the thinning regions. The application also discloses a flexible screen assembly comprising the above support.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a support member, and more particularly to a support member and a flexible screen assembly. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of display technology, foldable display modules are increasingly widely used in smart terminal devices. Foldable display modules typically include multiple bendable parts and a flexible display panel. To ensure structural stability and display performance during folding and unfolding, a support structure is required to support the flexible display panel and assist it in achieving controllable bending.

[0003] In existing technologies, support structures mostly utilize metal supports. These supports are typically formed into bending zones on the main body plate through machining methods such as stamping, milling, or laser cutting to achieve localized structural weakening, thereby giving the main body plate a certain degree of foldability. However, these machining methods have many shortcomings in terms of machining accuracy, stress control, and microstructure consistency. For example, machining can easily cause metal fatigue, deformation, and residual stress accumulation, affecting the overall folding life; at the same time, traditional through-cut grooves are not conducive to maintaining the overall strength and continuity of the support structure. Utility Model Content

[0004] In view of this, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a support member that can achieve good foldability while ensuring structural strength.

[0005] This utility model provides a support member, including a main plate, the main plate having at least one bent portion and at least two non-bent portions respectively connected to opposite sides of the bent portion, one end of the bent portion having a plurality of groove-shaped thinning areas, and the other end of the bent portion having a plurality of stress relief structures penetrating the main plate, the projections of the plurality of stress relief structures in the direction perpendicular to the main plate being located within the thinning areas.

[0006] In one embodiment, the stress relief structure includes a plurality of relief grooves symmetrically distributed along the central axis of the thinned region.

[0007] In one embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the release groove is elongated, elliptical, circular, quadrilateral, or a combination of the above shapes.

[0008] In one embodiment, the length direction of the release groove is parallel to the central axis of the thinning region, and the width direction of the release groove is perpendicular to the central axis of the thinning region.

[0009] In one embodiment, at least two adjacent release grooves are arranged side by side in a direction parallel to the central axis of the thinning region; and at least two adjacent release grooves are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the thinning region.

[0010] In one embodiment, the spacing between at least two adjacent release slots is 0.10 mm to 0.14 mm.

[0011] In one embodiment, the thickness of the main body plate is 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.

[0012] In one embodiment, the thickness of the bent portion after thinning is not less than 0.03 mm.

[0013] In one embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the thinned region is semi-circular or arched.

[0014] This utility model also provides a flexible screen assembly, including a flexible display panel and a support member as described in the above embodiments. The support member is disposed on the back side of the flexible display panel. The flexible display panel includes an inner bending area and an outer bending area. The outer bending area is located on both sides of the inner bending area and is connected to the non-bending portion of the support member.

[0015] The support component provided by this utility model, compared with the traditional mechanical grooving method, can locally reduce the bending stiffness of the bending area by forming a groove-shaped thinning area in the bending part without destroying the integrity of the main plate. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this utility model and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of a support member provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified view of a portion of region A in the middle.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the thinning region provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a stress relief structure provided in a preferred embodiment of this utility model.

[0021] Figure label:

[0022] 1. Non-bending section; 2. Bending section; 21. Thinning area; 22. Stress relief structure; 23. Relief groove. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The specific embodiments of this utility model will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some, not all, of the embodiments of this utility model. Based on the description of this utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0024] In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set," "install," and "connect," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms according to the specific circumstances.

[0025] The terms “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” and “outer,” etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly used when the product is in use. They are used only for the convenience of description and simplification, 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. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model.

[0026] The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., are used merely to distinguish elements with similar properties, not to indicate or imply relative importance or a specific order.

[0027] The terms “include,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, which includes not only the elements listed but also other elements not expressly listed.

[0028] Please refer to Figures 1 to 2 This utility model provides a support component for a flexible display module. The support component includes a main plate, which is a sheet-like structure. The main plate can be made of high-strength metal materials (such as stainless steel, titanium alloy, etc.) or polymer materials with excellent ductility (such as polyimide PI, etc.) to meet the requirements of good flexibility and fatigue resistance in bending areas. Stainless steel has good ductility and formability, making it suitable for fine etching processes; titanium alloy has advantages in lightweight and corrosion resistance, making it suitable for applications requiring higher overall thickness and strength.

[0029] The main body plate includes at least one bent portion 2 and two non-bent portions 1 connected to opposite sides of the bent portion 2. The bent portion 2 is used to cooperate with the inner bending area of ​​the flexible display panel, playing a supporting and guiding role in the bending process of the foldable display module. At one end of the bent portion 2, a plurality of groove-shaped thinning areas 21 are provided. Each thinning area 21 forms a local reduction in thickness on the main body plate to provide flexibility during bending and reduce stress concentration during bending. In this embodiment, the thinning area 21 is formed by an etching thinning process. Compared with the traditional mechanical grooving method, the thinning area 21 formed by etching can locally thin without destroying the integrity of the main body plate, effectively reducing the bending stiffness of the bending area.

[0030] Preferably, the cross-sectional shape of the thinned region 21 is semi-circular or arched, thereby making the local transition smoother and further improving the bending life.

[0031] In this embodiment, at the other end of the bending portion 2, multiple sets of stress relief structures 22 are provided to coordinate with the thinning region 21 to disperse bending stress and improve overall folding performance. The stress relief structure 22 includes multiple relief grooves 23, which penetrate the main body plate and structurally correspond to the thinning region 21, so that their projections in the direction perpendicular to the main body plate are all located within the thinning region 21, maintaining the unity of overall strength and stress relief function.

[0032] Optionally, the release grooves 23 are symmetrically arranged along the central axis of the thinning region 21. The length direction of the release grooves 23 is parallel to the central axis of the thinning region 21, while the width direction is perpendicular to the central axis, forming a grid-like or array-like arrangement. At least two adjacent release grooves 23 can be arranged side by side in the direction parallel to the axis of the thinning region 21; multiple release grooves 23 can also be arranged side by side in the vertical direction, thereby forming a regular multi-row and multi-column array.

[0033] Optionally, the release groove 23 can be elongated, elliptical, circular, quadrilateral, or a combination of the aforementioned shapes. Different shapes can be combined to regulate local stress distribution and folding performance. For example, an elongated structure facilitates the formation of bending lines, while elliptical and circular structures help disperse stress concentration areas and improve fatigue resistance. It can be understood that combinations of different structural shapes can also customize the bending strength and directional characteristics of the support component according to the specific design requirements of the flexible display panel.

[0034] In the implementation process, in order to form multiple thinning areas 21 on the main board, the following etching thinning process can be used for processing:

[0035] First, select the metal plate material. The selected metal material must have a tensile strength greater than or equal to 450MPa, a hardness greater than or equal to 200HV to ensure sufficient strength, and a yield strength greater than or equal to 200MPa to ensure sufficient toughness in the bending area.

[0036] The selected metal materials are inspected to ensure that the surface of the main body plate is free of obvious defects such as scratches, dents or deformation.

[0037] The main board is then cleaned with a 5%–7% sodium hydroxide solution or a 2.5%–5% sulfuric acid solution to remove surface oil and oxides.

[0038] After cleaning, the surface of the main board is coated with photosensitive ink with a thickness of 25μm to 30μm, and the pattern to be etched is transferred to the film through an exposure process, and the pattern is exposed by photoplotting.

[0039] After exposure, the substrate is developed with a 1%–1.2% sodium hydroxide solution to remove the unpolymerized ink, thus exposing the target area.

[0040] Next, select the appropriate etchant based on the material of the metal used. For example, ferric chloride is suitable for stainless steel, and ammonium bifluoride is suitable for titanium alloys. Perform chemical etching to thin the exposed area.

[0041] like Figure 4 As shown, after etching, a 4% to 10% sodium hydroxide solution is used to remove the residual photosensitive ink, and finally the required thinning area 21 is obtained, which is thinned to the preset value but does not penetrate the main board.

[0042] To further optimize stress distribution, preferably, the spacing between any two adjacent release grooves 23 is set to 0.10 mm to 0.14 mm, which improves the slow-release capacity of the flexible area while maintaining structural integrity.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the overall thickness of the main plate is controlled between 0.1 mm and 0.2 mm to balance flexibility and mechanical support performance; while the thickness of the thinned area 21 of the bending portion 2 is not less than 0.03 mm to ensure that the local area does not experience material cracking or fatigue failure while maintaining flexibility.

[0044] This utility model embodiment also provides a flexible screen assembly, including a flexible display panel and the aforementioned support member. The support member is disposed on the back side of the flexible display panel and is used to provide structural support and stress buffering for the bending area of ​​the panel. The flexible display panel includes an inner bending area and an outer bending area. The outer bending area is located on both sides of the inner bending area and is connected to the non-bending portion 1 of the support member, so that the support member provides bending transition in the inner bending area and fixed support in the outer bending area, thereby realizing the reliable folding and unfolding function of the entire display module.

[0045] It should be noted that the various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0046] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this utility model, but the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A support member, characterized in that, The system includes a main plate having at least one bent portion (2) and at least two non-bent portions (1) respectively connected to opposite sides of the bent portion (2). One end of the bent portion (2) has a plurality of groove-shaped thinning regions (21), and the other end of the bent portion (2) is provided with a plurality of stress relief structures (22) penetrating the main plate. The projections of the plurality of stress relief structures (22) in the direction perpendicular to the main plate are all located within the thinning regions (21).

2. The support member as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The stress relief structure (22) includes a plurality of relief grooves (23) symmetrically distributed along the central axis of the thinning region (21).

3. The support member as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The cross-sectional shape of the release groove (23) is elongated, elliptical, circular, quadrilateral or a combination of the above shapes.

4. The support member as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The length direction of the release groove (23) is parallel to the central axis of the thinning region (21), and the width direction of the release groove (23) is perpendicular to the central axis of the thinning region (21).

5. The support member as described in claim 4, characterized in that, At least two adjacent release grooves (23) are arranged side by side in a direction parallel to the central axis of the thinning region (21); at least two adjacent release grooves (23) are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the thinning region (21).

6. The support member as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The spacing between at least two adjacent release slots (23) is 0.10 mm to 0.14 mm.

7. The support member as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the main plate is 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.

8. The support member as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The thickness of the bent portion (2) after thinning is not less than 0.03 mm.

9. The support member as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cross-sectional shape of the thinned region (21) is semi-circular or arched.

10. A flexible screen assembly, characterized in that, The device includes a flexible display panel and a support member as described in any one of claims 1-9, the support member being disposed on the back side of the flexible display panel, the flexible display panel including an inner bending area and an outer bending area, the outer bending area being located on both sides of the inner bending area and connected to the non-bending portion (1) of the support member.

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