Display module and electronic device

Abstract

The present application belongs to the field of electronic devices. Disclosed are a display module and an electronic device. The display module comprises a substrate layer, a display layer and a protection circuit, wherein the display layer is arranged on the substrate layer; the display layer comprises a transition region and a coverage region, the transition region being bendable, the coverage region being of a planar structure, the coverage region and the transition region being distributed in a first direction, and the first direction being perpendicular to the direction of thickness of the substrate layer; and the protection circuit is mounted on the substrate layer, the coverage region covers the outside of the protection circuit, and a partition notch is provided between a first edge of the coverage region close to the transition region and the transition region.

Description

Display modules and electronic devices

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510094621.9, filed on January 21, 2025, entitled “Display Module and Electronic Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application belongs to the field of electronic equipment technology, specifically relating to a display module and an electronic device. Background Technology

[0004] Mobile phones and other electronic devices have become indispensable in people's work and life due to the numerous conveniences they bring. The display screen is a crucial component of these devices, and its lifespan directly affects the overall lifespan of the device. As the functions of electronic devices continue to improve, the replacement cycle is also increasing, which places higher demands on the lifespan of components such as the display screen.

[0005] Generally speaking, the lifespan of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) semiconductors can exceed 10 years. However, its lifespan is also highly dependent on the operating environment. The applicant found that the failure rate of displays in current electronic devices increases significantly after three to four years of use. In particular, for displays in electronic devices used in relatively humid environments, their lifespan is not only shorter, but they also experience more severe vertical line defects, which seriously affects the user experience of the product.

[0006] Application content

[0007] This application provides a display module and an electronic device to solve the problems that current display modules have a shorter service life and are prone to vertical line defects when working in relatively humid environments.

[0008] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application disclose a display module, which includes a substrate layer, a display layer, and a protective circuit. The display layer is disposed on the substrate layer and includes a transition region and a cover region. The transition region is bendable, and the cover region has a planar structure. The cover region and the transition region are distributed along a first direction, which is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate layer. The protective circuit is mounted on the substrate layer, and the cover region covers the protective circuit. A separation notch is provided between the first edge of the cover region near the transition region and the transition region.

[0009] Secondly, embodiments of this application disclose an electronic device, which includes a housing and the aforementioned display module.

[0010] This application discloses a display module with a display layer disposed on a substrate layer. The display layer includes a transition area and a cover area. The transition area is bendable, and the cover area has a planar structure. The cover area and the transition area are distributed along a first direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate layer. In this case, by covering the protective circuit installed on the substrate layer with the cover area, the cover area can provide protection for the protective circuit. At the same time, by providing a partition gap between the cover area and the transition area near the first edge of the transition area, the transition area and the cover area are separated as a whole. In this case, even if the surface of the transition area develops small cracks after bending, the partition gap between the cover area and the transition area makes it difficult for water vapor and oxygen entering the display layer from the transition area to enter the cover area through the same layer. This prevents water vapor and oxygen from corroding the protective circuit, ensuring that the protective circuit is not easily damaged. As a result, the display module is less prone to vertical line defects and the overall lifespan of the display module can be improved, thereby enhancing the user experience of electronic devices using this display module. Attached Figure Description

[0011] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0012] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the display module disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0013] Figure 2 is a top view of the structure shown in Figure 1;

[0014] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a portion of the display module including the display layer disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0015] Figure 4 is a top view of the structure shown in Figure 3.

[0016] Reference numerals: 100-substrate layer, 200-display layer, 201-isolation notch, 210-transition area, 220-coverage area, 230-connection area, 300-touch layer, 310-touch inorganic layer, 320-touch organic layer, 400-protection circuit, 500-chip, 600-pad, 700-conductive adhesive, 800-S / D circuit. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0018] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0019] As shown in Figures 1-4, this application discloses a display module to solve the problem that current display modules are prone to vertical line defects when working in relatively humid environments, thereby significantly improving the overall lifespan of the display module.

[0020] In response to the issue that displays have a shorter lifespan and are more prone to vertical line defects in humid environments, the inventors, after investigating the faulty products, discovered that the direct cause of these problems is damage to the protection circuit in the display module. The vias in the circuit area are corroded, leading to the peeling of the film layer in the circuit area. This causes the S / D circuit to open, preventing the signal from being written normally. Consequently, the switching transistor circuit remains in a normally open state, resulting in increased current and the corresponding display bar remaining constantly lit, thus causing the vertical line defects.

[0021] To further investigate the root cause of damage to the protective circuit in the display module, after proposing and verifying several innovative hypotheses, the inventors creatively discovered that the reason for the above-mentioned problems in current displays is that, in order to reduce the black border size of the display, manufacturers usually further reduce the bending radius of flexible displays. This leads to increased stress in the bending area of ​​the display, resulting in micro-cracks on the bending surface of the display layer. With the increase of usage time, moisture and oxygen can easily enter the display layer through the cracks and penetrate into the protective circuit embedded in the display layer. Under the condition of power supply, an electrochemical reaction occurs at the protective circuit, which in turn causes the vias in the circuit area to be corroded, ultimately causing the switching transistor circuit to remain open, resulting in the phenomenon of vertical line defects.

[0022] Based on the above inventive discovery, the inventors improved the structure of the display module to alleviate or even solve the aforementioned problems. As shown in Figure 1, the display module disclosed in this application includes a substrate layer 100, a display layer 200, and a protective circuit 400. Of course, the display module may also typically include other devices such as an S / D circuit 800, a touch layer 300, and a chip 500.

[0023] The substrate layer 100 is the basic structure of the display module. Other components in the display module can be directly or indirectly formed or disposed on the substrate layer 100. Generally, the substrate layer 100 can be formed of materials such as glass. In the display module disclosed in this application embodiment, the substrate layer 100 can be formed of a flexible material, specifically an inorganic material. Correspondingly, the display layer 200 and touch layer 300 are also formed of deformable materials to ensure that the entire display module has deformability. This allows the edges of the display module to be bent, reducing the size of the black border of the part of the display module directly exposed on the surface of the electronic device and increasing the visible area of ​​the exposed part of the display module.

[0024] In detail, the display layer 200 is disposed on the substrate layer 100. Of course, the display layer 200 may also include multiple layer structures to enable it to emit light, thereby providing a display function in the display module. It should be noted that when the display module disclosed in this embodiment is in operation, not all parts of the display layer 200 are necessarily exposed outside the electronic device. Specifically, some structures at the edges of the display layer 200 can be bent to form a double-layer structure, meaning that other parts of the display layer 200 also exist on the back side of the exposed portion. Correspondingly, the chip 500 and the protective circuit 400 can be mounted on the non-exposed portion of the display layer 200.

[0025] More specifically, the display layer 200 includes a transition area 210 and a cover area 220. The cover area 220 is the non-exposed portion of the display layer 200 and is located on one side of the transition area 210. The transition area 210 is bendable, meaning it has the ability to bend. Typically, after the processing of the display module is completed, the transition area 210 is bent. As for the cover area 220, it is a planar structure. However, this does not mean that the cover area 220 is not bendable; rather, it means that after the processing of the display module is completed, the cover area 220 is usually still a planar structure.

[0026] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the covering area 220 and the transition area 210 are distributed along a first direction, which is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate layer 100. More intuitively, the first direction is direction X in Figure 1, the thickness direction of the substrate layer 100 is direction Z in Figure 1, and the second direction mentioned below is the direction perpendicular to the paper. Of course, before the display module is bent, that is, when the transition area 210 is still a planar structure, a portion of the display layer 200 (denoted as the display area) is also provided on the side of the transition area 210 away from the covering area 220. This portion of the structure (i.e., the aforementioned display area) is the part of the display layer 200 that is directly used to provide a display function. In other words, after the display module is assembled in the electronic device, this part is exposed and serves as the display surface of the display module.

[0027] As described above, a substrate layer 100 is disposed below the display layer 200. Correspondingly, since the cover area 220 does not provide a display function, the portion of the substrate layer 100 corresponding to the cover area 220 can be used to mount electronic devices. Of course, the portion of the substrate layer 100 located between the transition area 210 and the cover area 220 can also be used to mount electronic devices. Even at least a portion of the substrate layer 100 corresponding to the transition area 210 can serve as a mounting base for electronic devices. Based on this, in this embodiment, the protection circuit 400 is mounted on the substrate layer 100, and, in order to provide protection for the protection circuit 400, as shown in FIG1, the cover area 220 can be made to cover the protection circuit 400.

[0028] As described above, the transition area 210 of the display layer 200 is bent after the display module is processed. In the process of bending the part of the display module where the transition area 210 is located, small cracks inevitably appear on the surface of the transition area 210. In order to prevent water vapor and oxygen from entering the transition area 210 through the cracks and invading the cover area 220, causing the protection circuit 400 to undergo an electrochemical reaction when energized, in this embodiment of the application, a partition gap 201 is provided between the first edge of the cover area 220 near the transition area 210 and the transition area 210, so as to separate the cover area 220 and the transition area 210 by using the partition gap 201. In this case, water vapor and oxygen can be prevented from continuously transmitting in the same layer structure (i.e., display layer 200) and damaging the protection circuit 400. Specifically, in the thickness direction of the substrate layer 100, the isolation notch 201 extends to the substrate layer 100. In the first direction, the size of the isolation notch 201 can be flexibly determined according to the actual situation, and this article does not limit it.

[0029] This application discloses a display module, in which a display layer 200 is disposed on a substrate layer 100, and the display layer 200 includes a transition region 210 and a cover region 220. The transition region 210 is bendable, and the cover region 220 has a planar structure. The cover region 220 and the transition region 210 are distributed along a first direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate layer 100. In this case, by covering the protective circuit 400 mounted on the substrate layer 100 with the cover region 220, the cover region 220 can provide protection for the protective circuit 400. Simultaneously, by providing a partition between the first edge of the cover region 220 near the transition region 210 and the transition region 210... The notch 201 separates the transition area 210 and the coverage area 220. In this case, even if the transition area 210 develops small cracks on its surface after bending, the notch 201 between the coverage area 220 and the transition area 210 makes it difficult for moisture and oxygen entering the display layer 200 from the transition area 210 to enter the coverage area 220 through the same layer. This prevents moisture and oxygen from corroding the protection circuit 400, ensuring that the protection circuit 400 is not easily damaged. As a result, the display module is less prone to vertical line defects and the overall lifespan of the display module can be improved, thereby enhancing the user experience of electronic devices using this display module.

[0030] As described above, a partition notch 201 is provided between the first edge of the coverage area 220 and the transition area 210. To ensure that the entire protective circuit 400 can be protected by the partition notch 201, in the second direction, the opposite ends of the partition notch 201 can be flush with the opposite two side edges of the protective circuit 400, respectively. The second direction is perpendicular to both the first direction and the thickness direction of the substrate layer 100. Typically, to ensure that the protective circuit 400 can be properly processed, in the second direction, there is a corresponding gap between the opposite two side edges of the protective circuit 400 and the opposite two side edges of the substrate layer 100, that is, the protective circuit 400 does not extend to the edge of the substrate layer 100. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the second direction, the opposite ends of the partition notch 201 can also not extend to the edge of the substrate layer 100. In other words, in this embodiment, the coverage area 220 and the transition area 210 are not completely separated.

[0031] To further enhance the protection effect on the protective circuit 400, in another embodiment of this application, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, in the second direction, the opposite ends of the isolation notch 201 can extend to the opposite edges of the substrate layer 100. This allows the covering area 220 and the transition area 210 to be completely disconnected, thereby maximizing the prevention of moisture and oxygen intruding into the transition area 210 from entering the covering area 220 via same-layer transport and thus corroding the protective circuit 400 within the covering area 220. Furthermore, by adopting the technical solution disclosed in the embodiments of this application, the processing difficulty of the isolation notch 201 can be reduced. More specifically, during the processing of the display module, the isolation notch 201 can be formed by etching.

[0032] As described above, in the display module disclosed in this application embodiment, the display layer 200 includes a transition region 210 and a cover region 220, and the cover region 220 and the transition region 210 are distributed along the first direction. Optionally, the partition notch 201 is directly sandwiched between the transition region 210 and the cover region 220. In order to facilitate the formation of the partition notch 201 and improve the connection reliability between the transition region 210 and the substrate layer 100, in another embodiment of this application, the display layer 200 further includes a connection region 230, and the connection region 230 is also a planar structure. The surface of the connection region 230 facing the substrate layer 100 is coplanar with the surface of the cover region 220 facing the substrate layer 100. The connection region 230 is connected to the transition region 210, and the partition notch 201 is sandwiched between the connection region 230 and the cover region 220.

[0033] In this case, a connection region 230 is further spaced between the cover region 220 and the transition region 210, which is easily penetrated by moisture and oxygen. This connection region 230 not only improves the reliability of the connection between the transition region 210 and the substrate 100, but also further prevents moisture and oxygen from penetrating the cover region 220 through the transition region 210. Furthermore, with the connection region 230 between the transition region 210 and the cover region 220, it can also provide protection for corresponding devices on the substrate 100. Specifically, the substrate 100 has an S / D circuit 800, and the connection region 230 covers the S / D circuit 800.

[0034] As described above, in addition to the display layer 200 and the substrate layer 100, the display module typically also includes a touch layer 300. More specifically, the touch layer 300 is disposed on the side of the display layer facing away from the substrate layer 100. During the formation of the touch layer 300, the portion of the touch layer 300 opposite to the isolation notch 201 can be bonded to the substrate layer 100. That is, a portion of the touch layer 300 fills the isolation notch, thereby using this physical structure of the touch layer 300 to isolate the transition area 210 and the coverage area 220, further restricting moisture and oxygen in the transition area 210 from passing through the touch layer 300 and entering the coverage area 220, thus improving the service life of the protection circuit 400.

[0035] Specifically, the touch layer 300 can be formed on the side of the display layer 200 away from the substrate layer 100 by vapor deposition. During the formation of the touch layer 300, the part of the touch layer 300 opposite to the isolation notch can be directly embedded in the isolation notch and bonded to the substrate layer 100 to reduce the difficulty of forming the touch layer 300.

[0036] More specifically, the touch layer 300 may include a touch inorganic layer 310, and a portion of the touch inorganic layer 310 covers the surface of the transition region 210 and the cover region 220 facing away from the substrate layer 100. Furthermore, the touch layer 300 also includes a touch organic layer 320, and a portion of the touch organic layer 320 also covers the surface of the transition region 210 and the cover region 220 facing away from the substrate layer 100. Of course, the touch organic layer 320 covers the side of the touch inorganic layer 310 facing away from the substrate layer 100. Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the portions of the touch inorganic layer 310 and the touch organic layer 320 opposite to the isolation notch 201 are embedded within the isolation notch 201, and the touch inorganic layer 310 is bonded to the portion of the substrate layer 100 opposite to the isolation notch 201. This can further improve the isolation effect, reliability, and continuity between the cover region 220 and the transition region 210.

[0037] In addition, the display module also includes a chip 500. Specifically, the substrate layer 100 is provided with pads 600, which serve as electrical connection devices for the chip 500. Meanwhile, the second edge of the cover area 220, away from the transition area 210, is spaced apart from the pads 600 to prevent electrical connection between them, which could hinder the normal operation of the display layer 200. That is, in the first direction, the cover area 220 is sandwiched between the transition area 210 and the pads 600, and a notch 201 is provided between the first edge of the cover area 220 near the transition area 210 and the transition area 210. A gap of a certain size is also provided between the second edge of the cover area 220 away from the transition area 210 and the pads 600.

[0038] More specifically, the chip 500 is connected to the pad 600 via conductive adhesive 700. To insulate the conductive adhesive 700 from the display layer 200, the touch inorganic layer 310 can cover the portion of the display layer 200 adjacent to the conductive adhesive 700. Specifically, the touch inorganic layer 310 is disposed on the side of the display layer 200 facing away from the substrate layer 100, and extends to the second edge of the covering area 220. In this case, the conductive adhesive 700 located between the covering area 220 and the pad 600 can be insulated from the covering area 220 by the touch inorganic layer 310, so that while the chip 500 and the pad 600 form an electrical connection, both the chip 500 and the pad 600 can remain insulated from the display layer 200. Specifically, the conductive adhesive 700 is an anisotropic conductive adhesive 700, in order to further prevent devices distributed around the conductive adhesive 700 in the thickness direction perpendicular to the substrate layer 100 from forming an electrical connection through the conductive adhesive 700.

[0039] As described above, the chip 500 is electrically connected to the pad 600 via the conductive adhesive 700. Therefore, during the assembly of the chip 500, a certain downward pressure is typically applied to ensure a reliable bond and electrical connection between the chip 500 and the conductive adhesive 700, and between the conductive adhesive 700 and the pad 600. Furthermore, if the conductive adhesive 700 is directly connected to the relatively rigid touch inorganic layer 310 during chip assembly, process fluctuations can cause downward pressure to act on the display layer 200. This can result in fine cracks in the coverage area 220 adjacent to the conductive adhesive 700, especially at the second edge of the coverage area 220, making it susceptible to penetration by external moisture and oxygen, thus corroding the protective circuitry 400 within the coverage area 220.

[0040] Therefore, in one specific embodiment of this application, in the first direction, the chip 500 can be located on the side of the second edge of the cover area 220 away from the transition area 210, and spaced apart from the cover area 220. That is, in this embodiment, in the plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate layer 100, the projection of the chip 500 is located on the side of the projection of the cover area 220 away from the transition area 210, and the projection of the chip 500 and the projection of the cover area 220 are spaced apart. In this case, when the chip 500 is assembled, since the second edge of the cover area 220 is no longer directly below the chip 500, the downward pressure applied by assembling the chip 500 will not directly act on the second edge of the cover area 220, thereby significantly reducing the probability of cracks in the cover area 220. More intuitively, in this embodiment, along the first direction, the distance between the second edge of the cover area 220 and the pad 600 can be between 48µm and 64µm.

[0041] To further prevent cracks in the coverage area 220, in another embodiment of this application, the display module may include a touch organic layer 320. As described above, the touch organic layer 320 is disposed on the side of the touch inorganic layer 310 facing away from the display layer 200. In this embodiment, the touch inorganic layer 310 extends to the area between the second edge of the coverage area 220 and the pad 600. Since the material of the touch organic layer 320 is softer than that of the touch inorganic layer 310, the touch organic layer 320 can provide a buffering effect. During the assembly of the chip 500, the downward pressure exerted by the chip 500 can be double-buffered by the conductive adhesive 700 and the touch organic layer 320. This can significantly reduce the probability of the coverage area 220 being squeezed and cracking, thereby preventing moisture and oxygen from directly intruding into the coverage area 220 from the second edge.

[0042] In order to ensure that the touch organic layer 320 provides a good buffering effect without significantly affecting the thickness of the entire display module, in a specific embodiment of this application, the thickness of the portion of the touch organic layer 320 located between the conductive adhesive 700 and the touch inorganic layer 310 can be between 2µm and 3µm. More specifically, the thickness of the aforementioned portion of the touch organic layer 320 can be 2.5µm.

[0043] Based on the display module disclosed in any of the above embodiments, this application also discloses an electronic device, which includes a housing and any of the above display modules, with the display module connected to the housing. Of course, the electronic device may also typically include other components such as a battery and a camera module.

[0044] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0045] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A display module, comprising a substrate layer (100), a display layer (200), and a protective circuit (400), wherein, The display layer (200) is disposed on the substrate layer (100). The display layer (200) includes a transition region (210) and a cover region (220). The transition region (210) is bendable. The cover region (220) has a planar structure. The cover region (220) and the transition region (210) are distributed along a first direction, which is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate layer (100). The protective circuit (400) is mounted on the substrate (100), the covering area (220) covers the protective circuit (400), and a partition gap (201) is provided between the first edge of the covering area (220) near the transition area (210) and the transition area (210).

2. The display module according to claim 1, wherein, In a second direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the thickness direction, the opposite ends of the partition notch (201) extend to the opposite two side edges of the substrate layer (100).

3. The display module according to claim 1, wherein, The display layer (200) further includes a connection area (230), which is a planar structure. The surface of the connection area (230) facing the substrate layer (100) is coplanar with the surface of the cover area (220) facing the substrate layer (100). The connection area (230) is connected to the transition area (210), and the partition notch (201) is sandwiched between the connection area (230) and the cover area (220).

4. The display module according to claim 1, wherein, The display module includes a touch layer (300), which is disposed on the side of the display layer (200) away from the substrate layer (100), and the portion of the touch layer (300) opposite to the partition notch (201) is attached to the substrate layer (100).

5. The display module according to claim 4, wherein, The touch layer (300) includes a touch inorganic layer (310) and a touch organic layer (320). The touch inorganic layer (310) and the touch organic layer (320) are sequentially disposed on the side of the display layer (200) away from the substrate layer (100), and the portions of the touch inorganic layer (310) and the touch organic layer (320) opposite to the partition notch (201) are embedded in the partition notch (201).

6. The display module according to claim 1, wherein, The substrate layer (100) is provided with pads (600), and the display module includes a touch inorganic layer (310) and a chip (500). The chip (500) is connected to the pads (600) through conductive adhesive (700). The touch inorganic layer (310) is disposed on the side of the display layer (200) away from the substrate layer (100). The second edge of the cover area (220) away from the transition area (210) is spaced apart from the pad (600). The touch inorganic layer (310) extends to the end face covering the second edge of the cover area (220). The conductive adhesive (700) is insulated from the cover area (220) through the touch inorganic layer (310).

7. The display module according to claim 6, wherein, In the first direction, the chip (500) is located on the side of the second edge of the coverage area (220) away from the transition area (210) and is spaced apart from the coverage area (220).

8. The display module according to claim 6, wherein, The display module includes a touch organic layer (320), which is disposed on the side of the touch inorganic layer (310) away from the display layer (200), and the touch inorganic layer (310) extends to the second edge of the coverage area (220) between the pad (600).

9. The display module according to claim 8, wherein, The thickness of the portion of the touch organic layer (320) located between the conductive adhesive (700) and the touch inorganic layer (310) is between 2µm and 3µm.

10. An electronic device comprising a housing and a display module as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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