Cold-Formed OLED Display Structure With Split Neutral Planes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cold-forming of OLED display panels for vehicle interiors can lead to strain accumulation, particularly in large panels, resulting in reliability concerns due to bending-induced stress, which may cause mechanical failure over extended use lifetimes.
Innovation Solution
A display device with a glass substrate and an OLED display module, where a support structure retains the module in a curved configuration, and adhesive layers with a Young's modulus less than 1.5 MPa are used to decouple strain distributions, creating multiple neutral planes that reduce residual bending strain and enhance reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cold-forming is used to shape OLED display panels into curved configurations, then manufacturing flexibility and design adaptability are improved, but strain accumulation occurs in the functional layers leading to reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the OLED display structure into multiple independent functional layers (substrate, buffer layer, active layer, electrode layer, encapsulation layer) that can be separately fabricated and then assembled. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized independently and reduces the cumulative strain that would occur if the entire display were formed as a single cold-formed piece, thereby maintaining design flexibility while improving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces adhesive layers as intermediary elements between the glass substrate and the OLED functional layers. These adhesive layers act as strain-distributing mediators that decouple the strain distributions in the glass substrate from the functional layers during cold-forming. This allows the display to achieve the desired curved configuration while the adhesive layers absorb and distribute mechanical stresses, preventing strain accumulation in the sensitive OLED components and improving overall reliability.
2Area of moving object
If the length of the OLED display panel is increased to meet large-screen requirements, then display area is improved, but bending-induced strain accumulation increases leading to higher risk of mechanical failure
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the OLED display into multiple functional layers that are assembled after fabrication, the patent enables large display areas to be constructed from smaller, pre-fabricated layers. This reduces the bending radius and strain accumulation that would occur in a single large cold-formed panel, while still achieving the desired large display area through lateral arrangement of the modular layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive layers serve as critical intermediaries that distribute bending-induced strains across the entire large-area display structure. When the display is bent into a curved configuration, the adhesive layers decouple the strain distributions between the rigid glass substrate and the flexible OLED layers, preventing stress concentration even in large-area displays and thereby maintaining mechanical reliability.
3Ease of manufacture
If cold-forming is performed on assembled OLED displays, then production cost is reduced, but functional components experience strain leading to potential display failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by fabricating all OLED functional layers and assembling them into the complete display structure while the glass substrate is still flat and accessible. This allows standard flat-panel fabrication techniques to be used for the OLED components, ensuring high quality and reliability. The cold-forming operation is then performed on the complete assembled display, which the adhesive layers protect from excessive strain, thereby achieving cost reduction without compromising reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive layers act as protective intermediaries that shield the OLED functional components from harmful strains during the cold-forming process. By decoupling the strain distributions in the glass substrate from the OLED layers, the adhesive layers enable the cost-effective cold-forming manufacturing approach to be used while preventing strain-induced failure of the sensitive display components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces peak bending strain and improves the reliability of cold-formed OLED display modules by decoupling strain distributions, minimizing the risk of mechanical failure and extending the lifespan of the display.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the plurality of adhesive layers comprises a Young's modulus that is less than or equal 1.5 MPa to decouple strain distributions in the glass substrate and the plurality of functional layers from one another
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is display device for a vehicle interior system including a glass substrate comprising a length extending in a first direction that is greater than or equal to 200 mm. An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display module is disposed on a major surface of the glass substrate, the OLED display module comprising a plurality of functional layers. A support structure is mechanically coupled to the glass substrate and the OLED display module to retain the glass substrate and the OLED display module in a curved configuration. A plurality of adhesive layers attach the OLED display module to the second major surface and a plurality of functional layers of the OLED display module to one another. Each adhesive layer comprises a Young's modulus that is less than or equal 1.5 MPa to decouple strain distributions in the glass substrate and the plurality of functional layers from one another.