Curved Display Panel Production via Two-Stage Sealant Curing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing curved display panels, such as those described in Patent Document 1, face issues with substrate thickness variations due to etching, leading to deteriorated display performance and limitations in achieving small radii of curvature required for wearable displays like wrist displays and glasses.
Innovation Solution
A method involving flexible substrates supported by thicker flexible boards for thin film pattern formation, followed by bonding with a sealant and curving in two stages: first while the sealant is cured, and second after detachment of the supporting boards, allowing for further curvature without applying excessive stress, thus maintaining high display performance and enabling small radius curvature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If substrates are made thinner by etching to enable curving, then the substrates can be curved more easily, but variations in thickness occur leading to deterioration in display performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by forming a curved shape on the substrate before bonding the sealant, and maintaining this curved shape during sealant curing. This preliminary curving action allows the substrate to be pre-formed to the desired curvature while the sealant is still pliable, avoiding the need for excessive thinning that would cause thickness variations. The curved shape is established in advance before the sealant fully cures, resolving the contradiction between curving capability and thickness uniformity.
2Shape
If substrates are thinned by etching to achieve small radius of curvature, then curving to small radius becomes possible, but display performance deteriorates due to thickness variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent forms the curved shape with the desired small radius of curvature before the sealant fully cures, allowing the substrate to be pre-shaped without requiring excessive thinning. This preliminary curving action maintains substrate thickness uniformity while achieving the required small radius of curvature for wearable displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the sealant from uncured (pliable) to cured (rigid) at different stages. During the curving process, the sealant remains in a pliable state that allows bending to small radii without breaking. After curving is complete, the sealant cures to lock in the curved shape. This parameter change enables small radius curving without substrate thinning.
3Strength
If substrates are bonded and then curved after sealant curing, then the bonding is stable, but excessive stress causes the bonded substrate to return to its original state
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the curving action before the sealant fully cures, while the sealant is still in a pliable state that can accommodate bending. This preliminary curving prevents excessive stress that would occur if curving were attempted after full curing. The sealant then cures in the curved state, locking in the shape and maintaining both bonding stability and curved shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional sequence by curving the substrate before final sealant curing rather than curving after curing. This reverse sequencing allows the sealant to cure while already in the desired curved state, eliminating the stress problem that occurs when attempting to curve already-cured bonded substrates.
4Shape
If the bonded substrate is curved to small radius after supporting board detachment, then small radius curving is achieved, but excessive stress is applied to the sealant
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the curving action while the sealant is still curing and in a pliable state, before detachment of the supporting board. This preliminary curving avoids the need for high-stress curving after detachment. The sealant cures in the curved state, maintaining both the small radius of curvature and the integrity of the sealant without excessive stress.
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
This method enables the production of curved display panels with high display performance and small radii of curvature, reducing substrate thickness variations and allowing for the creation of wearable displays like wrist displays and glasses.
Implementation Method 1
bonding the two substrates at surfaces each having the thin film pattern thereon with the sealant therebetween to form a bonded substrate
Implementation Method 2
curving the bonded substrate while curing the sealant
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes a supporting step supporting first planar surfaces of two substrates 20A and 30A having flexibility with supporting boards 50 and 60 each having flexibility and a larger thickness than the two substrates 20A and 30A, a thin film pattern formation step, after the supporting step, forming a thin film pattern on second planar surfaces of the two substrates 20A and 30A, a bonding step, after the thin film pattern formation step, bonding the two substrates 20A and 30A at surfaces each having the thin film pattern thereon with the sealant therebetween to form a bonded substrate 70, a first curving step, after the bonding step, curving the bonded substrate 70 while curing the sealant, a detachment step, after the first curving step, detaching the supporting boards 50 and 60 from the bonded substrate 70, and a second curving step, after the detachment step, further curving the bonded substrate 70.