Foldable Display Window Reinforcement for Warpage Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display windows in foldable electronic devices face issues with warpage due to stress imbalance from varying thicknesses, leading to reduced flexibility and increased vulnerability to breakage.
Innovation Solution
A flexible window design with a recessed first part near the bending axis and a thicker second part, featuring a reinforcement part parallel to the axis, including ribs or grooves, to mitigate stress imbalance and enhance durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the thickness of ultra-thin glass is increased to improve impact resistance, then puncture resistance is improved, but flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible window is divided into a first part with reduced thickness near the bending axis and a second part with greater thickness in other areas. This segmentation allows the first part to provide flexibility for bending while the second part provides puncture resistance, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different thickness specifications are applied to different parts of the flexible window based on their functional requirements. The first part near the bending axis has reduced thickness for flexibility, while the second part has greater thickness for impact resistance, implementing local quality optimization.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the thickness of the flexible window is reduced to improve flexibility, then flexibility is improved, but vulnerability to external impact increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible window is segmented into regions with different thicknesses - the first part is thinner for flexibility while the second part is thicker for impact resistance, allowing both requirements to be satisfied simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness specification is optimized locally according to functional needs: reduced thickness in the bending area for flexibility and increased thickness in other areas for impact resistance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different parts of glass have different thicknesses to maintain flexibility in bent areas, then flexibility is improved, but warpage occurs during glass tempering due to stress imbalance
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement part acts as a counterbalancing element that compensates for the stress imbalance caused by varying thicknesses. This reinforcement structure prevents warpage during tempering while maintaining the flexibility benefits of reduced thickness in the first part.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible window employs a composite structure combining glass material with a reinforcement part, creating a composite component that balances flexibility and dimensional stability during processing.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a flexible display panel and a flexible window disposed in a first direction, in which the flexible display panel displays an image, to protect the flexible display panel, and configured to be bent and unbent about a bending axis. The flexible window may include a first part which is located in an area of the flexible window relatively close to the bending axis, includes a first recess formed by the area of the flexible window being recessed, and is bent and unbent about the bending axis, and a second part which is thicker than the first part and is located in an area of the flexible window relatively distant from the bending axis, wherein the first part includes a reinforcement part formed to be oriented in a direction parallel to the bending axis.