Electro-Optical Substrate Reinforcement for Flexible Circuit Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Thin substrates in electro-optical devices are prone to damage due to bending reaction forces and external impacts when flexible circuit boards are folded, leading to potential cracking and misalignment issues.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a reinforcement plate between the substrate and the folded flexible circuit board, which increases the total thickness and strength of the substrate, while maintaining linearity and preventing disconnection of the wiring pattern, and ensuring accurate alignment of the flexible circuit board.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If the substrate thickness is reduced to achieve high slimness, then the device slimness is improved, but the substrate becomes prone to cracking and damage from bending forces and external impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the thin substrate with a reinforcement plate to create a composite structure. The reinforcement plate is positioned at the bending location of the flexible circuit board, forming a composite material system that maintains both the thin overall profile and the localized strength needed to resist cracking and damage from bending forces and external impacts.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing the entire substrate thickness, the reinforcement plate is strategically placed only at the specific location where the flexible circuit board bends. This local reinforcement approach maintains the thin overall device profile while providing targeted strength enhancement precisely where needed to prevent cracking and damage.
2Volume of moving object
If the flexible circuit board is folded to achieve compact device size, then the device compactness is improved, but the substrate is subjected to bending reaction forces that can cause cracking
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement plate is positioned specifically at the bending location of the flexible circuit board, providing localized strength enhancement only where the bending reaction forces are applied. This allows the substrate to withstand the folding operation for compact device size without cracking at the bending location.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement plate is pre-positioned at the bending location before the flexible circuit board is folded. This beforehand reinforcement cushions the substrate against the bending reaction forces that will be applied during the folding operation, preventing cracking before it occurs.
3Length of stationary object
If the substrate is made thin to achieve high slimness, then the device slimness is improved, but the substrate becomes more susceptible to damage from external impacts and pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The thin substrate is combined with a reinforcement plate to form a composite structure that maintains the thin overall profile for high slimness while providing enhanced resistance to external impacts and pressure through the reinforced material system.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement plate provides localized enhancement of impact resistance at the bending location, allowing the substrate to remain thin for slimness while being more resistant to external impacts and pressure where the reinforcement is applied.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is an electro-optical device including a substrate for the electro-optical device connected with a flexible circuit board, wherein the flexible circuit board partially faces one surface of the substrate for the electro-optical device, is folded to face the other surface of the substrate for the electro-optical device at a position which does not overlap the substrate for the electro-optical device, and has a region extending to overlap the substrate for the electro-optical device, and wherein a reinforcement plate is interposed between the substrate for the electro-optical device and the folded flexible circuit board in a region in which at least the substrate for the electro-optical device and the flexible circuit board overlap each other.