Flexible Display Data Line Crank Shape for Wire Breakage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid crystal display and organic EL display devices are difficult to bend due to distortion of wires and thin film transistors, leading to breakage when flexed, as they are typically formed on glass substrates and transferred to plastic substrates, which limits their flexibility and reliability.
Innovation Solution
Forming thin film transistors, data lines, and scanning lines on a bendable thin glass substrate and bonding it to a high-elastic modulus substrate with a stress-reducing bonding material, and shaping data lines and power lines into crank or S-shapes to minimize distortion during bending.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If TFTs and wires are formed over a glass substrate and transferred to a plastic substrate to achieve flexibility, then the display becomes bendable, but distortion accumulates in the data lines and scanning lines causing breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The data lines and scanning lines are formed into curved shapes (crank shapes or S-shapes) instead of straight lines. This curvature design allows the lines to accommodate bending distortion without breaking, as the curved geometry can absorb the stress of flexing while maintaining electrical connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the conductive lines by forming them into specific curved patterns with controlled radii and angles. This parameter modification enables the lines to withstand bending stresses that would otherwise cause breakage in straight-line configurations.
2Manufacturing precision
If a thick glass substrate is used to provide structural support, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the display cannot be bent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a thin glass substrate that serves as a flexible support structure. This thin substrate provides sufficient mechanical stability for manufacturing and handling while being thin enough to allow bending when combined with the curved wire design, thus resolving the contradiction between substrate stability and bendability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a plastic substrate is used to achieve flexibility, then bendability is improved, but it is difficult to directly form TFTs and wires over the plastic substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin glass substrate as an intermediary platform where TFTs and wires can be reliably formed using conventional manufacturing processes. This glass substrate acts as a mediator that combines the manufacturing advantages of glass with the flexibility requirements, avoiding the need to directly form TFTs on plastic substrates.
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 approach allows for a display that is flexible in one direction without breaking, enhancing reliability and enabling installations in curved or angled locations, such as columns, by reducing stress and distortion accumulation.
Implementation Method 1
bonded to a base material film via a bonding layer... via a bonding material reducing a tensile stress or a compressive stress
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible display device bendable in a certain direction is realized. R, G, and B pixels are arranged in a mosaic pattern. The display is bendable in a first direction, but is not assumed to be bent in a second direction. A data line extends in the first direction and a select line extends in the second direction. In order to prevent accumulation of distortion in the data line and breakage of the data line when the display is bent in the first direction, the data line is formed into a crank shape. Accordingly, even when the display is bent, an amount of distortion accumulated in the data line corresponds to only a length thereof in the first direction, and therefore, the distortion can be reduced. As a result, breakage of a wire in a flexible display can be prevented.