Flexible Display Dam Grooves Prevent Ink Overflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
In current thin film encapsulation technologies for flexible OLED displays, ink often flows beyond the dam, reducing the lifespan of the display panel due to irregular boundaries and inadequate surface tension.
Innovation Solution
A flexible display panel design featuring a dam with a top surface and side surfaces, including grooves, stepped structures, or sharp corner structures, which increases the contact area and surface tension of the ink within the encapsulation layer, preventing it from flowing beyond the dam and mitigating stress concentration when the panel is bent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a dam is provided at the ink print boundary to contain ink, then ink containment is improved, but ink still flows beyond the dam due to insufficient surface tension, reducing display panel lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating specific structural features (grooves, stepped structures, sharp corner structures) at the second side surface of the dam where ink contact occurs. These localized structural modifications increase the contact area between ink and dam at critical locations, enhancing surface tension effects precisely where needed to prevent ink overflow, while maintaining the overall simplicity of the dam structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If the dam structure is simplified for ease of manufacture, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but the dam cannot effectively prevent ink overflow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the second side surface of the dam into multiple functional zones through grooves, stepped structures, or sharp corner structures. These segmented features create multiple contact points between the ink and dam structure, effectively increasing the total contact area and enhancing surface tension effects without requiring complex manufacturing processes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the flexible display panel is bent, then flexibility is demonstrated, but stress concentration causes breakage, reducing lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by incorporating stress-dissipating structural features (grooves, stepped structures, sharp corner structures) into the dam design before the bending stress occurs. These pre-designed features serve as stress relief zones that absorb and distribute bending stresses, preventing stress concentration and potential breakage when the flexible display panel is bent, thereby extending its lifespan.
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 increased surface tension and accommodation of ink in the grooves or structures enhance the panel's lifespan by preventing ink overflow and reducing the risk of breakage due to stress concentration, thereby extending the display panel's lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
A contact area between the dam and ink in the encapsulation layer may be increased by the groove, the stepped structure, or the sharp corner structure, and then surface tension of the ink in the encapsulation layer is increased to prevent the ink from flowing beyond the dam
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a flexible display panel and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the flexible display panel includes: an array substrate; an organic light emitting layer disposed on the array substrate; a dam disposed on the array substrate and disposed to surround the organic light emitting layer; and an encapsulation layer covering the organic light emitting layer and the dam, wherein the dam comprises a first side surface close to the organic light emitting layer, and a second side surface away from the organic light emitting layer, and the second side surface is disposed with at least one of a groove, a stepped structure, or a sharp corner structure.