Flexible Display Outer Periphery Rigid Unit Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Display devices face challenges with rigidity and durability, particularly in the outer peripheral areas, leading to creases and cracks during manufacturing and usage, especially when using flexible substrates like plastic, which also result in parasitic capacitance issues.
Innovation Solution
The use of a transparent conducting oxide layer or an oxide semiconductor layer as a substrate, combined with a rigid unit and encapsulation patterns, to enhance the rigidity of the outer peripheral areas and minimize parasitic capacitance, while allowing for flexibility and moisture control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a plastic substrate is used to achieve flexibility, then the display device can be folded or rolled, but the outer peripheral area lacks sufficient rigidity leading to creases and cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different material properties to different regions of the substrate: the central active area uses a flexible plastic substrate to enable folding and rolling, while the outer peripheral area incorporates a rigid unit (such as a rigid frame or reinforcement structure) to provide enhanced rigidity and prevent creases and cracks. This local differentiation of mechanical properties resolves the contradiction between overall flexibility and peripheral strength.
2Strength
If a rigid unit is added to improve outer peripheral rigidity, then creases and cracks are suppressed, but parasitic capacitance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a thin-film rigid unit structure that provides necessary mechanical reinforcement while minimizing electrical interference. The rigid unit is designed as a thin film or shell structure that maintains structural integrity without creating significant parasitic capacitance with adjacent conductive elements. This approach allows the rigid unit to suppress creases and cracks while minimizing the harmful electrical effects.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the substrate thickness is reduced to improve flexibility, then the display device can be bent and rolled, but the outer peripheral area becomes more susceptible to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested structure where the rigid unit is integrated within or alongside the thin flexible substrate. The rigid unit acts as an internal reinforcement framework that is embedded within the overall device structure, providing structural support to the thin substrate without preventing its flexibility. This nested arrangement allows the thin substrate to maintain bendability while the embedded rigid unit prevents damage during bending and rolling operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A display device includes a lower substrate which includes an active area including a plurality of sub pixels and a non-active area enclosing the active area and is formed of one of transparent conducting oxide and an oxide semiconductor layer, a rigid unit in the non-active area to enclose the active area on the lower substrate, an insulating layer on the lower substrate and the rigid unit, a cathode on the insulating layer, and an encapsulation substrate on the cathode. Accordingly, the rigid unit is disposed in an outer peripheral area of the display device to improve the rigidity of the outer peripheral area.