Partially Flexible Display With Segmented Layers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current partially flexible display devices face limitations due to the bulkiness, fragility, and restricted portability caused by inflexible glass displays, which hinder the integration of additional features like color, touch sensitivity, and backlighting without compromising rollability.
Innovation Solution
A partially flexible display device is designed with both flexible and non-flexible regions sharing a common base structure, where the non-flexible regions include additional layers for features like color, lighting, and touch sensitivity, maintaining rollability while allowing for enhanced functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If additional display features (color, touch sensitivity, backlighting) are integrated into the display, then display functionality is improved, but display thickness increases and bend radius increases, preventing or limiting rollability
Solution Approach 1:
The display is divided into multiple independent layers (substrate layer, transistor layer, encapsulation layer, color filter layer, touch-sensitive layer, light-emitting layer, light-guide layer). This segmentation allows selective removal or modification of specific layers to achieve different functionality-thickness-bend radius trade-offs while maintaining overall display performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the display can have different layer configurations. For example, the color filter layer, touch-sensitive layer, and light-emitting layer can be selectively applied to specific areas depending on the desired functionality, allowing localized enhancement without uniformly increasing the entire display's thickness and reducing bend radius.
2Length of moving object
If the display is made ultra thin (thickness below 0.4 mm) to maintain rollability, then bend radius is reduced, but additional display features cannot be integrated due to thickness constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The display structure is segmented into multiple thin layers, each performing a specific function. This allows the total thickness to be controlled by selectively including or excluding certain layers, enabling the display to be made ultra-thin for rollability while still incorporating desired features by adding only the necessary layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-layer thick display to a multi-layer thin display structure. By distributing functionality across multiple dimensions (layers) rather than relying on a single thick layer, the display achieves both thinness for rollability and integrated features through the stacked layer configuration.
3Reliability
If traditional glass optical displays are used, then display durability is improved, but device portability is reduced due to bulkiness and weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional rigid glass substrates with flexible plastic substrates that can be made extremely thin. This substitution maintains display durability through the flexible material's inherent properties while dramatically reducing weight and enabling rollability for improved portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The display is segmented into multiple thin functional layers rather than relying on a single thick glass layer. This segmentation allows the use of lightweight flexible materials while maintaining durability through the distributed layer structure, where each layer contributes to overall robustness.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a partially flexible display device (30) including at least one relatively flexible display region (54) and at least one relatively non-flexible display region (56); whereby the at least one relatively flexible display region (54) and the at least one relatively non-flexible display region (56) share a common base structure comprised of a plurality of layers (60-66) and the at least one relatively non-flexible display region (56) further comprises at least one additional layer (70). The at least one additional layer (70) is added to provide additional display features in the partially flexible display device (30). The additional display features may include, without limitation, a color feature, a front lighting feature, a back lighting feature and a touch sensitivity feature. In this construction, the at least one flexible region (54) and at least one non-flexible region (56) are mechanically interconnected and preferably aligned in the same dimension.