Flexible Display Substrate Strain Management via Inclined Protection Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional display devices using glass substrates are heavy, fragile, and difficult to deform, limiting their flexibility and adaptability, while flexible substrates offer improved properties but require innovative solutions for strain management during bending.
Innovation Solution
A display device with a substrate featuring a first and second flat area and a bending area, where protection layers with photo-hardening resin and inclination angles between 10° to 90° are used to minimize strain, allowing for easy bending and manufacturing simplification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a glass substrate is used, then the display device has high strength and stability, but it becomes heavy and difficult to deform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the rigid glass substrate with a flexible substrate that can be bent and deformed. The flexible substrate maintains sufficient mechanical strength while enabling the display device to be folded or curved, thus resolving the contradiction between strength and flexibility through material substitution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure consisting of multiple layers including the flexible substrate, protection layers with photo-hardening resin, and functional layers. This composite design provides both the mechanical strength needed for durability and the flexibility required for deformation, balancing the opposing requirements.
2Ease of manufacture
If the protection layer is formed with a vertical end, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the strain on the substrate during bending increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a non-uniform thickness design to the protection layer, creating an inclination part where the thickness gradually changes from the main body toward the edge. This local variation in geometry reduces stress concentration at the bending region while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through selective patterning processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the geometric parameters of the protection layer by introducing an inclination angle (α) ranging from 10° to 90° at the end portion. This parameter change optimizes the stress distribution during bending, reducing substrate strain while still allowing for practical manufacturing using conventional patterning techniques.
3Strength
If the protection layer thickness is increased, then the protection performance improves, but the strain on the substrate during bending increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a spatially varying thickness profile in the protection layer, with greater thickness in regions requiring enhanced protection and reduced thickness near the bending area. This localized optimization maintains overall protection performance while minimizing bending-induced strain on the substrate.
Solution Approach 2:
The protection layer is effectively segmented into different functional zones: a thick main body providing protection and a thinner inclination part reducing stress during bending. This segmentation allows the structure to simultaneously achieve high protection performance and low bending strain through differentiated regional design.
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 solution effectively reduces strain on the substrate during bending, enabling stable and flexible display device operation with reduced manufacturing complexity.
Implementation Method 1
the first protection layer and the second protection layer include a hardening member including a photo-hardening resin
Data Source
AI summary
A display device includes: a substrate including a first flat area, a second flat area, and a bending area between the first flat area and the second flat area; a display unit overlapping the first flat area and disposed on a surface of the substrate; first and second protection layers on an opposing surface of the substrate and overlapping the first and second flat areas, respectively. The first and second protection layers include a hardening member including a photo-hardening resin, the first protection layer includes a first inclination part at an end, the second protection layer includes a second inclination part at an end, the first inclination part has a first inclination angle with the opposing surface, the second inclination part has a second inclination angle with the opposing surface, and the first and second inclination angles are in a range of about 10 degrees to about 90 degrees.