Flexible Panel Supporting Plate Thickness Variation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display devices with supporting plates suffer from increased damage to the encapsulating and protecting layers due to the higher elastic modulus of the supporting plate, leading to a shortened service life upon repeated folding.
Innovation Solution
A flexible panel design with a folding region and a non-folding region, featuring a supporting plate with a thinner first supporting portion in the folding region, which reduces the force on the encapsulating and protecting layers by distributing stress more evenly, thereby increasing the device's durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a supporting plate with large elastic modulus is added to prevent creases, then the restorability is improved, but the risk of damage to the encapsulating layer and protecting layer increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting plate is designed with different thicknesses in different regions: a first thickness in the folding region and a second thickness in the non-folding region. This local variation in thickness creates different elastic moduli in different areas, allowing the folding region to be more flexible and reduce stress on the encapsulating and protecting layers, while the non-folding region maintains higher stiffness for overall structural support and restorability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a supporting plate is added to reduce crease risk, then the crease prevention is improved, but the service life is shortened due to layer damage
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting plate implements local quality through regional thickness variation. The folding region has reduced thickness to minimize stress concentration and prevent damage to the encapsulating and protecting layers during repeated folding, thereby extending service life. The non-folding region maintains full thickness to provide adequate structural support and prevent creases in the display area.
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 design effectively reduces the risk of damage to the encapsulating and protecting layers, allowing the display device to withstand more folding cycles and extend its service life while maintaining the supporting plate's recovery capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
a supporting plate with a thinner first supporting portion in the folding region, which reduces the force on the encapsulating and protecting layers by distributing stress more evenly
Implementation Method 2
the supporting plate has a relatively large elastic modulus, with a good restorability, and it is capable of reducing the risk of creases in the flexible display device significantly
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a flexible panel and a display device. In one embodiment, the flexible panel is divided into a folding region and a non-folding region outside the folding region in a first direction, the flexible panel comprises a flexible display module, a first protecting layer and a supporting plate stacked in sequence; the supporting plate is divided into a first supporting portion and an other supporting portion except the first supporting portion, the first supporting portion is located in the folding region and is close to an outer edge of the flexible panel, a width of the first supporting portion is less than a width of the other supporting portion.