Foldable Display Buffer Sections for Stress and Crease Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable display devices face high stress and damage risks due to repeated folding, particularly in regions where maximum stress is applied, leading to potential creases and damage.
Innovation Solution
A display panel design with a substrate that includes buffer sections and auxiliary buffer sections, regulated thickness, and a neutral plane adjustment to minimize stress and prevent damage, using a glass substrate and etching processes to form grooves and holes for structural reinforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the display panel uses a flexible substrate to enable folding, then the adaptability and versatility are improved, but the strength and reliability deteriorate due to stress concentration during repeated folding
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is divided into multiple thickness regions including a first thickness region in the folding area and a second thickness region in the non-folding area. This segmentation allows the folding area to have reduced thickness for flexibility while the non-folding area maintains greater thickness for strength, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the substrate are given different local properties: the folding region has reduced thickness and may include through-holes or grooves to enhance flexibility and stress distribution, while the non-folding region maintains original thickness and structural integrity. This local differentiation allows the display panel to simultaneously achieve foldability and structural strength.
2Ease of operation
If the substrate thickness is reduced in the folding region to improve flexibility, then the ease of operation is improved, but the strength and reliability worsen due to increased stress concentration
Solution Approach 1:
Through-holes or grooves are pre-formed in the substrate at the folding region before the display device is assembled. These features preliminarily prepare the structure to distribute stress during folding, preventing stress concentration that would otherwise lead to damage. This preliminary action maintains reliability while enabling flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate in the folding region incorporates through-holes or grooves creating a porous-like structure that allows stress to be distributed across multiple points during folding. This porous approach reduces stress concentration on any single point, improving both flexibility and damage resistance.
3Strength
If buffer sections and auxiliary buffer sections are added to the substrate, then the strength and reliability are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer section and auxiliary buffer sections are integrated into a single substrate structure rather than being separate components. The auxiliary buffer sections are positioned at specific locations within the folding region, merging multiple functional elements into one unified substrate that provides both structural strength and folding capability without requiring additional separate parts.
Data Source
AI summary
A display device includes a folding region and a plurality of non-folding regions. The display device includes a substrate; a circuit layer on the substrate to drive pixels; a light-emitting element layer on the circuit layer; an encapsulation layer covering the circuit layer and the light-emitting element layer; and a cover glass on the encapsulation layer, wherein the substrate includes a buffer section in the folding region, and at least two auxiliary buffer sections spaced apart from the buffer section with the buffer section interposed between the at least two auxiliary buffer sections.