Stretchable Hydrogel Traces for Foldable Display Signal Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible OLED display panels face challenges in maintaining stable signal transmission and display stability during deformation processes such as rolling, stretching, or folding due to potential disconnection of data lines, scanning lines, and other signal transmission lines.
Innovation Solution
The display panel is divided into pixel island regions and flexible regions, with stretchable traces made from conductive hydrogel material in the flexible regions, ensuring the traces do not break during deformation, and includes fixed traces connected by conductive connecting portions to maintain signal integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If flexible OLED display panels use dense wiring with scanning lines and data lines crossing on a flexible substrate, then high pixel density is achieved, but signal transmission stability deteriorates during rolling, stretching, or folding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the substrate into rigid pixel island regions and flexible regions, with signal transmission lines routed through the flexible regions. This segmentation allows the pixel regions to maintain structural integrity while the flexible regions accommodate deformation during rolling, stretching, or folding, thus preserving signal transmission stability despite high pixel density
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible substrate with flexible regions that can deform without breaking the signal transmission lines. The flexible regions act as compliant pathways that absorb mechanical stress during deformation, preventing disconnection of data lines and scanning lines while maintaining high pixel density in the pixel island regions
2Adaptability or versatility
If the display panel is made flexible to enable rolling, stretching, or folding, then adaptability is improved, but disconnection of signal transmission lines occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is segmented into rigid pixel island regions and flexible regions, allowing the flexible regions to deform during rolling, stretching, or folding while the pixel regions remain stable. This segmentation ensures signal transmission continuity by isolating the deformation zones from the critical pixel areas
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible regions act as intermediary zones between the rigid pixel islands and the external environment. These intermediary flexible regions absorb mechanical deformation and prevent it from propagating to the signal transmission lines, thus maintaining signal continuity while enabling adaptability
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
This configuration enhances display stability and quality by preventing disconnection of signal lines and maintaining consistent display performance before and after deformation.
Implementation Method 1
The stretchable traces are made from a conductive hydrogel material... the hydrogel material is a main material of the conductive hydrogel material... stretching function in the flexible regions
Implementation Method 2
The conductive hydrogel material includes a hydrogel material and a conductive additive doped in the hydrogel material
Data Source
AI summary
A display panel and a display device are provided. The display panel includes a substrate defining pixel island regions disposed in an array and flexible regions, pixel layers, and stretchable traces. Each of the flexible regions is defined between corresponding two adjacent pixel island regions. Each of the pixel layers is disposed in a corresponding one of the pixel island regions. The stretchable traces are disposed on the flexible regions and are made from a conductive hydrogel material. The conductive hydrogel material includes a hydrogel material and a conductive additive doped in the hydrogel material. The hydrogel material is a main material of the conductive hydrogel material. When the display panel is bent, stretched, or folded, since the stretchable traces are stretchable, disconnection of data lines, scanning lines, and other signal transmission lines is avoided, thereby improving display stability and the quality of the display panel.