Flexible OLED Substrate Alignment Keys for Bending Accuracy

Solution Overview

Problem

Flexible organic light-emitting display devices face issues with crack occurrences in wiring due to inaccurate bending of the flexible substrate, leading to reliability failures.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of an organic light-emitting display device with a flexible substrate that includes alignment keys to ensure accurate bending, where the first alignment key overlaps with the second alignment key, allowing the substrate to be bent in the intended direction, thereby minimizing stress and crack occurrences in the wiring.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If the flexible substrate is bent without alignment keys, then the bending process is simpler, but the bending direction becomes inaccurate causing cracks in wiring

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebending process simplicityVSAvoidbending direction accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

Alignment keys are pre-formed on the flexible substrate before the bending process. These keys serve as predetermined reference markers that guide the bending operation, ensuring the substrate bends in the correct direction while maintaining process simplicity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Alignment keys act as intermediary elements between the bending process and the flexible substrate. They mediate the bending operation by providing visual or physical references that ensure accurate bending direction without complicating the overall manufacturing process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Manufacturing precision

If alignment keys are added to ensure accurate bending, then bending direction accuracy improves, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebending direction accuracyVSAvoidsubstrate structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The flexible substrate is segmented into functional areas, with alignment keys placed in non-active regions. This segmentation allows the addition of alignment features without interfering with the display functionality or significantly increasing overall device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The alignment keys are simple, inexpensive features that can be easily formed during the substrate manufacturing process. They serve their purpose during bending and can be removed or covered in subsequent processing steps without adding significant complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Reliability

If the wiring is designed to accommodate bending, then crack resistance improves, but accurate bending control becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewiring crack resistanceVSAvoidbending direction control

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

Alignment keys are pre-formed on the flexible substrate before the bending process. These keys serve as predetermined reference markers that guide the bending operation, ensuring the substrate bends in the correct direction while maintaining process simplicity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Alignment keys act as intermediary elements between the bending process and the flexible substrate. They mediate the bending operation by providing visual or physical references that ensure accurate bending direction without complicating the overall manufacturing process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS9490215B2Organic light-emitting display device and method for manufacturing organic light-emitting display device

Publication Date: 2016.11.08 LG DISPLAY CO LTD

AI summary

Provided are an organic light-emitting display device and a method for manufacturing the same. A flexible substrate of the organic light-emitting display device is bent across a bend line and includes a first area, a first bending area adjacent to the first area, a second bending adjacent to the first bending area, and a second area adjacent to the second bending area. A wiring is formed over the first area, the first bending area, the second bending area, and the second area of the flexible substrate to electrically connect a display unit formed in the first area and a pad unit formed in the second area. A first alignment key is formed over the flexible substrate, and a second alignment is formed over the flexible substrate. The first alignment key is positioned to overlap the second alignment key with the flexible substrate bent across the bend line.