Flexible OLED Screen Resizing With Laser Cutting and Edge Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current flexible OLED screens are primarily designed for consumer goods and have bezels that are too large for use in aircraft environments, and setting up new production lines for aircraft-specific sizes and shapes is economically unfeasible due to high costs.
Innovation Solution
A process involving laser cutting and atmospheric plasma polymer coating is used to resize and reshape OLED screens, reducing bezel size and protecting against moisture and oxygen penetration, allowing for cost-effective production of customized sizes and shapes suitable for aircraft applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standard sized OLED screens with large bezels are used, then manufacturing cost is reduced by using existing production lines, but the screens are not suitable for aircraft environment array configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the standard OLED screen into multiple smaller display regions by cutting through the bezel area, creating multiple display panels from a single standard screen. This segmentation allows the screens to be configured in arrays suitable for aircraft environments while still using standard production lines, thus resolving the contradiction between manufacturing cost and adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the bezel portions from the standard OLED screen through laser cutting, separating the functional display areas from the non-functional bezel regions. This extraction creates customized display shapes and sizes appropriate for aircraft applications without requiring new production lines, maintaining cost-effectiveness while improving adaptability
2Adaptability or versatility
If laser cutting is used to reduce screen size, then screens can be customized for aircraft environments, but moisture and oxygen may penetrate through cut edges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a plasma polymer coating as an intermediary protective layer on the cut edges of the OLED screen. This coating acts as a barrier that prevents moisture and oxygen penetration through the laser-cut edges, thereby maintaining screen reliability while allowing customized sizes and shapes for aircraft environments
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful effect of laser cutting (creating exposed edges vulnerable to moisture and oxygen) into a benefit by applying plasma treatment that creates a protective surface layer. The plasma process transforms the vulnerable cut surface into a protected interface, eliminating the reliability issue while preserving the customization advantage
3Adaptability or versatility
If new production lines are set up for aircraft-specific OLED screens, then screens can be optimized for aircraft environment, but manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes standard OLED screens multi-functional by applying post-production modification techniques (laser cutting and plasma coating) that adapt them for aircraft environments. This universal approach allows a single standard production line to serve both consumer and aircraft markets, eliminating the need for separate expensive production lines while achieving aircraft-specific optimization
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 process enables the efficient and cost-effective production of OLED screens with reduced bezels, suitable for use in aircraft environments, by minimizing exposure to moisture and oxygen while achieving desired dimensions and shapes.
Implementation Method 1
cutting the OLED screen with a laser to reduce the size of the OLED screen
Implementation Method 2
coating the cut edge by a plasma coating process
Data Source
AI summary
Processes for producing an OLED screen with a reduced size, in particular for an aircraft. The processes utilize laser cutting to reduce the size of OLED screens from a production line. After the cutting, a plasma coating process seals the cut edges. The portion of the production OLED screen that is cut may be a portion of the display screen. The screens with the reduced sized may be installed in an aircraft, and, two or more of the OLED screens with reduced sized may be positioned adjacent to each other so as to form an array.