Partially Curved Display With Local Substrate Thinning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional curved display devices face challenges in achieving a thin and easily foldable design, particularly when incorporating composite areas with both flat and curved surfaces, leading to increased fabrication time and cost due to the need for additional components and reduced yield.
Innovation Solution
A display device structure with folding areas featuring recessed substrates and reinforcing filling patterns to enhance strength, allowing for thin and foldable design without compromising structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the entire display area is made thin to enable folding, then foldability is improved, but structural strength deteriorates causing vulnerability to physical damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different thicknesses to different areas of the display device. The folding area is made thin to enable easy folding, while the non-folding area maintains a thicker structure for structural strength. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between foldability and structural strength.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a composite area with both flat and curved surfaces is created, then display versatility is improved, but device complexity increases requiring separate devices or members for each portion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the display area into folding and non-folding areas, allowing each area to have its own optimized structure. This segmentation enables the creation of composite areas with different curvatures while using a single integrated substrate rather than multiple separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the substrate are given different local properties - the folding area is designed with thin structure for flexibility, while the non-folding area maintains thicker structure for rigidity. This allows composite display areas with varying curvatures within a single device.
3Ease of operation
If very thin thickness is applied to the entire display area to achieve small radius of curvature, then folding capability is improved, but manufacturing difficulty increases reducing yield
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies thin thickness only to the folding area where it is needed for folding capability, while the non-folding area maintains adequate thickness for manufacturability. This local differentiation improves folding capability without compromising manufacturing yield across the entire device.
Data Source
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AI summary
A display device according to one embodiment is a display device in which a first folding area, a first non-folding area on one side of the first folding area, and a second non-folding area on the other side of the first folding area are defined, and comprises a first substrate, a second substrate disposed on the first substrate, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and an upper polarization member disposed on one surface of the second substrate and spaced apart from the liquid crystal layer with the second substrate interposed therebetween, wherein the second substrate has a first thickness, which is partially slimmed, in the first folding area, the second substrate has a second thickness, which is greater than the first thickness and corresponds to an original thickness of a flat display element without being slimmed, in each of the non-folding areas, the upper polarization member is disposed over the first non-folding area, the folding area and the second non-folding area, a first gap distance between one surface of the second substrate and the upper polarization member in the first folding area is greater than a second gap distance between one surface of the second substrate and the upper polarization member in each of the non-folding areas.