Foldable display design

• US 10,608,066 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2019
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Original Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Yuan-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Dicky, Thomas L
• Application Number:
  US16/274,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20190181208A1
• Time in Patent Office: 413 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13452 Conductors connecting driver circuitry and terminals of panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13454 Drivers integrated on the active matrix substrate G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/32 semiconductive, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02381 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/04026 Bonding areas specifically adapted for layer connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0753 the devices being arranged next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/088 the components being field-effect transistors with insulated gate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/156 two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/10253 Silicon [Si]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12041 LED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2933/0091 Scattering means in or on the semiconductor body or semiconductor body package H01L33/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/00 Semiconductor devices having potential barriers specially adapted for light emission; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof H10K50/00 takes precedence; devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor components formed in or on a common substrate and including semiconductor components having potential barriers, specially adapted for light emission H01L27/15; semiconductor lasers H01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/22 Roughened surfaces, e.g. at the interface between epitaxial layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/38 with a particular shape
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/62 Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the semiconductor body, e.g. lead-frames, wire-bonds or solder balls
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/22 characterised by the chemical or physical composition or the arrangement of auxiliary dielectric or reflective layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/351 Thickness
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/81 Anodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/854 : comprising scattering means
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 : Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1201 : Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1213 : the pixel elements being TFTs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/124 : Insulating layers formed between TFT elements and OLED elements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/179 : Interconnections, e.g. wiring lines or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 : Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 : Flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells

Abstract

A display device includes a substrate and a display structure. The substrate has a foldable first region and a second region adjacent to the foldable first region, wherein a folding axis overlaps the foldable first region. The display structure overlaps the substrate and includes a plurality of first pixel electrodes. A minimum distance between the substrate and a top surface of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the foldable first region is defined as a first distance, a minimum distance between the substrate and a top surface of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the second region is defined as a second distance, and the first distance is less than the second distance.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising:

a substrate having a foldable first region and a second region adjacent to the foldable first region, wherein a folding axis overlaps the foldable first region; and

a display structure overlapping the substrate and comprising a plurality of first pixel electrodes;

wherein a minimum distance between the substrate and a topmost surface of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the foldable first region is defined as a first distance, a minimum distance between the substrate and a topmost surface of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the second region is defined as a second distance;

wherein the first distance is less than the second distance.

2. The display device of claim 1, further comprising an insulating layer disposed between the plurality of first pixel electrodes and the substrate, the insulating layer comprising:

a first portion overlapping the foldable first region; and

a second portion overlapping the second region;

wherein a thickness of the first portion is less than a thickness of the second portion.

3. The display device of claim 1, the display structure further comprising an encapsulation layer disposed on the plurality of first pixel electrodes and comprising:

a first portion overlapping the foldable first region; and

a second portion overlapping the second region;

wherein a thickness of the first portion is less than a thickness of the second portion.

4. The display device of claim 1, wherein a width of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the foldable first region in a first direction is less than a width of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the second region in the first direction.

5. The display device of claim 4, wherein the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the folding axis.

6. The display device of claim 1, wherein a first area of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the foldable first region is less than a second area of one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the second region.

7. The display device of claim 1, wherein two adjacent ones of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the foldable first region are separated by a first spacing distance along a first direction, two adjacent ones of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the second region are separated by a second spacing distance along the first direction, and the first spacing distance is greater than the second spacing distance.

8. The display device of claim 7, wherein the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the folding axis.

9. The display device of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a first thickness in the foldable first region and has a second thickness in the second region, and the first thickness is less than the second thickness.

10. The display device of claim 9, wherein a first ratio of the first thickness to the second thickness is greater than zero and less than or equal to 0.5,

wherein the display structure further comprises a plurality of display units, each of the plurality of display units comprises one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes, and a second ratio of a width of one of the plurality of display units overlapping the foldable first region in a first direction to a width of one of the plurality of display units overlapping the second region in the first direction is greater than or equal to 0.3 and less than or equal to 0.8, and

wherein the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the folding axis.

11. The display device of claim 9, wherein a first ratio of the first thickness to the second thickness is greater than 0.5 and less than 1,

wherein the display structure further comprises a plurality of display units, each of the plurality of display units comprises one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes, and a second ratio of a width of one of the plurality of display units overlapping the foldable first region in a first direction to a width of one of the plurality of display units overlapping the second region in the first direction is greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 0.95, and

wherein the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the folding axis.

12. The display device of claim 9, wherein a transition between the first thickness and the second thickness is immediate or gradual.

13. The display device of claim 1, wherein the display structure further comprises a plurality of second pixel electrodes disposed on the plurality of the first pixel electrodes.

14. The display device of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the display structure in the foldable first region is less than a thickness of the display structure in the second region.

15. The display device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first pixel electrodes are respectively comprised in different light emitting diodes (LEDs), different organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), different quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs), or different micro-LEDs.

16. The display device of claim 1, wherein the substrate further has another second region adjacent to the foldable first region, and the foldable first region is disposed between the second regions.

17. The display device of claim 16, wherein one of the second regions has a 180°

orientation relative to another one of the second regions when folding the display device.

18. The display device of claim 1, wherein the display structure further comprises:

a first transistor overlapping the foldable first region, and the first transistor being connected with one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the foldable first region; and

a second transistor overlapping the second region, and the second transistor being connected with one of the plurality of first pixel electrodes overlapping the second region.

19. The display device of claim 18, wherein the first transistor comprises a first semiconductor material, and the second transistor comprises a second semiconductor material different from the first semiconductor material.

20. The display device of claim 18, wherein each of the first transistor and the second transistor is connected with a capacitor.