FLEXIBLE DISPLAY DEVICE HAVING FLEXIBLE WINDOW SUBSTRATE

• US 20160221294A1
• Filed: 08/10/2015
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Oh, Hye-Jin, Choi, Min-Hoon, Lee, Jeoung Sub, Park, Sang-Il, Oh, Hyun Joon, Hwang, In Sun
• Application Number:
  US14/822,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20160221294A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2255/10 on synthetic resin layer or on natural or synthetic rubber layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2255/20 Inorganic coating
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2255/26 Polymeric coating
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2270/00 Resin or rubber layer containing a blend of at least two different polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/536 Hardness
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/546 Flexural strength; Flexion stiffness
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2457/208 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 25/04 comprising rubber as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material next to a layer of a particular substance B32B9/043; next to a bituminous or tarry layer B32B11/044; next to a water setting substance layer B32B13/042; next to a metal layer B32B15/06; next to a glass layer B32B17/063; next to a layer formed of natural mineral fibres or particles B32B19/043; next to a wood layer B32B21/045; next to a cellulosic plastic layer B32B23/046
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/06 as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material next to a layer of a particular substance B32B9/045; next to a bituminous or tarry layer B32B11/046; next to a water setting substance layer B32B13/12; next to a metal layer B32B15/08; next to a glass layer B32B17/10; next to a layer formed of natural mineral fibres or particles B32B19/045; next to a wood layer B32B21/08; next to a cellulosic plastic layer B32B23/08; next to a natural or synthetic rubber layer B32B25/08
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/281 comprising polyimides
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/283 comprising polysiloxanes
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/308 comprising acrylic (co)polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/36 comprising polyesters
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/40 comprising polyurethanes
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/142 Variation across the area of the layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a flexible display device including a display panel displaying an image, a touch screen panel on the display panel, and a window substrate covering the touch screen panel. The window substrate includes: a flexible base layer including a first surface facing an outside and a second surface facing the display panel in an opposite direction to the first surface; and a coating layer having hardness higher than that of the base layer and having a plurality of coating tiles arranged on the first surface of the base layer thereof, each coating tile being spaced from adjacent ones of the coating tiles.

Claims

1. A flexible display device, comprising:

a display panel for displaying an image;

a touch screen panel on the display panel; and

a window substrate covering the touch screen panel,

wherein the window substrate comprises;

a flexible base layer comprising a first surface facing an outside and a second surface facing the display panel in an opposite direction to the first surface; and

a coating layer having hardness higher than that of the base layer and comprising a plurality of coating tiles arranged on the first surface of the base layer thereof, each coating tile being spaced from adjacent ones of the coating tiles.

2. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the plurality of coating tiles are each isolated from each other.

3. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the plurality of coating tiles are arranged in a matrix form.

4. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the window substrate is divided into a display area configured to display an image and a non-display area which encloses the display area, and

wherein the coating layer is at an area which corresponds to the display area.

5. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein a thickness of the coating tiles is between 10 μ

m and 100 μ

m.

6. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein when:

a curvature radius of a tip of a touch pen which is used by contacting a surface of the window substrate is set to be r, and

a thickness of the coating tiles is set to be d, and a maximum gap between the coating tiles adjacent to each other is set to be S,

the maximum gap to satisfies

S≦

2√

{square root over (d(2r−

d))}.

7. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein a gap between the coating tiles adjacent to each other is between 20 μ

m and 200 μ

m.

8. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the coating tiles have a quadrangular plane shape.

9. The flexible display device of claim 8,

wherein the coating tiles have a parallelogrammic plane shape, and

wherein the coating tiles are arranged so that respective corners of four of the parallelogrammic coating tiles are adjacent to one point and the coating tiles are arranged with the same inclination direction.

10. The flexible display device of claim 8,

wherein the coating tiles have a trapezoidal plane shape,

wherein the coating tiles are arranged so that respective corners of four of the trapezoid coating tiles are adjacent to one point, and

wherein inclined sides of the trapezoids adjacent to each other in a first direction are alternately reversed and arranged to be parallel with each other.

11. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the coating tiles have a triangular plane shape.

12. The flexible display device of claim 11,

wherein the coating tiles are arranged so that respective corners of six of the triangular coating tiles are adjacent to a point.

13. The flexible display device of claim 12,

wherein an allowable maximum gap between the coating tiles is between the corners of the coating tiles facing each other to be symmetrical to each other.

14. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the coating tiles have a hexagonal plane shape.

15. The flexible display device of claim 14,

wherein the coating tiles are arranged so that respective corners of three of the hexagonal coating tiles are adjacent to a point.

16. The flexible display device of claim 15,

wherein an allowable maximum gap between the coating tiles is a gap which is between adjacent sides of the coating tiles.

17. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the base layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of elastomer, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyimide (PI), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), silicone, polyurethane (PU), and combinations thereof.

18. The flexible display device of claim 1,

wherein the coating tiles are made of a material selected from the group consisting of epoxy, acryl, silicone, polyurethane (PU), graphene, carbon nanotube (CNT), indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), Si, SiOx, SiNx, and combinations thereof.