FLEXIBLE DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20170170255A1
• Filed: 10/31/2016
• Published: 06/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Ha, Seunghwa, Jang, Euiyun, Park, Donghee, Oh, Jihoon
• Granted Patent: US 10,672,853 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/301 flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/113 Via provided in pad; Pad over filled via
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/115 Via connections; Lands around holes or via connections H05K1/112 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/147 at least one of the printed circuits being bent or folded, e.g. by using a flexible printed circuit H05K1/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/055 Folded back on itself
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/056 Folded around rigid support or component
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10128 Display
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/131 Interconnections, e.g. wiring lines or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 Flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 Organic PV cells

Abstract

A flexible display apparatus includes a display substrate including a light-emitting area, and a non-emitting area including a bending area foldable in a folding direction outside of the light-emitting area, and a pad area outside of the bending area, a thin film encapsulation layer over the light-emitting area, and a driver inside a curvature portion of the display substrate at the bending area, and including a plurality of driving terminals electrically connected to a plurality of pad terminals in the pad area through penetration wirings in via holes defined by the display substrate.

Claims

1. A flexible display apparatus comprising:

a display substrate comprising;

a light-emitting area; and

a non-emitting area comprising a bending area foldable in a folding direction outside of the light-emitting area, and a pad area outside of the bending area;

a thin film encapsulation layer over the light-emitting area; and

a driver inside a curvature portion of the display substrate at the bending area, and comprising a plurality of driving terminals electrically connected to a plurality of pad terminals in the pad area through penetration wirings in via holes defined by the display substrate.

2. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thin film encapsulation layer is over a first surface of the display substrate, and

wherein the driver is below a second surface of the display substrate that is opposite to the first surface.

3. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the driving terminals are connected to the pad terminals at the second surface of the display substrate.

4. The flexible display apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of the pad terminals comprises:

a first end on the first surface of the display substrate; and

a second end on the second surface of the display substrate, electrically connected to the first end through a corresponding one of the penetration wirings, and connected to a respective one of the driving terminals.

5. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the pad area overlaps a thin film encapsulation layer in a thickness direction of the display substrate.

6. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the driver is between the light-emitting area and the pad area.

7. The flexible display apparatus of claim 6, further comprising at least one component in a gap between the light-emitting area and the pad area.

8. The flexible display apparatus of claim 7, wherein the gap is between a first portion of the second surface of the display substrate, which corresponds to the light-emitting area, and a second portion of the second surface of the display substrate, which corresponds to the pad area.

9. The flexible display apparatus of claim 7, wherein a radius of curvature of the display substrate accommodates the at least one component.

10. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bending area is folded in the folding direction away from the thin film encapsulation layer about a bending line spaced from an edge of the thin film encapsulation layer.

11. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the driver is foldable.

12. The flexible display apparatus of claim 11, wherein an extension of a bending area of the driver is outside of a curvature portion of the display substrate.

13. The flexible display apparatus of claim 12, wherein a radius of curvature of the driver accommodates the display substrate.

14. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, further comprising at least one protection film on the second surface, and defining a space therein, wherein the bending area is adjacent the space defined by the protection film.

15. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the non-emitting area and the light-emitting area collectively define notches at corners thereof.

16. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the driver comprises a flexible film, and a driving integrated circuit (IC) on the flexible film, and wherein the driving terminals are at an edge of the flexible film at positions corresponding to the pad terminals.

17. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the driver comprises a flexible film, and a driving integrated circuit (IC) on the second surface of the display substrate, and

wherein the driving terminals are at an edge of the flexible film, and are electrically connected to the driving integrated circuit (IC) through the pad terminals.

18. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pad terminals comprise:

a plurality of first pad terminals at a first row of the display substrate; and

a plurality of second pad terminals at a second row of the display substrate.

19. The flexible display apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first row is adjacent the second row in a first direction, and

wherein the first pad terminals and the second pad terminals are alternately positioned in a second direction crossing the first direction.

20. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display substrate comprises:

a thin film transistor;

an organic light-emitting device electrically connected to the thin film transistor; and

a plurality of insulation layers insulating the thin film transistor from the organic light-emitting device,

wherein the plurality of insulation layers include planarization film or pixel defining film.