Flexible organic light emitting diode display device

• US 9,535,522 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2014
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ahn, DongSeok
• Primary Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US14/579,581
• Publication Number:
  US 20160179229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-183, 345204-215, 178 1801- 1809, 178 2001- 2004
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04111 Cross over in capacitive digitiser, i.e. details of structures for connecting electrodes of the sensing pattern where the connections cross each other, e.g. bridge structures comprising an insulating layer, or vias through substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/117 Pads along the edge of rigid circuit boards, e.g. for pluggable connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/84 Passivation; Containers; Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1213 the pixel elements being TFTs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/131 Interconnections, e.g. wiring lines or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/40 OLEDs integrated with touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/87 Passivation; Containers; Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/873 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/8793 Arrangements for polarized light emission H10K59/8791 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 : Flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 : Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

There is provided a flexible display having a plurality of innovations configured to allow bending of a portion or portions to reduce apparent border size and/or utilize the side surface of an assembled flexible display.

Claims

1. A flexible display apparatus, comprising:

a flexible base layer defined with a first area, a second area and a bend allowance section between the first area and the second area of the flexible base layer;

a plurality of display pixels in the first area of the flexible base layer; and

at least one driver integrated circuit (D-IC) placed in the second area of the flexible base layer,

wherein the first area and the second area are substantially flat, and an entirety of the bend allowance section is bent.

2. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a gate driver circuitry in the first area.

3. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the D-IC placed in the second area of the flexible base layer includes a display driver integrated circuit.

4. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the D-IC placed in the second area of the flexible base layer includes a touch sensor driver integrated circuit.

5. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of conductive lines in the bend allowance section of the flexible base layer, the plurality of conductive lines in the bend allowance section being routed from the D-IC in the second area to one or more conductive lines placed in the first area of the flexible base layer.

6. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a printed circuit board coupled to a connection interface provided in the second area of the flexible base layer, wherein a polymer layer of the flexible printed circuit board is different from the base layer.

7. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a power supply unit placed on the printed circuit board.

8. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first area and the second area have a less curvature than that of the bend allowance section.

9. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bend allowance section of the flexible base layer is bent such that the second area of the flexible base layer is arranged to overlap at least some part of the first area of the flexible base layer.

10. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first area of the flexible base layer is provided in a rounded shape.

11. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a notch is provided in the bend allowance section of the flexible base layer.

12. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a width of flexible base layer in the bend allowance section is shorter than width of the flexible base layer in the first area and the second area.

13. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bend allowance section of the flexible base layer is thinner than the first and second areas of the flexible base layer.

14. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of display pixels in the first area is disposed on a first side of the flexible base layer and the D-IC in the second area is disposed on a second side of the flexible base layer.

15. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the conductive lines in the bend allowance section includes a chain of links, in which each of the links has a segment that is arranged non-parallel to the tangent vector of a curvature of the flexible base layer in the bend allowance section.

16. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the conductive lines in the bend allowance section includes a grid of links, in which each of the links has a segment that is arranged non-parallel to the tangent vector of a curvature of the flexible base layer in the bend allowance section.

17. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more insulation layers that are patterned according to a trace design of the plurality of conductive lines.

18. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a support layer having a rounded edge portion, wherein the support layer is arranged on the second side of the flexible base layer such that the bend allowance section of the flexible base layer wraps around the rounded edge portion of the support layer.

19. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first support layer and a second support layer on the first side of the flexible base layer, the first support layer being provided in the first area and the second support layer being provided in the second area of the flexible base layer.

20. The flexible display apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a support member having an elongated body portion and a rounded end portion, wherein the support member is arranged such that the bend allowance section of the flexible base layer wraps around the rounded end portion of the support member.