CN111201485A

CN111201485A - Flexible screen module and electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN111201485A
Application number: CN201780095804.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杜利剑; 薛正寅; 赵云飞; 刘佳豪
Original assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-12-22
Filing date: 2017-12-22
Publication date: 2020-05-26
Also published as: WO2019119420A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a flexible screen module (10) and an electronic device (100). The flexible screen module (10) comprises a flexible screen (12) and a connecting piece (14), the flexible screen (12) comprises a display area (122) and a non-display area (124), the non-display area (122) is provided with a first binding area (1221) and a second binding area (1222) at intervals, the first binding area (1221) is closer to the edge of the flexible screen (12) relative to the second binding area (1222), and the connecting piece (14) is connected with the first binding area (1221).

Description

Flexible screen module and electronic device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of flexible display, in particular to a flexible screen module and an electronic device.

Background

In the related art, the flexible panel is usually bonded to a Chip On Film (COF) by using an Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF) bonding process. Before the binding process, the expansion rate of the flexible material is difficult to control, the size difference of the supplied materials is large, and the alignment is easy to be inaccurate; in the binding process, the size difference between the flexible screen and the chip on film is large after being heated, so that quality problems such as deviation, short circuit, open circuit and the like are easily caused, and the product yield is further influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a flexible screen module and an electronic device.

The flexible screen module comprises a flexible screen and a connecting piece, wherein the flexible screen comprises a display area and a non-display area, the non-display area is provided with a first binding area and a second binding area at intervals, the first binding area is closer to the edge of the flexible screen relative to the second binding area, and the connecting piece is connected with the first binding area.

The non-display area of the flexible screen is provided with a first binding area and a second binding area, and when the flexible screen is bound with the connecting piece, the connecting piece can be bound with the first binding area. At least one of the first binding region and the connecting piece has quality problems to cause binding problems, and then the flexible screen can reselect and bind the second binding region after cutting off the first binding region. So, can solve and bind the problem that badly leads to the unable reworking of flexible screen to bind because of the connecting piece, be favorable to improving the yield of flexible screen module.

In some embodiments, the non-display region includes, from bottom to top, a base layer, a buffer layer, and a metal layer formed with the first and second binding regions.

In some embodiments, the flexible screen includes an insulating layer disposed on the metal layer, the insulating layer is provided with a first through hole and a second through hole at intervals, the metal layer forms the first binding region by a portion exposed by the first through hole, and the second binding region by a portion exposed by the second through hole.

In some embodiments, the non-display area includes a protective layer disposed on the insulating layer, the protective layer covering the second via hole and exposing the first via hole.

In some embodiments, the metal layer includes a metal lead, a first metal pad and a second metal pad, the first metal pad is located at the first through hole, the second metal pad is located at the second through hole, and the metal lead is connected to the first metal pad and the second metal pad, respectively.

In some embodiments, the flexible screen module includes a touch layer structure covering the display area.

In some embodiments, the touch layer structure includes a touch layer and a polarizing layer stacked in layers.

In some embodiments, the connecting member is a chip on film, and a driving chip is disposed on the chip on film and configured to drive the flexible screen to operate.

In some embodiments, the connector includes a third binding region that connects the first binding region.

In some embodiments, the flexible screen module comprises a flexible circuit board, and the flexible screen is connected with the flexible circuit board through the connecting piece.

In some embodiments, the connector is curved, and the flexible circuit board is located below the flexible screen.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device including the flexible screen module according to any one of the above embodiments.

The electronic device of the embodiment of the invention adopts the flexible screen module of the embodiment of the invention, the flexible screen module is usually connected with a flexible circuit board, and other electronic elements are arranged on the flexible circuit board. When at least one of the first binding region, the connecting piece and the flexible circuit board has quality problems and causes binding problems or influences the performance of the flexible screen module, the flexible screen can cut off the first binding region, the connecting piece and the flexible circuit board bound with the first binding region, and the second binding region is selected to be bound again. So, need change whole flexible screen module when can avoid first binding district, connecting piece and flexible circuit board at least one to have a quality problem, be favorable to reducing electron device's cost of maintenance.

In some embodiments, the electronic device includes a housing and a cover film, the flexible screen module is located in the housing, the housing defines an opening, and the cover film is connected to the housing and seals the opening.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible screen module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is another schematic structural view of a flexible screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a flexible screen module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is another schematic structural diagram of a flexible screen module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the invention; and

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to some embodiments of the invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "first", "second" and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implying any number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection; may be mechanically connected, may be electrically connected or may be in communication with each other; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the invention. To simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and settings of a specific example are described below. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and/or reference letters in the various examples, which have been repeated for purposes of simplicity and clarity and do not in themselves dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. In addition, the present invention provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize applications of other processes and/or uses of other materials.

Referring to fig. 1, a flexible screen module 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a flexible screen 12 and a connecting member 14. The flexible screen 12 includes a display area 122 and a non-display area 124. The non-display area 124 is provided with a first binding area 1241 and a second binding area 1242 at an interval. The first bind area 1241 is closer to the edge of the flexible screen 12 than the second bind area 1242. The connection member 14 is connected to the first bonding area 1241. The connecting member 14 has characteristics of softness, flexibility and the like.

The flexible screen 12 according to the embodiment of the present invention may bind the flexible screen 12 and the connection member 14 through an anisotropic conductive film binding process. The flexible screen 12 has the characteristics of softness, flexibility and the like, if at least one of the binding region and the connecting piece 14 has quality problems, and the binding is problematic, the metal pad at the connecting position may fall off due to the separation of the flexible screen 12 and the connecting piece 14, and the flexible screen 12 may be damaged due to the corrosion of the anisotropic conductive film by the corrosive agent and the cleaning by the wiping tool, so that the flexible screen 12 is difficult to be bound again. However, the connecting member 14 is made of flexible material, so that the expansion rate is not easy to control, and the size difference of the supplied materials is large; in the binding process of the flexible screen 12 and the connecting member 14, a hot pressing process is usually included, and the size difference is large after heating, so that quality problems such as offset, short circuit, open circuit and the like are easily caused, and the product yield is further influenced.

In this way, the non-display area 124 of the flexible screen 12 is provided with a first binding area 1241 and a second binding area 1242, and the connection member 14 can be bound with the first binding area 1241 when the flexible screen 12 is bound with the connection member 14. If at least one of the first binding area 1241 and the connecting member 14 has a quality problem, which causes a binding problem, the flexible screen 12 may reselect to bind the second binding area 1242 after cutting off the first binding area 1241. Therefore, the problem that the flexible screen 12 cannot be processed and bound again due to poor binding of the connecting piece 14 can be solved, and the yield of the flexible screen module 10 is improved.

Specifically, when the first binding area 1241 is cut off by the flexible screen 12, an ion cutting machine can be used for cutting off, so that the thermal deformation of the flexible screen 12 can be reduced, and the cut surface can be kept flat.

In one example, the first binding area 1241 and the second binding area 1242 of the flexible screen 12 are disposed in parallel on the same side of the display area 122, and the distance between the first binding area 1241 and the display area 122 is greater than the distance between the second binding area 1242 and the display area 122. Thus, the flexible screen 12 cuts off the first bonded area 1241 without affecting the flexible screen 12 in reselecting the bonded second bonded area 1242. Of course, the first and second bounded

regions

1241, 1242 of the flexible screen 12 may be disposed on different sides of the display area 122. The flexible screen 12 cuts off the first bound area 1241 and again does not affect the flexible screen 12 in reselecting the bound second bound area 1242.

Referring to fig. 2, in some embodiments, the non-display region 124 includes, from bottom to top, a substrate layer 1243, a buffer layer 1244 and a metal layer 1245. The metal layer 1245 is formed with a first bonding area 1241 and a second bonding area 1242.

It is understood that the metal layer 1245 may be generally connected to the switching device area 1222 (e.g., a Thin Film Transistor, TFT) of the display area 122, and the first bonding area 1241 and the second bonding area 1242 of the metal layer 1245 may be connected to the connection member 14, so that the flexible screen 12 transmits an electrical signal through the first bonding area 1241 and the second bonding area 1242 to control the switching device area 1222 of the flexible screen 12 and the corresponding pixel to operate.

Of course, in other embodiments, the number of binding regions may be flexibly configured as desired.

In some embodiments, the flexible screen 12 includes an insulating layer 1246 disposed on a metal layer 1245. The insulating layer 1246 is provided with a first through-hole 1246A and a second through-hole 1246B at a distance. A first bonding region 1241 is formed in the metal layer 1245 at a portion exposed from the first via 1246A, and a second bonding region 1242 is formed at a portion exposed from the second via 1246B.

In this way, the insulating layer 1246 can protect the metal layer 1245 to prevent the metal layer 1245 from short-circuiting to affect the display effect of the flexible screen 12. Meanwhile, the insulating layer 1246 may be formed with a first through hole 1246A so that the first bonding region 1241 and the connection member 14 are connected. The insulating layer 1246 may be formed with a second through hole 1246B so that the second bonding area 1242 is connected to the connection member 14 after the first bonding area 1241 is cut.

In some embodiments, the non-display area 124 includes a protective layer 1247 disposed on an insulating layer 1246. The passivation layer 1247 covers the second through hole 1246B and exposes the first through hole 1246A.

Thus, when the connecting member 14 is connected to the first bonding area 1241, the second bonding area 1242 is idle, and at this time, the protective layer 1247 and the insulating layer 1246 may seal the second bonding area 1242 so that the second bonding area 1242 is not easily affected by the external environment and may maintain the bonding function. When the flexible screen 12 cuts the first binding area 1241 and chooses to bind the second binding area 1242 again, the protective layer 1247 may be torn off so that the second binding area 1242 is exposed and connected to the connection member 14.

Referring again to fig. 1, in some embodiments, metal layer 1245 includes metal leads 1245A, first metal pads 1245B, and second metal pads 1245C. A first metal pad 1245B is located at the first via 1246A. A second metal pad 1245C is located at the second through hole 1246B. The metal leads 1245A are connected to the first metal pads 1245B and the second metal pads 1245C, respectively.

It will be appreciated that the flexible screen 12 transmits electrical signals through the metal leads 1245A on the metal layer 1245, however, the metal leads 1245A are typically thin in the flexible screen 12 and are not easily connected to the connectors 14. Thus, the flexible screen 12 can increase the contact area between the metal leads 1245A and the connecting element 14 through the metal pads so as to connect the flexible screen 12 and the connecting element 14, and at the same time, the increase of the contact area can reduce the resistance of the connection point, which is beneficial to the transmission of electrical signals.

Specifically, in one example, the metal layer 1245 may include a plurality of metal leads 1245A, and the plurality of metal leads 1245A are respectively connected to the row lines and the column lines of the switching device region 1222, so that the operation of the pixels corresponding to the flexible screen 12 can be precisely controlled. Accordingly, the metal layer 1245 may include a plurality of first metal pads 1245B and a plurality of second metal pads 1245C, and the number of the plurality of first metal pads 1245B and the number of the plurality of second metal pads 1245C corresponds to the number of the metal leads 1245A.

One metal lead 1245A may be connected to one first metal pad 1245B and one second metal pad 1245C at the same time, so that the number of the metal leads 1245A may be reduced and the wiring space of the metal lead 1245A may be more flexible.

Of course, in other embodiments, one metal lead 1245A may be connected to one first metal pad 1245B or one second metal pad 1245C, and thus, two groups of mutually independent metal leads 1245A may be formed to be connected to the first bonding region 1241 and the second bonding region 1242, respectively, where when one group of metal leads 1245A has a problem, the other group of metal leads 1245A may implement electrical signal transmission.

Specifically, in one example, the metal leads 1245A and metal pads may be a metal of relatively high conductivity, such as copper or silver.

In some embodiments, the flexible screen module 10 includes a touch layer structure 1224. The touch layer structure 1224 covers the display area 122. In this manner, the touch layer structure 1224 may protect the display elements of the display area 122 from damage while enabling touch control functionality of the flexible screen 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the touch layer structure 1224 may extend to the non-display area 124 and cover the second bonding area 1242, exposing the first bonding area 1241. In this manner, the touch layer structure 1224 can replace the protection layer 1247 of the non-display area 124 to achieve bonding with the insulation layer 1246 to seal and protect the second bonding area 1242 when the connection member 14 connects to the first bonding area 1241.

In some embodiments, the touch layer structure 1224 includes a touch layer 1224A and a polarizer layer 1224B arranged in a stack.

As such, the touch layer 1224A may enable touch functionality of the flexible screen 12 by detecting areas touched by a user. The polarizing layer 1224B can filter out stray light, so that the effective light in the same direction enters the sight line, the color contrast of the flexible screen 12 is improved, and the user can clearly see the displayed image. The order of the stacked touch layer 1224A and the polarizing layer 1224B is not specifically limited herein.

Referring again to fig. 1, in some embodiments, the connecting member 14 is a flip-chip film. The chip on film is provided with a driving chip 142. The driving chip 142 is configured to drive the flexible screen 12 to operate.

Thus, the driving chip 142 can be packaged on the COF by the COF packaging technology. The driver chip 142 may receive or send electrical signals to control the operation of the flexible screen 12.

Referring to fig. 4, in some embodiments, the connector 14 includes a third bonding area 144. The third binding region 144 connects the first binding regions 1241.

Accordingly, the third bonding region 144 may include a plurality of metal pads, the number of metal pads corresponding to the number of the first and

second metal pads

1245B and 1245C. After the connecting member 14 is connected to the first bonding area 1241, the metal pads of the third bonding area 144 may be connected to the first metal pads 1245B in a one-to-one correspondence, so that electrical signals may be transmitted between the connecting member 14 and the flexible screen 12.

In some embodiments, the flexible screen module 10 includes a flexible circuit board 16. The flexible screen 12 is connected to a flexible circuit board 16 by a connector 14.

Therefore, the flexible screen module 10 may further include other electronic components (such as capacitors, resistors, etc.), and the other components of the flexible screen module 10 may be disposed on the flexible circuit board 16 and may be connected to the flexible screen 12 through the connecting member 14 to implement the display function of the flexible screen 12.

Accordingly, in some examples, the connector 14 and the flexible circuit board 16 are bonded by an anisotropic conductive film bonding process to bond the connector 14 and the flexible circuit board 16. Specifically, the connector 14 and the flexible circuit board 16 have corresponding fourth and

fifth bonding regions

146 and 162, respectively.

Referring to fig. 5, in some embodiments, the connecting member 14 is curved. The flexible circuit board 16 is located below the flexible screen 12.

Therefore, the flexible screen 12 and the flexible circuit board 16 are stacked, so that the planar area of the flexible screen module 10 can be reduced, and optimization of the spatial configuration of the flexible screen module 10 is facilitated.

Referring to fig. 6, an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the flexible screen module 10 according to any of the above embodiments, that is, the flexible screen module 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to the electronic device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The flexible screen module 10 of the electronic device 100 according to the embodiment of the invention is usually connected to the flexible circuit board 16, and when the binding position and other elements on the flexible circuit have problems due to use or other reasons, the flexible screen 12 may cut off the first binding region 1241 and reselect to bind the second binding region 1242. Therefore, the whole flexible screen module 10 can be prevented from being replaced when other elements on the flexible circuit board 16 are in a problem, which is beneficial to reducing the maintenance cost of the electronic device 100.

Specifically, when the flexible screen 12 cuts the first binding area 1241 and reselects to bind the second binding area 1242, the spatial size of the flexible screen module 10 generally changes accordingly. In this way, the electronic device 100 shown in fig. 6 may add the avoiding region 1320, cut the first binding region 1241 out of the flexible screen 12, and select to bind the second binding region 1242 again, as shown in fig. 7, the flexible circuit board 16 may move and occupy the reserved avoiding region 1320. Of course, the flexible screen 12 of the electronic device 100 shown in fig. 8 and 9 may increase the length of the connecting member 14 when the second binding region 1242 is bound again, and the flexible circuit board 16 may be located at an original position in the electronic device 100.

Referring to fig. 6 again, in some embodiments, the electronic device 100 includes a housing 120 and a cover film 110. The flexible screen module 10 is located within the housing 120. The housing 120 is opened. The cover film 110 is attached to the housing 120 and seals the opening.

Thus, the housing 120 and the cover film 110 may form a relatively closed accommodating space, and the flexible screen module 10 and other components of the electronic device 100 may be accommodated in the accommodating space, so that the flexible screen module 10 and other components of the electronic device 100 are not easily interfered by an external environment, and thus can normally operate.

In some examples, the electronic device 100 may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or the like.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the description of the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

The utility model provides a flexible screen module, its characterized in that includes flexible screen and connecting piece, flexible screen includes display area and non-display area, the interval is provided with first binding area and the second binding area between the non-display area, for the area is bound to the second, first binding area is closer to the edge of flexible screen, the connecting piece is connected first binding area.
The flexible screen module of claim 1, wherein the non-display region comprises, from bottom to top, a base layer, a buffer layer, and a metal layer, the metal layer being formed with the first binding region and the second binding region.
The flexible screen module of claim 2, wherein the flexible screen comprises an insulating layer disposed on the metal layer, the insulating layer being spaced apart by a first via and a second via, the metal layer forming the first bonding area at a portion exposed by the first via and the second bonding area at a portion exposed by the second via.
The flexible screen module of claim 3, wherein the non-display area comprises a protective layer disposed on the insulating layer, the protective layer covering the second via and exposing the first via.
The flexible screen module of claim 4, wherein the metal layer comprises a metal lead, a first metal pad and a second metal pad, the first metal pad is located at the first through hole, the second metal pad is located at the second through hole, and the metal lead is connected to the first metal pad and the second metal pad, respectively.
The flexible screen module of claim 1, wherein the flexible screen module comprises a touch layer structure covering the display area.
The flexible screen module of claim 6, wherein the touch layer structure comprises a touch layer and a polarizing layer arranged in a stacked manner.
The flexible screen module of claim 1, wherein the connecting member is a chip on film, and a driving chip is disposed on the chip on film and configured to drive the flexible screen to operate.
The flexible screen module of claim 8, wherein the connector comprises a third binding region, the third binding region connecting the first binding region.
The flexible screen module of claim 1, wherein the flexible screen module comprises a flexible circuit board, and the flexible screen is connected to the flexible circuit board through the connector.
The flexible screen module of claim 10, wherein the connector is curved and the flexible circuit board is positioned below the flexible screen.
An electronic device, comprising the flexible screen module according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the electronic device comprises a housing and a cover film, the flexible screen module is located in the housing, the housing defines an opening, and the cover film is connected to the housing and seals the opening.