CN114629979A - Electronic device and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The cover plate comprises a glass layer and at least one transparent covering layer. The glass layer has a first surface and a second surface. The transparent covering layer is arranged and contacted with at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the glass layer and is overlapped with the glass layer. The touch sensing layer is arranged under the cover plate. The display module is arranged below the touch sensing layer. Because the transparent covering layer and the glass layer are not mutually attached by the attaching glue, the whole thickness of the cover plate can be reduced, the air holes and unnecessary crack gaps formed by loosening the glue in the bending process can be reduced, and the surface performance of the cover plate can be effectively improved.

Description

Electronic device and method for manufacturing the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an electronic device including a flexible screen.

Background

Recently, mobile phones with foldable screens have been introduced into the market. For mobile phone manufacturers, the mobile phone with the foldable screen can not only establish brand images, but also improve product selling price. Foldable screen mobile phones will replace tablet, even notebook computers, and become a new business growth source. For supply chain manufacturers, a mobile phone with a foldable screen brings new requirements, and the profitability of the manufacturers is improved.

In order to achieve the foldable effect, some of the cover plates of the existing foldable screens are implemented by using polymer films. In addition to flexibility, the film needs to have the characteristics of thin thickness, high hardness, high temperature resistance, high light transmittance and the like. However, from experimental data, if the foldable screen made of a plastic film is folded for a certain number of times, the foldable cover plate cannot have a high stress releasing capability due to the plastic film (it can be said that the young's modulus of the cover plate formed of a plastic film is low), and further, the optical performance (for example, brightness and contrast) may be greatly reduced. Further, as known from the prior art U.S. patent application No. 20200225699a, the known art uses an adhesive (OCA) or a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) as the coupling between the stacks, which not only increases the overall thickness, but also easily forms crack gaps after repeated folding.

Therefore, how to provide an electronic device capable of solving the above problems is one of the problems that the industry needs to invest in research and development resources to solve.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an objective of the claimed invention to provide an electronic device that solves the above problems.

In order to achieve the above objectives, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device includes a cover plate, a touch sensing layer and a display module. The cover plate comprises a glass layer and at least one transparent covering layer. The glass layer has a first surface and a second surface. The transparent covering layer is arranged and contacted with at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the glass layer and is overlapped with the glass layer. The touch sensing layer is arranged under the cover plate. The display module is arranged below the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the glass layer is an ultra-thin glass layer having a thickness of less than 100 microns.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the glass layer has a thickness of 25 to 100 μm.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the glass layer has a thickness of 25 to 35 μm.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the transparent cover layer has a thickness between 5 microns and 10 microns.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the cover plate has a young's modulus of 10Gpa to 200 Gpa.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the transparent cover layer comprises Polyimide or Colorless Polyimide (CPI).

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, an inorganic mixture is added to at least one transparent cover layer. The coverplate of the composite inorganic mixture has a young's modulus between about 80Gpa to about 200 Gpa.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the display module is an organic light emitting display module or an electronic paper display module.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the touch sensing layer is in contact with the second surface of the glass layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the touch sensing layer is in contact with the transparent cover layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the transparent covering layer includes a first transparent covering layer and a second transparent covering layer. The glass layer is laminated between the first transparent cover layer and the second transparent cover layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device further comprises an anti-reflective layer. The anti-reflection layer is arranged on one side of the cover plate far away from the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device further includes a polarizing layer. The polarizing layer is arranged between the touch sensing layer and the display module.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the polarizing layer is in contact with the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the polarizing layer is attached to the touch sensing layer through an adhesive.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device further includes a blackening layer. The blackening layer is arranged at the edge of the glass layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device further includes a first screen and a second screen. The second screen is rotatably connected to the first screen. The cover plate covers the first screen and the second screen.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the first screen and the second screen are touch display screens.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each touch display screen includes a force sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device is a foldable mobile phone.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an electronic device includes: providing a cover plate, wherein the cover plate comprises a glass layer and at least one transparent covering layer which are overlapped; forming a touch sensing layer under the cover plate; and forming a display module under the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, providing a cover plate includes: coating a polymer material layer on the glass layer; and drying the polymer material layer to form the transparent covering layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, forming the touch sensing layer under the cover plate includes: coating a conductive coating under the cover plate; and drying the conductive coating to form the touch sensing layer.

In summary, in the electronic device of the present invention, the transparent cover layer in the cover plate is disposed and contacted with the glass layer. In other words, the transparent cover layer and the glass layer are not bonded together by an Adhesive (e.g., Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA)), so that the overall thickness of the cover plate is reduced, air holes and unnecessary crack gaps formed by loosening of the Adhesive during bending are reduced, and the surface properties (e.g., bending resistance, stress resistance, wear resistance, and hardness) of the cover plate are effectively improved. In addition, the use of the adhesive is omitted, the manufacturing process can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the problems to be solved, solutions to problems, and effects produced by the present invention, and specific details thereof are set forth in the following description and the related drawings.

Drawings

In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention, as well as others which will become apparent, reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic view illustrating an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention in a use state;

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating the electronic device in FIG. 1A in another operating state;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a method of manufacturing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an electronic device according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a stress-strain graph depicting various structures.

[ notation ] to show

100, 100A electronic device

110 cover plate

111 glass layer

111a first surface

111b second surface

112, 113 transparent cover layer

120 touch sensing layer

130 display module

140 polarizing layer

150 anti-reflection layer

160 blackened layer

170 metal plate

180, pressure glue

190: support

210 first Screen

220 second screen

Curve C1, C2, C3

OCA1, OCA2 adhesive

Detailed Description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous implementation details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that these implementation details are not to be interpreted as limiting the invention. That is, in some embodiments of the invention, such implementation details are not necessary. In addition, for the sake of simplicity, some conventional structures and elements are shown in the drawings in a simple schematic manner.

Please refer to fig. 1A and fig. 1B. Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device 100 in a use state according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating the electronic device 100 in FIG. 1A in another use state. In the present embodiment, the electronic device 100 is a foldable mobile phone including a cover 110, but the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the electronic device 100 may also be a tablet computer or a notebook computer. For example, the electronic device 100 is a dual-screen notebook computer including a first screen 210 and a second screen 220 (shown by dotted lines in fig. 1B). The second screen 220 is rotatably connected to the first screen 210 (e.g., via a hinge) and configured to display a virtual keyboard (not shown).

In some embodiments, the first screen 210 and the second screen 220 are touch display screens. In some embodiments, each touch display screen includes a force sensing layer for pressure sensing or haptic feedback with actuator effect.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electronic device 100 in fig. 1A. As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the electronic device 100 further includes a touch sensing layer 120, a display module 130, a polarizing layer 140, a metal plate 170, a pressure Adhesive 180, a support 190, and Adhesive glues OCA1 and OCA2 (e.g., Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA)). The touch sensing layer 120 is disposed under the cover plate 110. Through the touch sensing layer 120, the electronic device 100 can provide a touch sensing function. The display module 130 is disposed under the touch sensing layer 120. The polarizing layer 140 is disposed between the touch sensing layer 120 and the display module 130. The polarizing layer 140 is attached to the touch sensing layer 120 through the adhesive OCA 1. The images displayed by the display module 130 can be viewed by the user sequentially through the multi-layer structure disposed above the display module, so that the display function of the electronic device 100 can be provided. In some embodiments, the display module 130 is, for example, an organic light emitting display module or an electronic paper. The polarizing layer 140 is configured to achieve a specific optical effect. For example, the polarization layer 140 can block the reflection of the external light to ensure that the image displayed by the display module 130 can maintain a high contrast ratio. The metal plate 170 is disposed under the display module 130 and attached to the display module 130 through the adhesive OCA 2. The pressure paste 180 is disposed under the metal plate 170. The supporting member 190 is disposed under the pressure paste 180.

In some embodiments, the touch sensing layer 120 may be a single-layer bridge (SITO) pattern, a single-layer multi-dot (non-cross) pattern, or the like, but not limited thereto, and the material may be a Silver Nanowire (SNW) electrode layer, a metal mesh (metal mesh) or an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) electrode layer, but the invention is not limited thereto. In an embodiment where the touch sensing layer 120 is a silver nanowire electrode layer, the touch sensing layer 120 may include a matrix and silver nanowires doped therein. The silver nanowires are mutually lapped in the matrix to form a conductive network. The substrate is non-nano silver wire substance formed by coating, heating, drying and other processes of the solution containing nano silver wires. The silver nanowires are dispersed or embedded in the matrix and partially protrude from the matrix. The matrix can protect the nano silver wires from the influence of external environments such as corrosion, abrasion and the like. In some embodiments, the matrix is compressible.

In some embodiments, the touch sensing layer 120 may also use an IAI stack structure in the single layer bridging pattern (e.g., an ITO-Al-ITO stack structure or an SNW-Al-SNW stack structure is selected for one of the first axial electrode or the second axial electrode).

In some embodiments, the touch sensing layer 120 is disposed on and in contact with the lower surface of the cover plate 110. In some embodiments, the polarizing layer 140 is disposed on and in contact with the upper surface of the display module 130.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may have only a touch function and no display function. In other words, the display module 130 and the polarizing layer 140 can be omitted from the electronic device 100, and the metal plate 170 can be attached to the touch sensing layer 120 through one of the attaching adhesives OCA1 and OCA 2.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may have only a display function and no touch function. In other words, the touch sensing layer 120 can be omitted from the electronic device 100, and the polarizing layer 140 can be disposed on and in contact with the lower surface of the cover plate 110, or attached to the cover plate 110 through the adhesive OCA 1.

As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the cover plate 110 includes a glass layer 111 and transparent cover layers 112 and 113. The glass layer 111 has a first surface 111a and a second surface 111b on opposite sides. The transparent covering layers 112 and 113 are disposed on and in contact with the first surface 111a and the second surface 111b, respectively. The touch sensing layer 120 is disposed and contacted with the transparent cover layer 113, and the glass layer 111 is stacked between the transparent cover layers 112 and 113. Therefore, the transparent covering layers 112 and 113 and the glass layer 111 are not bonded to each other by using a bonding adhesive, so that the overall thickness of the cover plate 110 can be reduced, and the surface properties (e.g., wear resistance and hardness) of the cover plate 110 can be effectively improved. In addition, the use of the adhesive is omitted, the manufacturing process can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In some embodiments, the material of the transparent cover layers 112 and 113 includes Polyimide (Polyimide), but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, glass layer 111 has a thickness between about 10 microns to about 300 microns; preferably, the glass layer 111 has a thickness of between about 20 microns and about 100 microns (e.g., optimally between about 25 and 35 microns, with a sufficiently thin thickness and sufficient stress supporting effect); thus, the glass layer 111 is an ultra-thin glass layer.

Referring to fig. 3, a flow chart of a method for manufacturing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention is shown. As shown in fig. 3, the method for manufacturing an electronic device mainly includes steps S101 to S103.

In step S101, a cover plate is provided, wherein the cover plate includes a glass layer and a transparent cover layer stacked together.

In step S102, the touch sensing layer is formed under the cover plate.

In step S103, the display module is formed under the touch sensing layer.

In some embodiments, the step S101 includes steps S101a and S101 b.

In step S101a, the polymer material layer is coated on the glass layer.

In step S101b, the polymer material layer is baked to form a transparent cover layer.

In some embodiments, the step S102 includes steps S102a and S102 b.

In step S102a, a conductive coating is coated under the cover plate.

In step S102b, the conductive coating is dried to form a touch sensing layer.

As can be seen from the above steps, at least one of the transparent covering layers 112 and 113 is a dried polymer material layer. The material of the polymer material layer preferably includes Polyimide (PI) or Colorless Polyimide (CPI), but not limited thereto, and a coatable liquid Polyimide material (e.g., Soluble Polyimide type, solvent Polyimide, SPI) having characteristics of low hygroscopic expansion coefficient, low viscosity and high transparency is preferably used. In some embodiments, at least one of the transparent cover layers 112, 113 has a thickness of between about 3 microns and about 50 microns, preferably between about 5 microns and about 15 microns (e.g., a thickness of between about 5 microns and about 10 microns is most preferably selected).

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the electronic device 100 further comprises an anti-reflective layer 150. The anti-reflection layer 150 is disposed on a side of the cover plate 110 away from the touch sensing layer 120.

In some embodiments, one of the transparent cover layers 112, 113 may be omitted. For example, when the transparent cover layer 113 is omitted, the touch sensing layer 120 is disposed on and in contact with the lower surface of the glass layer 111. When the transparent cover layer 112 is omitted, the anti-reflection layer 150 is disposed on and in contact with the upper surface of the glass layer 111.

In some embodiments, the polymer material layer is coated on the glass layer 111 by a Slot die coating (Slot coating) process, but the invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the curing temperature of the baked polymer material layer is about 80 to about 350 degrees, for example, in a range of about 80 to about 150 degrees or in a range of about 200 to about 350 degrees, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the polymer material layer further comprises an organic solvent for dissolving the polyamic acid in the coating step to form the polymer coating layer. Examples of the organic solvent include methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), propylene glycol monomethyl ether acid ester (PGMEA), isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and Dimethylacetamide (DMAC). The polymer material layer further comprises a coupling agent. The solid content of the polyamic acid is preferably about 3 to about 15 wt%, and the amount of the coupling agent added is preferably about 0.5 to about 10 wt% of the solid content of the polyamic acid, but is not limited thereto as long as the solid content can be used as a solvent.

In practical applications, the coating process can be changed to a sputtering process or a printing process.

In order to further increase the young's modulus of the cover plate 110, an inorganic mixture may be added to one or both of the transparent cover layers (i.e., one or both of the transparent cover layers 112 and 113) in a liquid state. For example, the inorganic mixture may comprise graphene or diamond, preferably a graphene dopant, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In fact, the mechanical properties of graphene are remarkably represented as high strength and high modulus, the highest tensile young modulus of the graphene can reach 200GPa, so that the maximum young modulus of the composite cover plate is close to 200Pa, and the graphene has higher hardness than that of diamond with 10-grade mohs hardness, good toughness, flexibility and excellent ductility. In some embodiments, the polymer material layer may further include nanoparticles such as silicon dioxide, which may improve the defect of insufficient hardness and increase the surface strength. Under the action of the coupling agent, the transparent silicon dioxide nano particles are further dispersed, so that the dispersion stability of the transparent nano particles in the high polymer material layer can be improved. In addition, the chemical reaction between the silanol group of the silicon dioxide and the coupling agent can improve the performances such as film hardness, thermal expansion coefficient and the like, and reduce the difference of the physical properties of the film and the base material.

In some embodiments, the viscosity of the polymeric coating layer is about 100 to about 5000 cps; preferably, the polymer coating layer has a viscosity of about 300 to about 1000 cps.

In some embodiments, the material of at least one of the transparent cover layers 112, 113 may also include a transparent material such as polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), or Polycarbonate (PC), but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the glass layer 111 is an ultraviolet light absorbing glass layer. That is, the glass layer 111 has UV light absorbing ability.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the electronic device 100 further comprises a blackening layer 160. The blackening layer 160 is disposed at an edge of the glass layer 111 and is stacked between the glass layer 111 and the transparent cover layer 113. The blackening layer 160 can reduce Mura (i.e., various traces caused by non-uniform brightness), and can also prevent interference from the process of manufacturing the blackening layer 160 in the process of manufacturing the touch sensing layer 120.

Depending on the parameters discussed above, the cover plate 110 may have a Young's modulus in the range of 10GPa to about 200 GPa. In the present invention, it is to be noted that at least one of the transparent cover layers 112, 113 and the glass layer 111 are not bonded to each other by an Adhesive (e.g., an Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA)), and the coatable liquid polyimide is directly formed to contact the glass layer 111, so that the overall thickness of the cover plate 110 can be reduced, and the surface performance of the cover plate 110 can be effectively improved (e.g., the effects of stress buffering, bending resistance, abrasion resistance, hardness, etc. of the composite cover plate assembly are also achieved). In addition, the use of the adhesive is omitted, the manufacturing process and the thickness of the module can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an electronic device 100A according to another embodiment of the invention. The difference between the electronic device 100A of the present embodiment and the electronic device 100 shown in fig. 2 is that the electronic device 100A of the present embodiment omits the adhesive OCA1 between the touch sensing layer 120 and the polarizing layer 140. In other words, the touch sensing layer 120 in the present embodiment is directly fabricated on the polarizing layer 140. After the adhesive OCA1 is omitted, the overall thickness of the electronic device 100 and the number of processes can be further reduced.

Referring to fig. 5, a stress-strain curve diagram of various structures is shown, wherein a curve C1 is a stress-strain curve of a single polyimide layer, a curve C2 is a stress-strain curve of a single glass layer, and a curve C3 is a stress-strain curve of a composite laminated structure composed of a single polyimide layer and a single glass layer. As shown in fig. 5, as can be seen from the curve C1, the polyimide layer has a large deformation when an external force is applied. As can be seen from curve C2, the glass layer has less deformation when subjected to an external force, because the glass layer has a larger young's modulus. As can be seen from curve C3, the composite laminate structure of the polyimide layer and the glass layer can achieve the combined effect of the two materials, so as to achieve better performance in flexible folding applications. Specifically, the polyimide layer has better flexibility but poorer stress bearing, and the glass layer has better Young modulus, so that the composite laminated structure of the two can bring enough overall flexibility and enough overall Young modulus.

As is apparent from the above detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, the transparent cover layer in the cover plate is disposed in contact with the glass layer. In other words, the transparent covering layer and the glass layer are not bonded with each other by using bonding glue, so that the overall thickness of the cover plate can be reduced, air holes and unnecessary crack gaps formed by loosening of the glue in the bending process can be reduced, and the surface performance (such as bending resistance, stress resistance, wear resistance and hardness) of the cover plate can be effectively improved. In addition, the use of the adhesive is omitted, the manufacturing process can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (24)

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a cover plate, comprising:

a glass layer having a first surface and a second surface; and

at least one transparent covering layer which is arranged and contacted with at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the glass layer and is overlapped with the glass layer;

a touch sensing layer disposed under the cover plate; and

and the display module is arranged below the touch sensing layer.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the glass layer is an ultra-thin glass layer having a thickness of less than 100 microns.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the glass layer has a thickness of 25 to 100 microns.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the glass layer has a thickness of 25 to 35 microns.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one transparent cover layer has a thickness of between 5 microns and 10 microns.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the cover plate has a Young's modulus of 10GPa to 200 GPa.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one transparent cover layer comprises Polyimide or Colorless Polyimide (CPI).

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one transparent cover layer is added with an inorganic mixture, and the cover plate compounded with the inorganic mixture has a Young's modulus of 80Gpa to 200 Gpa.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the display module is an organic light emitting display module or an electronic paper display module.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensing layer is in contact with the second surface of the glass layer.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensing layer is in contact with the at least one transparent cover layer.

12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one transparent cover layer comprises a first transparent cover layer and a second transparent cover layer, and the glass layer is laminated between the first transparent cover layer and the second transparent cover layer.

13. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

and the anti-reflection layer is arranged on one side of the cover plate far away from the touch sensing layer.

14. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

and the polarizing layer is arranged between the touch sensing layer and the display module.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the polarizing layer is in contact with the touch sensing layer.

16. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the polarizing layer is attached to the touch sensing layer via an adhesive.

17. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

a blackening layer arranged at the edge of the glass layer.

18. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

a first screen; and

the second screen can be rotatably connected with the first screen, and the cover plate covers the first screen and the second screen.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the first screen and the second screen are touch display screens.

20. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein each touch display screen comprises a force sensing layer.

21. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a foldable mobile phone.

22. A method of manufacturing an electronic device, comprising:

providing a cover plate, wherein the cover plate comprises a glass layer and at least one transparent covering layer which are overlapped;

forming a touch sensing layer under the cover plate; and

and forming a display module under the touch sensing layer.

23. The method of manufacturing of claim 22, wherein providing the cover plate comprises:

coating a polymer material layer on the glass layer; and

drying the polymer material layer to form the at least one transparent covering layer.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein forming the touch sensing layer under the cover plate comprises:

coating a conductive coating under the cover plate; and

and drying the conductive coating to form the touch sensing layer.

Images